Wallace's mouth cleared out, but the three humans who had come over to help kept squeezing and pounding his chest and stomach. He was going to have bruises after this. "Grrrriiiineeee," he said, reaching for a glass of water on a table close by. Where was Choji?

He couldn't see anything through his tear-blinded eyes. Suddenly, his nose caught on something foul, and he began to cough again.

**

Shino looked up to see who had touched his shoulder, but no one was there. Whoever it was had probably gone over to help the choking panda, or clean up the desiccated corpses of his friends. "Sorry, Spike," Shino said, and stuffed the tarantula back into his pocket.

He didn't want to be with people right now, but this unconscious girl clearly needed his help. He began to check her vital signs with the slow, careful methods he'd learned in camp.