Snippet 5c

~~*~~

The moon was high overhead. Its light shown brightly, white and devastating against the stark shadows that the trees caused. The woods were dense, but the light filtered through, casting an eerie glow over the darkness within.

Disrupted swiftly when the young villager running through the woods crashed between the branches and shrubs that extended out over the non-existent path.

He ran fast, the harsh panting of his breath cutting through the otherwise still sound of the nighttime forest. He leapt over a fallen branch, nearly tripping over another as he continued to race through the trees, heading back toward town. Or anywhere that was safe.

But there was no chance of escape. He already knew that. He'd known that the moment he'd seen those glittering yellow eyes focus themselves on him in the shadows.

Behind him, the heavy padding of the four powerful paws was drawing nearer. Panting breath, harsher and more feral than his own was also coming closer. The huge beast was gaining. It wouldn't be long before he was overtaken.

Never go out into the woods alone, his grandmother had said. And never at the full moon.

Hell itself awaited the man who set foot in the woods the night of the full moon.

A sharp pain suddenly cut into his ankle, and he gave a short cry as he suddenly tripped, hitting the leaf-strewn ground below him hard. He scrambled quickly to his feet, but his heart rate accelerated to a dangerous pounding, knowing he'd now lost the only gain he'd had on the monster. It was useless to keep running, but he had to anyway. Human nature.

He began to run again, taking a sharp turn to the right in hopes of gaining more ground again. He should have known better, however, hearing the dull thunk of wood as the creature pushed itself off the lower base of a tree to launch itself faster to the right, still in hot pursuit. The pounding of the paws and the harsh panting were close now. Very, very close.

It was all over. He knew that before he even tried to jump the small ravine that had next appeared in his path. He was never given the opportunity, because the full, hot weight of the wolf behind him slammed into him a second later, knocking them both down into the muddy ditch below.

And the last thing he saw before razor-sharp teeth and powerful jaws closed on his neck was the face of the white moon, gazing piteously on him as all went to darkness.

~*~*~

"All right, Mr. Sulu. That suture seems to be working well for you," Dr. Luke Leshar glanced up with a small smile at the man seated on the table, putting away the last of his instruments into his black case. "No swelling, no abnormal bruising, not even a little bleeding. Your body is a remarkable healer."

Sulu pursed his lips in a half smile as he drummed his fingers on the examining table below him. "So...that's it then, Doc?"

"That's it," Leshar said, turning toward him with another smile. "Just come back in a couple weeks so that I can check up on it one more time, and then you'll be a free man."

"Doctor!" a quick, Russian voice suddenly broke into the room, and Leshar and Sulu were suddenly joined by Pavel Chekov, who ran in without hesitation. "Doctor Leshar! Haff you seen Doctor McCoy?!"

"Yes, he's in the back," Leshar said, frowning slightly in concern. "Why? What's happened?"

"An accident," Chekov said, his gaze darting to Sulu for an instant. "...an accident at ze Kirks. One of 'zem vas found in the woods early 'zis morning - he is almost dead!"

"What it wouldn't be a good ol' month without something like that happening now would there?" A grouchy voice from the back said before Dr. McCoy came out with a bag on his shoulder. "Alright Pavel, let's go. You got Sulu, Lesh'ar?"

"Yes," Leshar said, watching him. "Are you going to need any help?"

"I could use an extra pair of hands knowing the Kirks," McCoy said, motioning to him. "Step quickly now young'un."

Leshar chose not to respond to that as he picked up his bag, giving Sulu a last nod before he turned to follow the other doctor outside.

"He is bleeding badly," Chekov informed McCoy as they walked. "It looks like he was attacked by some sort of...animal, you know. Bitten."

McCoy glanced over at Lesh'ar before looking at Pavel. "Where was he bitten?"

"I do not know. I only saw a great deal of blood," Chekov admitted, quickening his pace slightly as they neared the path that would lead them to the Kirk residence. "It seems to be from his shoulder - or possibly his neck. Maybe both..."

McCoy and Lesh'ar again exchanged looks. "We'd better hurry, Pavel. Doesn't sound good for him."

The young lad nodded, and quickened his pace as they neared the house. A few minutes later, they were making their way up the path to the friendly, sturdy white house not far from the fenced border of the woods, and Chekov quickly led them to the door.

