Looking up from the magazine that she had been trying to read for the last hour as the waiting room door open, Joanne dropped the magazine on the chair beside her before she rose to her feet as the surgeon, still dressed in his operating scrubs, entered. Hurrying across to meet him halfway across the room, Joanne asked, anxiously, "How is he?"
"How about we take a seat," the surgeon suggested softly, tilting his head towards the chairs against the wall before he gently grabbed Joanne by her arm and led her back to the chair she had just vacated. Waiting until Joanne sat down before sitting down on the chair beside her and angling it towards her, the surgeon removed his surgical hat from his head and tugged the mask around his neck free, before clearing his throat as he prepared himself to deliver the heartbreaking news.
"Doctor Miller…Roy is okay, isn't he?" Joanne stared fearfully at the surgeon, her fear of losing Roy evident on her face as she found herself desperately begging, "Please, tell me…that he's made it through the surgery… he has, hasn't he?"
Nodding slowly, the surgeon began slowly, "Yes, he made it through surgery but I'm afraid that his condition has been downgraded from critical to critical and unstable." He waited a moment to allow Joanne a moment to digest what he had just told her before he continued gently. "Your husband was bleeding internally and when we went back in, we found a small tear in his intestine that we missed the first time we went in. We were able to repair it but unfortunately the small tear allowed some of the contents from his intestine to spill out and caused a massive infection which has passed into his bloodstream. We washed out as much of the contamination as we could and have started him on massive doses of antibiotics to try and control the infection but I'm afraid-"
"It might not be enough." Joanne whispered, her face draining of color, as she unconsciously reached for Johnny's hand only to remember that he was not there, Johnny was missing.
Miller nodded slowly before he asked gently, "I understand that your husband's catholic?"
Joanne nodded woodenly. "He…umm… I mean, well neither of us are really practising Catholics. I mean, we go to church on Sundays but…"
The surgeon nodded in understanding, "I don't think that will matter at all. Would you like me to contact a priest?"
Staring at the doctor in confusion, it took several long seconds before Joanne realized what he was asking. Unable to stop herself from shaking as her world fell apart around her, Joanne wrapped her arms around herself as she managed another weak nod.
Gently squeezing Joanne's arm, the surgeon nodded, "I will give our local priest a call and tell him what's happening. Is there anyone one else I can call to come and stay with you?"
Joanne shook her head. "I'm okay," she lied, forcing herself to brush away her tears. She had to stay strong, not only for Roy but for Johnny as well. She couldn't risk losing Johnny as well just because she wanted someone to be by her side, instead of letting them search for him. Taking a deep shuddering breath, she looked at the surgeon and asked, "Can … can I see him?"
Gently squeezing her arm, a little tighter, Miller nodded, "Of course you can. He should be settled back in his room by now, I will take you to him."
E!E!E!E!E!
Blinking away the tears of pain as he stumbled into the protection of the trees, Johnny paused for a minute, hugging his right arm closely to his chest as he looked around, trying to find somewhere to hide. Behind him he could hear the two hunters laughing and high fiving each other. Looking back towards the stream as the voices came closer, he could see little through the dim light of the forestry and the heavily falling rain.
Turning back, he desperately looked around again. Spotting a dark hole amongst the ferns as he heard the voices coming closer, he dove into it, landing on his injured shoulder as he slid down the small, waterlogged bank. Coming to a stop in a water filled ditch hidden beneath the ferns, he rested his head on his arm and closed his eyes, taking several shuddering deep breaths as the world around him faded to grey and his stomach threatened to rebel as his arm and back throbbed with an intensity that he had never felt before. Hearing voices coming closer somewhere above him, he forced himself to open his eyes and looked up through the curtain of ferns above him.
He froze as he saw the two men stop and study the rain-soaked ground and the wet undergrowth around them near the ditch in which he was hiding before they turned away and began to curse the rain and complained to each other about how it was washing away the Injun's blood trial and tracks as they proceeded to move further on, still searching for a sign that he was still somewhere ahead of them. Releasing his breath, he waited until the two men moved out of sight before he began to wriggle backwards through the water filled ditch as quickly and quietly as he could until he was satisfied that it was safe enough to get to his feet. Ignoring the dizziness, light-headedness, and the warm wetness that he could feel trickling down his back and the back of his leg, he turned and rose unsteadily to his feet. Clutching his arm tightly to his chest, he began to follow the ditch, slipping and sliding in the water that flowed around his ankles as he hobbled back towards the stream, desperate to put as much distance as he could between him and the two men by using the rain to cover his tracks before the rain stopped.
