Blink of an Eye: Beginnings Series Book 8

by Jacqueline Druga

  Frank brought his binoculars up. “Danny and Henry are out there placing the new tracking system up. Spot them.”

  Dean looked out. “Where?”

  “Straight on past the back gate.”

  Taking a deep breath, Dean focused, watching the trees that were so far away get closer and closer. As he scanned the wooded area for the mechanical two, watching things get bigger and bigger, all he could hear was the theme to the Six Million Dollar Man. ‘Steve Austin, a man barely alive. We can rebuild him, make him stronger. Do-do-do ...’ “Frank! Will you knock it off!”

  Laughing, Frank moved back from Dean’s ear where he whispered. “Sorry. It was funny. Do you see them?”

  “Yeah, I spot them.”

  “What are they doing?”

  “Danny is climbing up the tree. Henry is ...” Dean looked for a closer shot of Henry. “Scratching his head. But he’s ... hold on.” Dean moved from the edge, reached for his bucket, but stopped himself before he threw up again. He raised his head back up. “All right it looks like ... oh my God.”

  “What?” Frank lifted the binoculars.

  “Savages.”

  “Where!” Frank searched.

  “Beyond them, sneaking in. Shit, Frank.”

  “How many.”

  “Eight, ten. Shit.”

  “Stay here. Keep watch!” Frank threw his headset on, and in a run, picked up the rope they used to climb up, leaped off the roof of the utility building, repelling once off the side with a huge ‘bang’ and dropping to the ground below. He landed on his feet, hands meeting the ground shortly after, picking himself up still running, Frank jumped on his motorcycle. “Security, down the back gate ... Robbie,” he called as he rode. “Robbie, come in. We got Savages headed in the back gate region, S-14 by Danny and Henry.”

  “Copy, Frank. Tower hasn’t said anything. They didn’t spot them.”

  “Yeah but Dean did. Suit up, meet me there. I’m heading out. Bring my rifle.” Revving the engine and lifting to one wheel as he did, he sped to the back gate. When he got there he jumped off, hoped the perimeter was down, and unlocked the gate.

  <><><><>

  Henry shielded his eyes from the peaking sun as he looked up to Danny who was in the tree. “How’s it going?”

  “Good.”

  “Is it secure?”

  “It’s just fine.” Danny, rope around his waist, also braced himself against the ‘V’ in the branch.

  “How’s it going to hold up if it rains or snows?”

  “Henry, if you would have paid attention to me last night, I explained that.” Danny grunted, making a turn of his tool. “But your mind was elsewhere.” Danny let out another loud grunt.

  “Are you having trouble with that?” He shrugged. “Anyway, I wanted to watch the movie. I told you that.” Henry’s head turned to the sound of static on the radio and he lifted it up. “Yeah, Frank?”

  “Henry, pull back. Get out of there.”

  “What was that, Frank? Your motorcycle is too loud.”

  “Henry!” Frank yelled as he drove out to them. “Savages are coming your way. Pull back!”

  He heard Frank’s warning, and with that he knew he had to deliver his own. “Danny! We have to ...” As he raised his head to call his co-worker he watched Danny’s body, still attached to the rope, sail downwards, in a drop backwards from the tree, arms extended out, head first straight to Henry. With a spring action, the rope reached its end and Danny stopped in a snap, swinging outward to Henry, and heading back in to the tree.

  Henry tried to reach out quickly, stopping Danny from hitting into the tree again. As he grabbed him, moving with the force of Danny’s swinging body, he saw the arrow protruding from his gut. “Oh my God.” Henry backed up, watching the blood that flowed from Danny’s stomach wound run quickly over his face. “Frank ...” Henry spoke into the radio. “I need help.” He turned to make a run for it and ... Slam! ... something, Henry didn’t know what, bolted him in the side of the face so hard he spun around and rammed into the tree. Seeing the blurriness of the bark, feeling the coarseness, Henry tried to straighten his weakened legs ignore any pain, and that was when the hooting and the screaming of the Savages began. He didn’t even have time to run for it when he felt himself grabbed harshly by more than one and thrown with a vengeance, face first, to the ground.