"Meesus Kirk!" he called out, not bothering to knock as he pushed the door open. "Mesesus Kirk, ze doctors haff arrived! Both of 'zem!"

"Oh thank God," A choked up voice said, and the figure of Mrs. Kirk hurried from one of the farther rooms. "Thank you so much for coming."

"It's no trouble Winona," McCoy said, stepping forward to lead her back toward the room. "How is he?"

"He's hardly responding anymore," She sobbed, choking on her own words. "He's lost so much blood, and his fever is so high..."

"It's going to be alright," McCoy assured her, stopping at the door. "Lesh'ar, why don't you take her to the kitchen for a cup of tea. I'll be out in a minute."

"Of course," Leshar said, nodding to him, before reaching out a hand to place gently behind Mrs. Kirk's shoulder. "Come sit down, Winona. Leonard will have him patched up in no time. He's going to be just fine."

"God why did he have to be so stupid," Winona sobbed, following him.

McCoy watched the two leave for the kitchen, and then stepped inside the room. It was dark, as he had expected, and very warm. There were buckets of water next to the bed, and the disfigured boy lying on it was covered in them.

"Jim?" He said quietly as he walked in, sitting down and placing his bag next to the bed. "You awake, Jim?"

Aside from a slight change in his rugged breathing, there was no response from Jim at all. His eyes opened after another moment, however, just slightly, and fixed themselves blearily on McCoy's face. The blue color of them seemed almost electric next to the stark red of the blood that oozed around his face, neck and shoulder.

The injury was definitely, if nothing else, an enormous bite. Punctures from rows of sharp teeth ran along Jim's throat, and down part of his shoulder. The blood loss was obviously severe, but he wasn't dead.

He wouldn't die if the bite was exactly what Chekov had been subtly hinting at.

"Dammit Jim you're a mess," McCoy said, taking out some clothes and a bottle from his kit. He proceeded to soak the clothes and lay them over the bites. "Now don't mess with these, you hear? Listen to your ma, and you should be better in a few days. If anything weird starts happening that you want to know about, call me."

Standing up, McCoy left a card on the bedside table and left the room.

"I don't even know why he thought something wouldn't happen to him, he's so accident prone," Winona's voice carried from the kitchen as McCoy entered. "He should have known better..."

"He'll be alright, Winona." McCoy said, coming up behind her and putting a hand on her shoulder. "I gave him something that should help heal him up in no time."

Winona looked at him in shock, momentarily at a loss for words. "He'll - he'll be alright...? But the blood loss-"

"He's lost a lot of blood, but he's strong and it's not bleeding too heavily anymore." McCoy said assuringly, nodding to Lesh'ar. "Did you get what happened?"

"I did," Leshar said, nodding as he stood to his feet. "One day we're going to find out exactly what is running around in these woods. Even one instance like this every now and then is far too frequent." He looked back at Winona, and gave her a small, reassuring smile. "We'll check in on things soon, Winona. For now, rest easy. Jim will be fine."

"Will you check on him tomorrow?" Winona asked worriedly.

"Of course," Leshar promised, nodding to McCoy before turning to her again. "And we won't be far away if you need anything else. All right?"

Winona nodded, sniffing as she stood to her feet. "I'll walk you two out..."

"That's not necessary ma'am, but thank you." McCoy said, ducking out the door. "Gimme a call if something changes."

"I will." Winona said, giving them a small smile. "Thank you for coming so quickly."

"Our pleasure, Winona," Leshar said, before giving her a last nod and turning to follow McCoy out.

He waited until they were a safe bit of distance away from the house before he turned to the other doctor again, frowning slightly.

"I have to say, Leonard, you seem very optimistic," he commented. "From what Winona told me, I would have thought the situation to be far more severe. You really believe Jim will recover so fully from this without any additional medical treatment?"

"He's a Kirk," McCoy said offhandedly.

"Even a Kirk can die from blood loss," Leshar said. "Was he awake when you saw him?"

"Barely," McCoy said, shaking his head as they both crossed a street. "He's still in shock, if nothing else."

"Were you able to tell what sort of animal it was that attacked him?" Leshar glanced over at them as they came up the main street, sidetracking back toward the office. "It must have been something of considerable size to inflict that much damage."