Losing Hope | {BOOK 4}

37| Defcon Screwed

Jenna and I were in a hospital exam room, and I was prepping supplies to sew her up.

"This is gonna hurt like a son of a bitch," I warned her.

"I knew those boys' sisters, their parents," she said, still in shock slightly.

"You did what you were trained to do. It's alright."

"They don't train you to shoot your friends. I panicked. I could have..."

"Those boys weren't boys," I cut her off sternly. "They were monsters, and they were a threat. Anybody could have panicked. Not anybody could have done what you did."

"This job is supposed to be saving people.

"Yeah, well," I grimaced. "It sounds better on paper, doesn't it?"

⁘

I was inside the cloud of smoke, the man standing across from me. He had dark hair and a neatly trimmed beard with deep brown eyes, nearly black. His suit was black on black.

"Well, now that you've said your thanks, let's talk about what happens next," I said.

"I like it here," he admitted. "With you. I haven't felt this peaceful in a long, long time."

"Well, let's get something straight- I'm not here to bring you peace. I know what you are."

"Really? I've been gone so long, I didn't think anyone remembered."

"Well, Death painted a hell of a picture."

"I don't know this Death," he shook his head, "and he doesn't know me."

I lifted a knife, staring him down.

"So, are you saying I shouldn't try to kill you right now?"

"Am I saying that?" the Darkness asked me. "Or are you?"

⁘

Sam had found a man hiding in another part of the hospital, who was holding a new born baby boy.

"The doc said it was going to be a tough birth, but Janie... she stepped up," the man said. "The twister hit, the power went out. She just kept going. No drugs. Just pushed out this little champ like he was nothing. Then Janie started bleeding. They tried, but... You'd think they'd know how to stop something like that."

My heart clenched in my chest, going out to the new father and widower.

"I'm so sorry, Mike," Jenna told him.

"You think you could tell us what happened here?" I asked.

"I went outside, after... t'collect myself. A truckload of 'em pulled up."

"The road crew?" Sam assumed.

"They didn't say nothing," Mike said. "They just went off, attacking folks like they were possessed. I tore back inside to get this little one. I found that supply closet, and you know, been there since. I could hear them, though. Tearing through the halls. Doctors, nurses- they didn't care."

"You said the road crew went nuts. Did any of them come after you?"

"Yeah, a few of them."

"Did they cut you or bleed on you?"

"They did," Mike nodded.

"I don't understand," Jenna looked between Sam and I. "What are you saying?"

"Saying that whatever this is, it might be transmittable," I informed her.

"What? We don't even know what this is. Now you're saying it can be passed on?"