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.
"Ah, no worries, mate. I'm fine," Harley assured as she reached out and punched John's good arm.
John shook his head and gave her a weak smile.
"Harley I'm going to clean the wound now, okay? It might sting a little," Ben warned.
"Have atter, doc," Harley replied.
○●○
After Harley's leg was cleaned and patched up, Ben noticed the red, thread stitches on the back of her head and offered to remove those while he was at it. Harley had forgotten all about them and accepted Ben's offer.
Ben brought Harley to her own room and hooked her up to an IV bag of antibiotic solution to fend off infection. John stuck close by, being even more overprotective with her than he had been before, if that was even possible.
They sat quietly together for a few minutes before they heard a knock on the door.
The pair looked up in unison to see Edvin poke his head in, "I come bearing gifts," He declared as he stepped into the room.
In one hand, Edvin held a basket of apples and oranges, and in the other he held a very sleepy looking Rebel.
"One is a sorry gift and the other is a peace offering. You can decided which is which," Edvin smiled as he handed Rebel to Harley, who had her arms stretched out for him before Edvin even got to the bed.
Harley checked Rebel over, making sure he was unharmed and not sticky.
Edvin walked around the bed and handed the basket of fruit to John, who accepted it with a smile and a nod.
"So, I hope you two know that the actions of both Max and Cooper don't reflect who we are as a community. Most of us don't go around shooting and releasing Howlers on people," Edvin assured as he stood like a wall with his arms crossed.
Harley snorted derisively.
Before John could think to reply to Edvin's statement, Robby paced quickly into the room, looking flustered and out of breath.
He pulled his cap off and scratched his head as he approached Harley's bedside, "Hey, how are you feeling?" He asked sheepishly.
"Livin' the dream," Harley retorted as she laid Rebel back in her arm like he was a baby.
Robby was visibly shaken as he put his cap back on and crossed his arms, "I don't even know where to begin," he paused, shaking his head.
"You could start with telling us where that son of a bitch is and what you plan to do about him" John growled from his chair, his arms crossed and a wild look in his eyes.
"He's in lock up. I honestly have no idea what we're gonna do with him, John," Robby sighed and put his hands in his pockets, "Harley, I am so sorry this happened to you. It's unacceptable and I promise that both of you will be safe here from now on"
Just then, a man's voice echoed from the hallway, "Robby!"
Everyone turned to see three people approaching the threshold of the door, two men Harley and John weren't familiar with and Mackenzie, who they'd met the night before. John stood from his chair, unsure of this group's intentions.
A thick, Spanish looking man barged into the room first, "Why is Cooper locked up!?" He demanded to know.
Robby and Edvin immediately hurried across the room, over to the angry looking man, "Let's talk in the hall, Barros," Robby pointed, urging everyone out.
Edvin grabbed the door on his way out and closed it, but it did nothing to dampen the outraged voices on the other side.
John and Harley glanced at each other as the argument unfolded out in the hall.
"Cooper's locked up because he set a Howler after an innocent girl, who was bitten by the way, and then tied her up in his basement!" Edvin's deep voice boomed.
Harley snorted, "Innocent"
Mackenzie's voice could be heard next, "He was trying to protect us!"
"What he did was criminal, Mackenzie. What he did, was attempted murder. He went too far," Robby stated, trying to keep a cool head.
Another, unfamiliar voice chimed in, "That wasn't attempted murder! The girl would've been a Howler, not dead, and she's not a Howler, nor is she dead, so let him go!"
"Being turned into a Howler is a death sentence and you know that. Cooper can't go unpunished for this. Our community doesn't work if people are free to act like savages," Robby stated.
Mackenzie spoke again, "After everything Cooper's done for you people, you treat him like a criminal? You wouldn't have a community or a town if it weren't for him!"
"He was just trying to save your assess, like he always does. So he was wrong, so what? The girl is fine and he proved she's immune! So let him go!" The Spanish man named Barros declared.
Edvin spoke up in a dangerous tone, "No. Cooper put this entire town in jeopardy by bringing a Howler into these walls and trying to create a second one. He didn't have our protection in mind when he did that, only his own self interests. He's been acting like the King of the castle for a long time now and playing big tough alpha male wherever he went. Everyone just looked the other way as his shitty behavior got worse and worse, and now look where we are. He's not getting away with it this time"
Robby added to Edvin's rant, "He's staying locked up at least until after John and Harley leave and he's off the council permanently. If Cooper wants to stay in this community, he's gotta make some big changes. If he doesn't comply, he's out"
"This is bullshit!" Mackenzie spat.
"No, this is reality. People will be accountable for their actions, no matter who they are. I know he was your lieutenant and I know what he's done for this community, but that doesn't exempt him from the rules. Do you get how important that girl in that room is? He put her in danger. She could've died from that Howler attack and when I found them, Cooper had a gun pointed at her head. He's lost himself and it's all of our jobs to bring him back down to earth, instead of continuing to enable him to behave like a cracked tyrant," Robby explained as kindly as he could muster.
The unfamiliar male voice replied, "Well he thought he was acting on behalf of his community, so try to keep that in mind before you throw him to the Howlers," he spat hatefully.
The hall fell into silence, and John and Harley supposed that meant that the three angry soldiers had stormed off, leaving Edvin and Robby alone.