The Rabid by Ami Urban

secure my son.
    "Momma!"
    "Just
hit him!"
    "don't
you dare touch him." While my blood was pumping and my heart thundering, I kept
my voice low and still.
    "We
can't. Boss doesn't want them bruised, remember?"
    The
man on my side of the room looked down at me, hunger burning in his eyes. "How
do you shut him up?"
    I
started at him for a second more. "I need to be with him."
    He
sneered. "Yeah, right, lady. I know this trick."
    "It
is not a trick."
    He
prodded me with the wooden stick he used for a crutch. "Give me a break."
    " Momma !"
Rex's scream was ear-shattering. Both men covered their ears.
    "Just
let her go! She can't get past us!"
    The
man on my side let out a guttural growl and bent down to unshackle me. I held
my breath. I was going to do something risky, but necessary. As soon as both my
hands were free, I clenched my right fist and aimed for the man's temple. I
caught it at just the right angle and he went down. The other man didn't even
have time to react. I grabbed the walking stick and jumped to the other side of
the room. Without hesitation, I began beating the other man with the stick as hard
as I could. Rex continued to cry but was no longer screaming; the other man
was. I pummeled and pummeled until the screaming stopped. Then, I hunched over
to catch my breath.
    "Momma!"
    And
then I felt a sharp pain in my side. It was dull at first then white hot,
spreading into my left arm and down my leg. My vision went a bit fuzzy. A loud
shot resonated throughout the room. I slowly turned, clutching my side where
the pain began throbbing.
    The
man was now on the ground, bleeding from his left shoulder. In his hand was a
dagger with a red tip. No, the tip wasn't red. That was my blood. he'd stabbed
me.
    "Lisa!"
    It
was Jack. I turned my tunneled gaze to him, but could barely get a word out.
All I could do was lift my hand to show him the wound. It needed to be treated
right away; that much I was sure of.
    Jack
stared at it hard for a second or two, then turned to the man.
    "what's
on that knife?"
    The
man cackled. "Something wonderful."
    Jack's
jaw clenched as he stooped down. Placing the barrel of some pistol against the
man's groin, he asked again. "what's on the knife?"
    I
could see a ribbon of fear travel through the man's body. "Okay, okay. it's
LSD, man. Just chill. She'll be fine in an hour."
    Just
as I slumped to the floor, I heard the blast of a gun and the man's head
exploded into a kaleidoscope of colors.
    "Impressive."
I felt as though I'd said the word, but didn't hear it.
    Jack's
face suddenly swam in front of mine. It literally swam. It seemed like he had
no body. His eyes were too large. He held up a hand in front of me.
    "How
many fingers am I holding up?" His voice sounded distorted.
    "Eighteen."
    There
was a pause. "Not only is that very, very wrong, but I think you may have a
brain tumor."
    "I'm
serious. There are eighteen. You should see a doctor about that. You should
only have ten. Twenty if we're counting toes."
    He
gasped comically. "You know the situation is bad when Lisa makes a joke."
    "I'm
actually not. You literally have eighteen fingers."
    "No,
I don't. I was holding up three."
    "What
on Earth are you talking about?"
    He
just wasn't making any sense. A garbled cry caught my attention. When Jack
stood, a rainbow dripped from his knee.
    "You
might want to get that checked out as well. Rainbows can turn septic."
    "I
think the only person who's been higher than you are right now was Jack
Kerouac." He held out his eighteen-fingered hand and helped me up.
    "Solid
reference." I used him to steady my feet. I couldn't understand why my left leg
refused to move. "I didn't know you'd read any Kerouac."
    "I
haven't. But I've watched Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas about a
thousand times."
    "Good
film."
    "Momma!"
    I
looked toward my son and felt utter and complete horror grip my heart. "Oh, my
God! There are snakes on him!" I lunged toward him and tried to fight off the
rattlesnakes winding themselves