Apocalypse [1]

Day 2- 23.04pm

“Thank God you’re here,” Laura said gratefully, breathing a sigh of relief as Megan, Hayley and Luke stumbled through the door anxiously.  Poppy was still lying pale and motionless on the bed, barely clinging onto consciousness, the world around her swimming in her vision as she forced her eyes open.  Blood covered her clothes, soaking them and making them stick to her body.  The blood has blossomed over the white bed sheets, staining them scarlet.  Blood was smeared all over Laura’s hands from applying pressure to the wound, and the dark shadows under her eyes were a mere indicator to how exhausted she was.  As Laura staggered to her feet, Hayley pulled her into a comforting hug and felt her friend trembling from fear and cold.

“We, err, got detained for a while,” Luke explained darkly, his voice dripping with bitterness. 

“She’s held up okay,” Ginge sighed, getting to her feet too.  She ran a small hand anxiously through her ginger hair.

“Get some sleep,” Hayley told Ginge kindly, squeezing her hand.  “Go on; Kerry, Anna and Jack will be missing you.  You can get Warren, Joe and Rori too.  God knows we all need some rest.”

“Joe,” Megan said suddenly, looking at Luke with widened eyes.  He frowned at her.

“No,” Luke replied slowly.  “I’m not Joe, I’m Luke remember?  I know you’re tired Megan, but I thought my lack of ginger hair would count for something, at least.”

Megan shook her head determinedly.  “Joe studied prehistoric medicine as part of his History degree course,” she told them all excitedly, as Hayley rolled her eyes and mumbled, “bloody hell” quietly.

Laura nodded.  “He’s the best chance we’ve got,” she agreed, yawning.

“Right.”  Luke nodded decisively, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.  “I’ll send Joe in.  Megan and I will take over the watch; the rest of you can go to bed.”  Luke’s eyes fell on the dark shadows beneath Laura’s eyes, and Hayley’s mouth, which was gaping open in a massive yawn.

“I’m staying,” Laura mumbled, sighing and resigning herself to a sleepless night.  “If she gets any worse, and doesn’t make it…” she trailed off, too upset to carry on.  “I want to stay.”

“Me too,” Hayley added, leaning her head on Laura’s shoulder.

Luke shook his head slowly and mumbled “degenerates” under his breath, before leaving the room, closely followed by Megan and Ginge.  Hayley turned to Laura.

“How’s she been?” Hayley asked, jerking her head towards Poppy.

Laura shrugged, then bit her lip nervously.  “She’s been in a lot of pain,” she said at last.  “The stitches will hurt like hell too, but we can’t really afford to waste any more painkillers on her either.  It seems like the pain comes and goes in waves, almost.  She’ll be talking sense one minute; the next, she’s crying out in pain and babbling on like a mad baboon!  Then she passes out…”

“Being unconscious takes away the pain, at least,” Hayley offered supportively. 

Laura nodded.  “She thinks she’s been bitten,” she said quietly.  “By one of them.”

The door of the bedroom swung open, making the two girls jump.  Hayley stifled her squeal of surprise as Joe hurried into the room, his eyes darting from Poppy’s immobile form to the medicinal supplies Hayley was unpacking.  He dropped to his knees beside them.

“This procedure is really going to hurt her,” Joe told them kindly, taking the antiseptic from Hayley and inspecting Poppy’s wound closely.  “We learnt all about it, of course, and it’s a bit of a renowned bitch in the world of prehistoric medicine.  Plus, Luke said that we don’t have anything worth using to numb the pain.  So, you two will need to help me by pinning down her arms and legs.  When she feels the pain, Poppy will want to lash out to get away from it.  If she disrupts the stitches I’m putting in, it’ll be far more damaging than just leaving the wound alone, believe me.”