“Yeah, it came forward a few inches, but that’s all—”
“Good. That might be enough. Now I want you to take the cord and lift it over the baby’s head. Just pull it over right now.”
Vicki strained as she grasped the cord. “It’s really tight. I’m afraid it’s going to—”
“It won’t break. Just pull it over. Did you do it?”
“No, it’s stuck.”
“You have to push it to the other side right now. I don’t care how you do it—”
“—this is so scary!”
“—just do it!”
“Please, God,” Vicki prayed, “please, God, please, God, please, God!”
Vicki took a step to her left and used both hands. With the cord tight against the top of the baby’s head, she managed to ease it over and down toward its left shoulder. The child kept its eyes closed and didn’t move.
“I need to push again!” Cheryl said.
“Is the cord over the head?” Wanda said.
“Yeah, I got it.”
“Then tell her to push.”
“Go ahead and push,” Vicki said.
While Cheryl bore down again, Wanda spoke into Vicki’s ear. “Get ready for the little thing to come out pretty quickly. It’ll be sort of slick and a little bloody, but you’ll be okay. Have someone there get a pair of sharp scissors or a knife and some shoestrings.”
“Shoestrings?”
“Don’t ask questions. Just do it.”
“Take another deep breath,” Josey said to Cheryl.
Vicki asked Shelly to get the scissors and more cloths as one of the baby’s shoulders came out. Vicki kicked off her shoes and quickly removed the laces as she watched the baby’s progress. “How will we know if the baby’s okay?”
“Let’s just get it out of there first,” Wanda said.
Vicki took two of the cloths and held them in front of her. She felt like her dad, who played catcher for their church’s softball team. With another push from Cheryl, the baby came sliding out, hands wiggling toward the ceiling. Vicki held the child gingerly, overwhelmed at the sight.
“It’s a boy!” Josey said.
“Really?” Cheryl said, sitting up to have her first look at the child. “It’s really a boy?”
“Don’t hold the baby too low,” Wanda said to Vicki. “Hold him about the same height as the bed where the mother is. That way we’ll keep the blood flow even.”
“Okay,” Vicki said. “Now what?”
“Wipe the baby off, and don’t hold him like a piece of china. Hold him like you know what you’re doing.”
Shelly brought scissors while Josey tied Vicki’s shoelaces tightly at two spots on the cord.
“Why isn’t he crying?” Vicki said.
“Cut the cord,” Wanda said.
It took Vicki two tries to cut the umbilical cord. Blood splattered the floor.
“Is something wrong?” Cheryl said.
Josey kept the phone to Vicki’s ear as Vicki cleaned the boy off. “Wanda, he’s still blue—he’s not crying.”
“You need to clear the airway,” Wanda said. “It could be mucus.”
“What do I do?”
“Open his mouth a little and swab it out. Just put your finger in there.”
Vicki put her finger near the boy’s mouth. The child looked like a doll with his tiny lips and perfect fingers. His nose was flat, but Vicki knew that would change. She cleaned some clear liquid from the child’s mouth and held him up with both hands. “Please, God!”
“Now stroke his back with your hand,” Wanda said. “Not too hard, but hard enough to get his little lungs going.”
Cheryl leaned over and nearly fell out of bed. “Is he going to be okay? Tell me he’s going to be all right.”
Vicki glanced at Josey. Tears welled in the woman’s eyes.
“It’s not working,” Vicki said, rubbing the baby’s back.
“Okay, tip the baby’s head back a little to open his airway. His chin should point to the ceiling. Now I want you to do this gently. Vicki, do you understand?”
“Yes, gently.” Vicki held the baby in the crook of her left arm and tipped his head back. The child’s mouth opened slightly.
“I want you to put your mouth over the baby’s nose and mouth and gently blow. Just once, and don’t do it hard, very gently.”
“Please, God.” Vicki placed her lips over the baby’s nose and mouth and gave a puff of air. The child’s throat gurgled, and Vicki felt his chest move slightly. He arched his back, squinted, and opened his mouth wide.
