THEM (Season 1): Episode 2 Read Online Free PDF Page A

that means most of the vet clinics didn’t get picked over. I take what I can carry, and hide the rest in caches for future use.”
    I had to hand it to her, she was a resourceful woman. Apparently, the Army trained its veterinarians well. Of course, I knew there was more to her story than she was letting on, but I could deal with that later. Right now I just wanted to get Gabby patched up.
    The mule was out in the backyard grazing when I went to get the cart. I rigged up a harness to hitch it to the cart, and Captain Perez led the animal while I steered the cart to keep it from going off course. It was an awkward arrangement, but effective. About a half a mile down the road from the silo house, I cleared my throat. “If you don’t mind me saying so, it’ll be late afternoon by the time we get to the other side of the lake. Is that going to give you enough time to patch her up, and still allow us to hole up somewhere safe?”
    Captain Perez nodded. “It won’t be pleasant, but we can lock ourselves up in the back of the clinic. The only windows are high on the wall, and the building is reinforced cinder block with metal exterior doors. I’ve stayed there a few times before—it’ll hold for the night.”
    Satisfied with her answer, I occupied myself with pulling security and keeping the cart on the road as we trudged our way to the clinic.
    - - -
    O nce we got within spitting distance of the clinic, I motioned for her to stop. “Are you sure this place is secure?”
    She nodded. “This area was supposed to be our rendezvous point when Gabby found you. So, I’ve been patrolling around here during the day looking for you and Gabby, and sleeping in different safe houses I have set up around here each night.”
    “Well, you certainly seem to know enough to survive out here. But just to be safe, let me go on ahead and make sure there’s nothing waiting for us inside.”
    She rolled her eyes and pointed up the road. “Be my guest.”
    I took off into the trees and came up through the brush to the back lot of the clinic. There were old dog pens all along the back of the building, and as I got closer I noticed carcasses of animals inside the cages that I assumed were abandoned dogs. I silently cursed whoever did it; I mean, wouldn’t it have been better to just turn them loose? Sometimes, I just didn’t understand people.
    Everything looked secure as I came around to the rear entrance, so I went back and helped Captain Perez to bring the mule and cart through the front drive. True to what she’d told me on the way over, the place was completely deserted and untouched. I was shocked that the place hadn’t been ransacked, and said as much to her.
    “Well, this area got evac’ed pretty quickly. And with it being so close to the Corridor and San Antone, not many people come through here, either. Well, except for some really adventurous scavengers, but it’s far enough off the main roads to have escaped their notice.”
    We took the mule and cart around the back of the building, tied the animal up to let it graze, and then brought the kid in through the rear entrance. A thick layer of dust covered most everything, but the clinic had a surgery suite for animals that was still in good condition. Captain Perez had me lay Gabby down on the table, and I helped her remove the kid’s clothing and prep her for surgery. The kid looked a bit better after getting some IV fluids, but she was still in bad shape.
    Once everything was ready, Captain Perez told me what was going to happen. “I have to open her up, to make sure she doesn’t have any internal bleeding, and also to remove any bullet fragments that are in there. I’ll need you to stick around in case I need a second pair of hands. You up for this?”
    “Doc, I’ve seen my share of battlefield surgery. Let’s just get this over with.” She nodded and we began. It didn’t take long for the doc to find the round. She pulled it out with a pair of forceps and dropped