A Time to Die Read Free Page B

caliber a deafening roar in the confined space of the jeep. The round punched through the animal’s head and it jumped, trying to reach for her again. Erin fired twice more, each shot smashing through her ears and into her brain. After a seeming eternity, the javelina lay still.
    “It bit my nose!” the scientist cried, blood pouring into his hand as he tried to hold his damaged face.
    “Yeah,” she said, letting the gun drop next to the expired javelina before she investigated the seatbelt release. “But look at my hair.”
     
    * * *
     
    Erin tried one more time with the Jeep’s winch. After a few moments of listening to the cable make ominous popping noises, she gave up before it broke for the third time. The truck wasn’t moving without a lot of help.
    “Any luck?” the scientist gasped between coughs. She’d since learned his name was Ken Taylor. The attack by the crazed javelina had been four hours ago. An hour after the attack she’d managed to get him out of the Jeep and reasonable comfortable as she assessed their situation. Her radio was busted, cell phones didn’t work on the back trails, and this early in the season no one would likely come along for days. When she’d set to the task of righting the Jeep, he’d looked out of sorts. Now, after a couple hours, he looked much worse, and he wasn’t getting any better. He had a fever for sure, and appeared to be having trouble concentrating. Night was approaching and she didn’t like her choices.
    “No,” she admitted as she sat next to him. His nose wound was bandaged from the limited first aid kit she carried in the field, and there was more than enough food and water. But without real medical attention she feared he wouldn’t last. Had the javelina been rabid? She didn’t know what the symptoms of rabies were. Didn’t the animal act irrational and attack for no reason? The damn javelina seemed to be making logical, thought out decisions. A shiver went up her spine just thinking about it.
    “Damn,” Ken said and took a sip of water from the canteen. His voice had been slurred from the nose wound, but did it sound even worse now? “I don’t feel very good.”
    “I know,” she said. “I think I need to hike back to the landing and use the emergency transmitter.”
    “That’s a couple miles, right?”
    “Four miles, yes. It will take about two hours for me to get there and contact the ranger station.”
    “Won’t they come for us if you just wait?”
    “Not until tomorrow morning. Do you think you can wait that long?”
    Ken looked at her for a moment, then coughed, deep and rasping. His eyes glazed over for a moment and he looked through her. A spasm ran through his body, like a mild electrical charge, then he calmed again. “No, I don’t think so.”
    “Me neither,” Erin whispered. She gathered the little day pack, tossed in a pair of water bottles and a single pack of dehydrated food. A few other essentials rounded out what she took and she finished with strapping on the gun belt and checking the load of the Sig Sauer. There wasn't anything else to hold her up. “I'll be back as soon as I can.”
    “Don't take too long,” he whispered. Erin nodded, shifted the pack on her shoulder, and headed back up the trail towards the landing.
     
    * * *
     
    An hour later, Ken tried to drink some of the water and eat some of the food Erin left for him, only to vomit it up moments afterwards. His head swam with pain and confusion and sweat poured from his forehead despite the cool early evening breezes. Suddenly he stumbled to his feet, not knowing why and completely unable to concentrate. “Wha— what,” he choked at a voice, spinning around and searching for the source with blurred vision.
    He heard something from behind, and he spun again to find only darkness. “Damn you,” he snarled and took a step in the direction, only to fall over a root in the gloom and sprawl in the dense pine needles. His mind exploded in lights, pain,