Blood Lust: A Supernatural Horror by JE Gurley Read Free Book Online

must have set. The floor was cool and inviting. Before I knew it, I lay curled up on the cold tile floor.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    3
     
    I regained consciousness lying on a gurney staring up at the roof of an ambulance. My head throbbed and my mouth tasted like the inside of a dirty sock . A white-jacketed E MT was hanging an intravenous bottle from a hook . He glanced down at me and continued working.
    “Where the hell am I?” I groaned, trying to rise to a sitting position and noticed I was not wearing a shirt . I reached back and felt the bandage on my shoulder and the memory of my assailant stabbing me flooded back, along with the pain in my shoulder. My head ached and I felt disoriented . M y mouth was dry and I had no idea how much time had passed.
    The EMT swung around and looked at me analytically, judging best how to reply . “You were unconscious when your partner found you, Detective. You have a nasty wound in your right shoulder. It’s very infected and y ou’re running a high fever. You should have had it treated much earlier.”
              My confusion deepened . I looked out the rear door. It was daylight, still mid - afternoon . I had been wrong about the sun setting. It had just been me blacking out. I touched my bruised and cut chin and winced. “Earlier? What day is it?”
    “Tuesday afternoon , two o’clock,” he said slowly, judging my reaction to his news.
    His answer hit me like a punch in the gut. I had been out only half an hour or so. “I was wound ed less than an hour ago ,” I said incredulously . “ How the hell could it be infected this soon ?”
    He stared at me as if he thought I was lying. I returned his gaze as finally managed to sit up. The nausea sent me reeling but I fought back and slowly got it under control. I eyed the needle he h eld in his hand for the IV fluids .
    “You try to shove that thing in me and I’ll ram it up your ass, ” I growled.
    “You need fluids, ” he countered, “ stitches, antibiotics , blood . You’re a very sick man,” he argued.
    He was probably right, but I needed some answers first. I grabbed my bloody shirt and examined the holes in the back. The blood was still damp so the EMT had not been lying. Gingerly, I put on my shirt, biting down on my lip as a sharp pain shot through my shoulder. Seeing my discomfort, the EMT made a motion to help me but he stopped when he saw the fierce look I shot him. I ignored hi s protests and crawled out of the ambulance, holding onto the doors until my legs would support my weight , and sought out Lew. He was standing in front of the church speaking with a uniform. He saw me and rushed over.
    “What the hell are you doing, Tack? You need to be in the hospital.”
    I shook my head and another wave of nausea swept over me. “What happened?”
    “You don’t remember?” He eyed me suspiciously. “I came back to find you lying on the floor out cold. Your forehead was on fire. You looked like you were dying.”
    I touched my forehead. It was hot , burning up with fever . “I feel like I ’ m dying,” I snapped. “What the hell’s going on with the case ? ”
    He shook his head slowly and pointed to the back of the ambulance . “For God’s sake, Tack, go with the nice man to the hospital and let them sew you up. Get some sleep. I’ll drop by as soon as Munson finishes up.”
    I nodded. I did n’ t have the energy to protest. I was bone weary and defeated. He made sense. I could do nothing more there. “We let him get away, partner , ” I said grimly.
    He squared his jaw and looked at me as if I had accus ed him of incompetence . “The only wa y out was through the door we ca me in. There were no footprints but ours. If he gave us the slip, then the bastard had to fly out of there.”
    I remembered my words from the night before and sighed. “We’re both punch drunk , partner . Nobody flies but angels and he’s no angel. ”
    I let the EMT coax me back into the ambulance,