Chapter Chapter Fifteen #2
“Yeah. Mom made us all take a first aid course before Jeremy was born. It’s simple. I’ll try, and then I’m taking you to the hospital.”
Before I managed to remind him that we were in the middle of the woods without personal transportation, he started sucking on the wound and then spitting out the venom.
“It hurts,” I cried out.
I was trembling and scared witless. Being with Knox made it better, but only marginally.
This was why I hated being in nature. There were insects and freaking snakes.
“Knox, it really hurts,” I said.
“I hope I got it all out,” he said after spitting the last bit to one side. He grabbed a water bottle from the backpack and rinsed his mouth really well. “Come on, let’s go to the bus.”
“What?” I asked. “I don’t think I can—”
Knox took me in his arms, cutting off my protest.
“I’ll carry you and then come back for the backpacks. The bus is still here,” he said.
And even though I was shaking and still in shock, his calm voice had a positive effect on me. My heart rate went down. He was in control of the situation. Nothing bad was going to happen to me. I was safe. Knox was keeping me safe.
I put my head on his shoulder, trying to mimic his deep breathing so I could calm down too.
“I’ll tell the driver to take us to the nearest town. He said he’d go back to San Diego in an hour, after he’d stretched his legs a bit. We’re lucky it happened now.”
“I don’t feel very lucky,” I groaned.
He kissed my forehead. “That was a bad choice of words. Relax, Amy. I’m taking care of you. Everything will work out.”
Even though my leg was still burning, I believed him. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to take deep breaths. I opened them when he started talking to the driver. He was looking at my leg with a shocked expression.
“I was about to get on the bus and start the journey back. The nearest town is two hours away.”
“What the fuck?” Knox said.
The driver winced. “Sorry, man. That’s the best I can do.”
Knox cursed under his breath. “Fine.”
“Oh, our backpacks,” I murmured as he climbed onto the bus with me.
“I’ll just put you down and then go grab them. And I’ll tell Vanessa and Gregory what happened so they can take over.”
“Thank you.”
He put me down on the seat right behind the driver. I blinked and tilted slightly forward to take a good look at my leg, then almost fainted. It looked horrible. The skin around the bite was red and inflamed, and the two punctures were deep red with blood trickling from them.
“I have a first aid kit,” the driver said, rummaging in a drawer to the right of the wheel. “Here it is.” He opened it and said, “Right. What’s the first aid for a snake bite?”
His hands were shaking. Clearly, he was as much of a snake person as I was.
“Disinfecting it?” I asked, my voice still unsteady.
He took out some white cloth and a small bottle of liquid but then said, “I can’t do it.”
I felt too uncomfortable to bend and do it myself. “Just let it be.”
Knox returned a few minutes later with the backpacks.
“We’re ready to go.” He looked at my leg and then at the box. “A first aid kit. Good thinking,” he told the driver, who hung his head.
“Yeah, but I couldn’t force myself to help.”
Knox nodded. “I’ll do it.” He kneeled in front of me, poured some liquid onto the white cloth, and then looked up at me. “It might hurt a bit.”
“That’s f-fine,” I stuttered.
My leg was throbbing anyway, and I couldn’t imagine it would be worse than him sucking out the venom. I dug my fingers into the sides of the seat, bracing myself, but it wasn’t too bad. It just stung a bit. Nothing compared to before.
I was vaguely aware that the driver had already started the bus and was making a U-turn out of the camping lot. From the corner of my eye, I noticed a few of the students.
“Did you talk to the kids too?” I asked Knox.
“I only told those who were hanging out in front of the cabins. They’ll spread the word quick enough.”
“Yes, they will,” I agreed.
Knox got rid of the white cloth, putting it into the sanitary bag that was included in the first aid kit, then looked up at me.
“I’ll call a doctor and explain what happened. Then he can tell us if there’s anything more we can do until we reach the hospital.”
How did he manage to stay so calm?
“Who exactly are we supposed to call?”
Knox finally sat next to me as the bus sped up. “My team built a platform specifically for medical information. It has a hotline too.”
He pulled out his phone and put it to his ear. “Hello, I need some information.”
He went on to recount exactly what had transpired. I could feel my nervous system calming down, which was a small miracle.
“Yes. I already did that,” Knox said. “Yes, I did see the snake. It was brown.” He glanced at my leg.
“Still losing blood, though not a lot. Surrounding area is red, but the broader area looks normal. Yes, I’m taking her to see someone, but we’re going to need about two hours to get there. All right, thanks.”
He pocketed the phone, looking up at me. “They’re not sure if the snake is venomous or not, but if it is, it’s good that I took out the venom as soon as it happened. They say it’s best if a doctor sees you.”
I nodded. “Thank you, Knox, for everything.”
He packed up the first aid kit and put it next to the driver. “Thanks, man,” he said, then sat down beside me again. “You gave me a scare, Amy,” he said, cupping my cheek.
I smiled. “But you didn’t panic.”
“I’m good at keeping calm. Are you in pain?”
“It does hurt,” I admitted.
“The doctor suggested Tylenol, but there isn’t any in the first aid kit.”
“I didn’t pack any. Will it be late when we come back to camp? I’d hate to bother Vanessa, but I might need her help to get around.”
He frowned. “I’m not letting you out of my sight tonight.”
“Knox,” I whispered. “We’re bunking with—”
“I don’t give a shit. I want to be right next to you, making sure you’re okay.”
I gave him a small smile. “We’ll see. How are we going to get back to camp?”
“I’ll rent a car from wherever he drops us off.”
Knox was looking at me like I was his world, and something broke inside me. I’d never be able to let this man go. When this ended, it was going to hurt really badly.
I yawned. “God, I’m so exhausted.”
“It’s the adrenaline leaving your body,” Knox replied. “Just relax, okay?”
I put my head on his bicep. As far as pillows went, it wasn’t terribly comfy because this man packed hard muscles. But I felt safe and quickly drifted off to sleep.