“What’s happening?” Cheryl said.
Before Vicki could answer, a tiny, bubbling cry echoed through the cabin. Vicki shook with emotion. It was the most wonderful sound she had ever heard.
“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you.”
“I heard that,” Wanda whooped on the phone. “My watch says 2:23. That’ll be the official time of birth, Dr. Vicki.”
“Thank you so much for what you did,” Vicki sobbed.
“It wasn’t me, young lady,” Wanda said. “You did everything I asked and more. Congratulations.”
“What now?”
“We’ll want to keep the baby warm. Unwrap him and put him on the mother’s chest, skin to skin. Then cover them with blankets and cloths. The baby may want to nurse, that’s good. Also, find something for the baby’s head, like a little cap. Most of the heat is lost through the head.”
Vicki handed the baby to Cheryl, and the girl snuggled him as Shelly covered them. Wanda gave instructions, and Josey and Shelly cleaned the room.
Vicki answered a knock at the door. Conrad stood with tears in his eyes. “We were listening out here and praying for you. I can’t believe what you did.”
“Thanks,” Vicki whispered.
Charlie stepped forward. Phoenix was just behind him, wagging his tail and whining. “I found some pictures of little babies on the Internet and every one had a little cap on.”
Charlie handed Vicki the tops of some floppy, white socks he had cut with scissors and decorated with markers. There were crude stars, moons, and some pictures Vicki couldn’t identify.
“Those are the wise men coming to the baby Jesus,” Charlie said. “I thought that would be good to put on his first hat.”
“It’s perfect,” Vicki said.
She closed the door and pulled the covers back. The baby slept as she placed the floppy hat on his head and leaned down to kiss the child. “You’re lucky you have a lot of people who were praying for you, little guy.”
“He’s lucky he had you taking care of him,” Cheryl said, glowing with joy.
“I’ll bet you’re glad that’s over,” Vicki said.
“I’m so thirsty and hungry too.”
Josey brought some fruit, water, and bread, and Cheryl ate with her eyes closed. Every few moments she pulled the covers back and looked into the face of her son. “I can’t imagine what God must have gone through, giving up Jesus on the cross.”
The door opened and Josey led her husband, Tom, into the room. The man smiled at Vicki, then quietly crept to Cheryl’s bedside. “I heard it got pretty rough in here.”
Cheryl smiled. “Nothing we couldn’t handle.” She pulled the bundle out from under the covers, and the baby’s hat flopped in front of his face. Josey tried to stop her, but Cheryl shifted in the bed, then handed the boy to Tom.
Tom Fogarty was speechless. Josey looked over his shoulder and smiled, pulling the hat out of the boy’s face. The child’s eyelids scrunched tightly together, and Vicki noticed little white spots, like pimples, on his small, flat nose.
“Mr. Fogarty, I want you to meet your son, Ryan Victor.”
“My son?”
“And let Mom hold him when you’re finished,” Cheryl said.
Vicki hugged Cheryl and wept. She couldn’t wait to call Judd and tell him the good news.
20
JUDD'S mind raced as he prowled through the neighborhood, running away from the s
afe house. The believers who had helped him and Lionel were either dead or on the run—he knew that from the Peacekeepers’ conversation.
“God, I don’t know what to do,” Judd prayed. “Give me some kind of sign.”
He stayed away from streetlights while he walked, wondering when someone would discover him. He was a marked man without the tattoo of Carpathia and instant cash for any citizen who caught him.
Judd walked more than a mile until he came to a main road leading to town. He and Lionel had avoided such places the past few months, but now he knew he had to take the risk.
He spotted a blue sign with an H in the middle. Medical help. No matter what he did for Lionel, it would be worthless to simply get him out from under the rock without treating his arm. A plan slowly formed in Judd’s mind as he ran toward the hospital.
Lionel awoke to a chirping noise. At first he thought it was some kind of bird, maybe a vulture. Then he realized it was the cell phone and smiled.
