During a downpour.
Katura Ortiz brings the strangest scenarios into my life, and it’s becoming a common occurrence.
She’s silently freaking out, I can tell. It’s in her voice when she shouts, “Archer! Is it venomous?”
Out of many snake varieties on this island, only two are poisonous, and the one that bit Kat is a coral snake.
Fuck.
I pull Kat by her wrist away from the shack, and she follows with a panicky look on her face.
I run ahead of her onto the beach, snatch my shirt from the sand, and I come back to her. Then drop to my knees, ripping a long piece out of my shirt with my teeth.
“Come here.” I yank her foot onto my thigh and wrap the cloth string above the bite.
This really won’t do much, but precaution doesn’t hurt. Sucking the poison can only increase the infection.
“Is it a venomous snake?” she asks for the dozenth time.
Shut up, Kat.
The worst part about this bite is the respiratory failure that might come later. So we need to get to the medical ward asap.
“Archer!” she shouts, and I finally look at her as I get up.
In my mind, I know that the chances of allergic reaction or respiratory failure are low. But looking at Kat, I feel helpless. Blood pounds in my head at the thought.
She senses it. “Archer,” she repeats.
I palm her cheeks, a little too roughly, bringing my face closer to her, blinking through the rain that blinds me. “You’ll be fine.” I try to sound calm so that she doesn’t freak out. “Come on!”
I pick up my bike and fire it up. And when Kat puts her hands on my waist, I yank them forward and wrap her arms tightly around me.
I am mad. Mad at myself for being reckless and the cause of this. Mad at the rain pouring down as I try to veer my Superbike through the washed-out dirt road at the fastest speed I can in this weather. Which is still painfully slow.
The rain subsides, though still slashes at my bare chest as we enter Ayana. In minutes, we pull up to the doctor’s, and I help Kat off the bike.
“You alright?” I ask her.
She looks mad, too. Maybe scared and doesn’t want to show it.
“Am I supposed to be dropping dead?” She tries to joke, but her gaze is uncertain.
I walk past the reception, asking, “Where’s Doc?”
“In room fifteen with a patient,” the receptionist answers but doesn’t stop me—a perk of owning everything on this island, hence getting things done fast.
I open a random door and tell Kat to wait while I go and get Doc.
Dr. Hodges is in his forties, a little younger than my Dad. He gives me an up-and-down look as we hurry toward Kat’s room. This is the most unprofessional he’s ever seen me. Thank God I have jeans on.
“It was a coral snake,” I explain fast while we are walking through the hallway. “Shallow wound. Could be a dry one. About half an hour ago. She doesn’t have any medical conditions that I know of. No medication allergies.”
“She told you that?”
“I’ve read her file.”
Doc nods, though I’m sure it sounds weird.