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  Alex looked at the others but they were all looking at her.

  “Me? You want me to operate on him? Are you crazy?” she said in a panic.

  “Well, you’ve got some training and you said you want to be a doctor so you’re the best one to do it,” Josh told her.

  Alex just stared at him in disbelief. “What training? I volunteer at a senior’s home! I change bedpans and feed them applesauce! I have no training, and yeah, I want to be a doctor one day but that’s in like, ten years!”

  “Come on, Alex, you’re always watching that show on TLC about operating and what about that other show you love? You know the one with McStinky or whatever his name is? You’re the closest thing we have to a doctor here. Quinn needs you,” Josh argued.

  Alex shook her head. “It’s a TV show, Josh, not medical school. Just because I watch Grey’s Anatomy doesn’t mean I’m Meredith Grey! Seriously, seriously?” Only Dara got the reference and gave a small snort of laughter. She stepped over to Alex and put her hand on her arm.

  “I’m sorry, Alex. I can’t do it. I’m ready to puke just looking at his leg. I don’t do well with blood.”

  Alex nodded in understanding and looked at the two boys. Josh was shaking his head. He held up his big hands, “Look at these, Alex. Do you really think I should stick these big suckers into Quinn’s leg? Give me a hammer and I’ll pound something for you but not this, sorry.”

  Alex huffed out in frustration. He was right. She looked to Cooper who was already backing away.

  “Oh no, not me! I’ll steal you an operating room but I can’t work in one!”

  Alex glared at him in disgust. She knew by now that his bad boy reputation was a sham and that he was a really good guy.

  “Damn it!” she stomped her foot in frustration. “You know who could do this? He could!” She pointed to Quinn who was starting to come around.

  When he groaned in pain, she knew she didn’t have a choice. Alex glared at her friends and started barking out orders.

  “We need to get supplies. This place should have everything we need. Cooper, look for a drug cabinet. He’s going to need something stronger than Aspirin. Josh, look for surgery stuff. Scalpels, sponges, clamps, retractors and stuff like that. I’m not sure how to use that stuff but we should have it here. You’ve seen stuff on TV and in movies too. We’re all going to pretend we know what we’re doing. Dara, find reference books, like drug dosage and operating books. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find a manual,” she joked sarcastically.

  It was easier for Alex to be mad than scared of what she was about to do, so while her friends scattered through the building, she started to rip open drawers and cupboards angrily.

  “Alex?” a hoarse voice asked behind her.

  She whirled around and saw Quinn looking at her in confusion.

  “Where are we?” he asked.

  Alex went to him and held his hand. “We found a veterinarian’s office. How are you feeling?”

  “It hurts, feels like my leg is on fire. How bad is it?”

  “You were shot twice. The bullets went through the wooden sides of the truck bed wall so they slowed down enough to not go through. Both bullets are still in your leg.” She took a deep breath and told him, “I’m going to take them out.”

  He gave her a faint smile, “Good. If you’re going to be a doctor one day, you’ll need the practice.”

  She gave a half laugh. “Oh God, Quinn, I’m so scared! I don’t know if I can do this.” Tears started to run down her cheeks as she bowed her head, all of her defensive anger gone.

  His hand tightened hard on hers and she looked into his eyes. “You can do this. I trust you with everything. Remember back when we were twelve and that fool of a dog, Duster, broke his leg? You splinted it up with a stick and my T-Shirt and made me carry him back to the farm from the back field. You were like a little general, barking orders, you were so sure of yourself. You need to be like that now. I believe in you, Alex.”

  “Oh, Quinn, that was nothing like this! I’m going to have to cut your leg open to get those bullets out. It’s so not the same,” she almost wailed.

  “I believe in you, Alex,” Quinn said again. “But before you start, do you think I could have a Tylenol?” he tried a joke to cheer her up.

  Dara came back into the room with two thick books, “Got it Alex. The top one is a reference guide to different medications and dosage charts by weight. The bottom one has different minor surgeries on animals. There’s a section on bullet wounds. I don’t know if it will help but take a look anyway. Hey Quinn - ready to be Alex’s guinea pig?”

