The McClane Apocalypse: Book Two (22 page)

“I think we have enough. We can always hit a few more rooms on the way out,” she tells him.

He nods his consent as he scans the area near their horses. They have them so well hidden and so deep in the woods that he can’t even see them with the binoculars. But there isn’t any sign of life anywhere near the entire back area of the hospital.

Suddenly, a clattering racket comes from the bricked-in stairwell from which they’ve just passed through. Without hesitation, John snatches Reagan with one arm about her waist and swings left. There isn’t time to talk, to alert her or give her orders to move. It is just easier to grab her and move her himself. He conceals them both behind a huge ventilation fan in a massive, sheet metal duct. He slides his arm very slowly from her waist and sets his finger on the trigger of his rifle before he gives her a sign to hold steady. She nods, but there is definite fear in her eyes.

Voices, two or three male, come from the area near the stairs. They seem confused, as if they didn’t know they would end up on the roof at the end of those stairs. It only takes a moment before they leave again.

“Come on. We’re going a different way now,” John tells her as they jog across the roof back to where he can see the lower level rooftop of another building, probably the original hospital facility. “Let’s go down there. We’ll get in through a door or window and start heading down so we can get back to the horses.”

Another peel of thunder cracks, followed by a flash of lightning streaking through the dark clouds across the horizon sky. John consults his watch and is surprised to see that it’s already past three in the afternoon. Turning around, he goes down the steel ladder that is screwed into the red brick wall.

“Just turn around and come down backward just like this, ok?” he asks and goes down five stair rungs to wait for her.

She hesitates like he knew she would because going down backwards is always unnerving the first time. She seems scared to do this. He hadn’t even considered that she might be afraid of heights and hadn’t thought to ask her. They need to travel almost two full stories to get to the lower level rooftop. He lays a hand against the back of her calf to reassure her that he’s there.

“You got it, boss. Don’t look down, ok? Just step down one and then another. That’s it.”

When he gets close enough to the bottom, John hops off the last few rungs and waits for her. He places both hands at her narrow waist and pulls her to the ground easily. He’d like to also pull her close, but there are just too many people roaming this dangerous hospital and he wants to get the heck out of this part of town.

“Crap. There aren’t any doors. What do we do? Should we go back up?” she asks with worry after a swift perusal of the area before she looks up at him.

“Nah, I’ve got it,” John tells her as he takes her hand and crosses the roof to their left. He wants to keep forward progress toward the horses and the exit.

He comes to a low window, only half of it visible because the other half is concealed by the brick wall of the building. Taking out his dagger, he uses the hilt to break the window as silently as he possibly can. Once he has the glass cleared away, John slides down through and lands on his feet. One scan of the space and he realizes that it is a patient room. Luckily there isn’t a dead body in the bed. It’s just an empty room and the door is shut. Reaching up to her, John takes her by the waist again and brings her down in front of him through the window.

“Thanks,” she whispers and he can only offer a half frown.

John is having his doubts that bringing her with him to the city was a good idea. It is turning out to be more occupied than he thought it would be. Most of the bigger cities he’d driven through to get to the farm had been like ghost towns.

Once outside the patient room, they continue straight down the hall and come to more doctors’ offices that hold the same secret rooms behind paneled walls. Reagan takes what she needs and leaves the rest again. John carries the loot. His pack must weigh a good thirty pounds. This weight has a heftiness to it that makes him feel more reassured that everyone at the farm will have whatever meds they’ll need. He doesn’t mind the weight.

They make their way back out of the hospital the same way they came in and carefully cross the field again, staying low. John attaches the backpack to the second horse, and they take time to eat their protein bars and drink a bottle of water each that Grams has packed. John then forces her to take half of his sandwich because he’d seen her give Paul’s family hers. The impending storm is still hovering in the ozone, lending an overcast glumness to the atmosphere. The sun is at its highest of the day even though the weather has turned with the potential to become impossible again. They both decide to leave their jackets with the horses while John uses his field binoculars to scan the area once more.

“Let’s go toward the shopping district and away from the hospital. We have all we need from there, right?” he asks quietly.

“Yeah, we’re good. There’s a way around that will take us over there that runs through these woods. We’ll still have the cover of the trees, though,” she explains. John nods as they both mount up to continue through this city of death.

