There was shouting and Tamsyn sprinted to the yellow area in time to see the two guards pulling a man with a knife off their prisoner, who now had a gaping wound across his chest where he’d been slashed. “You bastards killed my brother,” the man shouted brokenly as the guards wrestled him away. “You don’t deserve to live!”
“He’s a red now,” Tamsyn said, watching in disbelief as the prisoner slumped in the chair, blood seeping rapidly from the new wound. “Take him over there.” She pointed to the red staging area and the remaining guard steered the wheelchair in the direction she indicated.
“I’d have killed him myself,” the guard muttered as he passed Tamsyn, “But the mayor was adamant we need to be able to question him and make him pay publicly for his crimes.”
Shaking her head, Tamsyn moved away to deal with the first arrivals from the collapsed buildings. These injuries weren’t too bad, mostly broken bones. She dreaded the next set of patients who would have been buried further in the debris. There were two children in this first group, holding onto each other, dazed but determined. The younger one was crying for her mother and the older sibling was attempting to comfort her despite being in pain himself.
Tamsyn was surprised by the wave of hatred toward Ruger which swept over her as she went about getting them into the green area and making sure they were cared for immediately. How could anyone wreak so much havoc and pain on fellow humans in the midst of the infected apocalypse? How could one person’s greed cause so much suffering on innocents just trying to survive? She grabbed one of the white-faced teenage runners. “Go out to the waiting room and tell Mrs. Tommlin if there are any relatives of those kids who show up, to send one to be with them.”
“Got it.” The runner darted off.
Got a bite wound from an infected out here, Trent reported. No other injuries but this looks bad. Already showing the black lines.
Tamsyn, get him in an isolated room, in restraints. I’ll check him as soon as I can but there’s not much I can do for him. Melly’s voice in the subaural com was regretful but clinical. Contract the mayor and see if he wants to authorize me to give mercy.
I’ll handle it, Trent replied. Jeff is with the mayor so I’ll relay the request to him.
How in the seven hells did he get bitten? Tamsyn wondered, forgetting she was on the comlink.
He was on the team clearing the battlefield and got too close to the edge of the swarm we stopped with the fuel fire.
It’s not important, Melly said. Focus on the task at hand, please.
Tamsyn coordinated getting the bitten man into a room and restrained. His buddies who’d brought him in were upset and grief stricken but agreed to stand guard until the mayor got back to them about putting the man out of his misery before he turned.
“And if he turns,” Tamsyn added, “You know what has to be done, right?”
The two soldiers nodded. “Can’t take a chance on Carl getting loose in here,” one said grudgingly. “He didn’t deserve this.”
“No one deserved what we’ve got right now,” Tamsyn replied, already moving away.
Tamsyn, need you out here now, Trent said. A baby’s been brought in from the collapsed building.
Any visible injuries? Melly asked.
None I can find. The men who brought her in said she was in her crib and a beam fell across it but the crib held together enough to create a space where she was untouched. They’re anxious to get back to the collapse and find more survivors. They say they can hear voices further into the rubble zone calling for help.
I’m coming. Tamsyn had no experience with baby humans but she’d seen plenty of animal babies on the ranch and she was confident she could manage at least initially. She rushed outside to find two men in torn and stained clothes standing beside Trent, one holding a dust covered, screaming baby. “Well her breathing’s okay, that’s for sure,” Tamsyn said as she held out her arms to take the child. She’d grabbed a blanket on her way out of the ER and wrapped the child in it and she re-entered the hospital to take the baby to Melly.
The baby quieted as they walked, maybe soothed by the swaddling or perhaps the fact she was in a woman’s arms. As she navigated the chaotic scene heading toward the red zone, she grabbed one of the runners. “Find out if there’s any synthcaff yet and bring a cup for Dr. Jericho.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the boy said, eyeing the baby. “That’s the Sampson’s kid.”
“We’ll take good care of her,” Tamsyn assured him.
“Thank the Lords of Space you were here today,” the boy said as he rushed away to find the requested synthcaff.
I wish I could do more, Tamsyn thought to herself, careful not to activate the subaural com. I wish I was a doctor. But someone had been needed to organize the operation of the makeshift ER. The nurse was busy assisting Melly with surgery in a cubicle and trying to keep tabs on the medical situation, not logistics. I have the baby, she said to Melly on the com.
I’ll be right there.
There were no empty gurneys so Tamsyn stepped into one of the empty cubicles and waited, rocking the baby gently in her arms.
Melly bustled in, her scrubs covered in blood. She ran the decontam unit over her hands. “Put the baby on the bed there.”
As Tamsyn complied, Melly stepped to the bedside, slipped on a fresh pair of gloves and waited while Tamsyn unwrapped the blanket. She did a quick but thorough exam, running the medsensor over the baby who seemed to think it tickled and squirmed but not in displeasure. “She’s fine,” Melly reported, with a large sigh. She stroked the baby’s cheek. “Lucky girl, that’s you.”
The teenaged runner Tamsyn had sent for synthcaff rushed in, holding two mugs. “Got it,” he reported with pride. “There’s more if you need it and food too.”
