But life had other plans...
At midnight, a crimson pickup truck screeched over the speckled lawn of Tommy A. Peters, rear wheels shredding the earth and whipping debris into the walls of a white-wood cabin. The world fell silent as the red beast sputtered in death, its damages too great for it to continue on. But not for its holders; from the second it ceased time was of the essence. And, if today's terrible luck was proof of anything, they couldn't risk letting it linger any longer.
Slamming the doors shut, Click and Jameson rushed to the back where the white indoraptor laid, terror glooming in the eyes. Their fears only magnified; a blood-like froth was collecting at Seven's maw, spilling across the metal frame of the trunk. Her body was heaving and jerking, too, lungs gagging on the fatal venom oozing out the thorns.
"That's not good."
Click swallowed heavily, then turned to his friend. "Okay, I need you to ease her to the ground and take the thorns out. There's a button in the back of the trunk to help-"
"What are you doing?"
"There's a first aid kit in the house," Click tapped the trunk twice. "I'm going to grab it, I'll be quick!"
"Will that work? She's not-"
"I know what she's not," Click suddenly growled. "And I don't care, just help her!"
"But, Tom-"
He couldn't finish, Click was already limping back toward the cabin. Through a snort, he reared up with his bad leg and kicked the front door wide open with the other. Click fumbled inside with a gasp (he didn't expect to be that strong), fingers clasping to the nearby countertop for assistance. No time. Blinking back into focus, the male hurried past the kitchen and into the first bathroom, frantically swinging the first cabinet open and throwing his hands across any box he could find. Aspirin, Benadryll, Clorox, Ibuprofen -- so many items and drugs for a human to take, but nothing close to what he sought.
"W-Where is it?" Click gasped, throwing ointments and medicine all over the ground. No use. He slammed the mirror-door shut and rushed to another cabinet, fingers fiddling through all he had. Another thirty seconds -- another failed find. Cursing aloud, Click hobbled out the bathroom doors and into his bedroom, falling before his Marine Corps camo backpack and diving in. He threw everything into the air; clothes, gear, gadgets, and more, until his nails clipped into something white; a box with a massive red '+' on it.
"Oh!"
Click ripped it out of hiding and broke the kit wide open; he hadn't a care of its condition. Both eyes took in its hidden treasures -- scissors, tape, glue, anti-bacterial wipes -- everything was in there.
Almost everything.
He sifted through each tab of gear and medicine, breath growing heavier and needier with time. Just a few seconds in and he was already in fear of never finding it. Until suddenly, the last dive into the emptiness of the rear-pocket uncovered just what he needed: a white bottle of CroFab hidden beneath a silver glove. Antivenom. He didn't know if it'd work on an indoraptor, but it was a start. He shut the broken box to bring, extracting only the bottle (and a needle that bonded to its end), then limped out the closet to the sink in his kitchen. He kept a fully-charged AED there -- defibrillators, just in case. They worked well on humans.
Maybe it could help.
Click stumbled back outside, nearly collapsing into the wall due to his leg injury. The blood was expanding across his jeans, as were his pain, but that didn't matter to him. Click forged on, dropping everything to the ground beside Jameson and Seven, who now had a fair collection of black spikes in his hands, and filtered the utensils by importance.
"CroFab?"
"It'll work."
"That's for snake bites-"
"I-It'll work!"
No point in arguing I guess, Jameson huffed, gazing between the needle and Click, hopeless in the eyes. But he didn't speak this time. He waited. He watched. Alas, that's all he could do when his friend took the reins of this growing nightmare, and failed to listen to him. All that was left was a faint sense of hope that he'll save her.
If only he understood what Henry meant months earlier.
Click gazed slightly over at Seven's twitching body, then back to the CroFab in his shaking hands. But he didn't hesitate; the needle sank into the cork-like top with ease, drinking up a semi-clear liquid into the chamber up to a few milliliters.
But then it hit. That fear. That worry. The smallest hint of hesitation in his eyes as he lifted that vial of liquid to the air. They drifted to Jameson's orbs, frozen. Afraid. Not a word was spoken. Not even a sound.
And then, after sharing a look of guilt between each other, Click finally exhaled and lowered the needle toward Seven's artery at the base of her neck. The pointed end sank deep into her pale scales, dimpling the flesh.
And in went the anti-venom.
