“Yes. Let’s go.” Her voice was strong, but there was no hiding the way her hands were shaking a little.
He shouldn’t touch her. Shouldn’t pull her into his arms again, but that was exactly what he did. He shifted the basket and gave her a one arm hug. And just like the first time when he’d held her during the aftershock, a spark of awareness filtered through his bloodstream, warming it.
Isaac ignored the feeling, he had no time or mental space, to explore the feeling—even if he yearned for a connection to someone. “Whatever you need.Whatever is beyond that door, we’ll do it together.” He would do whatever was needed to help Marie through this.
“Thank you. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn't been here. I…” she shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. We’ve been gone long enough.”
Only a few minutes had passed since the aftershock ended, but even for Isaac, it felt like it had been hours.
Isaac followed Marie out, wincing when he saw the amount of damage and the way the fluorescent lights hung down, sparks flying in the air. “Be careful, there are live wires.”
“I see them. They weren’t there after the initial quake.”
Isaac was prepared to grab her should he need to, but she carefully avoided them.
Looking around him, seeing the way that some walls had huge cracks in them, he worried that the building wouldn’t hold up if there was another aftershock. “We need to find somewhere safer to deal with the injured.”
Marie looked over her shoulder as she entered the stairwell, at least this area looked stable. “I don’t know if there is anywhere safer. From what I saw through the gaping hole in the wall, there aren’t a lot of places we could go to.”
Isaac hated to admit that what she was saying wastrue, but hopefully the authorities would recognize the importance of having an area where the injured could go and get treated safely, and this little hospital wasn’t the place—unfortunately.
They made their way to the next level, and when they walked out he cursed quietly. This floor hadn’t fared any better than the one they’d been on.
“Oh my god, Ophelia!” Marie raced away from him, and he rushed after her, wanting to make sure that she didn’t get hurt.
He reached her side as she collapsed to the ground beside a prone figure, blood seeping from a wound on her head. Immediately, he reached into the basket and pulled out a packet of gauze, ripping it open and pressing it against the wound. He should have gloves on, but that was the least of his worries at the moment. His concern was for the woman lying on the ground and the one beside her. “What do you need?” he asked, not knowing if this Ophelia woman was alive or dead.
“Keep doing what you’re doing. She’s breathing, and it doesn’t feel like anything is broken. But I can’t be sure without x-rays and ultrasounds to see if she has any internal bleeding. Dammit, I was counting on her to help me,” she finished quietly.
There may have been an x-ray machine in the small hospital, but he doubted they ever received the necessary funds to have an ultrasound machine. “I don’thave a medical background, but I have basic first aid experience. You tell me what needs to be done and I’ll help you.”
Marie nodded and continued with her examination of her colleague. Around them the building creaked, and he glanced up to make sure that the floor above wasn’t going to collapse on them. It looked okay, for the moment, but anything was possible.
A moan sounded from the woman, and Marie’s shoulders relaxed a fraction. Even he knew that even the slightest noise was a good sign. Marie nudged his hand that was pressing on Ophelia’s wound. He lifted it and watched as she quickly cleaned it. With all the blood wiped away, the injury wasn’t as bad as he first thought. It didn’t even look like she needed stitches, but the blow had been sufficient enough for the woman to lose consciousness.
“Stay still Ophelia, let me finish dressing your wound,” Marie cautioned as she took the bandage from Isaac’s hand. “Can you tell me what day it is?”
“Tuesday.”
“Where are you?”
“At the hospital. Lying on the ground after an earthquake and aftershock.”
Marie smiled in relief, and Isaac was aware she didn’t need his help at the moment, so he gave her shoulder a squeeze, ignoring the warmth the simpletouch gave him. She looked at him, questions in her gaze, and he pointed in the direction of the hallway. She gave a quick nod and he left.
He had to climb over the rubble, but he poked his head into the first room he came upon, noting that it was empty, but it looked like another storage closet—one that appeared to be in a little better condition than the hallway, and it was stocked with medical supplies that would be needed. He’d let Marie know about it, then again she probably already knew considering this was where she worked.
Isaac continued on his way, grimacing when he walked into another room and saw that the occupants hadn’t been so lucky. He imagined this wouldn’t be the only fatalities he’d find. He quickly went over to them to confirm that they hadn’t fared well and covered them with their bed sheets.
By the time he returned to where Marie had been, he had a better idea of who needed help and those who didn’t on this floor. Ophelia was propped up against an undamaged portion of the wall while Marie was tending to another person. As if she heard his arrival, she looked over her shoulder, raising her eyebrow in query.
He indicated for her to join him, and she murmured to the man she was attending to and came to where he stood.
“Must be bad if you’ve called me over.” She kept her voice low so as not to distress the other occupants, even knowing that eventually they’d find out.
“Five fatalities and six injured on this floor.” He was ready for however she reacted. If she needed a hug he’d give it to her, but Marie was strong, and she gave a short nod, her spine straight.
Was she bottling everything down to deal with later? More than likely that was exactly what she was doing, and if she’d let him, he would be there when she did deal with it. He didn’t know these people, Marie did. She’d probably treated most of them. Had built something of a relationship with them. Any death would hit her hard, but deaths caused by a natural disaster would hit harder.
