YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! (confetti) We finally get a Review Reply thingy! I guess it was bound to happen eventually. Anyway, now this means I can just reply personally to all my wonderful readers! But I'd still like to give a shout-out to ReddistheRose, my number one JN reader, and quietthinker, who is totally cool! And the rest of y'all, I LOVE YOOOOU! All right, next chapter! Please review!
Chapter 8: A Tight, Sticky Spot
Jimmy led his friends in a frantic run through the jungle; he and Cindy had the luxury of knowing every square inch of this island. Alex didn't. The others didn't either, but they sure remembered their terrifying encounter the last time they were there. And if Jimmy was right (which he is 85 of the time)...
"Gas planets!" he cursed himself, "What was I thinking, letting her go alone?"
"But Goddard's with her, isn't he?" Libby yelled, carrying Jamal, "He went with her, didn't he?" As if in answer, Goddard came crashing through the underbrush with Alex in tow, wrapped in a spider-type cocoon with only her feet and head out. Goddard bee-lined on a sharp left ahead of everyone, headed toward where the pond would be.
"RUUUUUUUUUUUUN!" Alex's voice dragged as Goddard pulled her out of harm's way at top speed. Looking to his left where Goddard had come out, Jimmy heard before he saw the giant spider crashing every tree in its path.
"FOLLOW THE DOG!" he screamed, grabbing Cindy's hand. They ran in Goddard's direction. Cindy saw Libby getting tired, so she quickly took Jamal, and Sheen grabbed her arm and kept her going.
Finally, they reached the pond where Goddard had just gotten Alex out of the cocoon with his laser vision.
"JIMMY!" she reached into her coat, "SHOOT THIS AT IT! IT'S POISON!" Before he could take the poison from her, though, a huge tree was heard falling and it came crashing onto the giant spider. Everyone jumped away.
When everything stopped, the kids were very confused.
"Okay," Cindy panted, putting Jamal down, "What...just happened here?" She held Jamal's hand tightly; he did NOT need to be anywhere near the dead creature. They heard a moan and a rustling in the branches.
"Sheen, help me!" Alex ran to the fallen tree. Sheen followed her to the movement and uncovered a woman in a tight black suit.
"Of course," Alex said fatalistically, "Why am I not surprised?" She and Sheen carefully lifted her up. She was alive, but badly hurt.
"Jimmy!" Alex yelled, "Look who's here!" Needless as it is to say, the woman they just rescued and were now half-carrying, half-dragging to the pond was Beautiful Gorgeous. On their way back, Alex grabbed up some palm leaves.
"Careful," she said. She lay her on the leaves by the pond. Beautiful Gorgeous was breathing worse than Cindy had. She had a shard of a helicopter blade in her side. Alex held up her doctor's case.
"Do you want me to help you?" she asked seriously, "Do you want to live?" (I know it's kind of a dumb question, but it just sounded profound.)
"That's," she let out in small breaths, "What...I'm here...for...isn't it? Please..." she couldn't say anymore.
"Don't worry," Alex said, readying a new cloth of ether, "I'll try and help you." She covered BG's face (mouth and nose) with the cloth, and the spy fell limp.
"Jimmy," she tossed him her stethoscope, "I need you now. This is much worse than a gunshot wound. Keep track of her heart rate for me, would you? Write on whatever you have to, but keep her here."
Even with all the things he'd done to help his enemies, Jimmy had never imagined something like this. He was amazed sometimes at Alex's medical dedication. She was truly an example of being prepared. ("You never know," she once said, "when you'll be in a situation where it's life or death. If you're not prepared, you or someone else is screwed.")
Jimmy put on the stethoscope and turned his attention to Beautiful Gorgeous.
"My gosh," Alex whispered after she'd taken out the blade piece, "Two of her ribs are broken. I'll have to bridge them together." They were only a couple of centimeters apart, so Alex, after applying (once again) some artificial marrow to the ends, had Carl and Sheen gently push them together. In minutes, like Cindy's leg, the ribs were reattached. After that, Alex had them sit BG up so she could run some rubbing alcohol over the wound. After she dabbed that up, Alex stitched up the side.
"She'll still be weak for a while," she announced, "This was close to a fatal injury, and she's lost a lot of blood. How's her heart, Jim?" He gave her a thumbs-up.
"Good," she sighed. She then gathered her things.
"Goddard," she asked, "Could you boil some water for me?" (Out of 11 million and 4 things, certainly he can boil a pot of water.)
"Bark, bark!" he made a pot out his back and scooped some water out of the pond. After sterilizing and replacing her tools, Alex washed the blood off her hands. Jamal approached her.
"Doctor Alex," he quietly asked, "Why did you help that lady? She hurt Cindy! She's scary and bad! Why did you save her?" Alex sat on her heels and fixed her gaze on the child.
"I guess it's just the doctor within me," she touched his head, "that says it doesn't matter who it is. When someone's hurt, it's every doctor's responsibility to try to help them. Do you understand?"
"I think so," he nodded. She smiled.
"Good," she said. She then went to her spider web cocoon and cut away some of the web with her pocket knife and wrapped it tightly around BG's hands.
"She may be a patient," she said, "but she's still dangerous." Everyone agreed.
"Let's get her back to the beach," Jimmy said, "I still have to fix the hovercar." They made a hammock out of tree vines and put palm leaves down for cushioning. Alex made sure they made her comfortable. They carefully carried her back through the trees on a safer trail that Jimmy and Cindy knew. Once they secured her, (they tethered her forearms to a tree root with vines) Cindy and Jamal kept eyes on her while the others helped Jimmy with the hovercar.
Author's Review:
Guys: I am SO sorry I took so long! It's just that I've been busy with school, work, etc. Plus, the radio's playing Christmas music now, so I'm more enslaved to the radio than ever! XD Anyway, what did y'all think of it? Good? Bad? Whatever? Review, please!