The rescue

JAPHETH'S POV

I sat down there in the cool of the night as I watched the stars while drinking bourbon whiskey. Seriously, to think that woman had played me so much and had caused me to get ruled by the court to start paying her alimony that was one third of my earnings was certainly something I would never forgive. The only thing I needed was time away to get some rest and the sea happens to be the only place I ever found such rest. Stella had done her bit but I would certainly figure out a way to extract vengeance from her. It was at this point that I caught sight of something floating in the dark.

"Hey, captain!!!" I called out to him as he was up ahead.

"Sir?" He answered.

"There's something out here, floating. Point your light." I said to him,

"Where, sir?" He asked me.

"To your three o'clock." I said to him and that instant, he flashed the light right on the spot.

The moment I saw it was a person, I did not think twice as I jumped into the sea and swam to rescue. It was a woman and she was totally unconscious, if not dead. He had come really close as he assisted me pull her up into the yacht I got in again.

"Luckily, those sharks are not in their season. She might have been made a meal of." He said to me,

"What happened to her?" I asked a question I knew I needed no answer to as I knelt beside her.

She was white with cold and her dress was ripped around the abdomen from what would pass out as claws. On her shoulder, there was a bad wound. I examined it.

"Looks like a bite, sir." The captain said.

"Animal attack?" I muttered.

"Clearly." He said.

"What animal would have done this?" I asked as I felt her wrist for a pulse.

"Could be a bear. They usually are around these areas." He said.

"A bear, at night and she got into the sea?" I asked and started pressing her chest at intervals. "Bring the yacht around."

He knew best not to ask further questions as this was an emergency. I kept pressing her chest at intervals and then gave artificial respiration to her. This is done until she coughed out water and opened her eyes halfway weakly.

"Who..." She said but went off again.

Quickly, I carried her up into my arms as I rushed to my cabin where I placed her on the bed and wrapped the thick duvet over her. She was shivering now and clearly needed urgent medical attention. That bite could be really bad if not treated quickly. It could be infected even.

The captain put in his best as he stirred the yacht around and was headed for shore as I held her in my arms while still wrapped in the duvet. She had been through a lot clearly and I feared for her that something worse might have happened. I wondered where she had been or what she had been doing out in the night at such odd hours and even more disturbing was from whence had the sea brought her.

Soon, we were at shore and I hurriedly got her into my car as the driver sped all the way to the hospital. We overtook rather quickly and suddenly that each time, we could hear the sudden blare of horns from behind us but I kept goading him to go faster as her shivering increased. Eventually, we made it to the hospital and she was taken into ICU while I waited in the lobby. I had not been allowed to enter with her and so, I waited.

About half an hour later, the doctor came out wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"How is she?" I asked him.

"Can't say for now, it seems like her wound is infected." He said.

"That's bad." I muttered.

"Where's her family, they ought to know." He said to me,

"I don't know. Found her floating in the sea." I said to him,

"Too bad. We're hoping for the best while expecting the worst." He said to me,

"I understand but please do your best for her." I said.

"Of course." He said to me.

"But, what do you think happened to her?" I asked him.

"Can't say for sure but from what we gathered, the claws should come from a really big wolf and the bite marks." He said to me,

"Not a bear?" I asked.

"No. Doesn't look like a bear attack to me but I'm not ruling out the possibility. But then, we do not have wolves in these parts even for a lot of miles across the sea." He said.

"Maybe she was captive to someone who owned one." I suggested.

"Unless that." The doctor responded.

"Can I see her?" I asked him.

"Sure but we need to get a hold of her family the moment she comes to." He said and I agreed.

I entered the ward where she was being held as some nurses tidied up her treatment. She looked in so much pain as she was unconscious while her teeth clattered out of cold. I could not begin to fathom why I was so worried but I could not go home. I eventually slept off on the chair when suddenly I had flashes of nightmare. This was a nightmare I usually had once in a while but I could not see.

It was all about me being pressed down by some persons as a kid and having a burning coin pressed onto my chest. I never could stay through it all but then, I jerked up as always this time only to find her muttering in pain as she rolled in her sleep. I was worried as I went over and touched her forehead and quickly, I took my hand away.

Her fever could literally cook a meal and she was muttering something. I leant in closer as I tried to listen to her.

"Help... Justin...help.... monster..." She muttered.