Chapter Thirteen

Hannah

Finally, near 5:00 p.m. Kelly and Cory return to the farm. She’s been on edge since they left and has been pacing. Well as close to pacing as she can manage without knocking her knees into furniture. They come in through the front door and Hannah has to resist the urge to throw her arms about Kelly’s neck and squeeze him close. She, Sue and Grandpa greet them in the hallway as Grams stays in the music room with the children since it’s raining too hard outside for them to play outdoors.

“Doc, we’ve got a problem,” Kelly announces. His deep voice is like silken honey against her skin, making Hannah break out in gooseflesh. His message, however, sets her on edge.

“Did something happen with the new family?” Grandpa inquires after the group that John had sent to Kelly to settle in at the condominium community.

“What’s happened?” Sue asks with more urgent concern in her voice. She’s come to stand next to Hannah and has placed her hand over Hannah’s forearm.

“No, the family is fine. They’re fitting in just fine with the single moms,” Kelly explains as Hannah listens to his heavy footsteps draw closer. “We stopped at the Reynolds place on the way back- you know just to check on them- and Wayne’s wife, Bertie, is sick or something. He was just about to call you on the radio when we pulled in.”

“Ok, I’ll get my bag. Come along, Kelly, and tell me more,” Grandpa orders and moves into instant action. The rest of the group also follows Grandpa to his study.

“She’s been really sick for a couple of day and has some... er, female problems or something I guess,” Kelly clarifies but with a lot of embarrassment.

“What sort of problems?” Grandpa asks as Hannah listens to the tell-tale zipper of his medical bag. His footsteps pace quickly about his office. She and Sue remain near the door and out of his way. Grams has overheard and has also taken up residence beside Hannah.

“I’m not sure, sir. She didn’t want us to help or talk to us about it. Chet said he didn’t know, either, but I think Wayne does. And he said to get you and hurry,” Kelly says. He is standing directly nearest Hannah, and she’d like to reach out to him but doesn’t.

“I’m going to need assistance. Sue, you’d better stay here with Cory and Derek to defend the place if anything should happen. Hannah, dear, would you like to help me?” Grandpa asks.

She’s helped out at his office in town before. Mostly it was simple things like weighing in his patients on the digital scale, getting them assigned to the different patient rooms or simply handing him tools while he worked on patients. She is certainly no nurse and definitely not a doctor like Reagan.

“Um, sure, Grandpa. I’ll do anything I can to help,” she answers without hesitation.

Kelly shifts his weight beside her. “And Kelly, if you don’t mind going back out, I’d like you to accompany us, as well. Just in case anything should arise.”

“Yes, sir. Wouldn’t have it any other way,” he replies and Hannah can feel him physically relax beside her.

Within a short while, which gives Grandpa time to hit his medical supplies in the shed, they are all three on the road to the Reynolds farm, their closest neighbors and allies. Kelly drives and Hannah sits between him and her grandfather on the front seat of Grandpa’s pick-up truck. Kelly gives them a rundown of what took place with the new family and how he and Cory got them acclimated to their new condo.

“I think they’ll work things out. They all seem to be good people, and they’ve seen the benefit of community living- at least for the time being,” Kelly says a minute before they pull down the Reynolds’ driveway.

“Good. This country needs to work together to get things back to normal. It’ll take years, but we’ll get there,” Grandpa says with more optimism than she knows her other travel mate feels. Kelly has a much different perspective of how long things will take to restore any sense of normalcy to their country.

After putting the vehicle in park, Kelly helps her to the ground and keeps a hand on her arm so that he can lead her to the house.

“Thank God, Dr. McClane,” Chet greets them on the front porch. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her. Wayne’s worried out of his mind. She’s upstairs and won’t talk to me at all. Wayne said to get you ‘cuz he thinks this could be something bad.”

“Hey, Doc,” comes Wayne’s weary and stress-ridden voice from just inside the door. They are shown to the parlor where Kelly does not relinquish her arm.

“Ok, Wayne, what are Bertie’s symptoms?” Grandpa asks calmly.

“She’s been really sick to her stomach, been in the bathroom a lot the last few days. She won’t eat anything and threw up a few times this morning,” her husband explains. “She’s in a lot of pain in her stomach, too.”

