Blacklake-Book4-1 Three Cousins

Chapter 30
~

Don’t know why I sent the idjit off to talk to Daze. Thomas—that made sense. But David’s sarcasm can run counter to the demeanor of a troll bull. Despite their long history of storied violence, trolls are pretty calm and proper folk. Despite their growls—which are almost as beautiful as an ogre’s.

I know. It has to be the concussion. I’d even teetered a bit walkin’ over to get behind my new desk. Maybe thinkin’, made the headache pound harder. I closed my eyes, let my hands stroke the smooth contours of the new desk’s shiny oak surface. What a step up, from the scratched up metal of my desk downstairs.

Closin’ my eyes didn’t help ease the headache. A troll could have been standin’ next to me poundin’ my temples with a sledge hammer. My stomach began to twist, rise into my lungs, before droppin’ back where it belonged. All to rise again.

I barely twisted enough to miss spewin’ on my beautiful new desk. Think I got it all in my new trash bin. I waited for the cramps that usually go along with losin’ yar stomach contents. Though my stomach continued to rise and fall, it didn’t threaten to tie me up in spasms. I tried to open my eyes. I think. But there was nothing but blackness. Pretty sure I was conscious. All I could see were lightening bugs swirlin’ around in front of me. A new barrage of pain went in one temple, cross my brain bucket, out the other temple.

“Uknol.” I tried it again. I didn’t hear my cry first time around. “Uknol. Help. Uknol.”

~ Ezra ~

I pulled over fifty feet from the entrance to Ogre Ware, for an ambulance, which swerved hard right into the parking lot. As I sat starin’, my phone began to ping, a bit like a spastic musical refrain. What the stink?

I drew my phone out of the deep pocket of my smock and opened my texts, which didn’t slow comin’ in. I scanned the various names of cousins waftin’ from the bottom to the top, which continued scrollin’.

I caught Aunt Karzy’s name flowin’ toward the bottom and managed to select her text. “Ike was havin convulsions and they’ve called an ambulance.”

The top of my skull buzzed. My face felt as though an extra gallon or so of blood flooded it. My shoulders tightened, threatenin’ to cramp. Maybe my stomach was doin’ a bit of that. Tears flooded my face.

Ike’s never been sick a day in his life.

My idjit phone kept pingin’. I couldn’t breathe. I gasped. From where I sat, I could see through tears that EMTs were runnin’ into OW with a gurney. My hand was shakin’ on my steerin’ wheel. Phone trembled in my other.

What are convulsions? Do ogres have convulsions? Never had heard of that. Wasn’t that something human children have?

I was frozen in place. Maybe sat starin’ at the front of OW for ten minutes. Then two trolls rushed out with that gurney, now occupied. Too far away to make out with whom. A flood of folk slowly poured out of the building, flowin’ around the ambulance. To a one, hands clasped together in front of em. Someone among the onlookers pointed my way.

A troll hen drew from the crowd and started walkin’ my way. My mind was blank. What was her name? The hen Ike and Kriz claimed scared em to death. The lawyer. A human trailed her. David. Oh yeah. Uknol.

I trained my eyes back to the ambulance, but there wasn’t anything to see. The back was closed up now.

I jerked as a face bent down, inches from my face. She’d been way over there—had I blacked out or something?

“Ya look like ya’re gonna pass out,” Uknol said. “Get out. I’ll drive ya to the hospital.”

She didn’t wait on me to move. She reached in and opened my locked door. David was there now, encouragin’ me out of my truck. I looked down at his tiny hand on my shoulder—oddly like from a mile away. Thomas’ hands look a lot like his.

“Come on, sweetie,” Uknol whispered. “He’s gonna be okay. We’re five minutes away from the best hospital in the world. He’s gonna get the best care.”

I sensed David heavin’, or something. Oh. He was cryin’. Humans sound funny when they cry.

A siren wailed two hundred feet away. The rumble of an engine mixed with it. I jerked hard, as the ambulance passed. David was grunt-whisperin’ at me—maybe through his tears. Uknol took a stronger grip on my arm.

He’ll be fine. He’ll be fine. Not sure if that was comin’ from someone else, or inside my own head.

I stepped down to the pavement, and David encouraged me into the backseat. After bucklin’ me in, he ran to the other side and slipped in beside me, his hand grabbin’ mine. Humans have such tiny hands. They’re hairless. Weird.

I jerked a bit, not expectin’ the driver’s seat to roll toward me. Yep. Uknol would need more space. Em trolls have long legs.

~