Page 40 of Sanctuary

Misty placed the cup in front of the large cat’s face, and his tongue came out and he tasted it. After two loud slurps, it was gone.

They heard the back metal door open, and the three of them poked their heads up from the tarp.

“I need to take care of Summa,” said Simon, looking worriedly at the lion.

“How can I help?” asked Misty, regretfully pulling the tarp away so she could stand. “Stay in here and keep warm,” she told Paige and Sarah.

“Holler if you need us,” Paige said and pulled the tarp back over them.

Simon laid out the items he brought. Misty hated to ask, but the cat still hadn’t moved.

“Is he alive?” she whispered.

“His chest is still moving,” Simon told her. He pulled a tranquilizer dart from his pocket, though he struggled to get it out, and it took a moment before Misty knew what it was. He removed the cap and stabbed the dart into the cat’s front shoulder. Summa lifted his head, slightly and bared his teeth before he sank back and stared at the wall. He was going down fast from his wound, and they had to hurry. “You need to stitch him up,” said Simon. “I can’t get low enough. Can you?”

“Of course,” she said, though it scared her. Simon’s worry gave her courage. She really wanted his friend to be okay.

“Shave a small area here first.” He pointed at the large cat’s leg. “He needs to be on an IV before you start.” Simon handed her a razor. Misty would have never thought of it.

“Have you treated a knife wound before?” she asked.

“No, but the cats fight with sharp claws, and I’ve sewn them up plenty of times. At the hut, I can use a table to work on them.” He nodded at Summa. “If you hold the leg up, I think I can get the IV needle in. My knees are old, and they hurt me,” he explained as he hooked up a bag of fluids and looked for something to hold it. There was a hook to the right of the door about five feet off the ground. Simon placed the bag on the hook and checked the line. It would reach.

“I can do this,” Misty promised.

While biting her lip, she carefully shaved the area on Summa’s leg, checking to see the cat didn’t object. The rise and fall of his chest was minimal and she didn’t know if the lion would make it. She finished and moved to the area around the knife wound. There was a three-inch-long deep slice and what looked like a fairly deep puncture.

“Let me get the IV in,” said Simon when she removed the last of the fur in the way. “When I’m done, you can stitch.”

He effortlessly inserted the IV and once again Misty was amazed at what he knew. When the needle was in the cat’s leg, Simon placed tape around it to hold everything in place. It was time for Misty. Her nerves were on edge, but she knew she could do it.

Simon handed her a large, rounded needle and the thread, though it was more like dental floss.

“I use this to stitch them because it dissolves and they don’t need to be removed. Jerry wouldn’t pay the cost for it, so I saved my money and Mrs. Miller from the library ordered it for me.”

“Mrs. Miller sounds like a wonderful person,” Misty said.

“She is, and you would like Yolanda too. She’s married to Roberto and he does work on the island. They are my friends.”

“I’m glad you have them.”

He smiled and looked down at the cat. “Thread the needle and you’ll need to tie off each stitch so they hold. Be sure to grab enough skin so it doesn’t tear and cause the stitches to come out.”

“I can do it,” she assured him. “I’ve watched my mother do it before.”

Suddenly the cat’s entire body shuddered. He went still, his eyes open and staring into nothingness.

“Move!” yelled Simon.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Savage Sanctuary Island, Misty

Misty scooted out of the way. The cat had died, and she said a quick prayer even though her father would have slapped her for saying the words over an animal. She then watched as Simon did the most amazing thing. He went to the floor, pressed on the cat's chest, then covered its mouth and nose with his hands, and blew air into its lungs. He kept repeating the process, and Misty started to worry that the cat’s death was more than Simon could handle.

She had no idea how much time passed before Simon lifted his head and waited. The cat’s chest rose on its own.

“You did it,” Misty said breathlessly. It was a miracle right before her eyes.

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