Grayson

Chapter Thirty Eight

Emma~

Twenty hours. Emma had sorted the living and the dead for twenty hours straight. She caught fatally injured civilians in her arms as they begged and pleaded for her to save them. Mothers handed her their children who had been deceased for hours, but could not accept their fate. The marker in Emma's gloved hand had run out of ink and her body ached and shook from exhaustion and adrenaline as she slowly walked back toward the ship. The screaming never ceased, but it became more faint and distant with every tired step.

Emma discarded her soaked scrubs and rinsed her body in an external shower before boarding the ship. With wet hair and a tshirt that clung to her wet skin in the most uncomfortable way, Emma silently checked her credentials with the guard who allowed her entry without saying a word.

Feeling numb and empty, Emma headed straight for the showers, turning the water on as hot as she could stand it. It was then and only then that she allowed herself to cry. Every face she had turned away flashed through her mind on an endless loop that played without her consent. Family members screamed and pleaded on their behalf as they were denied entry to the hospital by Silas and his men and directed over to Dr. Foster who administered enough pain medication to make them comfortable in their final moments.

With quiet, gut-wrenching sobs, Emma sunk down into an exhausted heap on the shower floor, unable to stand as she finally processed the events of the day.

So many. There were so many who couldn't be saved.

After a few minutes of crying, Emma somehow found the strength to stand as she aggressively scrubbed at her skin and nails. By the time she climbed out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel, her skin was angry and red, but Emma didn't care. Feeling like an empty shell, Emma went to her locker and slipped some dry clothes on before walking unsteadily to her room.

As soon as she opened the door her eyes found Olivia curled into a little pile on her bed, her hair wet and freshly washed. Emma's gaze drifted over to the drawers that separated their beds and saw Olivia's hearing aid which meant she was in no mood to talk.

Emma tapped the metal frame of Olivia's bed gently, letting Olivia know she was in the room, an action that caused Olivia to stir, but not greet her. With a blanket over her face, Emma could hear Olivia crying and could only see the light of her phone glowing from beneath.

Understanding completely, Emma respected Olivia's need to process alone. She climbed into bed and reached for her phone wanting nothing more than to hear Grayson's voice. She wanted to see his handsome face and pretend she'd never left.

It was technically 5:00 am on the ship, but due to the time difference it was 4:00 pm in California.

"There she is, the most beautiful..." Grayson's light hearted greeting and bright charismatic smile faded as soon as he saw Emma's tear stricken face.

"Em, what happened?" There was so much concern in Grayson's voice that it caused Emma's tears to flow again.

"It was so bad, Gray." She muttered, her voice raspy and tired.

"Talk to me sweetheart." Grayson stood from a crowded conference room and moved into what looked like his office at Knight Security.

"The people here...there are so many...too many." Emma sobbed. "This isn't what we thought. It's not rehabilitation, it's triage. These people are being attacked in their homes and fleeing to the hospital for emergency care...for life saving care that we aren't equipped to give. It's so bad, Gray."

Grayson's brows dropped and his expression was painfilled as if he was experiencing her anguish through the phone.

"I had to choose. That was my job today to choose who was treatable and who wasn't. If their injuries were too grievous, they were given pain medication and sedatives to make them comfortable until they passed. Patients lying on the ground, dying..."