The night had turned colder, and in his sleep Lionel had tucked his right arm under him for warmth and had drawn his legs up toward his body. A soft breeze blew through trees, and Lionel smelled rain. Great, that’s all I need. The stream will rise and I’ll drown.
Lionel grabbed the phone on the third ring and answered.
“Lionel? It’s Vicki.”
Vicki’s voice cheered him, and Lionel explained that Judd had left the phone and had gone for help.
“How are you?” Vicki said. “Judd told me a little about what happened.”
“There’s not much to tell. I’ve got this big rock on my arm, and I can’t move. I’ve had a couple of animal visitors in the night, but that’s about all. How’s Cheryl?”
“She’s doing well. She had the baby.” Vicki described what had happened with Ryan Victor.
Lionel was astonished. “Hey, if you can deliver a baby and save his life, you could probably help me out. You want to come down here?”
“You don’t know how much I’d give to do that. Are you in a lot of pain?”
“Only when I move.” Lionel smiled, then thought about Chang’s news of the safe house raid. He decided not to worry Vicki. “I’m really cold, but as soon as Judd gets back I’ll be fine.”
Vicki paused. “What if Judd doesn’t come back?”
“He wouldn’t leave me here.”
“I know, and I don’t want to think about this, but what if he runs into trouble? There’s enough GC and vigilantes to catch all of us.”
“Is this your way of cheering me up? I don’t think Florence Nightingale would have done it this way.”
Vicki chuckled, then grew serious. “I’m saying this for your own good. You have to think about what to do in the worst case.”
“You don’t understand. There’s nothing I can do. God’s going to have to swoop down and roll this stone away, preferably not on the rest of me.”
“Maybe there’s somebody else in the area you could call.”
“Yeah, I’ll just try the Yellow Pages. Come on, Vicki. I’m stuck. The only other thing I could do is get my pocketknife out and …”
“What?”
“Nothing. I was just trying to be funny.”
“I had Conrad put out a message on the Web site—”
“No. I don’t want to alert the GC.”
“We didn’t give your location. We just put out an SOS so people could pray.”
The phone began to break up. “Looks like the phone is running low. It’ll recharge once the sun comes out. I’ll call you the minute I hear anything from Judd. Okay?”
“All right. But call me at first light.”
Lionel hung up and put his head back on the ground. He reached for his arm and found the blood crusted and dry. That was the good news. The bad news was that everything was swollen. Lionel knew he risked infection, but he had no medicine and no way to treat the wound.
The conversation with Vicki had given him an idea, as far-fetched as it seemed. He could use his pocketknife—
No, things would have to get a lot worse for him to consider that.
Lionel set his jaw and closed his eyes. Judd was coming back. He would find a way to get the rock off, treat his wound, and they would keep going. He might lose the use of that arm, but he’d rather be alive than dead.
Judd would come back. That was the plan, and Lionel chose to believe it. Judd had to come back.
The hospital was a series of buildings that had survived the wrath of the Lamb earthquake. It was nearly 4 A.M. when Judd reached the darkened parking lot. He noticed a section for staff and saw a row of expensive autos. These were no doubt doctors’ vehicles, and at the end, taking up two parking spaces, was a sleek-looking Humvee. The thing had to cost more Nicks than all the nurses were paid in a year.
Judd looked for a security camera but didn’t see one. He spotted a night watchman at the front of the emergency room and carefully tiptoed to the back of the first building. He had no plan, other than to somehow get help for Lionel. The sight of the Humvee made him think the vehicle might have a jack that would lift the rock, but how would he get medicine?
Judd peeked in a window in the back and saw a nurse in scrubs at a small desk. The blinds were pulled at the next few windows. Then Judd came upon a patient room with two beds. Only one was occupied.
The door opened and a man who looked to be in his late thirties entered. He pulled the chart at the end of the bed, looked it over, then examined the male patient. “I’d say you were pretty lucky tonight,” the doctor said, shining a light in the man’s eyes. “Those Judah-ites can be pretty ornery.”
“Yeah, and to think there was a nest of them right in our own town,” the patient said.
