"Well, he's not doing it himself," Mello said. This case was unusual, and he wasn't going to take any chances. It was rare for someone to stop breathing while they maintained a pulse, especially when their lungs weren't badly damaged. He had a long list of questions for the tall man once the blond was stable. The injuries covered a broad range of trauma: burns on his legs, heavy bleeding somewhere in his abdomen, what seemed to be a compound fracture based on the angle of his hand and the soaked gauze. Had all of this been caused by one creature?

Mello was grateful that the hospital's nurses would take over soon. He wasn't out of his depth (he was never out of his depth, he thought firmly) but the limited supplies would make keeping the man alive for more than thirty or forty minutes a very difficult task, even if he could breathe on his own.