“Great,” Noah said.
“Shall I take over training for the morning?”
How were they all now acting so normal, as if the events from earlier were a minor inconvenience, a bump in the road? Zeke was still reeling, replaying the harrowing screams of the infected woman again and again in his mind.
“Zeke might need a day off strenuous exercise. See how you guys do. I’ll join as soon as I can.” Noah ended the call, tossing the tablet across the bed. “I’m going to stay here tonight.”
“Yeah? Need us to cuddle the bad dreams away?” Luo said, snickering.
“I think it’s best to stay close. Let me know if your head gets worse, Zeke. First though, I’m going to see if they’ll let me go see if Wolf’s okay.” Zeke sat up with a jolt, realising for the first time that Wolf was missing. Wolf, who’d been Zeke’s responsibility.
“Relax Noah, I saw Alice call all the dogs back into the barn as we headed inside,” said Habib. “But I am proud that it took you a solid ten minutes before you turned your attention back to Wolf.”
Noah fell back down on the bed. “If you were as cute as him, I would care about you, too.”
It was many hours later, almost nine-fifteen, when dinner arrived. Zeke’s head throbbed as Noah tipped each of the bags out to create a mound of food on the floorboards. Five out of the six sandwiches, wrapped in brown paper, had ‘fish’ written on them in a messy scrawl. One read ‘cheese’. Seconds before the others dived into the middle, Noah grabbed the cheese sandwich and threw it at Zeke’s chest. He caught it, mouth ajar in surprise.
“Hey!” grumbled Splat.
“If you almost die tomorrow, you can have the cheese sandwich,” Noah said, as his wristband vibrated with an incoming message. “They’re releasing Zeke and I from the room so I can take him to medical.”
“I’m honestly fine,” said Zeke. The last thing he wanted right now was more medical attention.
“What’s wrong with my stitching?” asked Habib.
“Nothing, I just want it properly checked out, that’s all.”
Habib snorted. “Oh yeah? Is Doctor Herbert on duty tonight, by any chance?”
“Come on, we’ll eat on the way,” Noah said, standing to wait by the door. He clearly wasn’t taking no for an answer.
The medical block was in a state of disarray when they entered. Zeke was far from the only one injured in the stampede. Every seat in the waiting room was occupied, with many people sprawled out on the floor.
“I don’t think I need to be here,” Zeke said, his gaze fixed on a man whose arm was contorted in a disturbing manner.
“I’ll feel happier once we’ve quickly checked you over,” Noah replied, pushing him firmly past the desk and down a narrow corridor. Two double doors proclaimed: Sunflower Ward, Psychiatric Unit. Zeke blinked as Noah rang the buzzer. Why were they goingthere?
“I’ve called in a favour,” Noah whispered. “Leo is going to slot you in now, on his break.”
Zeke glanced at Noah, overwhelmed yet touched at his determination to take care of him. Noah flashed him a quick grin, causing Zeke to dart his eyes away and walk quicker to the examination room.
When they reached Doctor Herbert’s door, it swung open, revealing a small examination room, one wall decorated with swirling pastel colours. A tall man in his early thirties ushered them inside. Dark red patches stained the sleeve of his white coat. He was clearly exhausted, but his face broke into a soft smile at the sight of Noah.
“Hey, you,” Doctor Herbert said. “It’s a shame it took someone getting injured for you to make time to come see me.” He beamed at Noah, who grinned guiltily back, and Zeke instantly felt uncomfortable.
“Sorry. Thanks for this. Have they roped you into dealing with the chaos out front?” he asked, gesturing at the blood on his sleeve.
“It’s been a mad one.”
Doctor Herbert nodded Zeke over to lie on the bed. He inspected the stitches on his scalp, took his blood pressure and flashed a bright pen torch in his eyes. By the time the doctor scanned the circumference of his head with a paddle, Zeke had grown uneasy from the quiet and was eager to be out of there. Finally, Doctor Herbert put down the machine. He said, “Be right back,” before drawing a curtain around the bed, leaving Zeke lying there to continue his ordeal.
The doctor spoke to Noah in soft, hushed tones, too quiet for Zeke to hear. Their conversation droned on and on. When Noah laughed—his ‘throw back his head and roar’ laugh that Zeke was already growing to know and love—he gritted his teeth. Zeke leaped down from the bed, smashing his feet against the floor with a bang.
Noah pulled the curtain back. “Sorry Zeke. Leo says you’re all good. Hab did alright after all. We’d better go. I’m sure you’re super busy, Leo.”
“Never too busy for you,” Herbert said, and Zeke fought back a groan. “Let me know when your next rest day is, and we’ll sort something.”
They left the building through a back entrance and hurried back to Beech block. “Sorry for leaving you behind the curtain like that,” Noah said. “It was rude of us.”
