Chapter 53

I woke up in bad shape around six the next morning. There was blotchy¹ redness and blistering² heat around the bites. The wounds throbbed³. I noticed a nasty pus-like drainage from the bite on my hand. It was swollen⁴ to nearly twice its normal size. This was not good. I was sick as a dog, and it was the last thing I needed right now.
I drove myself to the St Anthony’s Hospital ER, where I found out that I was spiking⁵ a fever. My temperature was a hundred and three.  The emergency-room doctor who examined me was a tall, dark-haired Pakistani named Dr Prahbu. He could have been one of the sons in the movie East Is East. He said that the most likely cause of the cellulitis was staphylococcus, a common bacteria found in the mouth.
‘How is it that you were bitten?’ he wanted to know. I suspected that he wasn’t going to like my answer, but I gave it anyway. ‘I was subduing⁶ a vampire⁷,’ I said.
‘No, seriously. Detective Cross. How did you come to be bitten?’ he asked a second time. ‘I am a serious person and this is a serious question. I need to know this.’
‘I am completely serious. I’m part of the team investigating vampire killers⁸. I was bitten by a man with fangs⁹.’ ‘Okay, fine. Detective. Whatever you say.’
I was given tests in the ER: a CBC and differential count, sedimentation¹⁰ rate, and a culture and sensitivity test on the drainage from the wound. Blood cultures would be studied. I told Dr Prahbu that I needed copies of his findings. The hospital didn’t want to give them over to me, but they finally relented and faxed the results to Quantico.
I was sent home with a prescription¹¹ for a drug called Keflex. I was to keep my infected arm elevated, and administer Domeboro soaks every four hours.
I was too sick to do much of anything by the time I got home. I lay in bed and listened to’Elliot in the Morning’on the radio. Nana and the kids hovered¹² around me constantly. Nausea¹³ swept over me really bad; I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t concentrate on anything except the painful throbbing¹⁴ in my shoulder and hand. I became delirious¹⁵ for several hours.
Now you’re one of us.
I finally fell asleep, but woke up around one in the morning. The witching hours. I felt even worse. I was afraid the phone would ring and it would be the Mastermind.
Someone was in the room with me.
I sighed when I saw who it was.
Jannie was sitting in the chair by my bed, keeping watch over me.  ‘Just like you did when I was sick,’she said.’Now sleep. Daddy. Just sleep. Rest up. And don’t you dare rum into a vampire on me.’ I didn’t answer Jannie. I couldn’t even manage a few words. I drifted off to sleep again.

1 blotchy   

adj.有斑点的，有污渍的；斑污

参考例句：

• her blotchy and swollen face 她的布满斑点的浮肿的脸
• Blotchy skin is a symptom of many skin diseases. 皮肤上出现污斑是许多皮肤病的症状。 来自互联网

2 blistering   

adj.酷热的；猛烈的；使起疱的；可恶的v.起水疱；起气泡；使受暴晒n.[涂料] 起泡

参考例句：

• The runners set off at a blistering pace. 赛跑运动员如脱缰野马般起跑了。
• This failure is known as preferential wetting and is responsible for blistering. 这种故障称为优先吸湿，是产生气泡的原因。 来自辞典例句

3 throbbed   

抽痛( throb的过去式和过去分词 )； （心脏、脉搏等）跳动

参考例句：

• His head throbbed painfully. 他的头一抽一跳地痛。
• The pulse throbbed steadily. 脉搏跳得平稳。

4 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

5 spiking   

n.尖峰形成v.加烈酒于( spike的现在分词 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。 来自辞典例句
• We could be spiking our own guns. 我们可能要遭到失败。 来自辞典例句

6 subduing   

征服( subdue的现在分词 )； 克制； 制服； 色变暗

参考例句：

• They are the probation subduing the heart to human joys. 它们不过是抑制情欲的一种考验。
• Some believe that: is spiritual, mysterious and a very subduing colour. 有的认为：是精神，神秘色彩十分慑。

7 vampire   

n.吸血鬼

参考例句：

• It wasn't a wife waiting there for him but a blood sucking vampire!家里的不是个老婆，而是个吸人血的妖精！
• Children were afraid to go to sleep at night because of the many legends of vampire.由于听过许多有关吸血鬼的传说，孩子们晚上不敢去睡觉。

8 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

9 fangs   

n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座

参考例句：

• The dog fleshed his fangs in the deer's leg. 狗用尖牙咬住了鹿腿。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Dogs came lunging forward with their fangs bared. 狗龇牙咧嘴地扑过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 sedimentation   

n.沉淀，沉积

参考例句：

• Sedimentation, the damage of a breach are problems, too. 而且沉积和决口的问题，也是存在的。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）
• Sedimentation and denudation play a role in exceptional cases. 沉积和剥蚀作用的影响只在特殊情况下起作用。

11 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

12 hovered   

鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovered over the hill. 一只鹰在小山的上空翱翔。
• A hawk hovered in the blue sky. 一只老鹰在蓝色的天空中翱翔。

13 nausea   

n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶)

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕期常有恶心的现象。
• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。

14 throbbing   

a. 跳动的,悸动的

参考例句：

• My heart is throbbing and I'm shaking. 我的心在猛烈跳动，身子在不住颤抖。
• There was a throbbing in her temples. 她的太阳穴直跳。

15 delirious   

adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的

参考例句：

• He was delirious,murmuring about that matter.他精神恍惚，低声叨念着那件事。
• She knew that he had become delirious,and tried to pacify him.她知道他已经神志昏迷起来了，极力想使他镇静下来。