They Will Run You Down

Sixteen: Alliances

Edvin carried Harley across the street, cutting through yards to get to the hospital quickly and John followed closely behind, worried and still stewing over what'd happened.

Harley felt strongly that John and Edvin were making too much of a fuss over a stupid bite and she thought it was ridiculous that they were rushing her to the doctor, as if she might die at any moment. She'd been bitten hours ago, after all, and the wound wasn't going anywhere, so why the hurry?

"This is stupid," she grumbled as Edvin galantly whisked her up the street.

In quick succession, Edvin playfully jolted and dropped her down a couple of inches, yelling, "Oh!" and scaring Harley into believing she was going to fall to the ground. She squeaked and instinctively latched her arms around his neck.

Edvin chuckled and smiled brightly, "See, you don't really want down," he teased.

"Bugger!" Harley growled as she began to squirm and push herself away from Edvin in protest. But he held her even tighter, "Oh stop, we're almost there," he laughed.

Agrivated, Harley crossed her arms and lowered her head, waiting for the ride to be over.

As they neared the hospital, Ben could be seen rushing up the sidewalk toward them.

"Is she okay?" He asked worriedly as he met up with the them at the entrance.

"I'm fine," Harley rolled her eyes.

"Right leg. She was bitten," John added.

"May I?" Ben asked Harley to see her wound.

Harley sighed and raised her leg a little so he could take a look.

"Follow me," Ben instructed, as John opened the glass door for everyone to pass through.

Ben led all three of them to the same operating room that John had gone under the knife in only a day before. It was a circular room, full of machines and gadgets, and in the center was a gurney, waiting for its next patient.

Edvin carried Harley over to the gurney, and rolled her down his arms in such a way that she landed on top of it on her tummy.

"Thank you, Edvin," Ben said as he scurried around the room collecting supplies to treat Harley's wound.

Harley propped herself up on her elbows, "That'll be all, Tarzan," she uttered sarcastically.

Suddenly looking very serious, Edvin pounded his chest once with his fist, "Tarzan leave before Jane throw defibrillator"

Ben and John stopped what they were doing for a moment to give Edvin a confused look, neither having heard what Harley had just said.

He furrowed his brow, pounded his chest once more and grunted before leaving the room.

Harley stifled a smile and shook her head as Ben wheeled a cart over to the gurney.

"How old is the bite, Harley?" He asked as he prepared to clean the wound.

"Couple hours," she replied disinterested.

John pulled a chair over to Harley's bedside and took a seat, slouching and crossing his arms. He was a storm of fury, guilt and concern, but he did his best to hide it.

Harley rested her head in her arm and watched John for a moment, "Where were you this morning?"

"I woke up early, shoulder was bugging me, and Rebel was trying to wake you, so I figured I'd let you sleep and took him for a walk. Ended up bumping into Robby and he brought me to meet Max, the kid who shot me, so he could apologize. Then we ran into some of the town's people I hadn't met yet and they all wanted to stand around and chat, then Sarah and her mom came over, and Sarah wanted to play with Rebel," John paused and sighed, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you alone," he explained as he compulsively scratched the side of his cheek.