“But you lost some blood just a day ago,” Candy said.
“Well, I feel absolute fine now,” I said. “Jennifer needs the blood, so take it.”
Candy proceeded to quickly sit me down in a chair, swab my arm with a cotton ball soaked in alcohol, and start the donation process.
I could see the clear bag filling.
“How are you feeling?” Candy said. “I feel just fine.”
“Then take my hand and squeeze it,” she said.
I complied, and squeezed her hand. It made the bag fill even faster.
As I sat, Dr. Lopez, Meredith, and Ms. Suzy helped Jennifer onto a table. Jennifer looked like she was about to pass out.
Ms. Suzy then pulled a curtain around me.
The first bag of blood was full. Candy took it and ran behind the curtain. A moment later she returned.
“We’re going to need more,” Candy said. “I only feel safe taking one more unit from you. We’ll need to find another donor.”
“Take whatever she needs,” I said.
Candy started the process over again.
“Let’s take this one a bit more slowly,” she said. “I don't want you passing out.”
As the blood filled the second bag I started to feel a little weak, but I didn’t want to let Candy know.
“I'm so glad that I met you, my vampire friend,” I said.
“Not vampire friend, vampire sister in law,” she said.
We both laughed.
“You’re my hero,” she said, as the bag finished filling with blood. She took it, leaving me again.
I then saw Nurse Beth enter the room. I saw her go behind the curtain and talk to the doctor.
Candy then came from behind the curtain and walked towards me.
“I've been told to stay with you, for now,” she said.
“What's the prognosis for Jennifer?” I asked.
“The transfusion is still going on,” she said. “Soon they’ll perform an exploratory surgery to try and detect if there is any additional bleeding from the artery. Basically, they’re going to see how bad of a job I did stitching it up.”
“You didn't do a bad job, Candy,” I said. “You did a great job. You saved her life. If they have to do some more work on it, then it just means you bought Jennifer enough time for her to get here.”
“Why are you so nice to me?” Candy asked. “Don't you ever get mad or angry?”
“Yes, sometimes,” I said. “But there’s nothing to be angry at you about.”
“Thanks,” she said.
“Now, let’s go see if they have something for you to eat and drink,” she said. “You need to keep your strength up.”
I stood up and I felt a bit dizzy, but Candy put her arm around me and helped me out of the room.
We waited in the lobby. I talked with Candy and Ms. Suzy as the doctor and nurse worked on Jennifer. As I drank some apple juice from a plastic container and ate some cookies, I felt my strength start to return. But I couldn’t get my mind off what was happening in the other room.
What seemed like an eternity passed, and the doctor finally came into the room.
“She’d lost a lot of blood, but the transfusion seems to have helped. I performed an exploratory surgery and took a look at the artery that was damaged; it seems to be stable. You did very well patching it up, Ms. Beetle. For someone without a surgical background, you did a marvelous job,” she said.
Tears started to roll down Candy's face.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Well, she’s not out of the woods yet. She appears to have a kidney infection and was close to going septic,” she said. “I've put her on an IV antibiotic.”
“Another transfusion would probably do her a lot of good,” the doctor added, before walking out of the room.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I realized that most likely, Jennifer would recover. She was not bleeding internally, and they had found the infection that was probably the cause of her fever.
“Thank you God,” I prayed out loud.
“Thank goodness,” Ms. Suzy said.
I stood up and looked at Candy.
“It looks like my vampire sister in law needs to get busy,” I said.
Chapter Five
“There is no way I'm taking any more blood from you, Hank.”
“I'll be alright. Just take a half unit,” I urged.
“No, and that's final,” Candy said. “If I take any more blood I could put your life at risk.”
“If Jennifer is going to get anyone's blood, it is going to be mine,” I said. “Once I'm unable to stand, then you can find another donor.”
“I'm not sure if you’re in love, or if you're just nuts,” she said.
Candy turned and walked away towards the room where Jennifer was resting.
“She has a point,” Ms. Suzy said. “There is no reason for you to be drained dry if there are other donors.”
“Oh, yes there is,” I said. “Don't you realize that normally every donor is screened and the blood is tested for diseases?”
“That's true,” Ms. Suzy said.
“But right now I doubt they have the facilities to run lab tests. And even if they did, they may not have the time. There are other patients in there,” I said. “I don't want Jennifer to risk getting some kind of disease.”
“I see where you’re coming from,” Ms. Suzy responded.
Ms. Suzy and I continued to talk in the chilly room. Every so often, I would look at a circular clock on a far wall watching time tick slowly by.
“I hate to leave you,” Ms. Suzy eventually said. “But I have to check my daughter and grandchildren.”
“That's okay,” I said. “They need to see you – I’m fine here.”
“I'll be back later on,” she said.
I sat alone in the lobby of the clinic and thought about the events of the past days. I had barely made it out of a nuclear power plant before it melted down, survived a fire fight with redneck bandits, possibly had an out of body experience, and was engaged to be married. For a moment, I felt overwhelmed. My heart started to beat rapidly, and I felt a bit nauseated.
