The Coyote's Bite

Three weeks had passed since the encounter with the coyote, and Harry and Lloyd had all but forgotten about the incident. They were now lying in their apartment in Providence, recovering from a night of, as Lloyd put it, "responsible" partying. But as they slowly came to, it became clear that something was off. Harry was awake, but unresponsive, his eyes fixed on some invisible point on the ceiling. Lloyd, on the other hand, was experiencing shortness of breath, and his chest felt tight. He tried to call out for Harry, but his voice was hoarse and barely audible. Just as Lloyd was starting to panic, there was a knock at the door. It was Mrs. Jenkins, the old lady who lived above them. She poked her head into the apartment, her eyes scanning the room with concern. "Boys, what's going on? I heard you thrashing around and I thought I'd check on you," she said, her voice firm but gentle. Lloyd tried to speak, but all that came out was a weak cough. Mrs. Jenkins rushed over to Harry's side and felt his forehead. "He's burning up with fever," she said, her expression grim. "And you, Lloyd, you're not looking so good either." As she helped them into a sitting position, Harry suddenly let out a faint groan and shifted uncomfortably. Mrs. Jenkins quickly noticed that Harry's pants were wet. "Oh dear, Harry, it seems like you've had an accident," she said, trying to hide her concern. Lloyd looked down and saw that Harry's pants were indeed soaked. "Dude, what's going on?" he asked, his voice shaking. Mrs. Jenkins helped them both into some spare clothes and then called for an ambulance. As they waited for it to arrive, she sat down next to Lloyd on the couch. "I think I know what might be going on with you boys," she said, her eyes serious. "You see, I've lived in this building for a long time, and I've heard stories about that coyote that you two encountered. I think you might have contracted something from its bite." Lloyd raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about, Mrs. Jenkins? We're fine. We're just a little hungover." But Mrs. Jenkins shook her head. "No, Lloyd, I'm telling you, I've seen this before. You boys have probably contracted some kind of... rabies-like disease. I've heard of it happening before, where the symptoms don't show up right away." Lloyd scoffed. "Rabies? Come on, Mrs. Jenkins, we're not going to start foaming at the mouth and chasing people around. We're fine." But Mrs. Jenkins just shook her head. "You don't understand, Lloyd. This is serious. You boys need to get to the hospital and get checked out." As the ambulance arrived and took them away, Lloyd couldn't shake off the feeling that something was very wrong. And as he glanced over at Harry, who was lying quietly in the back of the ambulance, he wondered if Mrs. Jenkins was right. Had they really contracted something from that coyote's bite?