  Alex snatched the books and started to look up different painkillers. She didn’t want Quinn to feel what she was about to do to him. She set it aside when she realized that she needed to see what Cooper found in the drug cabinet first. The other heavy textbook had a bookmark at ‘Gunshot Wounds’ and she started to pore over it. There were sections for dogs, cows, horses, and other animals. It was a basic guide to bullet removal and directed the reader to other texts for more invasive procedures. Alex was happy to have some guidance but knew there was a big difference between a dog and a human.

  Josh came in pushing a rolling cart piled high with packages, linens, and a few different bottles.

  “Hey Alex, there’s a supply closet that has a ton of stuff in it. It even has a bunch of these packages with sterilized instruments ready to go. There’s disinfectant and scrubs and surgical drapes. Look this stuff over and see if there’s anything missing.” He was pleased with his find and gave a big grin.

  Alex was still pissed off that she had been nominated to do the surgery so she barely looked up from the textbook when she said, “Right. Great. Thanks. Now go boil some water.”

  Josh didn’t seem to mind her attitude and gave her a salute with a quick, “On it, boss!” as he rushed back out.

  Cooper came in with a pan full of bottles and plastic wrapped syringes. “Sorry it took so long. The door was locked and I had to get the crowbar to open it. There are some painkillers that I recognize and some antibiotics, I think. Their names end in ‘cillin’ so I’m guessing that they are a type of penicillin. I grabbed some needles too but I have no idea how much you would dose him with.”

  Again, Alex didn’t look up just pointed to the counter beside her. They all kept saying things like “Alex’s guinea pig” and “what you need” and “you would dose him” and the pressure of responsibility was squeezing tighter. She tried to focus on the dosage chart but had to turn and ask Quinn, “How much do you think you weigh, Quinn?”

  He opened his pain-filled eyes and told her, “Around one-eighty, I think. Why, did you find me some good drugs, Alex?” he asked hopefully.

  It was too much. It was all just too much for her to handle. She gave him a tight smile.

  “Yup. Be right back,” she said, then turned and fled the room.

  She hit the front door running and whipped around the side of the building. Alex came to an abrupt stop and doubled over puking her guts out. She heaved painfully until there was nothing left in her stomach. She stayed bent over with her arms hugging herself while she sobbed.

  She just wanted to go home. She was only sixteen, just a kid. It wasn’t fair. She had been hung from a wall to be raped. She had shot and killed people and now she was supposed to perform surgery on one of her best friends. Why did this have to happen to her? She just wanted her mom and dad. She wanted to go home.

  When her sobs subsided, she stood back up and looked out over the fields. The voice behind her didn’t jolt her but the words did.

  “There’s a reason why we all think you should be the one to do this, Alex. You’re our leader. You always have been. Right back to when we were kids and you marched us into the forest and bossed us around to build our clubhouse. You’ve always taken the lead. Quinn might be the responsible one but you are our glue. It was always you that held us together and organized all the adventures growing up. You have the biggest heart and you are o
ne of the strongest people I know. I wasn’t surprised a bit when you came through that door at the biker’s house. I knew you’d find a way to get free. You’re a hero, Alex. We trust you to do this.”

  Alex shook her head in denial. “I’m scared out of my mind, Josh! I’m not a hero!”

  He smiled a compassionate smile. “Don’t you know, Alex? That’s what a hero is. Someone who’s scared out of their mind and does it anyway.”

  He opened his arms wide and she rushed into them. He held her tight and said no more.

  After a few minutes, he pulled back and gave her the trademark devil grin of his. “I brought you something.” He pulled a bottle of rum from his back pocket. “Cooper grabbed it from that grocery store, remember? A little bit of liquid courage to steady your nerves.”

  Alex took the bottle and studied it thoughtfully and then shrugged. “What the hell. It sure can’t hurt,” and she took a big gulp.

  Josh howled with laughter when her face turned bright red and she started to wheeze.