“Are you alright?” I heard a voice call from the door to the building.
It was Meredith.
“I'm okay,” I said.
“You don't look so hot,” she responded.
“Seriously, I'm okay. What's up?” I asked.
“I have some good news. When everyone evacuated they left behind a lot of supplies. I'm guessing they couldn't take everything with them,” she said.
“That's good news,” I said.
“It gets better,” she said. “We even found a staff dormitory that looks like it has barely been used. We managed to get inside; there are lots of rooms we can use. They even have actual beds!”
“That is great,” I said. “Keep me updated if you find anything else useful.”
“I will,” she said, before heading out the door.
I looked at the clock and saw another ten minutes had passed. There was no way I was going to wait any longer before getting an update on Jennifer.
Before I could walk halfway there Candy emerged from the door ahead of me.
“You should be sitting down,” she said.
“I want to see Jennifer,” I responded.
“Alright, but take it easy,” she said. “I don't want you passing out while talking to her.”
I walked with Candy toward Jennifer's bed. As I walked around the curtain I could see Jennifer was awake and alert.
“Hi honey,” Jennifer said.
I rushed to her bed side and put my hand on her shoulder.
“How are you feeling?” I asked.
“I'm feeling better,” she said.
Looking at her face I could see that she didn’t look as pale as before.
“It's great to hear that!” I said.
For the next ten minutes I talked with her. Candy brought me a chair so I could sit down next to the woman who I had agree
d to marry.
“So are you going to keep your last name, or do you want to be called Mrs. Harper?” I asked.
“I'll have to think on that,” she said with a laugh.
“Visiting hours are over,” Candy informed us after a while.
“Let him stay a little longer,” Jennifer pleaded.
“No, you need your rest,” Candy said. “And he does too.”
“Are you feeling okay?” Jennifer asked me.
“He donated the blood for your transfusion,” Candy said.
“Hank! I didn’t realize . . .” Jennifer seemed astonished. “How can I thank you . . . you do need get some rest. When you feel up to it, come back and check on me, alright?
“Okay,” I said.
I reached down and kissed her on the forehead and walked out of the room. I noticed that Candy was following me when I heard Jennifer call out, “you take good care of him!”
Candy and I stepped outside. It was dark and getting cold; winter was approaching. A crisp breeze brought a chill to my spine as I glanced at my surroundings.
“Is there anyone in there to watch over Jennifer?” I asked.
“Yes, Nurse Beth is inside. She was in a private exam room with the pregnant woman you saw earlier,” she said.
“Where is Dr. Lopez?” I asked.
“Beth has relieved her for a few hours so she can get some sleep. Dr. Lopez will examine Jennifer again in the morning,” she said.
I noticed Jennifer was shivering. She didn’t need to be outside in the cold, or the low levels of radiation.
“Let’s go inside. Meredith told me they had opened up a building and found a staff dormitory. They even have real beds in there. Let’s go find one for you,” I said.
“I'm freezing,” she said. “You won't get any argument from me.”
Candy and I roamed around the compound searching for the dormitory. Finally, we saw a building in the distance; a few people were walking in and out of it. I noticed Roy was one of them.
“Roy!” I called out.
He heard me and approached.
“How is Jennifer doing?” he asked.
“She’s alright,” I said. “They gave her a blood transfusion and she’s doing better.”
“That’s great news,” said Roy.
“Enough talk,” Candy said. “Let’s get inside.”
The three of us entered the building. It felt good to get out of the wind.
“This place is great,” Roy said. “They have rooms with real beds. Not just uncomfortable cots like at the church.”
“Where are Kay and the children?” I asked.
“They’re already in rooms,” he said.
“Would you do me a favor?” I asked.
“Sure,” he said.
“Would you make sure Candy here gets into a room?” I asked. “I need to check on a few things.”
“Hey, I'm supposed to be looking out for you. Jennifer's orders!” Candy said.
“I'll be fine,” I told her. “I need to make sure this facility is secure.”
“We’re surrounded by fenced walls,” she said. “We’re fine.”
“You have been stuck in a secure building at a nuclear power plant for most of the apocalypse. I know you’re smart, but you don't know what is fine and what isn’t when it comes to those freaks. I’ve had too much experience to feel at ease,” I said.
“Just hurry back,” she said. “Later on, we can go check on Jennifer.”
“Okay,” I said.
I watched as Roy led her down a hallway.
Walking out of the building, I saw Linwood and a few other people from the church carrying a number of boxes. They walked inside, and I noticed that a few of the boxes were filled with my belongings. As soon as they set the boxes down, I started to search through them. I saw my backpack of ammunition from the tackle shop, additional knives from the Grocery World meat department, and various items from the nuclear power plant.
I made sure the firearms on my person were fully loaded, and I grabbed a Geiger counter.
“Thanks for bringing in all this stuff -- I'm going to walk the perimeter of the compound,” I said. “We need to make sure this place is secure.”
“Good,” Linwood said. “Be careful.”
