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The Lunatic Cafe :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 208 из 234I wanted to cry with relief, but there was no time. There was a black stain of blood near the lower center of his body. I pulled his coat back and nearly threw up on him. Wouldn't he laugh at that? The cat had damn near eviscerated him. His intestines bulged out at the tear.
I tried to pull my jacket off to hold over the wound, but my left arm didn't want to work. "Someone help me." No one did.
Officer Kirlin had Ms. Drew handcuffed. Her green robe was gaping open and it was clear she had nothing on under it. She was crying, crying for her fallen comrades.
Dolph said, "He alive?"
"Yeah."
"I've called for an ambulance," the male uniform said.
"Get over here and help me stop the bleeding."
He just looked at me, sort of shamefaced but neither he nor Kirlin moved to help.
"What the fuck is the matter with you two? Help them."
"We don't want to get it."
"It?"
"The disease," he said.
I crawled back to the leopard. It looked big, even dead. Nearly three times the size of a natural cat. I fumbled at its belly, and found the catch. Not a button, not a belt, but a catch where the fur peeled away. Inside was a naked human body. I pulled the skin back so they could see. "They're shapeshifters but not lycanthropes. It's a spell. It's not contagious, you chicken-shit son of a bitch."
"Anita, don't pick on him," Dolph said. His voice sounded so strange, so distant that I minded him.
The man pulled off his own jacket and sort of laid it on top of Zerbrowski. He pressed down, but gingerly, as if he still didn't trust the blood.
"Get away from him." I leaned on the coat, using my body weight to hold his intestines inside. They moved under my hand like something alive, squishy and so warm they were hot.
"When the hell are you going to get some silver bullets for your squad?" I asked.
Dolph almost laughed. "Soon, I hope."
Maybe I could buy them a few boxes for Christmas. Please, dear God, let there be a Christmas for all of us. I stared at Zerbrowski's pale face. His glasses had fallen off in the struggle. I looked around and couldn't see them. It seemed important to find his glasses. I knelt there in his blood and cried because I couldn't find his damn glasses.
37
Zerbrowski was being sewn back together. None of the doctors were telling us anything. Guarded. His condition was guarded. Dolph was also in the hospital. Not as bad off but enough to stay for a day or so. Zerbrowski hadn't regained consciousness before they took him away. I waited.
I tried to pull my jacket off to hold over the wound, but my left arm didn't want to work. "Someone help me." No one did.
Officer Kirlin had Ms. Drew handcuffed. Her green robe was gaping open and it was clear she had nothing on under it. She was crying, crying for her fallen comrades.
Dolph said, "He alive?"
"Yeah."
"I've called for an ambulance," the male uniform said.
"Get over here and help me stop the bleeding."
He just looked at me, sort of shamefaced but neither he nor Kirlin moved to help.
"What the fuck is the matter with you two? Help them."
"We don't want to get it."
"It?"
"The disease," he said.
I crawled back to the leopard. It looked big, even dead. Nearly three times the size of a natural cat. I fumbled at its belly, and found the catch. Not a button, not a belt, but a catch where the fur peeled away. Inside was a naked human body. I pulled the skin back so they could see. "They're shapeshifters but not lycanthropes. It's a spell. It's not contagious, you chicken-shit son of a bitch."
"Anita, don't pick on him," Dolph said. His voice sounded so strange, so distant that I minded him.
The man pulled off his own jacket and sort of laid it on top of Zerbrowski. He pressed down, but gingerly, as if he still didn't trust the blood.
"Get away from him." I leaned on the coat, using my body weight to hold his intestines inside. They moved under my hand like something alive, squishy and so warm they were hot.
"When the hell are you going to get some silver bullets for your squad?" I asked.
Dolph almost laughed. "Soon, I hope."
Maybe I could buy them a few boxes for Christmas. Please, dear God, let there be a Christmas for all of us. I stared at Zerbrowski's pale face. His glasses had fallen off in the struggle. I looked around and couldn't see them. It seemed important to find his glasses. I knelt there in his blood and cried because I couldn't find his damn glasses.
37
Zerbrowski was being sewn back together. None of the doctors were telling us anything. Guarded. His condition was guarded. Dolph was also in the hospital. Not as bad off but enough to stay for a day or so. Zerbrowski hadn't regained consciousness before they took him away. I waited.