Click discarded the needle quickly, motioning to Seven's jerking snout and holding it tight, feeling her body quake as the venom ravished her body. He clutched her like a forbidden prize -- all he was working off of was a false belief, a gut-felt instinct to a seemingly impossible promise. Luck needed to be on his side tonight more than anything else. He hoped God gave him a chance, just one.
"Easy girl..." Click whimpered, stroking her snout. "I'm h-here... Easy..."
Seven gurgled and twitched, a soft groan escaping her jaws, tail flailing from behind. Click continued to reassure his friend, easing her rattling spikes and patting her cheek bone.
"It's okay," he whispered quietly. "You're going to be okay, girl. You're-"
Seven jolted once more, then fell still.
"Going go be..." Click parted his maw, easing his grip on the indoraptor's head with confusion. Her spikes weren't raised anymore. Nor did her tail lash and jolt, it was as silent as she was. A curious Jameson motioned a finger to her underbelly, feeling the base where her heart would be. His eyes widened.
"Tom..."
"No. N-No, there's-" he stopped short as Click checked, pressing a hand deep into her torso where Jameson checked. Nothing. Not even a thump. Click shook his head in sharp denial.
"No. N-No, that's just the anti-venom."
James didn't say a word. He was too shocked to try.
"No.... n-no, she's okay, James..." Click bobbed his head more vigorously than before. "S-She always makes it. She always d-does, right?!"
Jameson pursed his lips, gazing down at Seven's body. Nothing again. For a brief second, Click almost took Jameson's reaction to heart, just before his inner anguish pushed it away with a snarl."
"It's just the anti-venom-"
"S-She's not breathing."
"She'll make it, James! Come on, girl!" Click shook Seven's head slightly, eyes beginning to water, "you always come back-"
"Tom-"
"-just come back to me, okay?!"
"Just, take a God-damned second to listen to me! It didn't work!"
Without thinking, Click lunged for the AED, frantically ripping it open. He was crying now, the littlest tears were fumbling down his pink cheek and splattering onto Seven's snout. Still, Click kept fighting the truth, despite how clear Jameson was making it to be. After whirring the red machine to life, Tom raced through the instructions, then reached for an Intravenous Oxygen Capsule, a little microtube to pass liquid oxygen to the unconscious raptor. Just a short injection later, Tom placed the first few gauge pads of the AED against Seven's torso, and two extras against her spine for the charge to pass through. Jameson slipped backward to lean against the damaged truck, watching with miserable eyes at Click's futile attempt to save her last living love.
'ANALYZING...' The machine croaked, beeps and clicks echoing from the inner workings of the machine. Click stepped back, awaiting the final say of the machine as it scanned her heart... nothing happened for a few seconds. Then-
"NO SHOCK ADVISED."
Click's stomach lurched. He tried the machine a second time, hoping for a different result.
"NO SHOCK ADVISED."
Cursing aloud, his fingers raced to the machine's 'Shock' button, and spam-pressed the first take, regardless of its implications. The machine gurgled in acceptance to his order, a soft whirring noise echoing from the device. Out of the silence came a pop, then something like a zap in the air. Seven's body twitched. But nothing else happened.
"Tom she's-"
"She's okay!" he cried, trying again. The machine growled, electrifying the dinosaur's body once more. Nothing.
"C'mon!" He pressed it again. Another fail.
A fourth.
A fifth.
Her heart still wasn't beating.
"WAKE UP!"
Several attempts went by. Click wept on and on, continuing to challenge his anguish as Jameson watched. And then, on the tenth try, Click snapped. Cursing aloud, he whipped his right arm across the ground, flipping the first aid kit all across the ground. It happened so suddenly, Jameson flinched hard when it happened and bowed his head. Stumbling to the side of the red truck, Click raised his hands to the top of his head, too stunned to speak. He gasped for air, shaking his head wildly and trying not to look. But he couldn't help it.
"N-No." He sniveled heavily, rounding around the debris to look upon Seven. Jameson looked up to him, inhaling quietly.
"I'm so sorry, Tom."
"Not again..." Click fell onto his knees. Bowing his head, Click dug his fingers into Seven's stilled scales, holding onto her for as long as he could before his noggin bumped against her flank. "God not again..."
And his stomach lurched. Hard.
"I didn't mean it..." Click sobbed, frantically nudging my limp scales. "I didn't mean to leave you, I swear..."
Click faltered mid-sentence, squeezing his eyes as hard as he could. So close... but not close enough. She was right there... just like all the others.
And, with little hope left in his heart, Click broke into a terrible sob.
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