by Bruno Miller
Ben turned to go and get the first-aid kit, but Allie was only a few steps away and had the bright orange bag in her hand.
“Here.” She passed the kit to Rita. “What do we need?”
“Let’s see.” Rita rifled through the bag. “No…no…here. Can I get some filtered water?”
Joel rushed in with his Nalgene and handed it over right away. Rita didn’t hesitate and went to work, using several packets from the first-aid kit while warning Emma occasionally that this would hurt a little. She finished up by wrapping the wound in clean white gauze and instructing Emma to stay off her foot and drink plenty of water.
Ben felt useless as he stood still and watched. The day had been so crazy and fast-paced that he didn’t even notice his own daughter was in pain.
He crouched next to her. “Are you okay?”
“I’ll be okay. It just hurts right now.”
“All right, well, you sit tight. We’ll break down your tent for you. I just want you to eat breakfast and take it easy, okay?”
She nodded and did her best to hide the pain.
“Can I talk to you, Ben?” Rita headed toward the stream, only looking back to make sure he was following. She stopped when they were out of earshot of the others. “She has an infection, and it’s only going to get worse unless we get some antibiotics in her.”
Sandy joined them and stood next to Ben as Rita delivered the bad news.
“She’s right. The foot is pretty swollen, and it happened fast if that cut’s from yesterday morning,” Sandy added.
“Don’t we have anything in the first-aid kit?” He knew they didn’t, but he was at a loss for words right now. An antibiotic was going to be hard to come by. Every pharmacy and hospital from here to Colorado had been picked clean by looters. Reese had some medications back in Cloverdale. She’d given Gunner an antibiotic for his paw, but that was a long shot.
“My daughter is a doctor. She runs a small practice in Fort Wayne. She could help us. I know she’ll have the antibiotics Emma needs,” Rita stated.
“We don’t even know if your daughter is still alive.” Ben was immediately embarrassed by his outburst, but he could feel the desperation creeping in. Emma needed help, and their options were few.
Rita looked Ben dead in the eyes. “She’s there. I know she is. Julia and Edward are survivors. They were prepared for a world like this.”
“Fort Wayne is closer than Cloverdale,” Sandy said.
“But we don’t know what we’ll find in Fort Wayne,” Ben argued.
“And we don’t know what we’ll find in Cloverdale, either. It’s a roll of the dice either way. At least if Rita’s daughter can’t help, we can continue on to Cloverdale from there without backtracking,” Sandy reasoned.
She was right, and Ben couldn’t think of any more reasons to argue against the plan.
“Please, trust me,” Rita pleaded.
Ben couldn’t believe how fast things had changed. He was just enjoying his coffee and imagining him and the others driving through the wall of cars surrounding Cloverdale sometime late tonight or early tomorrow morning. Now Emma’s life was in danger and they had plotted a new course within seconds.
Ben nodded slowly. “Better tell the others we’re headed to Fort Wayne.”
* * *
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About the Author
Bruno Miller is the author of the Dark Road series. He’s a military vet who likes to spend his downtime hanging out with his wife and kids, or getting in some range time. He believes in being prepared for any situation.
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The Dark Road series:
Breakdown
Escape
Resistance
Fallout
Extraction
Reckoning
Deception
Restitution
Desperation
Cloverdale series:
Impact
Survival
Endurance
Confrontation