Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 313: Fever In The Night

The squirrel brothers scrambled ahead of her to lead the way. They kept glancing back to make sure she was still moving.

Under the moonlight, Nancy followed them and the tabby by pure muscle memory. She stumbled back to the dorms with heavy feet and a clouded mind.

Once she was inside, she forced herself and Snowball to wash up before collapsing into the soft bedding. She was out cold in seconds. Her breathing was heavy and ragged.

Snowball was naturally clingy. The stoat usually spent every hour of the day attached to Nancy. Now that the weather was turning cold, he had officially appointed himself her personal space heater.

"I am here to warm the bed!"

The little guy burrowed under the covers with professional focus. He curled his warm body against Nancy’s ankles and lower back. Those were the spots most likely to get a chill. Finally, he settled in near her neck to sleep.

But as soon as his paw touched her forehead, he pulled back like he had touched a hot stove.

"Squeak! Oh my god! So hot!"

Snowball squinted in the moonlight and saw that Nancy was covered in a thick layer of cold sweat. Her face was deathly pale. The little stoat froze as his tiny brain jumped to a terrifying conclusion.

"Oh no! Nancy is cooking!"

He stared at her burning skin with guilt and panic.

"Is it me? Did I make the bed too hot? Am I roasting her?!"

Snowball started spinning in circles and chasing his tail like a broken white top. "What do I do? What do I do? She is going to be well done!"

Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in his head.

"Right! The scary man on the lawn! He is a human doctor. He can save her!"

Snowball shivered when he remembered the last time Barry caught him stealing a chicken drumstick. Barry had lectured him by the scruff of his neck. But he looked back at Nancy. She was pale, sweating, and shivering. He puffed out his tiny chest.

He did not care. He was going for it.

Snowball shot out through the vent like a bolt of white lightning. He tore across the grass as his paws blurred. He sprinted toward the familiar RV.

Inside, the RV was silent.

Star had been doing great since the therapy sessions and had not lost control once. The man and the dog had finally moved back inside from the tent. Star lay on the rug by the bed like a loyal knight. Barry slept soundly. His steady breathing was the only sound in the room.

Suddenly, a fuzzy and cold lump dropped right onto Barry’s chest.

Before he could react, the thing scrambled under his blanket. Barry bolted upright as his eyes snapped open. He found himself nose to nose with a pair of watery black eyes.

It was the stoat he had scolded before. It was currently vibrating with panic on his chest.

"Hey mean human! Wake up!"

Snowball grabbed Barry’s face with both paws and shook him. He squeaked at the top of his lungs. "Nancy is sick! She is burning up!"

He pointed frantically toward the dorms. He started digging at Barry’s pajamas. He was scratching and pushing as if he could personally drag the man across the lawn.

Barry was wide awake now. He grabbed the stoat by the scruff and his brow furrowed. "You are back? Did something happen to your human?"

Snowball nodded violently with eyes full of desperation.

Barry threw back the covers and grabbed his coat. He sprinted out of the RV toward the dorms. Snowball took the shortcut back through the vents and clicked the lock open from the inside.

Barry pushed the door open and moved fast. His eyes locked onto the figure curled up in the bed.

Nancy was buried in her pillows. Her face was flushed a deep red that spread all the way to the tips of her ears. She looked like she was being boiled alive. Wet hair was plastered to her forehead and neck. Her eyes were squeezed shut. Her long lashes were trembling and her brow was knit in pain.

Star did not need an order. One look from Barry and the dog turned around. It raced back to the RV to fetch the medical kit.