Chapter Six

Frank watched her walk ahead of him, negotiating her way through the jungle foliage without complaint.  Her feet had to be torn to shreds, but she kept going without a complaint. 

He felt weak and disoriented and his vision blurred slightly and he blinked to get it back in focus.  He gingerly rubbed the back of his head and felt the dried blood peel away revealing the large gash it had hidden.  It was no great wonder his head hurt like hell.  He focused on the red dress again and noticed she had put quite a distance between them.  "Fallon?"

Fallon had kept a good pace, considering she had to put all her concentration into forgetting her feet felt like they were going through a meat slicer.  She had been unaware of how far her "rescuer" had fallen behind until he called out her name. 

"Hold up a minute," he requested, sitting on a large hollow log as another wave of dizziness hit him.  He tried to shake it off, but that only made the pain in his head worse and made him so nauseous he felt close to vomiting.  He rested his head in his hands and closed his eyes.

"You okay?' she asked, heading back in his direction.

"I'll be fine.  Head hurts like hell," he admitted.

Fallon nodded in sympathy.  "Roberto cracked you a good one," she replied.    She knew he was fighting more than the crack to the skull.  His whole body was weakened from the torture he had endured.  Still, she admired the wealth of strength he had to possess to be able to endure what he had.  "Are we still heading northeast?"

"Yes," he answered, leaning back and jerked his head in her direction with a curse when he heard her quick intake of breath.  He saw the reason for her alarm just a few seconds too late and drew back in pain as the nearly four-foot snake sunk its fangs into the meat of his calf and he offhandedly noted it was dark gray in color and had black-edged diamond shapes running down the length of its body.

Fallon grabbed the snake by the neck and flung it into the trees.  "Jesus, Donovan!  That was a Fer-de-lance...very poisonous and very deadly."

"Thanks for the news flash.  You forgot that it hurts like a sonofabitch," he swore as the liquid fire of the venom attacked his blood and skin cells with scorching pain.  "It feels like hot sauce on a cut, only worse." 

"Shit, shit, shit," Fallon expressed, kneeling at his feet.  "Damn that fucking Roberto," she further cussed, checking through the pockets of his cargo pants.  "We don't have anything to treat you with...and it's too dangerous for you to move."

"I'll be fine.  We're almost at the place I left Jake.  He still has his first aid kit...it has anti-venom."  He bit back a groan; his leg was on fire...he knew the poison was spreading fast. 

"Damn!" she cursed.  She had to do something, and fast!  "Frank...I'm going to find Jake and get that serum..."

"No, I can make it," he insisted, trying to stand; however his head had other ideas.  His vision blurred worse than before and he felt he was on the verge of passing out.  He slumped back down to the log with a heavy sigh of defeat. 

"There's no time to argue," she asserted.  "I'll be back as fast as I can...and you better be alive, Donovan...or I'll kill you myself."  She winked and ran in the direction he had indicated earlier.

He didn't reply, there was no need.  He was too weak to argue with her and he would need all his strength to fight the snake's deadly poison.  He leaned back against the log and prayed she would hurry back...and no more snakes would come his way. 

Hearing the rustling of leaves and twigs snapping in the early morning hours, Jake made his way to the door hopping on one foot.  He opened it just as Fallon rushed onto the small porch. 

"Jake!" she cried, flinging her arms around him, nearly knocking him over.  "Give me your first aid kit!"

"Its nice to see you too," he laughed, untangling himself from her.  "Where's Frank?"

"He's hurt..." she replied as she patted him down trying to find the kit.  "Snakebite...give me the kit already!" 

"Here, here," he said, pulling one of the side pockets of his cargo pants open.

"Stay safe," she yelled, unsheathing the bowie knife from his hip before she turned and ran back in the direction she came.

Jake called out her name, but she made no indication she was going to stop.  Ignoring the throbbing of his leg wound, Jake followed her, hobbling as quickly as he could manage.

