“I get the feeling you don’t have much experience calming people down.” Jillian frowned.
“I know you don’t know me, and believe me, I don’t like this any more than you, but you’re going to have to let me carry you back to the cabin.” He reached toward her, and she shrank back.
“Wait a second.” She looked down at the blood trickling from the fang marks. “Should we tie something around my leg?”
“It won’t stop the venom from spreading.” His expression was soft, but Jillian could sense in his tone that he was getting frustrated. “It’ll just cause an even bigger problem when the swelling starts.”
“Should we be trying to suck the poison out or something?” She fanned the bite that was starting to burn.
“Sure, if you want an infection to go along with your snake bite.” He wrinkled his nose. “Would you seriously let a complete stranger put their mouth on an open wound?”
“Don’t be an asshole.” She crossed her arms. “I read it in a book once.” She blushed at the lie; she saw it in a movie.
“Right.” He pressed his lips together. “So, if I pick you up, are you going to freak out? Because that would defeat the whole purpose of trying to keep your heart-rate down.”
“Do I have a choice?”
“I mean, about a third of rattlesnake bites are dry bites.” He shrugged. “There’s a one in three chance that she didn’t shoot you full of venom. You’re a big girl. If you want to chance it and try to hike your way out of here, I’ll tell the guys I couldn’t find you.”
“You’d do that?” She looked up at him.
“I’m not a fan of being pushed into doing things I don’t want to do. If I forced you to come with me, I’d be a massive hypocrite.”
“You seem like a nice person.” She sighed. “I’m Jillian, by the way.”
“Finn.” He held out his hands and lifted his eyebrows as if asking permission.
Jillian put her hands around his neck as he scooped her up into his arms and jogged back in the direction of the cabin. Despite how fast he moved, his steps were surprisingly smooth. Still, she sucked in a sharp breath as her leg bounced when he leaped over a gully.
“Hang in there, Goldie.” He held her close. “We’re almost there.”
At no point did Jillian feel like he might drop her. He hadn’t even really worked up a sweat by the time they reached the cabin.
“What happened?” The bearded man ran outside, leaving the front door open behind him.
“Timber Rattler.” Finn panted. “It was a big one.”
“At least you got lucky with that.” The bearded man towered over Finn by at least a foot.
“How is that lucky?” Jillian winced, looking down at her swollen calf.
“Baby rattlers have a more concentrated venom and no control over how much they inject. It looks like he nailed you pretty good.” The bearded man moved to the side, comparing her ankles to see how bad the swelling was.
“We have maybe twenty minutes to get her antivenin.” Finn’s eyes darted around as if he were searching for a solution to their dilemma.
A lump formed in Jillian’s throat. The fact that he was visibly worried made it hard for her to keep calm.
“We have to head out to the ranger station.”
“That station is a two-hour run even if we shift.” A blond man in his early twenties leaned on the door jam.
Shift? She wiped the sweat from her face as she tried to figure out what he might mean by that.
“The transmitter on the radio is still busted; we can’t broadcast.” The tall blond crossed his arms.
“Fuck!” Finn pushed past the blond guy and laid Jillian down on the sofa. “What do we do?”
“Vincent.” The blond put his hand on the bearded man’s shoulder. “You’ve gotta have some kind of herbal remedy for this. Make a poultice or something like when I got bit.”
“Yeah.” Vincent ran a hand through his hair. “A poultice might draw some of the venom out. Finn, get to the greenhouse; I need comfrey, aloe vera, turmeric, two limes, and a potato.”
“A fucking potato, Vince?” Finn gaped. “You can’t be serious.”
“Conner,” Vincent continued. “From the pantry, I need clean bandages, aspirin tablets, salt, and baking soda.”
Conner snapped to action and rushed into the kitchen, grabbing a wrought iron ring attached to the floorboards. Lifting the trap door, he climbed down a ladder to the hidden lower level.
“Vince.” Finn put his hands on his hips with a pleading look. “She’s not like us, man. Your grandmother’s homeopathic placeboes can’t do shit for a rattlesnake bite. We need to get her to the hospital.”
“Finn, come out to the greenhouse with me.” Vincent nodded toward the front door that was still open.
Finn rolled his eyes but did as he asked, leaving Jillian alone with her thoughts. Her lips and hands tingled as the numbness around her lips spread to her cheeks.
I don’t think this is adrenaline.
The area around the fang-marks was turning purple. Jillian groaned, clenching her teeth as the pain spread. Conner’s head came up from the trap door, and he placed the retrieved items on the edge before pulling himself up.
“I got the grinding stone, too.” He smiled, closing the trap door. “Do you want some water?”
“I am a little thirsty.” She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. “This is really starting to hurt; do you have anything for the pain?”
“You want a shot of moonshine?” He shrugged.
“That might make me throw up right now.” She squirmed, shifting her weight.
“Try not to move around too much.” He squatted down, placing a stone bowl on the floor and popping the lid off
