14
DAWN
The pediatrician isn’t hard to find; he’s the only one in the town. And as I scroll through the phone book, I realize just how isolated we are from the world. The tiny dot on the map should probably be no more than a pinprick — a smudge.
The office isn’t far, within walking distance. I forgo the bikes.
I regret it almost instantly.
I run as the crow flies, following the line of rain-fed pastures, some flush with cattle, lumps of black and brown against the silvery fields. But I’m no vampire, and by the time I stride up the grassy walkway to the treelined standalone office, business hours are thirty minutes over. I’m panting, too, not going to lie. I’m in damn fine shape, but that whole fight-with-a-vampire thing yesterday probably took a little out of me. Or maybe it was all t