  Quickly trying to lift himself from his stomach, Henry saw the multitudes of feet that surrounded him. He barely made it to his knees when another hit struck him in the back of the neck, sending him crashing back down. It was at that moment with the loud hollering around him, the most frightening turn to Henry occurred. A foot slammed down to the back of his neck, holding his face pressed to the ground. Another foot stood on his arms, and another planted firmly between his shoulder blades, all while he felt the horrifying sensation of them pulling at him, tugging at him, and ripping at his clothes. “No!” Henry grunted out trying to scream with everything he had, trying to fight despite the hits, kicks, and pulling at his jeans.

  He felt the air hit the bareness of his lower body, and hands that gripped to his hips. Just as he felt himself being pulled back, he heard the sound of gunfire. Not rapid and fast, but steady and selective. With that gunfire, Henry felt the heaviness of a body fall hard upon his back, and the warmness of the blood that flowed from the head of that body across Henry’s face. Screaming as he did, Henry flipped himself over, flinging the man from him. Pulling up his clothes, Henry saw a spear plunging for him. He rolled again, out of the spear’s way, swung out his legs, taking the Savage to the ground. Henry picked himself up then dove on him, beating the Savage without control as if Henry was a Savage himself. Finally, in a kneel above the Savage, Henry grabbed the spear that protruded from the ground, lifted it high, and rammed it speedily to the center the Savage’s throat. Out of breath, Henry heard no more gunfire. He stood up, looking around. Four Savages lay dead on the ground. Where were the rest of them? Where was Frank?

  His answer came with a mighty angry roar, followed by the vision of a dead Savage thrown through the trees and landing with a roll, stopping at Henry’s feet. His neck was broken so severely it was nearly severed from his body. Then Frank emerged, one Savage on his back and two others fighting to take him down. Seeing this, Henry ran to the body of the Savage he had just killed, pulled the spear from his throat, and raced Frank’s way.

  Frank let out a painful enraged scream as he felt the teeth of the Savage on his back sear into his skin between his shoulder and his neck. Engulfed with outrage, Frank reached back, grabbed the hair of the Savage, gripped his head, and snatched him so harshly from the bite, that the crack of the Savage’s neck rang out as Frank flipped him over his shoulder. He used him like a baseball bat, swinging his lifeless body out, knocking over a Savage that dove at him.

  Upon Henry’s run to Frank, he saw Frank’s revolver lying on the ground. “Frank!” he called out. He picked up the revolver as he raced with the spear to the Savage Frank had just knocked to the ground. Spearing the downed Savage through the throat, Henry tossed Frank his revolver.

  Frank caught it, clicked back the hammer, spun around, and fired one single deadly shot into the head of the last remaining Savage who was inches from him, holding a spear. Frank lowered his weapon slowly, breathing heavy and staring at the last Savage he had killed. “Where the fuck is Robbie?” Shaking his head, Frank walked to the tree where Danny hung. He saw as the blood still flowed freely from the stomach wound. Frank lifted Danny’s upper body, bracing it against his shoulder, and feeling for a pulse. “OK,” Frank whispered, “you’re alive.” He reached down and pulled out his knife that was strapped to his thigh. With one single hard swing, he cut the rope from where Danny was attached, caught Danny’s falling body, and lowered him to the ground. As he laid him down, he heard the sound of a jeep’s engine. “It’s about time.” Frank stood up and saw Robbie running through the trees. “It’s about time you asshole! Where the fuck have you been?”

 
; “Fuck you, Frank.” Robbie dropped down to Danny. “I had to get a jeep. Dean said Danny was hit.” Robbie pulled out a cloth and laid it on Danny’s stomach.

  “So I take it they’re ready at the clinic.”

  “Getting there.” Robbie looked up. “So how many did you take out?”

  “There were ten. I got eight.”

  Robbie fluttered his lips. “So why’d you need me? Frank, are you losing your touch?”

  Waving his hand off at his brother, Frank spun around to see Henry sitting on the ground. His knees were brought close to his chest and his arms wrapped tightly around them as his head was down. “I’ll be right back.”

  Robbie looked up as he prepared to lift Danny. “Hurry up, Frank. We have to get Danny in.”

  “I will.” Frank walked slowly over to Henry. “Hey. You OK?”

  Henry lifted his head, the gash in his face bled and smeared across his cheek. “You saved my life again, Frank.”

