The Johnson boys toddled up, their toothy grins a bit alarming. Their parents attempted to herd them back, allowing more senior members to pay homage first. Seth stopped them.Let them come, he said.They deserve this place in line.He didn’t understand how he was talking, only that with a series of odd vocalizations his desires seemed to be heard. More reverently than he believed possible, the boys paid their respects, one winking and giving Seth’s paw a playful nip in passing. Seth didn’t reprimand him. The boy had earned the right.
Junior was noticeably absent. Seth decided a public reprimand would be in order next full moon. Furry bodies ambled off into the field to do what possums did until dawn. Seth joined Monica in cleaning Dustin’s wounds.
The first light of dawn brought a fox to the meadow, and Seth braced for another attack. The fox crept closer, head down. Throughout the field, possum bodies morphed into human. Seth waited, worried what the shift might do to Dustin, but Dustin remained in possum form. The fox shifted and grew into Andy.
“He’s not going to change; he’s too weak,” now-human Monica said. Seth nodded, reaching within to his inner man. One moment he was in a four-footed body, dew clinging to his fur, the next he stood on two feet, gazing down at his injured lover.
“I’ll take him,” Andy said, bending to scoop up the battered creature. “I guess you’ve figured out by now why the vet and doctor’s offices are joined.”
Seth’s heart broke anew. Surely Dustin wouldn’t survive such heinous injuries. Seth stroked a tiny ear, earning a barely audible sigh.
“I’ll do my best for him.” Andy cradled Dustin to his chest as he turned to leave.
“I’ll go with you,” Seth said, believing his place to be with Dustin.
Monica placed a restraining hand on his arm. “No, Seth. The passel needs you right now.”
She bent down to murmur into his ear, “He’ll be okay. Andy and I’ll take good care of him. Reassure the people, solidify your position, and go get some sleep.”
He nodded, a lump forming in his throat. “Keep me posted.”
With a heavy heart, he returned his attention to the passel,hispassel.
“Jacks, jills, and joeys,” he began, “we’ve suffered an unnecessary tragedy tonight. Rest assured measures will be taken to prevent it from happening again.”
Already the wheels turned in his head: perimeter fencing, more guards, motion sensors….
As one the people bowed, then fell into step to escort him to the farmhouse. He imagined the scene played out with his aunt at the head of group, his grandfather, his great-grandfather, humbled at his new sense of purpose.
Once the passel members left him, he placed a call to the vet, only to hear the ominous “No news yet, and if you dare come down here without getting some rest first, I’ll shoot you full of tranquilizers. You’ll be no good to anybody dead on your feet.” He showered and fell into bed, his dreams marred by slavering jowls and snapping teeth.
SETHrose a few hours later. He pulled into the vet’s parking lot promptly at noon, a bit banged up and sporting a few bruises, but nowhere near as bad off as Dustin. Andy let him in, rubbing bleary eyes. “I’ve got him sedated. It’s bad, it’s really bad.”
“It is?” Seth’s heart fell. “Where… where is he? Can I see him?” Andy expelled a sigh. “We have to airlift him to a hospital in Tennessee.”
“Tennessee! Is he…? How do they….”
“Relax. He’s too weak to turn. A university hospital up there specializes in injuries of this kind. It’s easier to treat him this way, and whereas he’ll get bigger if he shifts, his stitches won’t grow, and though we heal faster than most humans, he’ll heal even faster in possum form. It’s better this way.” The vet placed a comforting hand on Seth’s shoulder. “Come on back for a few minutes, but please don’t be shocked if he doesn’t appear to recognize you, okay? It’s not personal. Sometimes when we’re hurt, we lose our grip on our human side, let the animal take over.”
Expecting the worst, Seth followed Andy down the hallway, taking in the doorway adjoining the two practices. “Makes sense now, doesn’t it?” Andy commented. “The human doctor on one side and the animal doctor on the other?”
Although yipping and meowing emerged from deep inside the bowels of the building, Seth detected no human consciousness behind the door marked “Kennel.”
A barest hint of humanity brushed his senses when Andy stopped and unlocked a door marked, “Storage.” Instead of containing shelves or cages, the space resembled a hospital room. A bowl-shaped pillow sat in the center of the bed, a brown and tan body lying in the depression. An IV stand stood next to the bed, one end of the plastic tubing running into Dustin’s leg.
The room smelled of blood and antiseptic. A swath of bandages, stained crimson, hid most of Dustin’s middle. One paw was wrapped, as well. Seth damped down his fear—it wouldn’t help his lover.
He felt awkward talking to a possum, but only for a moment. This was Dustin, whom he’d known for years. “Hey, you,” he said, crouching down to be nose to nose with the injured animal. “How ya doing?” As gently as possible, he reached out to stroke a bare ear. Dustin forced out a contented sigh, canting his head to give Seth better access.
Andy chuckled. “He’s not a total goner if he can still get off on an ear scratch. I’ll leave you two alone for a minute and go check on the chopper.”
Dustin whimpered, but not in pain.
“Yes, Junior showed his true colors. The whole passel is calling him a coward. They denied his claims.” Seth scrunched his lips in a rueful smile. “I may be totally out of my element, but for good or bad, they’ve named me the Jack.”
A sharp yip escaped Dustin.
“Whoops, sorry, didn’t mean to scratch too hard.” Seth switched to Dustin’s other ear, listening closely to chirps and squeaks that translated to“Are you really going to have an heir, or did Monica say that to shut Junior up?”
