Augusta
Augusta sped down the road, trying to get Ray help as fast as the car would allow her. She couldn’t let him die.
“No hospitals, please,” he forced out. Augusta glanced back at him to make sure he was still alive.
“The hospital is the best way to get you help, and they’ll know just what to do,” she responded.
“No. We can’t ...” His voice trailed off. When Augusta looked back, his eyes were closed. Panic set in for a few moments before she realized that maybe he was just unconscious from blood loss. She hadn’t even thought about why he wouldn’t have wanted her to take him to a hospital until then. He was a shifter, and if she took him to get worked on, they’d find out.
He hadn’t gotten the chance to tell her where he wanted her to take him, and she needed to act fast. What could she do if he didn’t want a hospital?That’s it.
She flew down the road to her college friend Nicole’s house. She was a medical student who worked in a surgery residence. She would be able to help him and keep his secret.
She screeched to a halt in the driveway and dragged Ray up the cobblestone walkway to the enormous barn-red front door.
She knocked frantically. When there was no answer, she rang the doorbell repeatedly. Finally, she heard footsteps approaching. The door unlocked, and the heavy-duty hinges creaked open.
“Augusta? What’s going on? Are you—” Her eyes widened when she saw Ray on the ground. “What the fuck?”
“I’m sorry to barge in on you like this, but it is an emergency. My friend needs help.”
“Why didn’t you drive to the hospital?” Her eyes assessed him, her jaw dropping open. “He looks bad. Like ‘should be in an ambulance bad.’ I’ll call—”
“No!” She froze. “His injuries … He’s a shifter.”
Her friend let out a low whistle before sinking her teeth into her bottom lip. Slowly, she shook her head. “I don’t know anything about shifters. I’ve only heard of them.”
“I’m begging you. He’ll die without you.”
Nicole swallowed hard before nodding. “All right, I’ll see what I can do for you guys.”
Nicole stepped out to Ray on the porch. “How long has he been out?”
“Just a few minutes. He answered me, and suddenly he was gone.”
“Okay. Give me just a minute. I’ll be right back.”
Augusta shook her head as she grabbed Ray under the arms and hauled him over the threshold. At least the blood had stopped flowing freely. Augusta just hoped that didn’t mean he didn’t have any left in his body.
Nicole suddenly grabbed his arm. “This way.” The two maneuvered the dead weight into a little room that Nicole had set up. “Do I want to know why he’s naked?” she asked.
Augusta hadn’t even noticed, she was used to him this way. “It’s a shifter thing,” she replied.
Nicole didn’t say anything to that. “Let’s get him up on this table. I need to see what all the damage is so that I know where to begin.”
Nervousness consumed Augusta as she thought of what the wound could be. She hadn’t seen the extent of his injuries, so she wasn’t quite sure how bad off he was.
After getting Ray up on the table, Nicole draped a towel over his lower half. Worry spread across her face when she examined the damage. She looked up at Augusta.
“You should wait somewhere else. You don’t need to see this. I will do what I can, but I won’t lie to you. He’s in pretty rough shape,” Nicole said after she had seen the severity of his chest wound.
“No, I’ll be fine. I can help you. I don’t want to leave him,” she responded shakily.
“Augusta, I’m not asking. I’m telling you. You need to go, and this argument could be the difference between him living or dying. There’s a room down the hall. I will get you when I know anything.” She turned to the drawers with her tools.
Augusta didn’t want to slow Nicole down. Ray didn’t have much time, and she needed to work as fast as she could if he was going to have any chance of making it.
When she stepped into the guest room, she studied it for a few minutes trying to get her mind to focus on something other than what was happening in the room down the hall. She had no control over what was going on, and making herself sick with worry wasn’t going to do anyone any good.