Candace stopped crying instantly, but her tears were still rolling down. She couldn’t live without their Mom. She wished their Mom could wake up right now. She was guilty that her Mom got bitten because of her.
Fritzi was also so sad. She was blaming herself inwardly for this. Why did she have to choose this location? Why did there have to be a coral snake here?
“Linford, here! The antivenom!” Yanni brought the medical kit closer to him. He knew Linford had knowledge of several survival methods as he was trained during his military days.
After injecting the antivenom, Linford lifted Cristelle in his arms and stood up, “This place is too dangerous. We need to leave now.”
Yanni tried to help Linford, but he had him pushed away, “I’ve got this.”
They went directly to Linford’s mansion nearby. After putting Cristelle in bed, Linford suddenly went extremely pale as he collapsed against the floor.
Yanni was so panicked. Shit! The venom must have gotten into Linford’s system as well.
“Linford!” Yanni called his name.
“I’m okay. Listen. Save her life, or I’ll kill you,” With that, Linford totally passed out.
“Hurry! Get them in bed! Get both of them in bed!” Yanni called out to Fritzi.
Cody and Candace were standing by the door. They both looked extremely scared. Cody had always been a mature boy, but his voice was still trembling, “Doctor Yanni, will they be okay?”
“Don’t panic, I’m here. They’re gonna be fine,” Yanni gave them a hug, “Go downstairs, will you? So they can take a rest.”
Candace shook her head. She had to stay with her Mom.
Cody also didn’t want to leave, but he knew he had to be good because he was the big brother, “Candace, come on. Let’s go downstairs, or Dad and Mom won’t be able to wake up.”
They were twins. Candace could feel how panicked Cody was right now. She grabbed his hand and sniffed. She still didn’t want to leave, but she had to obey her brother.
Fritzi’s eyes were red, “Just let them stay. It’s all the same, anyway. How are they right now, exactly? Can they wake up after a couple of hours?”
“Of course they can!” Yanni sounded sure, but he knew he was just pretending, “You need to call sir Franco, and I’ll try to contact the Watson house. We needed the best doctor from the Watson family.”
Call Franco Bradley?
This had become very clear. Fritzi swallowed, but she didn’t dare to cry before the babies, “Okay, fine… I’m calling Sir Franco right now.”
Cody went even more panicked as he heard that they were gonna contact their great-grandpa.
He silently prayed that their Mom would be okay. How were Candace and he gonna live if anything happened to their Mom?
Candace couldn’t make any sound at this point. She held Cristelle’s hand as she looked at her pale face. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
It was all her fault. She shouldn’t have gone to the narrow toilet.
Franco arrived in about 20 minutes, bringing a group of the city’s most famous snake venom experts.
Pop’s voice was trembling as he saw the two people lying in bed, “Yanni, you must do your best, please… you need to save them both. I’m begging you. I don’t want to lose Linford as well.”
Yanni gave Franco a hug, “Don’t worry, Pop. Linford is like a brother of mine. You know I’ll always try my best for him.”
****
Linford was the first one to wake up the next morning. He was a strong man, and the venom didn’t even get into his system too deep yet. He thus recovered faster than Cristelle.
“Cristelle… Where’s Cristelle?” The first thing Linford did was find Cristelle when he opened his eyes.
Yanni pressed him down onto his bed, “Don’t move. She’s been sent to the ICU. She’s still in a coma. You need to wait.”
Linford still got off the bed, “How long do I need to wait?”
Yanni couldn’t answer.
“I need to take a look at her, at least,” Linford left the room, and Yanni couldn’t even stop him. Linford saw Cody and Candace were looking through the window when he got there. He suddenly felt so heartbroken as he crouched down and pulled the babies in his arms. He tried to carry both of them. But when he stood up, he almost fell.
“You just woke up, Linford! You haven’t even recovered yet!” Yanni went forth to support him.
Cody didn’t struggle for the first time. He looked up and asked calmly, “When will Mom wake up?”
“Don’t worry. She’s waking up soon,” Linford answered gently. He didn’t even believe it himself.
Cody was a smart boy. He simply dropped his head and didn’t say anything.
Linford knew it was impossible to lie to Cody. He could only comfort his daughter as best as he could, “Mom’s just tired. She only needs to take a nap. When she wakes up, she can play with you guys again.”
Candace nodded. Her eyes were swollen from crying. But she had heard what Cody said. And she had decided not to cry anymore.
“Mr. Bradley, you’re finally up. I brought some food for the kids. Do you want to have some?”
“Just feed the kids first. Linford still can’t eat those things yet. My Mom just made some soup for him,” Yanni sighed before he turned to Linford, “Go see Pop first. He’s living next to your room. I bet he’s been up all night.”
Linford nodded, “I’ll be there soon.” Saying that, he grabbed a sandwich from the paper bag and handed it to Candace, “Here, honey. Have some.”
Candace shook her head. She didn’t want to eat anything.
Cody grabbed the sandwich and took a huge bite from it, “Candace, you’ve got to eat. If you don’t eat, Mom won’t wake up.”
The way the boy pretended to be tough broke Linford’s heart. He put a hand on Cody’s head, “You’re right, Cody. I’m so proud of you.”
Hearing that, Candace only started to eat immediately.
Linford felt more relaxed after making sure the babies had had their breakfast.