Free Dark New World (Book 2): EMP Exodus by J.J. Holden, Henry Gene Foster

again.
    “Does it feel like fire running through your leg? Not like getting poked, but like your leg is on fire?”
    “It… It’s starting to burn,” Mary managed through her tears, but she looked only more frightened now, Frank saw.
    “Good, that’s one hurdle down. It wasn’t a coral snake, thank God Almighty. Did you hear a rattle noise, like a buzzing?”
    “No,” said Mary with a new hope in her eyes, but she was still pumping adrenaline. Frank thought she looked ready to lose her mind.
    “It could still be a rattlesnake, but no buzzing noise is a good sign,” said Cassy in a calm but friendly voice—the same voice Mary used when their son got really hurt but had to be kept calm to examine his ouchie.
    Cassy then used the mini-flashlight on Mary, shining the light into both eyes for several infinitely long minutes, then looked up at Frank. “No eyelid droop. We have a real good shot that it was only a copperhead snake.” She looked up and said, “Michael! See if you can find the snake!”
    “Aren’t copperheads venomous?” squeaked Mary, and her face looked to be torn between relief and fear of the other shoe dropping any moment.
    “Sure as shit, yes they are,” Cassy replied, but then she smiled and glided her fingers over Mary’s hair, and moved a stray lock out of her face. “But, no one dies from a copperhead bite unless you’re real young or real old, or already half-dead from something else. You are healthy.”
    “But what happens? Will I lose my leg? Should we go to a hospital? What about my kids?”
    Cassy held up both hands, palms toward Mary. “Whoa. Calm down, take a deep breath. First thing’s first. Keep the bite below your heart. Sorry honey, you sleep sitting up tonight. But, no ice, no cuts, no sucking out the poison. That shit works in movies, but these days we know better, okay?”
    “How do you know all this, Cassy?” asked Mary quietly. Her shoulders slumped as the tension and fear receded, and she wiped a tear from her eye.
    “I’ve just taken a lot of classes and done a lot of studying. Woodcraft, alternative and emergency medicine, farming… Lots of stuff. And I read a lot. Snakes that live in my area seemed like a good thing to get familiar with.”
    Frank swept Cassy into his arms and nearly crushed her in his grateful embrace. “Thank you, Cassy,” he whispered into her ear. He saw goose bumps rise up all over Cassy’s neck and shoulder, but said nothing. Instead, he stepped away and kneeled next to his wife, and held her hand. Cassy grinned at the two.
    Michael returned then and held the corpse of a snake in his hand. It was about two feet long and bore the distinctive hourglass pattern of a copperhead. Frank felt a sudden relief; having a venomous snake slithering around when there were kids nearby was a recipe for disaster.
    Cassy nodded at Michael and mouthed the word “thanks,” then said to Frank, “Listen, she’s not completely out of the woods. She almost certainly won’t die or lose her leg, okay? But, she will probably have some difficulty breathing and might vomit. The leg may or may not swell up depending on how much venom the copperhead used, but any swelling shouldn’t be severe. Here’s the important part, Frank. Someone has to check her breathing, pulse, and temperature every hour, because if she goes into shock, we’ll have to risk making her lie down with her feet elevated. Shock can be fatal quickly, Frank, but the venom would make treatment dangerous. Do you know how to check her temperature and pulse? Ethan has a glass thermometer and a wind-up watch that still works.”
    Frank only nodded. He had a kid, so of course he knew how to check a temperature, and he’d been an athlete before his son Hunter came along. Checking his pulse was second nature to him. Thank God that wonderful woman knew what the hell to do, and how to tell what kind of snake had bit Mary. If Cassy hadn’t been there, Frank would have moved heaven and earth to