  In a choking voice she said, “As they say in the movies, let’s do this!” and they both went back in to help their friend.

  Chapter Seventeen

  When Alex and Josh entered the exam room, she was surprised to see the changes that Dara and Cooper had made. It actually looked semi-professional. Quinn was covered in a blue linen drape except for his wounded area. The rolling cart was beside the table and a row of gleaming instruments was resting on a clean towel. A brown bottle and an open suture kit were waiting as well. On the counter were two steaming basins of water with more towels and a box of latex gloves.

  Cooper was wearing scrubs and holding another set. He stepped forward and addressed her in a professional voice. “Ready to scrub in, Doctor, I’ll be assisting you for this procedure.” He handed her the clothing.

  Alex took the outfit with a grateful smile to both of them for their help and slipped it on over her clothes. She went to the hot water and scrubbed her hands and arms with soap. Cooper used a cup and rinsed her arms over the sink so the rinse water would stay fresh for him. He handed her a towel and helped her put on the gloves. Alex looked at him in surprise for his no-nonsense manner.

  “What? I watch TV too. If you can’t make it, fake it, right?” he said defensively.

  Alex grinned at him and stepped back to give Dara room to help him with rinsing off his hands. Alex went to the bottles of drugs and quickly did the math from the dosage chart and Quinn’s weight. She filled a syringe with the amount of morphine she would need and turned to the exam table. Quinn was still awake but his face was full of pain and very pale. He was taking in all the activity in the room and smiled at Alex when he saw the needle she was holding.

  “Gimmee!” he joked.

  She laughed softly. The rum was spreading through her body and she was feeling stronger. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

  “Oh yeah, you can do anything you want to me after you give me the joy juice, Alex.” His face turned serious. “Really, Alex, I believe in you. You can do this. Like you said, it’s a long way from my heart, right?”

  “Okay, night-night then.”

  As she was about to stick Quinn in the arm with the needle, Josh interrupted.

  “Wait! That’s the right amount, isn’t it? You don’t want to give him too much, right?”

  Alex froze in place and closed her eyes in exasperation. She took a breath and in a flat voice replied, “I don’t know, Josh, because I’m not a doctor and he’s not a fucking DOG!” She spat the last word at him and tried to calm back down. “The book said this is the dosage for his weight so that’s the best I can do. Okay?”

  Josh looked down at his feet and mumbled, “Okay, just checking. Sorry.”

  Alex sighed. “No, it’s okay. I’m just nervous.”

  She turned back to Quinn and quickly slid the needle into his arm and pressed the plunger. Within moments, his eyes went hazy and started to droop. He mumbled some words that Alex thought were “That’s the ticket,” but she was unsure because they were slurred. She waited a few more minutes and then tried to wake him up.

  When he didn’t respond, she grabbed the bottle of disinfectant and sprayed the wounded area, spreading it around with a sponge so his leg was covered. She turned to the cart and looked at the instruments on it. There were a couple of wicked sharp scalpels, large tweezers, a small spreader and other things she had no idea about. Cooper gave her a nod and she picked up the scalpel.

  Her whole body tensed as she made a small cut on either side of the first bullet wound. Right away, she knew she would have to cut deeper to see where the bullet was. Cooper was right beside her with sponges and water. When she cut, he would pour sterilized water into the area and mop up the blood. Alex set aside the knife and grabbed the tweezers and spreader. She spread the wound open and once Cooper had mopped it up she could see the bullet. She got a grip on it and pulled it out. It wasn’t very deep and she didn’t think it had done much damage but she had no way of really knowing with no medical training. Nothing seemed to be gushing from the site so she took that as a good sign and removed the spreader and covered it with gauze. She would save the stitching for when she had both bullets out. The second bullet wasn’t as deep as the first one but when she grabbed it with the tweezers something seemed to come out with it.

  “Pour water on that, Cooper. I don’t know what it is and I don’t want to pull it out until I do,” she told him.

  As the water cleared away, she studied the object stuck with the bullet in the tweezers. “What is that? Hey, Josh, can you shine a flashlight on this please?” she asked him. Seconds later, it was Cooper that identified it.