  “Yeah well.” Frank sniffed and wiped the blood from his nose with the back of his hand, trying to joke it off. “It’s my job you know.”

  Henry closed his eyes. “Do you know how close ... how close I came to being ...”

  “Henry.” Frank stepped to him, squatting down and extending out his hand. “Let’s go, buddy. It’s all right.”

  Henry looked at Frank’s bloodied and dirty hand, and he reached out his own, gripping to Frank’s in support and gratefulness.

  Frank stood up first then, in a pull, brought Henry to his feet. Seeing how down Henry was, Frank placed his hands on Henry’s shoulder. “Let’s get that face taken care of.”

  “Thanks, Frank. I can’t thank you enough.”

  “You being alive is thanks enough.” He walked with Henry to the jeep.

  Henry felt and heard Frank stop abruptly. “What’s wrong?”

  Frank looked up at the tree before him. “Hey. Did you guys finish getting that tracking thing up there?”

  <><><><>

  “Get me three pints of ‘A’ positive blood in OR-3 and bring me two cc’s of the antitoxin STAT!” Dean screamed out to Patrick. With Ellen’s help, he wheeled the empty cart down the corridor, to the front doors of the clinic. “Ellen, where’s Andrea?”

  “She’s still in that knee surgery. Jason is in the OR now, prepping it. Dean, tell me all three of them are OK.”

  Dean stopped wheeling the cart at the door. “I can’t tell you that.”

  “Dean.” Patrick ran down the hall. “The antitoxin.” He tossed it on the cart. “Jason’s having trouble with the vital monitors in that room.”

  Dean shook his head peering out the door. “Shit, that has the tricky switch ... El, could you?”

  “Be right back.” She took off running with Patrick down the hall.

  The second she left the jeep pulled up. Grabbing the syringe, he held the door open for Frank and Robbie who carried Danny in. “Lay him on the cart.” He looked at Henry who followed behind. “You OK?” Dean gave a pat to Henry’s cheek then ran to Danny. “Frank, good job.” Dean lifted his stethoscope to his ears and placed the diaphragm to Danny’s chest. “Heartbeat’s good.” He dropped the stethoscope, flicked the bubbles from the syringe, and immediately injected it into Danny’s thigh. As he raised his eyebrows, he saw the blood on Frank’s white tee shirt. “Yours?”

  “Yeah, fuckin Savage bit me.”

  “Damn it, Frank,” Dean spoke in a snap.

  “What, I can’t help it.”

  “No. You should have radioed me about that. You have to be given an antitoxin too.”

  “Fuck that. I’m fine.”

  “No.” Dean, with Robbie’s help began to move Danny toward the OR. “Both of you,” he yelled to Henry and Frank. “Frank, room three, Henry, exam room two. I’ll send Ellen and Patrick to take care of you.”

  “Dean.” Henry ran up after him. “I know you saw what happened from that roof. Does Ellen know?”

  “Henry, I have to ...”

  “Dean, don’t tell her if she doesn’t, OK? Please don’t tell her what almost happened.”

  Dean paused wheeling the cart to look at Henry. “I won’t. Just get to the examining room now.”

  “Thanks, Dean.”

  <><><><>

  “Oh my God!” Ellen cried out as she came from the OR to see Dean and Robbie approaching with Danny. “Is he gonna be all right?”

  “I think,” Dean said, pushing Danny inside then rushing to the sink area in the adjoining room. He pressed the intercom to the OR. “Jason, hook him up and start his IV. Get the sutures ready. We have to do this quickly.” He raced over to the sink, Ellen behind him, and Patrick washing up. “Both of you,” he spoke to them, “I need you at the examining rooms. Jason and I can handle this. I got a bite in room three and a Henry-scar gash in room two.”

  Ellen backed to the door. “I’ll take the gash. No way am I touching the bite.” She shuddered. “Savage spit. Good luck, Dean.” She took off.

  Patrick headed out also. “Guess I have the bite.”

  “Two cc’s of antitoxin, Patrick, followed by the Kenyan. Got it?”

  “Got it.” Pushing the doors open with his back, Patrick left the washing area.

  Flinging the excess water from his hands, Dean dried them, ran to the OR, grabbed a mask, tied it on, and then grabbed his gloves. “Ready?” he asked Jason.

