Each bite was excruciating. There was nothing else. Just the bees devouring her. Britt's mind got heavy and went blank. Soon the bites barely registered and then it all faded blissfully to black. She felt nothing. She heard nothing. And, she was very grateful. So, it was an utter surprise when her eyes blinked open a little later. She had to turn her ahead away from the glare of the sun.

A shadow was kneeling beside her, but she couldn't figure out who. "Just stay still. The ambulance is coming," a somewhat familiar voice reported.

"Wh-wh?" Britt tried to ask.

"Shhhh. Be still," the voice cooed in a comforting tone.

It seemed like a dream. Perhaps induced by the venom. Was she dead? Britt was disappointed. It seemed very much like life, but fuzzier.

She was just as confused when she awoke a little later to the brilliance of sun shining in through a window. Her back was lying upon something comfortable. There was a figure silhouetted by the window. Her lips attempted to form words, but were too stiff to move. Blinking was a horrendous effort.

"She's awake," a female voice stated from somewhere above Britt's head. An angel? A saint?

"Hey there," the man by the window spoke. He came closer and more into focus.

He seemed familiar, but Britt's head could not cut through all the confusion. It must have shone in her eyes.

"You're in the hospital, Britt," Sheriff Miner informed her gently. "Clyde's next door. What happened? Can you tell me what happened?"

That was exactly what Britt wanted to know. "Lee!" a worried voice called from the near distance. "Got a call. Another disturbance at the Bureau of Land Management offices."

"Crap," the shadow man muttered. "Gotta go, Britt. You're all right though. You're going to be fine. We'll talk when I get back."

The Bureau of Land Management sounded familiar. Britt's brain worked on why that was as the sheriff hurried from her room.

 Now what??!! What's HAPPENING!!??  Stay tuned for Part XXXIX!!

listening to INXS today