  “It’s a piece of his pants! The bullet must have taken it into the hole. We need to check the other hole and make sure there isn’t any more or he’ll get infected. Go ahead and pull it out, Alex.”

  She pulled it out and probed around in the wound for anything else that was loose but found nothing. Then she took out the spreader and went back to the first hole and checked it but it seemed free of any foreign objects.

  “Okay, I think that’s it. Should I pour more disinfectant into the holes or just sew them up?” When no one answered her, she sighed again. “Damn it, where’s Google when you need it!” She stared around the room trying to decide and her glance took in the bottles of drugs on the counter. “I’m just going to sew him up and pump him full of antibiotics.”

  She reached for the needle and suture thread. It was a lot harder to sew skin than it was to sew cloth and she felt her stomach lurch every time she penetrated his skin with the needle. She put ten small stitches in one wound and eight in the other. Dara had thick bandages of gauze ready and she had smeared antibiotic ointment over them. After dressing the wounds, and cleaning the blood off Quinn as best they could, Alex consulted the drug book and gave him a shot of antibiotics.

  She peeled her gloves and bloody scrubs off and dropped them in the garbage. She looked at her pale friend and could see the steady rise and fall of his chest as he slept. Her friends were all smiling at her and she had to grin back. They had done it. They had done their best and only time would tell if it was the right thing to do.

  “Hey, Josh, I really need something from you.”

  “Sure, Alex, what do you need? Name it and it’s yours.”

  “I need that bottle of rum!”

  When he pulled it out of his back pocket and held it out, she went towards him and snatched from his hand as she sailed out the door. When he went looking for her later, he found the bottle almost empty and her asleep.

  ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

  When Alex woke up, she came up in a rush and slammed her head hard on the bunk above hers.

  “ARGGGG!”

  Her head was pounding and not just from banging it. Her mouth was powder-dry and tasted like something had died in it. She remembered operating on Quinn and then sitting on a stump by the fence and drinking rum. She had never been much of a drinker, j
ust one here and there at a party so she realized that she was experiencing her first hangover and vowed that it would be her last.

  It was dark wherever she was so she felt around with her hands and figured out that she was in one of the bunks in the camper. She swung her legs over the side of the bunk and groaned again from the pain in her head. Water, she needed water and drugs, lots of drugs. She made her way to the tiny kitchen and grabbed a water bottle from the counter. She could barely see, but after eight days of living in the camper, she knew her way around in the dark. Opening a small cupboard, she fumbled around until she found the bottle of aspirin and clutched it to her chest like a lifeline. She made her way to the side door and went outside.

  It was either very late or very early and it wasn’t until she looked to the east and she saw just a hint of lighter sky that she knew she had slept the rest of the afternoon and night away in a drunken stupor. She shook her head at her own stupidity, causing it to pound even harder and making her stomach rush up her throat. She rushed away to the side of the vet office and vomited up the last of the rum.

  “I guess that’s the designated puking spot. Twice in twenty-four hours, Alex? Nothing will ever grow there again!” Josh teased her from behind.

  Her stomach felt better but her head was still killing her and she fumbled with the childproof cap on the painkillers. Josh plucked it from her hands and popped the lid off, handing her two pills. After rinsing her mouth with water, she took the pills gratefully and downed them.

  “How’s Quinn? Did he wake up? Why are you awake? Where is everyone?” she fired at him.

  Josh threw his head back and laughed. “And she’s back! God, I love you, Alex.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I love you too, you big goof. Now answer my questions.”

  When he got his laughter under control he told her, “Quinn’s fine. He woke up after about four hours and we fed him some soup. He didn’t puke it up like you, so we took that as a good sign. He has no fever and his wounds are still dry and clean so it’s a wait-and-see thing. We gave him some codeine pills we found in the drug cabinet and that made him so happy he went back to sleep and is still out. I’m up because we have a druggie and a drunk in our group and someone needs to keep watch while everyone else is asleep.” He finished with a raised eyebrow. “Satisfied?”