Josiah Gently laid Zach down to wait for help.   The warm flow of Zach's  blood trickled down on to Josiah's hand. His eyes followed the trail of red bodily fluid from Zach's  neck.  He looked at the open wound where flesh had been ripped from his neck. He felt nausea rise from the pit of his stomach. He did not need a medical degree to know  that this was bad.   He could only imagine the pain Zach was in and wanted desperately to help him. Pieces of  jagged skin surrounded the deep  bite.  Zach's eyes closed as he breathed in deeply.  "The room is keeps fading in and out."  he whispered to Josiah. "Hang in there man." Josiah softly said to him. "Help will be here soon."  Josiah reached for his radio again.  This man needed help fast. Josiah knew time was of the essence.  He looked up and   yelled out for Doc Keller.

Zach began to feel himself drift in and out of consciousness. He was sure he was loosing blood at a fast rate from the way he was beginning to feel. He fought to stay conscious and alert. Images of his life began to flash before him.  Memories of  his childhood danced in his mind. Summer days spent at his grandparents lake home.  He could see his Grandmother smiling as she watched him jump from her  dock into the calm water.  Water splashing up to where she sat watching him with pure joy.

  He missed his Grandmother deeply and felt comfort seeing her face now. He felt himself basking in the warmth that her love radiated to him. Growing up she had always been his place to turn for comfort.  Even in his later trouble teen years she was the one  he would turn to for guidance,  understanding and love. She never judged him or scolded him for his mistakes or poor judgment with some of the paths he had taken.  She was his constant light while she was alive.  It only seemed to make sense to him that hers was the face he would see now as felt life -his life slipping from him

It had been almost 5 years since he had seen a vision of her.  Her death now 6 years prior  had been hard on him.  He had watched cancer ravaged through her body.  Leaving her bed ridden the last month of her life, slipping in and out of this world daily.  Her face was so clear now almost as though he could reach out and touch her. He wanted to touch her. to feel her arms hold him.  To nestle in her bosom and forget his pain.

 He could hear her calling out to him to come back as he swam out farther before diving under the cool water again. He felt happy and safe being with her again.  He turned his head to look at her from where he floated.  Her face still warm and gentle somehow,   now,  had a look of concern and worry. He could hear- no almost feel her, calling out to him again to comeback that he had gone to far. Her voice became louder as though she was almost pleading to him to comeback.  He could see a tear now, falling down the side of her cheek as she extended her arms out to him.  "Come back" she called to him again.