Page 82 of Bones
She laughed, her dark curls bouncing. “I’m heading home. I’ll see you two later.”
Trey gave her a wave. After the door shut behind her, silence fell but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Trey focused on cleaning his gun. The few kids upstairs whispered to each other. A cheerful fire crackled in the wood stove, bathing the spotless clinic in a warm orange light.
The comforting feeling ofhomehit me straight in the heart.
You know better,Wolf said, but he sounded a little quieter than normal.
It’d been almost two weeks since Madame last summoned me to the dungeon. I could pretend that wasn’t a part of my life. I could pretend that this was my home, where I wanted to be, that Trey?—
I shoved those thoughts back down. I didn't have the luxury of indulging in silly fantasies. Zip would be back soon, and Madame would summon me any day. That was the reality of my life and pretending anything different would just make it hurt worse when it got taken away.
* * *
The loggers came back a week later, several teams of large horses hauling giant logs. I didn't see Zip for a few days still, as they continued to work chopping and distributing the wood. When someone burst through the door five days after the loggers got back, I assumed it was Zip. I turned from where I stood by the stove with a pit in my stomach, but it wasn't him. It was the partner of one of the other loggers, his face panicked.
“Silver’s sick,” he blurted out. “Been sick since he got back, but it’s gettin’ worse. Can you come, Doc?”
I nodded, grabbing the med kit I'd put together. Trey waited outside and immediately took the heavy bag from me as we walked through the snow. Silver's partner, Marsh, walked so fast I had to trot to keep up. The temperature barely changed between outside and inside as we entered, the ramshackle walls doing almost nothing to keep the cold out. Inside, their shack reminded me of Zip's, but more furnished. Silver lay on a pile of furs, his normally tan face pale. His breathing sounded more like a gurgle. I made my way to his side and Trey followed so he could set the med kit down next to me.
“Silver?” I asked. “Can you hear me?”
His eyes stayed on the ceiling, unfocused.
“How long has he been like this?” I asked Marsh.
“He wasn’t feelin’ great this morning, but when I came home from workin’ he was like this.”
I took Silver’s vitals with my worn instruments, my stomach churning with dread. A person declining that fast meant a serious illness. I laid my hands on Silver’s sweaty shoulders and let my power flow into him.
It felt…off.I frowned as I continued to channel that warmth into him. Slowly his color came back, and his eyes focused on me, but it took a lot more effort than it should have. I kept going until his breathing sounded normal again. When I let go, my hands shook, and getting to my feet took an unusual amount of effort. I'd just finished packing up my med kit when Apple came running through the door.
“Bones, there’s a bunch of people sick,” she gasped. “Got at least five people asking you to come.”
Fuck.
Dawn broke before I stumbled back to the clinic. This sickness was spreading so fast. The kids had been bringing me messages and summons all day, and I was barely keeping my head above the water. I wanted to keep going, but Trey had threatened to throw me over his shoulder and carry me back if I didn’t take a break to sleep.
“Just a couple hours of sleep, alright?” Trey said, my med kit hefted over his shoulder. “Then you can head back out.”
I nodded, too exhausted to argue.
As we entered the clinic, the sound of labored breathing and rattling coughs reached us, and I darted up the ladder to the loft. A little boy named Cloud met me at the top of the ladder, his eyes huge and scared.
“They were ok at dinner,” he whispered.
I sank beside the closest one, placing my hands on the little boy's thin shoulders as Trey crouched beside me.
“Are you feeling ok, Cloud?” Trey asked.
“Yeah.” Cloud’s voice trembled. “Am I gonna get sick too?”
“If you get sick, I’ll heal you,” I said. “You’re gonna be ok.”
He nodded, but he still looked scared. The sick boy finally took a breath without wheezing and opened his eyes.
“Miss Bones?” he whimpered.
“It’s just Bones,” I murmured. “You’re ok. You got sick, but I’m healing you.”
