After The End

The Barrier

Jackson and Sam had left the plane with the pheromone diffuser. So all the rest of us could do was wait until it was safe to start making our way on foot. But rather than hearing from the boys since we have no working radios we hear from Logan, who is serving as our eye in the sky. "Guys, the hybrids are on the move. You got your window."

"Copy that. Heading out." Dariela looks around to the group, "Ready?" The group nods and grabs our bags and guns, before heading out. We are on high alert as we walk to the back of the plane. When we get to the back of the cargo bay we find Jamie and Mitch. "We have the clear, let's move." Dariela leads the group, "This area was crawling with Hybrids when I came through."

I look around with my gun raised, checking the side Dariela is not, "Good, means Jackson and Sam's plan is working."

I turn as I hear the baby coo as I look up I can see the barrier. But when I do I feel like I can't breathe again and begin to cough. I get extremely dizzy and my vision goes blurry. I can fatally hear Mitch, "Kat. Hey, Kat." I hit my knees and struggle to breathe.

"She can't breath," Dariela comments as she steps to my side.

"Its' tension pneumothorax."

"What the hell is that?"

"It's air trapped in her chest cavity from the puncture in her lungs. We're gonna have to puncture it." I continue to cough and gasp as Mitch looks around. "I need something, a pen, anything hollow."

"I may have something." I hear Clem.

"Hurry hurry hurry! Easy Easy Easy!" I would love to tell Mitch you can't tell a woman with a baby to hurry and take it easy At the same time. But since I can't breathe the thought does allow me to claim down. I see Mitch look over to Clem after she hands him something, "Since when do you knit?"

"Since I was having a baby."

Mitch shrugs his shoulders and looks over to Abe, who is kneeling next to me holding my hand, "Please tell me you've done this before."

"Sort of."

"On a human?"

"No."

I gasp as Mitch plunges the broken knitting needle into my chest and wheeze as I am able to breathe again. I look over to Mitch, "You need to stop using animal treatments on us."

"Have any of them failed yet?"

I take a what deep breaths I can before the team helps me up, Abe makes my ride on his back the rest of the way to the barrier. Once we get to the barrier we are greeted with smiles and medical cots. Clem and the baby are loaded onto one and I am carried to another. "Mitch!" Mitch turns and walks over to me, "The dead man's switch, it's in my bag." I point over to the bag Dariela is carrying.

Mitch nods, "I got it, don't worry."

The doctors at the barrier patch me up since Mitch had treated the tension pneumothorax out in the field, all they needed to do was sew me up. I wish I could do more, but I can't do much of anything since I am being worked on. When I can I rush into the control center, I'm not even sure that I am cleared to leave the medical area but I have more important things to do. Like, help my team. "Ma'am, you can't go in there." A soldier calls out to me as I walk into the command center.

I am stopped by an older man, who is balding with white hair on the side of his head, "Darling, I don't know that you are allowed to be in here."

As I take a breathe to speak, Logan walks up, "Garrison, this is Katherine Oz. Another member of the team."

"Oh, this is Mrs. Oz." Garrison extends a hand. "It is an honor to meet you."

I shake his hand and nod, "If we don't work fast I may be the last people you meet."