I pushed the door open before Winifred came to a stop. Mary moved with me as if her hand was permanently attached to Charlene’s throat. As I rushed toward the building, I spoke to Charlene.
“We’re here. They will help you. Don’t leave me.”
Before we reached the door, Winifred was there opening them.
“We need help,” she called.
Nurses moved toward us, asking questions.
“We think she was attacked by some animal,” Winifred said. “We found her east of Mill Road. The wound on her neck is deep and the bleeding hasn’t stopped since we found her.”
Two men with a bed on wheels rushed toward us. One helped me ease her onto the clean chemical-smelling sheet as the other took over Mary’s spot. She and I both stepped back out of their way as they started looking Charlene over and talking to her. She didn’t respond.
Mary moved beside me and wrapped her bloody fingers around mine. I clasped her hand, falling apart on the inside as I watched them rush her through another set of doors.
Winifred’s voice carried in the otherwise quiet room. I only half listened to her explanation of what had happened. Her lies disassociated us from Charlene in order to protect those we’d left behind at sanctuary. We were strangers who just happened to see her on the side of the road.
“Did we make a mistake?” I said softly.
“No,” Mary said. “Losing someone as unique and gentle as Charlene would have been a greater one.”
She tugged me toward the chairs. A clock ticked loudly on the wall, marking each second the doors remained closed. Had they stopped the bleeding, yet? Were they healing her?
Minutes stretched and several people came and went to speak to Winifred, but no one approached us. No one offered any explanation for what was taking so long. Had she woken up yet? My gaze never wavered from the double-doors as minutes turned into an hour.
Finally, a man walked out the double-doors. He headed directly toward Winifred, who had been asking for an update at the desk.
Mary almost stood, but I put my hand on her leg and shook my head.
“Listen,” I said softly.
“Winifred Lewis?” he said, approaching her.
“Yes?”
“Your intervention saved that young woman’s life. She’s resting now and recovering. We’ve asked her name, but she hasn’t answered. Standard procedure is to contact the authorities. They may have some questions for you.”
“Of course,” Winifred said. “Do you know when she’ll be well enough to be released? I want to stay until I know she has somewhere to go.”
“We’re watching her vitals. She lost a lot of blood, and we’d like to see her blood pressure increase before we discharge her.”
“Thank you, Doctor.” Winifred waited until the Dr. walked away then joined us.
“Thomas, I think there might be a shirt in the back of the truck. I’ll get it and you can clean yourself up.”
I looked down at myself and saw Charlene’s blood covering my chest.
“Mary, you should clean up too.”
Winifred went outside while Mary walked to the bathroom. I stood, and the woman behind the desk looked at me with pitying eyes.
She didn’t see me as a mongrel or a homeless human but a traumatized boy who’d carried in a bleeding girl. I gave her a slight nod, and she smiled at me.
Without wanting to, I was starting to see there might be another side to humans. Was it enough to make up for their destructive nature though?
****
Mary and I waited as Winifred spoke with the law enforcer. She kept to the story she’d already told. We were camping on some land to the east and, on our way into town, found the young woman on the edge of Mill Road. No, we hadn’t seen what had attacked her. We checked for a pulse, picked her up, and brought her in. No, we weren’t aware that she had old wounds indicating prior attacks.
The man went back to see if Charlene was able to talk. I tensed and focused on the doors to try to hear anything beyond.
What’s happening? I can feel something’s wrong, Grey sent me. Did she…?
She’s alive. The doctor said we saved her life by bringing her here. The law man is going to talk to her. You and Gregory need to clean that room and remove the body. Did anyone come forward to identify that mutt?
No. Did Winifred figure out how he’d broken the law?
His question had me frowning. With my worry over Charlene and what she would say to the law man, I’d forgotten about the command Winifred had issued days ago. No one could bite a human without permission.
He had to have had permission, I sent Grey.
I asked both Elders and both swore they did not grant it.
What was happening to our people? I glanced at the doors in time to see the lawman reemerge. He smiled at Winifred, who was standing near the television on the opposite side of the room, then went to speak with the woman at the front desk.
“She’s still tired and unable to speak. I’m going to go check out by Mill Road. Please call me when she’s rested and able to talk.”
Relief washed through me. I waited until he left before I stood and went to Winifred.
“How was the mutt able to get to her?” I asked, quietly.
“I don’t know.”
I could see and feel her confusion and honesty.
“We need to find out, but I can’t leave here until she’s discharged. Are you willing to go back and start asking questions? There are enough eyes and ears there that one of them had to notice something,” she said.
“We shouldn’t wait. We need to get her out of here before the law man comes back,” I said. “We can’t risk that she might say something.”
“She won’t,” she said firmly.
I didn’t try to contradict her.
****
No one seemed to know anything about the mutt we’d laid out on the grass. Each male present stepped forward to look at him and denied ever seeing him. I detected no lie from any of them. With nothing else to do, we carried the body off property and buried it deep.
A long while later, the rumble of the truck echoed in the trees. Everyone turned toward the noise. What we saw didn’t just surprise me.
Charlene walked through the tall grass as the truck idled slowly behind her. She still wore a bloodied hospital gown for a shirt. When she saw us, she stopped walking and turned to Mary. Winifred cut the engine so we could all hear her words.
“Can you help me take the bandages off?”
What was she thinking? I’d watched the blood pour from her wounds just hours ago, and she wanted to unwrap them?
Mary slowly unwrapped yards of the thin material. Even from a distance, I saw the way Charlene occasionally winced. Mary stepped back, the wad of bandages in her hand. Charlene exhaled shakily and started walking again. Her steps were slow, and the pale line around her mouth gave away how much effort it cost her.
No one moved as she approached. She wove through our numbers, making her way closer to where I stood with Grey and Gregory. I could see the fine black threads holding her swollen skin together and hear her shallow breaths. I wanted to go to her and scoop her into my arms and carry her inside, but the determined set of her shoulders and the scent of her anger kept me in place.
In the center of the yard, she stopped and slowly turned. I knew the rest of the males were staring at her horribly damaged neck. Did they feel the same rage I did that someone had abused her?
“Biting hurts,” she said. “Stop biting.” She met my gaze. “Kindness and consideration are not games.”
I nodded so she knew I understood her message. She wasn’t playing games. She didn’t want to be bitten because she didn’t heal like we did. She needed a bed because she was fragile. She was human and needed different care. None of us would forget that again.
She turned to look at all the males around her.
“I need a week. Please, leave me alone. I just want to sleep.”
They wouldn’t deny her anything when she looked as weary as she did. Without waiting for a response, she shuffled inside with Mary. When the door closed firmly behind them, a number of the males moved off into the trees, obviously taking her request seriously.
I turned and found Grey studying me.
“You going to make it a week?” he asked.
I wanted to go to her and see if there was anything I could do to ease her pain. To comfort her. But I knew I would need to give her some time. Not a week, though.
“She didn’t mean that literally. She’s tired and needs to rest. She hasn’t been getting enough of that,” I said, moving toward the trees. “I’m sure she’ll feel better in a day or two.”