Indifference

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"Air bag

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"Air bag." Hershel directed, causing me to pick up the medical apparatus and hand it to him as we attempted to get one of our fallen virus victims intubated.

"Henry, just squeeze my hand, stay as still as possible for us." I tried to distract him, while Hershel inserted a small metal frame down his throat to guide the tube of the air bag.

As the day had carried on, Hershel took it upon himself to go against our own rules and admit himself to Cell Block A; the same as I had done really. He wanted to help, especially with Glenn in here now and that is exactly what he did. He found Elderberries, with the help of our little Carl, and made the fruit into a type of tea to help reduce fever, inflammation and stimulate the immune system. Which it did for most of our patients, but for some, it was too late. Henry's case had worsened quickly, leaving us with no option other than to try and keep him manually ventilated.

"Some council meeting, huh?" Hershel spoke up, earning my attention as I held Henry down. "I think we should make some new rules."

"Such as?" I asked, watching him begin to pump air into Henry's lungs.

"I hereby declare we have Spaghetti Tuesdays, every Wednesday." He mused, causing a grin to widen on my face.

I let my hold on Henry loosen, as he soon relaxed to the new form of breathing before I crouched closer to Hershel and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "You are the life and soul of this place."

Hershel kept a check on Henry whilst I did the rounds to everyone else. Glenn and Sasha were helping wherever they could, despite how weak and exhausted they were becoming. We all pulled together, as we always had done when facing a crisis. We trusted one another with our lives, knowing the risk and taking that chance.

"I can't imagine how you must be feelin'." I sympathised towards Maggie who was on the other side of the screen. "Havin' the people you love most in here, but I promise they're okay. Your dad is fine, he's been keepin' everyone together. An Glenn, he's strong, he'll make it through this."

"I'm jus' scared Belle', I don't know what I'd do without them." She said to me with teary eyes.

"I can't say that'll never happen, cause' we both know it will. All of us will leave this world at some point, but right now, they're here an they're gonna be okay." I smiled weakly, feeling a tiredness begin to consume me. After my excursion with Shane and the ten mile hike with him on my back, barely any sleep, then throwing myself into the role of carer and medic for the sick, I was pretty exhausted. Since being in here, I've had to put down three of our own and it was heart breaking. Another four had been admitted with the virus and it felt as though we were fighting a losing battle, but we had to keep going. We had to keep pushing.

"Thank you, for everything you're doin'." Maggie said appreciatively. "Daddy wouldn't have it any other way bein' in there, an I'm glad he has family with him."

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