Pure Blood

When Fye and Holidee fi nally reached the beach behind the house,
Holidee jumped out of the salt water and ran to the shore. She only paused
an instant to look back at Fye with a look of gratitude. She ran as fast as she
could in her heavy jeans. She wrapped the baby sea otter in her wet cami
so that its fur wouldn't dry out in the humid air. She struggled, tripped,
and fell going up the wooden stairs because her legs were so tired. She
reached the grass and started to call Crix's name. She stumbled only once
in the grass but caught herself from falling.
Crix heard her cries immediately and sprinted out of the house
worried that Holidee was hurt. He slowed down a little when he saw her
drop to the ground. Then he sped up again, his heart beating faster.
"Holidee," he called out of breath. Crix slid to a stop beside her. The
grass was wet. Why was the grass wet? Then he noticed Holidee was soaked
and only half dressed. Fear built up in him. He knelt down beside her and
put his hand on her bare shoulder. She was freezing. Oh god, no.
"Holidee," he said softly, trying to calm himself down, "Holidee, what
is it? What's wrong?" He was about to say more, but Holidee lifted her
head and looked sadly at him. Crix couldn't tell her tears from the water
dripping from her hair. Her face was pale.
"I . . . I . . ." Holidee began. Then she looked back down. Crix noticed
that she was looking at something. "I tried. I did. I . . ." her voice trailed
off. She shifted a little, and Crix saw she was holding a baby sea otter.
The little creature wasn't breathing. Crix looked back at Holidee who was
silent. C'mon. Cry! he thought. Please! She didn't cry. Oh god. He racked his
mind on what to do, but he couldn't remember. He touched her white
skin again. She was getting colder.
"Holidee, we can save it. We can." Holidee didn't move or speak. Her
breathing slowed down. "You have to believe! Believe, Holidee! We can
save it." She started to shake slowly. Oh god. Crix didn't know what to do
at fi rst. He knew what could happen, but he had no choice. "Holidee,
set the otter down." He guided her hands to the ground, and she slowly
released the mammal from her fi ngers. "Good. Now, give me your hands."
Crix took her hands, which felt like ice. Holidee seemed to be in a daze.
Crix closed his eyes and then opened them after several minutes. Nothing
happened. Please, no! He looked at Holidee and took one of her hands.
He put her hand on the dead baby sea otter. He set his hand on top of
hers. Then he took his other arm and wrapped it around Holidee. He
pulled her close to him. Her skin gave him chills, and his shirt soaked up
the water droplets. He squeezed her tightly and closed his eyes. C'mon!
Please! Then he felt her arm go around him. He felt her getting warmer.
He kept his eyes closed and concentrated. He was getting colder. He
started to shiver, but he didn't let go of Holidee or the otter. Holidee got
PURE BLOOD 41
warm. Crix couldn't concentrate any longer. He opened...