“I think this knock on your head’s nothing to worry about, but we’re going to keep you a few more hours. I’m headed out, but Dr. Parker will be here in a few minutes. He’ll take care of you.”
Judd ducked as the doctor left the room. If the shift was changing, doctors and nurses would be going home. Judd made a quick decision and headed for the parking lot.
Vicki heard the van and snapped awake. Wanda was inside the cabin examining Cheryl and the baby before Vicki wiped the sleep from her eyes. Wanda was older, with graying hair and a sagging face. There were bags under her eyes, and wrinkles everywhere, but there was something fresh about her—she seemed to light up the room as she did her work. Cheryl pointed at Vicki and Wanda turned, the mark of the true believer on the woman’s forehead.
“So this is the young lady with the future in medicine,” Wanda said, smiling and hugging Vicki. She kissed Vicki’s cheek and took a step back. “You’re a pretty little thing. You’re sure you didn’t go to medical school?”
Vicki giggled. “I actually didn’t even make it out of high school.”
“Well, you did excellent work with Cheryl and Ryan. Both look like they’ll be fine. He came a little early and doesn’t weigh much, but if he eats right, he should fill out in no time. He’s also a little jaundiced.”
Vicki furrowed her brow. “What’s that?”
“It’s common. You can tell by the skin. See, it’s yellow. Best thing to do is put Ryan in the sunlight and let him sleep. You don’t want him to get burnt, but the sun’s rays start … well, all you need to know is that he needs to be in the sun a couple of hours a day.”
Vicki yawned and Wanda told her to get some sleep. “I’ll still be here when you wake up.”
“Good,” Vicki said. “I have a lot of questions, and I’d love to hear your story. We don’t get many visitors, except for the ones who come to see Zeke.”
Wanda smiled. “Get some rest.”
Judd found a small piece of pipe on the ground and slid under the Humvee, watching from the shadows as a few workers exited the hospital. He was careful not to touch the car and set off an alarm. He waited nearly thirty minutes, watching cars arrive and people in uniforms rush inside. Just as he was about to give up, the Humvee chirped and the engine started.
Ju
dging from the shoes and the way the person walked toward the vehicle, Judd guessed it was a man. Maybe a doctor. When the man came around the back of the vehicle, Judd scooted out and caught up to him as the door opened. The man wore a white jacket and had a stethoscope draped around his neck.
“Hey,” Judd said as he sprang from the shadows.
The man threw his hands in the air. “My wallet’s in my back pocket. I’ve only got about fifty Nicks but you can have—”
“Put your hands down. I don’t want your money. Get in.”
The man turned slowly. “Look, buddy, don’t shoot. If you’re looking for drugs—”
“Don’t turn around. Just get inside. I don’t want to hurt you.”
After the man got inside, Judd opened the back door quickly and slid in. “We’re driving out of here and to the back of the hospital, not past the guard, got it?”
“Yeah, but I hope you don’t want me to go inside. You can’t get in that way.”
Judd knew Lionel needed medicine, but there was no way he could enter through the front. Judd’s eyes landed on the rear-view mirror. The man stared at Judd, the mark of Carpathia clear on his forehead. It was the same doctor he had seen through the window.
“Tell me what you want. Maybe I can help.”
“A friend of mine’s hurt. His arm is trapped under a rock.”
“Where?”
“I can’t tell you his location—”
“No, where on the arm?”
“Just below the elbow. The rock’s huge. I put a tourniquet on him to stop the bleeding.”
“How long has he been there?”
Judd looked at his watch. “A few hours.”
“And he was conscious when you left him?”
“Yeah, he was talking, and I told him I’d be back before sunup.”
The man put the vehicle in gear and backed out.
“Hey, where are you going?” Judd said.
“Duck your head so the guard doesn’t see you. The windows are tinted, but if you pass a lighted area people can still see inside. I have some medical supplies at my house. We’ll go there and then to your friend.”
Judd shoved the pipe into the back of the seat. “Okay, but remember I have this.”
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