Earth by Jonathan G. Meyer

Author:Jonathan G. Meyer [Meyer, Jonathan G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-06-02T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Amanda Claremont was working as fast as she could. She used the last of the spray-on pain killer and her patient continued to jump each time she inserted the needle. The stitches she was using to close a four inch cut caused pain in a leg that was not entirely numb. The ordeal was made worse because the sixteen-year-old girl was upset.

“Hold still, Cari. The more you move the longer this will take.”

“It hurts! Why can’t we just wrap it up and be done with it?”

“I wouldn’t be much of a doctor if I did that. Closing the wound helps prevent infection.”

Cari folded her arms and pouted. “Why not use dermal glue or the stick-on butterfly sutures?”

“If we had any of those, I would use them.”

The girl slipped on a rock and gouged her leg when she fell. She was being taught a lesson on how fast an injury can happen, and she did not like it.

“You need to be more careful, Cari,” admonished Amanda. “This kind of cut is dangerous these days.”

There were fourteen people in her care, including herself. They were a tired and exhausted group after trekking for weeks with few provisions. Her young patient was skin and bones, and more than likely slipped from a lack of proper nutrition.

They are a diverse group of survivors traveling on foot because fuel for motor vehicles is impossible to find. They had few bullets left for their only rifle, so trapping wild game supplied the bulk of their protein. Scavenging in the occasional town was dangerous, with bandits and desperate survivors willing to kill to get what you have. There usually wasn’t much left anyway.

She joined the group three months prior and took over as their caregiver shortly after. Her haunted blue eyes, tall stature, and calm manner put people at ease. A growing concern was the backpack she carried her medical supplies in became lighter by the day.

The refugees were heading north to escape the ravages of war and climate change, which was changing vast portions of the Midwest into dry and barren landscapes. The politicians fought the concept of a changing climate until the warming became unstoppable. Mass migration from the countryside overwhelmed urban centers; straining resources further. Deadly viruses, for which there was no immunity, were released from the melting Polar Regions and spread throughout the planet. Fresh water became an expensive and fought over commodity.

As a consequence of all the turmoil the leaders of many nations, overwhelmed by the ever-increasing needs of the population, fled to the stars.

The group took refuge from the latest storm in a large cave where Amanda was treating her patient. It was a miserable twenty-four hours spent hiding in the back of a dark, crowded hole. The storm had passed, and they were preparing to leave when Cari had her little accident. She would have to ride on the hand-drawn supply cart for a few days, as they needed to keep moving.

A week ago they crossed paths with a

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