I proceeded to walk outside. I really needed a jacket myself, but I was intent on not letting the cold air slow me down. As I took readings with the Geiger counter, I saw that the levels of radiation were very low. The information both cheered me up and concerned me. If the radiation levels were low we would be relatively safe from radiation sickness. However, if the levels were too low, the freaks might start getting active again.
The wind had picked up some more and made howling and moaning sounds as it flowed between the structures of the facility. Walking around the perimeter I found only a couple “hot spots” that flashed blue on the indicator. It took almost a half hour to walk around the compound. As far as I could tell, it was secure. However, the compound made me feel uneasy. Because so many people had evacuated, it was almost empty.
On the way back to the dormitory, I decided to check the building where I had met Captain Flint. I tried the door and I found that it was unlocked. Fumbling around on the inside wall, I found a light switch. It activated a single light in the middle of the foyer. I didn’t know what I was looking for, but I hoped to find some useful piece of information. Perhaps there was a way to find out what relocation center my mother and Jennifer's sister may have been taken to.
I remembered where Captain Flint’s office was and found that his door was also unlocked. Turning on a lamp, I saw his desk had a handwritten note lying on it. I picked it up and started to read.
“If anyone reads this note, I hope that they are able to use the facilities of this compound to survive as long as possible. If you are reading this note, please feel free to use the military internet connection to stay in touch with the other facilities. My password is at the end of this note. I waited as long as I could for the survivors of the church to arrive, but I was forced to go ahead with the evacuation.”
The note continued to describe some of the resources of the facility. I realized that Candy or I might be able to use the connection to find out where my mother had been taken. I thought about typing the password into the already turned on computer on his desk, but I realized I needed to check on Jennifer.
I made my way back to the clinic and walked into the room where Jennifer was resting. The room was dimly lit, and absolutely quiet.
“You need to leave,” I heard a voice call out.
It was Nurse Beth.
“All the patients are resting,” she said.
“I want to check on Jennifer,” responded.
“She’s fine. You need to get some sleep,” she said.
“Okay,” I said.
I exited the clinic and proceeded to the dormitory. Upon entering, I saw Ms. Suzy sitting in the lounge.
“I was wondering when you would show up,” she said.
“I haven’t been gone too long,” I said.
“Well, Candy is acting funny. She’s insisting on examining everyone. I have never seen anyone so eager to take my blood pressure,” she said. “I had to almost shout at her to get her to go into her room.”
“It may be her way of coping. She told me she likes to keep busy when she feels stressed,” I explained.
“It's so cold out there now, Hank. Come and warm up with some coffee – I have a pot brewing in the kitchen,” said Ms. Suzy.
We went into the small kitchen area, and I was immediately comforted by the aroma of the coffee.
“Help yourself,” said Ms. Suzy.
“Thanks very much – I’m going to get Candy a cup, too.”
I filled two styrofoam cups and walked down the hall looking for Candy's room. Finally, I saw a door cracked open. Trying to balance the two cups of coffee, I knocked on the door.
“Anyone in there?” I asked.
“Hank!” I heard Candy's voice call
out.
I opened the door and found Candy sitting on her bed.
“It's good to see you!” she said, standing up. “I was getting worried.”
“I brought you some coffee,” I said. “How are you doing?”
She took the coffee and started to drink.
“I'm alright,” she said. “I just can't rest for some reason.”
“That's understandable,” I said. “You have gone from your own office at the power plant, to a Sunday School room in a strange church, and now to this place.”
“My mind keeps racing,” she said. “I just can't stop thinking.”
“Maybe you shouldn't be drinking the coffee then,” I said.
“No,” she said. “I needed this.”
“I walked the perimeter of the compound. The radiation levels are low and I don't see any openings where the freaks could sneak in,” I said.
Candy motioned for me to sit in the one chair in the room. I sat down, and I began to tell her about the note in Captain Flint's office. I also told her about how I had tried to check on Jennifer, but Nurse Beth wouldn’t let me.
“You need to be resting,” she said.
“Well, like you, I can't rest,” I said.
“Jennifer told me to take care of you,” she said. “I am your physician, and I'm telling you to get some sleep.”
“You’re not a doctor,” I said.
“Well, I'm close enough,” she said, with a laugh.
“I'll make a deal with you. I’ll go into the next room and try to get some sleep, but you have to try and calm down and go to sleep yourself,” I said.
Her fiery hazel eyes peered into mine. I somehow knew what she’d say next.
“Won't you just pull the mattress in here from one of the other rooms?” she asked. “I could sleep on the floor and you could have the bed. “I don't want to be alone. You’re really the only person here that I totally trust, other than Jennifer,” she said.
“Candy, I don't think that's a good idea,” I said.
“Please, I know you’re engaged to Jennifer, and I'm not trying to come onto you. I just don't want to be alone,” she pleaded.
“How about this,” I said. “Would you sleep on the sofa in the lounge if I promised to stay in the room until morning?”
“There is a recliner in there I could sleep on,” I said.
Don't Dare Call Them Zombies : Books 1-4 Page 29