Reaching the edge of the stream, he was surprised with just how fast the water had risen in just the last few minutes because of the heavy rain. He hesitated and stared at the now strong flowing current and the fast-swirling eddies that now flowed over the flat rock before he looked across at the other bank. Maybe ... if he could get across to the other side of the stream...
Looking back at the swirling water before he turned and looked over his shoulder, he sighed, deciding that he had no other choice as he turned back and stepped unsteadily back into the swirling maelstrom of the freezing, fast flowing water as he began to head towards the safety of the other bank.
E!E!E!E!E!
Kneeling, Jesse frowned as he stared at the undisturbed ground before he looked up and studied the vegetation that surrounded them. He had expected that some of the signs that the Injun had passed by this way to have been washed away by the heavy rain but there were no tracks at all. There were no upturned rocks, no broken blades of grass or broken fern fronds, in fact, there was nothing at all to indicate that their victim had even passed this way. "The damn Injun has managed somehow to give us the slip." Jesse sighed as he rose to his feet and looked around again.
Adjusting his rifle on his shoulder, his partner turned and stared back in the direction they had just come. "He's a cunning one, I'll give him that. I'm willing to bet that he somehow managed to circle back on us and he is headed back towards the stream." Looking back at Jesse, he chuckled, unable to resist some light teasing that he knew would get a rise out of the younger man, "Maybe you didn't wing him both times as well as you thought you did."
"I winged him! I winged him just enough to slow him down but keep the hunt interesting!" Jesse huffed as he took off his hat and after wiping the rain from his face, peered through the twilight light of the forestry surrounding them, back in the direction that they had just come. Shoving his hat back down hard on his head, he shouldered roughly past his hunting buddy as he began to hurry back in the direction that they had just come, noisily pushing through the undergrowth, as he growled in annoyance, "Come on, before he makes it back to the stream and we lose him again."
Cedric shook his head as he ran to catch up, "Relax, will ya, and slow down! And for Christ sake, stop making so much Goddamn noise! Even if he does make it back to the stream, there's no way he's going to make it to the other side. With all this rain, the stream is going to be too swollen for him to attempt to cross back over. He's trapped on this side. There's no way he's going to be able to get away, especially if it keeps raining like this. So just relax and enjoy the hunt, will ya!"
E!E!E!E!E!
Following Chet through the thick undergrowth, Marco could hear the sound of rushing water growing closer. "Are you sure this is the direction the shot come from?" he asked breathlessly, over the noise of the heavy rain.
"Positive!" Chet called back over his shoulder as he continued to push his way through the thick wet ferns and low hanging branches. "I'm sure it come from somewhere up ahead!"
Marco paused, trying to catch his breath, as he glanced down at his watch, lifting his arm closer to his face in an attempt to see the hands in the fading light. They had less than two hours of sunlight left, even less if the heavy rain had settled in. And even if they did find Johnny, the chances were that they would have to make camp for the night, it would be almost impossible to find their way back to the car in the dark.
"Johnny!"
Marco looked up as he heard Chet's shout and he ran to catch up with his friend, catching up with him, just as Chet pushed through the branches and ferns that lined the now fast flowing and swollen stream. He gasped with surprise as he saw the familiar figure in the middle of the stream, battling the strong torrent of swiftly rising water.
E!E!E!E!E!
Roughly breaking off the blood stained, crushed fern frond, Jesse glared down into the dark recesses of the ditch that was half hidden in the fading light by the screen of ferns. Looking back up at Cedric, he sighed as he handed him the blood-stained frond before rising to his feet. "The blood's still tacky on the bottom side of the leaves. You right, he probably dove into the ditch when he heard us coming and is trying to make his way back to the stream."
The older man nodded as he pushed the ferns covering the ditch apart and studied the water at the bottom of the shallow hollow before releasing the ferns and looking back across at his hunting buddy. "With the amount of water down there, it would have made it slow going for him. So, I doubt that he's gotten too far ahead. I am willing to bet we can cut him off before he reaches the stream." Tilting his head towards Jesse's rifle, he suggested, "Maybe you could even give him some gentle persuasion to stay on this side of the stream if he decides to try and cross it."
