Surviving the Collapse Omnibus by Hunt James

Surviving the Collapse Omnibus by Hunt James

Author:Hunt, James [Hunt, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Post-Apocalyptic | Dystopian | EMP
Published: 2017-12-03T05:00:00+00:00


9

Mark and Rodney stomped through the forest, leaving a trail of churned up snow on their hastened trip toward the hospital. The cold burned Mark’s lungs, and his muscles twitched and spasmed in protest, but he pushed through it. He glanced over at Rodney, who held the other rope attached to the sled that Holly rested on.

Ice formed in little bits along his eyebrows and the scruff of his face. His breathing was labored, but his pace was steady. He kept his eyes forward, the snow around his shins piling to the sides with every step.

Glen and Laura had fallen behind. It was mainly Glen, but Laura stayed with him to make sure he didn’t collapse in the snow with a heart attack. Mark couldn’t see them anymore through the trees.

“There it is,” Rodney said with breathless relief.

Mark turned quickly and saw the large grey building. “Thank god.” He turned back to Holly, whose wheezes and rasps had worsened.

The pair pulled Holly toward the ER doors, where two ambulances were parked with their back doors swung open. Mark glanced around, surprised at how vacant the outside looked. Compared to what he’d seen in New York, this was a ghost town.

The inside of the ER was dark, but there was a woman stationed at the desk, bundled up in a jacket and rubbing her hands together, looking down at something on the desk.

“Hey!” Mark said, still dragging the rope and the sled inside with Rodney’s help. “My daughter’s sick!”

The woman didn’t move. She just kept huddled at her desk, shivering, staring down.

“Hello!” Mark grew more agitated, and then he dropped the rope and went over to the desk. “Hey, I said—”

The woman looked up and hissed, flashing yellowed teeth.

“Christ!” Mark jumped backward, and the woman looked back down at whatever she’d been staring at before.

A woman wearing blue scrubs stepped through two swinging double doors, holding a candle.

“Can I help you?” The woman wore earmuffs and gloves but no jacket. And before Mark answered, she saw the woman at the station and beelined toward her. “Cara! How did you get out?” The woman hissed again, but the nurse ignored it and grabbed the woman by the arm. “Let’s get you back to your room.” She turned to Mark. “I’m sorry—”

“My daughter’s needs help,” Mark said. “She’s—”

“Mark!”

The alarm in Rodney’s voice caused both Mark and the nurse to spin around at the summons.

“She’s not breathing!”

“Oh my god,” the nurse said.

Mark sprinted over, sliding on his knees as Rodney untied the straps holding Holly down. “Holly!” Mark lifted his daughter in his arms, her lips blue as the nurse rushed to his side.

“Follow me. We’ll get her to a room.”

Mark sprinted after the nurse, bursting through the double doors and into the darkened hallway. The candle in the nurse’s hand provided the only light, and its glow didn’t cast farther than the nurse herself. “Hang on, sweetheart.”

“In here.” The nurse opened the door and gestured to a table in the middle of the room.



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