Page 2 of Run Free

“I’m afraid so, hence the necessary emergency. My men on the ground said it was the most gruesome job they’d ever seen.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Let’s go save some animals,” I said, my adrenaline kicking up a notch just from hearing him talk.

While still in the air, pictures and information started arriving. Jacob and I looked over each of them. Caged animals. Starving animals. Signs of massive torture. Several animals confirmed dead onsite. I had to fight back tears just looking at the photographs and hearing their reports.

I had gone into veterinary science for this exact purpose, but it broke my heart to know my services were desperately needed in this place of death.

“What has become of the owners?” I asked.

“We’re still looking for them. A neighbor called in a complaint from the stench. She claimed it was far worse than the usual smells. By outward appearances, the couple that owned the zoo was on the up-and-up. I have a friend looking deeper into it all,” Jacob explained.

He never mentioned hisfriendsby name or anything personal. Most of the time, I didn’t want to know. I’d witnessed the reach of his power and the depth of his knowledge of my kind. Humans weren’t supposed to know about shifters, but the Verndari certainly did and their range was far and wide.

After the briefing, I fell asleep and slept most of the flight. As usual Jacob had a small airfield probably no one had ever heard of lined up for our landing. There was a large SUV waiting to drive us to the zoo.

The moment we arrived, my wolf was on edge like I’d never felt before. The conditions we found the animals in were beyond disturbing, by far the worst I’d ever encountered. I fought back tears as a team passed by with dead bodies that needed to be disposed of as I set to work on those still holding on for dear life.

I met my team right away. There were five of them, the largest I’d been allocated for a job. It was further proof of just how horrifying the situation was. I gathered them together and tried to rein in my emotions.

“Hey, everyone. I’m Clara. You’ll be reporting to me today. The first thing we’re going to do is triage the situation.”

I passed out folders to each of them with cards to attach to each animal. Green meant the animal was healthy and stable enough to wait to be checked out, but likely okay. Yellow was a higher priority that would need some minor medical treatment. Red was major injury that required immediate attention, but Blue meant their life was in jeopardy and they were the highest priority.

“Go through quickly and give each animal a full assessment. If they look okay, mark them Green and move on. If you come across a Blue and they can be moved, I have a mobile clinic being set up as we speak. It will be in the center of the park, and is circled on the map. I’ve already divided the zoo into five sections. Each of you needs to focus on just your section for triage. If you cannot get a Blue patient back to the clinic, use the radio in your triage kit to call me. For anyone new or unfamiliar with my procedures, these kits have all the necessary first aid items to treat Green and Yellow patients, possibly even Red. Remember, first sweep is simply an assessment. Only work on getting the Blue patients stabilized as quickly as possible. I’m also going to require a full list of every animal and their state. You’ll find the paperwork for that in your folder. Any questions?”

They each shook their head. I passed out the triage bags and wished them well. As my team dispersed, I headed to check the status of my clinic they were setting up. Because of the conditions of the facilities, Jacob had allocated a mobile unit for me to work out of. I was grateful for it, and the speedy delivery and setup of the place.

As they were just finishing, my first patient arrived. She was a white tiger with rope burns around her neck and open, oozing sores down her back. Her breathing was labored. I got to work immediately to stabilize her. There were five others awaiting my attention before I was done.

The day went on like that, non-stop. My team was proficient and thorough as they moved through the park. Three hundred and twenty-seven animals were identified, far more than were acceptable for a zoo that size.

I didn’t stop for lunch. There was just too much to do, but Jacob came in and interceded on my behalf around dinnertime.

“Clara, you’re not going to be worth anything to anyone if you don’t take care of yourself. You have to eat.”

I nodded. Looking down, I saw that I was covered in blood and various types of tissue from multiple operations. “I should probably take a quick shower and change first.”

“The showers and sleeping quarters are set up at the back of the park. There is a loading entrance back there. Take your time. Dave just arrived. He’ll relieve you for tonight if you’d like.”

I had worked with Dave on multiple occasions over the years. I trusted him, but I knew there was still an overwhelming amount of work to do just to stabilize the worst cases.

“Thanks, but that’s not necessary. I just need to get cleaned up and changed, and get some food in my system, and I’ll be good to go. With Dave here, we should be able to get the last of them stabilized tonight. That’s just the worse cases. If I had to guess, I think we’re going to be here a week, maybe two to clean up this mess, Jacob.”

“I know, Clara. That was my estimation, too. I can only stick around for another two days, but I know this place is in good hands with you at the helm.”

“What? But Dave is here. You’ve never left me in charge of a mission before, only the veterinarian team.”

“You’re ready. You are more capable than anyone of running things.”

I nodded, still not sure I agreed with him. Was that really why Dave was here? I would need to rely on him as head vet if I were to tend to all the other needs of the place. Feeling resolved with his request, I left and wandered around to the back of the park.

I hadn’t really taken the time to look around the zoo since we’d arrived as I had been running at full steam. I took a moment to breathe and look around. There was something very pleasant in the air, but for some reason it made my wolf sad. The closer we got to the back, the stranger my wolf felt. Almost like she was in mourning and I certainly couldn’t blame her. The entire place felt like death. It made the hairs on my arms stand up.

I had seen several unique and endangered species come across my table since triage began, but so far, no shifters. I was grateful for it. Jacob had seemed certain we’d find some here. It broke my heart to consider a shifter stuck in a hell like this.

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