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Chance continued to argue his case right up to the time Dr. Wainwright hooked him up to an IV. "I can't in good conscience leave you out here," he said. "I understand you've had a successful hunt. Concentrate on those you got not those that got away."
"Well said, Doctor," I agreed. "Team two got the cherufe. We're going to head back to base camp. Cassie and I will take one of the ATVs and meet you at the lab." I kissed Chance and stood beside Cassie as he and Jared were led away to the helicopter landing site.
"I'm glad to see you two ladies in good health," Dr. Wainwright said. "I'll be in touch soon to set up some appointments for you.”
Dr. Wainwright was an MD and a PHD in biology who worked at the BITES lab. He treated me when I was shot during Gracie Layne's kidnapping. He was also involved in treating Cassie after the Randerran incident. Now, he was in charge of the project to investigate the healing properties of the medical treatment Cassie and I received in the woods—treatment Chance and others are convinced was provided by bigfoot.
We talked about the cryptids as we hiked back to the base camp site where we left the ATVs. "The only one we feel sure is out here that we didn't get is the Waheela," Cassie said.
"Maybe that's OK. Of all the cryptids we were hoping to capture, it's the one that is most likely to blend in with the local animal population. We do have bears and wolves here."
"You're right. We should be pleased with what we accomplished. I'm anxious to get a look at the cherufe. Henry said it's back half was like a giant snake. That's how they ended up tracking it."
"Sounds creepy," I said.
I spent some time talking with Loren and Rene as we walked. They were amazed by the dingonek and were very thankful they'd been asked to participate in the hunt.
It took longer than I would have liked but, once we got to base camp, we realized we should pack up everything and take the ATVs to the lab with the trailers. We loaded the gear as fast as we could.
By the time we reached the lab, it was the middle of the night, but we radioed ahead so they were expecting us. Security took care of the ATVs and someone showed Loren and Rene to rooms they could use for the night. Cassie and I ran into Dr. Wainwright in the hallway outside the medical unit.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked.
"To check on Chance and Jared," I said.
"Not so fast," he said, putting himself between us and the doors.
"They're both fine and resting comfortably."
"Great," Cassie said. "Let's go see them."
"Did you miss the part where I said 'resting'?" he asked.
"I just want to make sure Chance is OK and let him know I'm here."
"I cleaned his wound and started him on a much stronger antibiotic. His fever is still higher than I'd like. Someone will check on him every two hours. I'm hopeful the fever will be down by morning."
"What about Jared?" Cassie asked.
"He'll make a full recovery, but he'll need some physical therapy once the wound is healed. He's on antibiotics as well. I heard it was a dingonek tusk that got him. I'm anxious to get a look at the creature tomorrow, but right now I'm heading to bed. You two ladies need to get some rest."
Neither of us were happy about not seeing the guys, but we'd dealt with Dr. Wainwright before and knew it was futile to argue. "We could threaten to pull out of the medical study unless he lets us see them," I suggested as we walked down the corridor to our rooms.
"We could, but he's right. We're exhausted, and they need to rest."