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Chapter 12 ~ Painful Decisions

Anastay didn’t realize that she was home until she carried the wolf into her living room. It was as if her body were awake and her soul asleep. Her arms were crying out from the weight of the beast. She let the sheet collapse onto the floor as it slipped from her hands. Anastay sunk to the floor against the wall, breathing heavily. She was so thankful that she had found something to put the animal in.

She listened to the quiet breathing of the animal, tuning her ears into her surroundings. At least the beast was alive, which was all she could really be proud of now. Her mind swirled with questions about his nature, but she needed to heal the animal. Anastay pushed herself to her feet and dashed into her closet to snatch the first aid kit. She was thankful she kept one in her home. It held all the necessary supplies as if it were her clinic. However, she had no idea what she could possibly do for the animal – but she had to try.

She reached her living room and hit her knees. She felt a shot of pain tremble on her knees, but ignored it. Quickly, she snapped her kit open and spilled the contents onto the floor. She shakily slipped the latex gloves onto her small hands. Then she hurriedly swept her hands over several supplies, causing the pile to disperse on the floor as she searched for the scissors. When they were located, she snatched them as if they were golden. Nervously, she began to cut away the sheet from the animal.

“Please don’t let it be bad. Please – oh – God,” Anastay heaved as she took in the full sight of the animal. The sheet was stained with bright ruby splashes of color, obviously tainted with the animal’s blood.

Her stomach heaved at the putrid smell coming from the beast’s body. The skin was deteriorating on his hind leg. The flesh looked to be rotting from the bone up. Chunks of green flesh boiled and festered within the crimson blood as the ends of each tissue turned a violent black. She felt ill as she tried to gather her wits.

Managing to contain the elements of her stomach, she noted the deep gash in flank. She took a heavy breath, gently pushing one finger into the gash – it went further than her knuckle. She hissed at the own burning in her body as she watched the blood continually ooze from the flesh wound. She had to do something or the creature would be obsolete.

Anastay adjusted her stethoscope onto her ears. She eased the cold metal onto the beast’s chest. She searched for its heartbeat. She observed that its eyes had already rolled into the back of its skull. She couldn’t recollect what she could possibly to do help the beast. An animal body was different from a human, but not that diverse. She couldn’t find the heart.

“Come on, where’s your heart. Damn it! Come on! Where are you? Let’s go,” Anastay begged for the sound. She felt like her own life was slipping from her fingertips. She found it hard to breath as the temperature soared in her body. She struggled to concentrate. Just one beat, that was all she needed.

“Thank you, Lord!” she cried out in surprise as she found it. Only, it wasn’t that strong. Faintly it ticked, but it was there. She could feel the heat radiating off the animal’s body. Anastay felt her fingers scorch from the light pressure of the beast’s sweaty skin.

Anastay knew she was faced with a decision to make. The animal was loosing blood faster than he could handle. He would bleed before the sun broke into the dark sky. The infection was also a problem. The wound needed flushed out and antibiotics administered. She had to break the fever. Tissue damage seemed to go deeper than she liked. It wouldn’t be able to heal itself.

The animal needed surgery, and she was the only one to do it. Anastay felt her breath quicken at the thought of taking the animal to town. She didn’t know why, but she feared taking the animal to her practice. The whole town seemed to fear the invasion of a wolf, and she wanted to save it?

Decisions. She took a deep breath as Taco came yipping down the stairs. He was calling for her. Anastay didn’t respond, so Taco continued. He stopped at the door and growled, noticing the dark animal. Anastay groaned as Taco began to growl and bark. Taco became possessive and exposed his teeth to the invader.

The wolf didn’t respond to Taco’s yipping.

“Taco!” she scolded. She couldn’t face the annoyance of her dog much longer. She had so many things to decide is such a short amount of time. She needed to think and Taco wasn't helping. Scared at Anastay's rough tone, Taco whimpered as he put his head down.

“Try to save him, or let him die?” Anastay asked herself quietly. She didn’t even know if the operation would save the animal. He might just be a lost cause. The fever in his body was a sign of infection, and the injury might be too severe for him to even try to walk again. He would never survive in the perilous swamps.

Anastay felt a pain of guilt. There was something so familiar about this creature. It seemed like the animal had been watching her all along. She blinked in comprehension. This was the animal that had come to her house before, and she was sure she had seen him. He had been the same creature in the roses that caused her to cut herself. How did he know that she would be lurking about the mansion? Was it a sign for her to save him? Could he have saved her before?

“Help,” Anastay whispered as the voices returned to her head, stronger than ever. The voices drummed in her ears like the falling of grains of sand in an hourglass. Her decision grew deadlier as each grain of sand fell from the top and hit the glass with a snap – like a cruel laugh from death.