Blood was drawn.
An IV catheter was placed.
Sombra barely reacted.
That frightened me too.
Strong frightened dogs resisted.
Sombra seemed to have no energy left for protest.
While they prepared for X-rays, I sat on the floor beside him.
“We need a real agreement about your name,” I said.
His eyelids fluttered.
“Sombra. You like that?”
One ear moved.Find ENT Doctors
“I’ll take it.”
A technician smiled faintly.
“Looks like he voted.”
They carried him away for imaging.
For the first time since I had reached the park, I was not touching him.
The room felt strangely empty.
I looked at the dirt on my shirt where his face had rested.
Forty minutes later Dr. Morris called me into another room.
An X-ray glowed on the screen.
She pointed toward his pelvis.
“This injury is not new.”
My stomach tightened.
“How old?”
“It’s impossible to date perfectly from one set of images, but we’re not talking about yesterday. Several weeks is much more likely. Around a month could fit what we’re seeing.”