  “Ready. We’re filling him back up with blood. Vitals are good. Everything is ready.”

  “Get the suction prepared.” Dean stood above the only exposed part of Danny’s body, the arrow. “God, I hate arrows.”

  “Kind of barbaric.”

  “So is most of the world.” Dean grasped the arrow. “Ready ...” He took a breath. “Now.” As soon as he pulled out the arrow, blood shot up as if it were a fountain. “We have bleeder.”

  “Looks like it may have punctured the splenic artery.”

  “It missed any vital internal organs, thank God. More suction.” Dean peered into the wound, retracted it open, and then reached into Danny’s stomach with an arterial clamp. “A little more, Jason.”

  “Almost there.”

  “Getting a clear view and ... got it.” Dean clamped the artery and the spurting bleeding stopped. “We’re gonna need more than three pints.”

  “Nah.” Jason shook his head. “Notice the slight clotting around the artery. The arrow helped there.”

  “I see that.” Dean grabbed the sutures. “Oh damn it.”

  “What?”

  “We have a splinter, pyloric antrum stomach region.”

  “Where?” Jason looked in.

  Dean, using his hand, maneuvered the stomach. “There. See it?”

  “No.”

  “Right ... never mind. As soon as I suture this, hand me the tweezers.”

  “Dean?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good thing you have those new and improved eyes huh? We’re talking major infection if you didn’t see that.”

  Dean smiled as he worked. “Hey, I guess you’re right.”

  <><><><>

  “So I’m taking it ...” Ellen injected the needle, which contained a numbing agent, into Henry’s cheek. “I’m taking it that Frank was bit.”

  Henry nodded.

  “What doesn’t happen to that man, I’m telling you.” She wiped the blood from Henry’s cheek. “This isn’t that bad, Henry, really, just few stitches. I promise to do better than I did on Frank’s.”

  “Thanks, El.” Henry said, so down.

  “I’m getting quite good at this.” She started to stitch. “Dean taught me well.” Her fingers probed his face. “This cheek doesn’t feel broken.” She continued stitching. “Anyhow, when I’m done it will look a lot worse than it is. I filled it with the numbing agent.” She pulled the thread. “You have that high cheekbone look the models in the old world loved. Too bad it’s only one.” Ellen chuckled. “I’m not hurting you, am I?”

  “No.”

  “Maybe I should have asked that
before I started stitching.” She pulled and stitched, tucked and cut. “Almost done, Henry.” She made her last stitch. “Bandage or no bandage?”

  “None.”

  “Wanna display that macho, rugged hero look, huh?”

  “Yeah.” As soon as Henry knew she had finished he lowered his head.

  Ellen set her supplies aside and grabbed the cloth from the basin filled with warm water. Using her index finger, she lifted Henry’s chin. “Let me just wipe you off.” She noticed as she wiped his face clean, she wasn’t wiping any of the sadness there. “Henry?” She softened her voice. “Are you all right?”

  So close she was to him and so much he needed her at that second. Seeing her hand on his face, Henry reached up and grabbed it, squeezing it tight. “El.”

  “What is it, Henry?” She cased her eyes across his face then to his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

  Henry swallowed, still looking at her. “Nothing.” He released her hand and shook his head. “It ... it was just a bad time out there.”

  “You’re very lucky, Henry. Look at Danny. Things could have been worse.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Henry slid off the table. “I’m done, right?”

  “You’re finished.”

  “Thanks.” Henry started walking out, stopped and turned to face her. “El? Can I just ask one favor of you?”

  “What is it?”

  “Just ... just for a second. Could you ... could you just ...” Before Henry could get out the words, the door to the examining room opened and in came Frank. The finish to his question, ‘hold me’ was buried with Frank’s loud ‘hey’ when he walked into the room.

  Ellen grinned wide. “There he is.” She held out her hand. “Here’s the man who deserves the Mighty Mouse theme song.” She ran to him and threw her arms around him. “And who deserves to be hugged.”

  “Whoa.” Frank hugged her back lifting her from her feet and swinging her around. “This is the best part. Now can you make me my own Frank doll?”

  “You bet.” She kissed him on the cheek. “I’m proud of you.”