3 a.m. (Henry Bins 1) by Nick Pirog Read Free Book Online

relative monotony.
I have made a couple small tweaks, as I have decided never to
venture outside again, and I run on my new treadmill that I'd had
overnighted and delivered (the days of leaving my door unlocked are
in the past and I had Isabel meet the delivery people and let them
in.) Anyhow, the treadmill is the latest and greatest and there is
a screen that shows where you are running. You can run the
Appalachian Trail, the streets of Boston, the beaches of San Diego,
or even the nearby Potomac.
    I mean, who needs to go outside, am I
right?
    It's my fifth day on the treadmill, and I
opt for a little run down the streets of D.C. The White House looms
in the background and I flip it off.
    I've run 2.43 miles when I hear a noise.
    I jerk my head towards the door, my eyes
scanning to see if the regular security lock, and the Ideal
Security Heavy Duty lock I'd had installed are both latched. They
are.
    I continue running.
    At 2.51 miles, I hear it again.
    I jump off the treadmill and tiptoe to the
door and gaze through the peep-hole. Nothing.
    Was I hearing things?
    Two steps back towards the treadmill and I
hear it again. I again press my eye to
the peep-hole. Again, nothing.
    I unlatch both locks and gently ease the
door open.
    Meow.
    “ LASSSSSSSSSSSSSIE!”
    He jumps into my arms.
    I hold him up high, my cheeks cramping I'm
smiling so hard. “BUDDDY! . . . WHERE DID YOU G—DUDE!
WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?”
    Lassie is a bloody mess.  He has a huge
cut on his belly, a bite out of his ear, and one of his eyes is
swollen shut. I swear he is smirking as if to say, “You should see
the other five guys.” 
    I set him on the table and go to work on him
with a warm cloth. He winces as I touch him, but altogether he's a
pretty good sport.
    I'd been so happy to see him and so
overwhelmed by his many cuts that I'd failed to notice he smelled
something awful.
    “ Dude, did you pick a
fight with a skunk?”
    Meow.
    “ What are these?” I pull
out two spines from his butt. Porcupine spikes.
    “ Dude, did you pick a
fight with a skunk and a porcupine.”
    Meow.
    I am laughing uncontrollably and hug him
tight.
    He winces.
    “ Sorry, buddy.”
    I feed him a can of tuna, then I give him a
bath in the sink. I gently rinse all the dried blood off him. He is
having trouble keeping his eyes open. “I've been there buddy. Trust
me.”
    I carry him to bed and rub his little body
until he falls asleep.
     
    …
     
    “ Lassie . . .
Lassie!”
    His eyes flutter, but he doesn't move.
    It's 3:03 a.m.
    I gingerly roll him over. The cut on his
belly is red and swollen. I touch it with my finger and he
yelps.
    Shit.
    “ Dude? Are you
okay?”
    He's not.
    My heart starts racing.
    “ I'm sorry buddy. We'll
get you fixed.”
    Meow.
    My eyes are filling with tears and I wipe
them away. He's just a stupid cat, I tell myself. I grab my phone
and am about to search for an emergency vet, when I stop. I've
actually seen the emergency vet before. It's adjacent to the park
about a mile and a half away.
    I don't have a driver's license, but I do
have a little Vespa that I use every so often.
    I grab Lassie and a
backpack, then bolt out the front door.
    It’s the first time I have
left the sanctity of my apartment since the chase. I scan the street. It’s
all clear.
    I open the backpack and put Lassie
inside. 
    “ Ten minutes buddy,” I
tell him.
    I make it in seven.
    Lassie clings to my shoulder as I walk
through the sliding glass doors of the Alexandria VCA Emergency
Animal Hospital. 
    There is no one else there and after filling
out some paperwork, we see the doctor.
    It is 3:20. 
    “ So, what seems to be the
problem?” the vet asks in an Australian accent. He has reddish
blond hair, glasses, and tells me to call him James, or as he says
it, Jahms.
    “ He was gone for about a
week, came back all beat up last night. I think he picked a fight
with a skunk and a porcupine.”
    “ Is that right?” He
laughs. “Well let's have a look-see