Roberto, along with Jorge, made his way to the barn in the early morning light.  It was time to send the woman back to her people as the bargain had dictated.  It was also time to send el Diablo to hell, where he belonged.

The thought of killing Donovan quickened Roberto's pace.  He had dreamed of this moment many times over the past year.  Oh, how he had adored his older brother and grieved unendingly for his loss.  Yes, el Diablo would die this day.

"¡Madre Dios!" Jorge exclaimed upon entering the empty room.

Roberto stared unbelievingly at the opened window.  He turned enraged eyes to the guard who had stood watch outside the door.  "How could this happen?"

"I...I did not hear anything," the guard stammered.

"Nor shall you in the future," Roberto replied, raising a gun to the man's chest, firing a bullet into his heart.  He watched unfeelingly as the dying man slumped to the floor.  "Get some men...we go on the hunt."

Sweat pored over her face and trickled down her neck as Fallon tore through the jungle underbrush, the morning sun was already heating the air.  She gasped in relief as she saw Frank lying with his back propped up against the hollow log.  "You still alive, Donovan?" she asked, breathless, as she knelt beside him. 

"Think so," he croaked through a mouth that had become increasingly numb and filled with the taste of metal during the time she was gone.  "Cold...so cold," he whispered as he shivered violently and closed his eyes.

Fallon's brow creased in a worried frown.  He was covered in sweat and yet he was cold.  She took Jake's bowie knife and cut away the material of his left pants leg.  "Sweet Jesus!" She exclaimed.  The snakebite was clearly visible, the wound had turned a sickly red color around the immediate area and his calf had swollen enormously. 

She flipped the first aide kit open and hastily looked through the contents.  "Yes! Thank you, God!" she praised as she ripped open the package containing the Sawyer's Extractor.  She quickly judged which of the plastic cups best covered the bitten area and attached it to the pump.  "At least I won't have to cut you open," she told him as she covered the wound with the extractor pump. 

Jake lumbered up beside her, panting heavily from the heat and exertion.  "Frank," he whispered.  "How is he?" he asked as he crouched down.

"Pretty bad shape, Jake," Fallon admitted, without looking up.  She began working the plunger on the extractor and watched with awe as the venom mixed with blood was sucked into the cup. "He has a fever and his breathing is short and raspy." 

"Get the anti-venom ready for injection," she instructed as she dumped the toxic liquid from the small cup before she placed it back over the bite wound and resumed the extraction.  "I think I've done as much with this as I can." 

"Here," Jake said, handing her the injection.  "Did you get all the venom out?"

"No.  These things work best if applied within five to 10 minutes.  I was gone longer than that."  She shook her head, not sure if she had done him any good at all. 

Jake watched his boss' face worriedly.  He was pale, covered in sweat and his breathing was barely audible.  "Don't worry, Frank.  We'll get you out of this."

Donovan struggled to open eyelids that felt heavy and unresponsive.  He saw a blurry Jake through the narrow slits that opened for him.  "Thirsty," he whispered. 

Jake reached for the canteen still clipped to his belt.  He poured a small amount into the cup that acted as the cap of the canteen and held it to Frank's lips. He watched Fallon out of the corner of his eye and noticed her bruised face and the cuts along her legs and arms.  "How're you holding up?"

"Hey...don't worry about me," she said with a small smile.  "Let's focus on the big guy, here.  He's most important now."

Frank reached up weakly to grasp the cup, but the numbness that had formed in his extremities prevented even that small function.  He dropped his arm down and sipped from the cup that Jake held for him.  With only enough energy to take a few sips, he slumped back against the tree.  "Thanks, Jake," he labored.

Fallon tested the needle, expelling some of the anti-venom.  "This is normally given intravenously, but the antidote in the kits are supposed to be diluted enough to inject directly," she explained as she inserted the needle into his arm.  "Let's pray he isn't allergic."

"What happens if he is?" Jake asked worriedly.

"You don't want to find out," she answered.