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After our radio call, we found a place to rest through the afternoon so we could hunt again at sunset. We found another large tree and settled in as we had the day before—leaning against a tree trunk with Chance's arm around me and my head on his chest. I woke up when a drip fell on my forehead. I brushed it away with the back of my hand, but another drop fell. My first thought was that it was raining, but then I realized the drops were only falling on my forehead. I looked up into Chance's face and saw the sweat pouring off him.
"Chance, are you OK?" He didn't answer. I scooted out from under his arm and turned around so I could look at him. I patted his cheek, "Chance, wake up."
I laid the back of my hand against his forehead. He was burning up. "Fudge." I moved behind him and put my arms under his arm pits. Chance is a big guy, so I knew I couldn't move him far. All I needed to do was swing him around so I could lay him flat. I needed to get a good look at the wounds on his chest. I laid him flat on the ground and got out my first aid kit. The sight of Chance's chest always has the power to leave me speechless, but this time a gasp escaped when I pulled up his shirt.
"Glad you still appreciate the view, Babe, but I'm not sure I'm up for too much activity."
Although the cuts hadn't seemed too deep, the bandages were all soaked through. The skin around the scratches was puffy, red, and nearly too hot to touch. The wound was infected. I was thankful I'd taken a wilderness medical course. My first aid kit was more extensive than a standard one. I pulled out the strongest antibiotic I had and handed it to Chance with a bottle of water. He swallowed the pills and pushed himself up to a sitting position, as I reached for the radio.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm calling for help. You need a hospital."
"No. I'm fine. You know how to treat this. I'll be OK. The antibiotics will help with the fever.”
"At least let me call Cassie and ask about her experience with the wounds from the chupa attack."
"No. It's my decision. I don't want anyone else making it for me."
"Fudge. I hate this. You're not in any condition to hike or shoot, so why stay out here."
"I'm OK. I'll drink a lot of water and let you check as often as you want. If I get worse, I'll call for evacuation myself. I promise. I need to be part of this, Babe. It's important to me."
"You're important to me, Chance. I don't want anything to happen to you."
"Awwww." He pulled me close and kissed me. "Let's go find some cryptids."
As we walked, I realized the easiest way out of this situation with Chance was if one of the other teams found something and called us in to help. I was pretty sure that once Cassie and Jared saw Chance's wound, they would have him evacuated whether he liked it or not. I knew this hunt was important to him, but I suspected he needed stronger antibiotics than what I had in my first aid kit.
Chance wavered a bit when he stood up, but he quickly recovered. He drank water and held my pack out for me. We got back on the trail, hoping we could pick up the waheela's trail again. We were following a game trail, but whether it was a conventional animal or a cryptid there was no way to tell.
Chance managed to function normally but his fever hadn't broken. It was well past sunset, and we were still following the wildlife trail. We heard something ahead on the trail. It sounded as though it was coming toward us. Chance whispered, "If you don't recognize it as a normal animal, tranq it. We can figure out what it is later. He stepped off to one side of the trail and motioned me to do the same opposite him.
We both aimed our weapons down the trail. Whatever was headed our way was making no effort at stealth. I saw the animal and fired. Chance did the same. It continued a few steps past us before falling over on its side.
We both walked up to examine it. It was some type of feline with very long tusks. "It's some kind of saber-toothed cat. Isn't it?" I asked.
"Looks like," Chance said.
"I didn't see anything like that on the list."
"Me either, but it definitely doesn't belong here. I'm not sure it belongs anywhere in this time, but I'll call for pickup. You give it another dose."
Chance was strong and stubborn. He helped load the big cat into a crate that was lowered from a helicopter, but once the helicopter flew away, he was barely able to move.
"Chance, your fever's not getting any better, and you're exhausted. Please let me call for help."
"Let's stick with the plan at least until morning. Once the antibiotics kick in, the fever will come down. I just need some rest. It's been a long day."