"A couple of well-placed shots should do the trick, maybe even another round in the shoulder, or maybe his side, if he doesn't take the hint." Jesse grinned as he turned and hurried towards the sound of the rushing water.
E!E!E!E!E!E!
Johnny gasped in shock as he took another step into the rushing water. The water which had only came up to his waist only half an hour before, now reached his chest and was rising, threatening to topple him beneath its churning surface with every step he took. Struggling to stay on his feet, he turned and looked over his shoulder, searching for any sign of his tormentors.
"Johnny!"
He thought he heard the faint call of his name over the heavy rain and the rushing water around him. Turning back towards the other bank, he squinted, trying to see through the heavy sheets of rain. He stared in surprise as two familiar looking figures emerged from the tree line. "Chet! Marco!" he breathed with relief as he quickly took a small, unsteady step towards them.
He wasn't sure if he lost his footing on the slippery rocks beneath his feet, if his wounded leg had finally given out beneath him or if the rushing water had finally managed to knock him off his feet, but whatever had happened he was now trapped beneath the water. Tumbling and sliding against the stream's rocky surface, he tried desperately to regain his footing. He managed to get his head above water long enough to be able to take a gasp half a breath of air before he was violently pulled under again.
"Johnny!" Chet yelled in horror as he saw Johnny trip and disappear beneath the swiftly flowing water. Quickly shrugging out of his backpack and dropping it onto the ground he waded out as fast as he could into the freezing fast flowing water. Diving in when the water reached his hips, he began to swim, allowing the current to help propel him towards Johnny as he saw Johnny's head and arm appear momentarily above the water before disappearing again beneath the swirling maelstrom ahead of him.
E!E!E!E!E
Reaching the edge of the forest, Jesse came to a sudden stop just within the protection of the trees, quickly lifting his rifle as he began to carefully line up his target in the middle of the stream as he whispered, "Got him. He's trying to make it across to the other side."
Stepping, so he was standing shoulder to shoulder with Jesse, Cedric stared at the Injun and shook his head. It never ceased to amaze him just how much desperation would cause a man to take the most dangerous and wildest chances to escape when they were being hunted, foolish chances that they would normally shy away from. It was that reason that made hunting a man far more interesting and exciting than hunting any other animal. That and when the human prey realized that escape was just an impossible dream, the different attempts they would inevitably try to make to turn the tables on the hunter.
A muffled shout above the loud roar of the water and the heavy rain, yanked Cedric out of his momentary musings and he stared in surprise as two men, carrying heavy backpacks, unexpectedly emerged from the tree line on the other bank and called out to the Injun in the middle of the stream.
He frowned. The two men were definitely not your run of the mill, everyday hikers who had just accidentally stumbled into the hunt, they knew the paramedic by name. They had to be cops looking for their prey.
Quickly pushing the barrel of Jesse's rifle down in a silent order for Jesse not to take his shot. He waited until Jesse lowered his gun and looked up at him in annoyance as Jesse asked, "What the Hell?" before he pointed out the two figures on the other bank.
"Do you think they're cops?" Jesse whispered, squinting in an attempt to get a better look.
"Yeah, they're cops all right, I can smell them from here."
"Just how the Hell did they even know he was here?" Jesse growled in a combination of confusion and anger.
"Doesn't matter how, they're here now! And there ain't no way I'm gunna let them leave here alive anyway!" Cedric hissed softly as his attention quickly returned to the man in the middle of the flooded stream just as the wounded paramedic slipped and disappeared beneath the swirling water.
Returning his attention to the two men on the other bank, he grinned as one of the men quickly shrugged off his heavy backpack and rushed into the water in a desperate attempt to save his drowning friend. Watching the two men in the water disappear around the bend of the flooded stream while their companion grabbed the dumped backpack off the ground and tried to follow, slipping, and sliding along the slippery back, Cedric turned and slapped Jesse on the back, laughing with, as they stepped out of the shelter of the trees and onto the bank, "Well, Jess, looks like this hunt just got a whole lot more challenging and fun! It's just been upgraded from just hunting one sneaky Injun paramedic to also now hunting two of his cop friends as well."