Her name is Katherine Cooper. I took the liberty of checking her ID while I was putting her clothes away. I was going to save her clothes for her when she wakes up. There is a certain sense of vulnerability one gets when one is stripped of their clothes. When I was fourteen I was helping my grandfather string a baited line across the pond on their dairy farm. It had been stocked with catfish. I fell out of the boat into foul smelling muddy water. I hit my head on the side of the canoe and was knocked cold. I woke up later in the hospital. The nurse told me they had thrown my clothes away. Made me feel like a captive. But Emily kept growling and barking at the pile of clothes. There is a scent to them that she does not like so I took them a short distance off and burned them.
I cleaned out the wounds on her abdomen with hot water and alcohol. She was thrashing about so much I had to tie her down first. I am sure that is against some medical ethics rules but I did not have anyone to help me hold her down. Got her to take some chicken broth too. That's a good sign I think.
Found an RV dealership, just outside of Carthage and traded in the van for a motor 
home. But not just any motor home. It's a damn Mercedes Unimog, built on a heavy duty chassis. Ugly thing, looks like it would be at home in the Australian outback. The Grumman was ok, but a little cramped and sorely lacking in basic amenities. Like a bathroom. The Unimog should be able to handle most off road conditions when needed. It's not as big as a traditional motor home, but it will go places a tradition motor home won't. The price sticker read $293,000 and that is for a ten year old used camper. It was probably over half a million new.
home. But not just any motor home. It's a damn Mercedes Unimog, built on a heavy duty chassis. Ugly thing, looks like it would be at home in the Australian outback. The Grumman was ok, but a little cramped and sorely lacking in basic amenities. Like a bathroom. The Unimog should be able to handle most off road conditions when needed. It's not as big as a traditional motor home, but it will go places a tradition motor home won't. The price sticker read $293,000 and that is for a ten year old used camper. It was probably over half a million new. I pulled both the Grumman and the Unimog into the huge garage at the dealership and made sure it was clear before closing it up. I did not want to take any chances while transferring everything to the Uni. It did get rather hot but not as bad as I expected. There were large vents in the roof. I transferred all the gear and supplies first, figuring I could pick things up quieter than I can set them down (or drop them in some cases).
Katherine did not wake up till I moved her to one of the Uni's beds. And then only long enough to cuss at me.
Going to really like the Uni, it has powerful AC and storage for just about everything. And it is built like a fucking tank. Dee is quite happy with the change too. She gets a real bed again. And she is very excited to have a someone else around. I am constantly having to shoo her away so that Katherine can rest. I think Dee is convinced Katherine will be her new mommy like I am her new daddy. Don't know how you explain to a 3 year old that you are not ready for a relationship yet.
I also am eager to talk to our new guest. To actually have an adult conversation with someone other than myself. I also need to know where she came from. I strongly suspect that those wounds on her belly came from a close encounter with a wraith. Emily's reaction to her clothes was enough to convince me of that. She was trembling almost as bad as the night that thing came in the house. I need to know where she has been. I was hoping to be putting those things behind us.
© 2009 R. Keith McBride
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