“Mm hm. Ok. Fine,” Grandpa says quietly. He’s in full-blown doctor mode. Hannah has heard this tone from him so many times in the past. “Where is she now?”

“She’s been upstairs all day,” another male voice says off to Hannah’s left. She doesn’t recognize this voice at all.

“Oh, this is our cousin, Lenny. He used to live down in Nashville. His home was torched about a week ago and he made it here. He’s gonna be staying with us now,” Wayne introduces the stranger.

“Hello, sir,” Lenny says to her grandfather, who probably shakes the man’s hand.

“You can just call me Doc, and this is my granddaughter, Hannah. This big guy here is Kelly. He’s a soldier, my armed guard if you will,” Grandpa offers with a half joke. He’s so skilled at making people feel at ease.

“Hi,” Lenny says but doesn’t take her hand, nor does he take Kelly’s because he still holds her arm. His grip tightens for some reason.

“Hey,” is all Kelly offers this man for a greeting. Strange. He is not, however, good at making anyone at ease. His size alone probably inhibits this reaction in people.

“Take me to Bertie, Wayne,” Grandpa abruptly suggests. He wants to get to his patient and not stand around chit-chatting.

They are taken upstairs, Wayne leading the way, where they find Bertie in a bedroom she probably shares with her husband. Kelly directs Hannah across the room, following her grandfather, where he places her hand against something.

“Bed post, Hannah,” he tells her so easily.

The feel of smooth wood beneath her hand tells her that this is indeed a part of the bed where Bertie must be seated or lying.

“Dr. McClane, I’m so sorry to bother you,” Bertie says weakly. “I was just so scared.”

“I’ll wait outside,” Kelly whispers in her ear, causing the fine hairs that have come loose of her braid to tickle against her neck. She nods against the stubble of his beard. Wayne also vacates the room which just leaves her, Grandpa and Bertie to discuss her problems in private.

“Tell me what’s bothering you, dear,” Grandpa says so gently that Hannah’s face splits into a sad grin that she conceals behind her hand. Grandpa’s tone is one she’s always been comforted by.

“I think I’m pregnant, Doctor,” she says. “I’ve been bleeding for about three days, just spotting.”

“Ok, dear. Are you sure you’re pregnant? What other symptoms? Have you missed your period?”

“Oh yeah. I haven’t had one for about three months. I knew I was pregnant, but I think I might be miscarrying. I’ve had a fever for a few days and haven’t felt all that great. Then this morning it just got worse. The spotting is heavier and I threw up and had diarrhea twice already.”

“You’re warm. Let me get some vitals and then we’ll talk,” Grandpa tells her as Hannah listens to him unzip his medical bag. A few minutes later he declares, “You have a low-grade fever. I don’t hear a fetal heartbeat, but this early in your pregnancy sometimes it’s hard to detect one without an ultrasound.”

“Something just doesn’t feel right, Doctor,” Bertie says with a touch of panic in her voice.

“Ok, Bertie. Everything is going to be ok. I’m here to look after you. I’m going to need to check you, alright?” Grandpa asks her. “Hannah, have Kelly fetch some hot water and towels, rags, whatever they have that’s clean.”

Hannah moves carefully to the door, turns the knob and pokes her head into the hallway. Kelly is immediately at her side.

“Grandpa needs some things, Kelly.”

Fifteen minutes later, Grandpa’s thorough examination is coming to a close as Hannah awaits his orders near the end of the bed.

“Bertie, your cervix has thinned out considerably. You are definitely pregnant, but I do believe you are having a miscarriage. I’m sorry, dear. There isn’t anything you could’ve done to stop it. Nature has a way and it’s not always the way we agree with, but there’s nothing that can be done now. Even before this all happened, I wouldn’t have been able to stop it,” Grandpa explains tenderly.

Hannah hears a hitch of breath right before Bertie begins crying, which she must be trying to muffle as it sounds as if she’s holding a piece of cloth to her mouth.

“I didn’t tell Wayne yet. He doesn’t even know I’m pregnant,” she says on another sob. Hannah moves to the other side of the bed where she sits and reaches out for Bertie’s hand. “Hey, Hannie. I’m glad you’re here.”