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Dead Men Walking
Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (71,013 Views)
Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
By the time they had crossed the bridge and entered Port Huron, officially bringing everyone back into the United States safely, the last light of the sun had disappeared, leaving them in absolute darkness. With no electricity, there was no light pollution. And while it was darker than most were used to, it was not absolutely dark. The moon shone vividly and the spiraling arms of the milky way glittered in the night sky as few had ever seen, bathing the post-apocalyptic urban landscape in a soft lunar glow. The only artificial light for miles originated from the headlights of two solitary vehicles as they carefully cruised down the now little-used freeways and side-streets, weaving between abandoned cars and the walking dead.

"Take this off ramp here, then turn left. Follow it all the way down to the next on ramp and get back on." Candice quietly guided Glenda from the passenger seat. "There was a big 20-something car crash on that stretch of the freeway. Totally impassible."

Wordlessly, Glenda guided the car down the off ramp.

Few words were exchanged. It had been a long day; between the shootout with Chris and Brooke and sneaking past those cons at the border, too much had happened. Kelsey had long since fallen asleep, her head resting gently on her father's lap. Randall tried to pass the time by admiring the scenery. Objectively, it was beautiful. But subjectively, all he could see was more wasted lives and needless sacrifice. He wondered if Willow was going to make this trip. He wondered if she was just going to become another echo in the heartbeat of human history like so many others before her. If this place was real, though... Flint, Michigan might be the future of mankind. It was a sentence that Randall never thought he would utter in the entirety of his life, but here he was thinking it. Inevitably they would need to move on from it too and leave it behind as they had Mount Kisco.

Randall sighed heavily. The burden from this little black canister was becoming heavier by the day.

"Hey, man... Randall, right?" Marcus asked a question, snapping Randall out of his self-inflection.

"Y-yeah... what's up?"

"Your daughter there..." He eyed Kelsey. "I don't know what happened to her mother. And I don't need you to tell me either. Lookin' at you guys... you all look like hell. That girl you got fightin' for her life in the van, your hand, you all got some new scars on you. It shows in your faces too. Yet despite all the shit you guys seen and been through, you took the time out to have some pity on a couple dumbasses who got robbed of even the clothes on their backs while on a fool's errand."

Marcus paused and took a deep breath.

"Look, what I'm tryin' to say is... thanks. I ain't good at this sorta stuff, but you saved our lives out there. We wouldn't a lasted the evenin' like that. You guys are good people. I know I can't do much, but I want takin' you to this place to be my first step in personally repayin' you for not only savin' my life, but hers as well. She didn't want me to make the trip alone, so she forced herself in that car with me. If I'd gotten her killed, then I don't..."

Candice turned herself around and looked at Marcus with a sad smile, "Marcus, don't..."

"No..." Marcus shook his head. "I couldn't a forgiven myself. Thank you."

A little bit of the weight that was in Randall's heart lifted. Marcus' apology was as sincere an apology as he had heard in years. He was truly thankful. Despite everything that had happened... he felt a little better.

A little less than two hours after setting out from the bridge, Candice guided Glenda off Highway 69 and northbound through eastern Flint. She followed North Belsey Road until Richmond Road, and then went west down that. It only took a minute before the headlights shone upon a sign on the side of the road that said "Kearsley Lake Golf Course".

Just beyond that sign, the headlights shone upon something none of them truly expected to see. A wall that must have been ten feet tall that cut across the street; constructed from a hodgepodge mix of various metal sheets and plates. A large, barred door blocked off the street, but beyond it, they could see that the interior of the wall was reinforced with wooden planks planted in the ground and propped against the wall's interior. It was makeshift, but it was still holding. Behind the barred gate, a young man and a young woman appeared, both holding police-grade assault rifles. The weapons were pointed at the cars, even as they looked at each other uncertainly. It was clear that they didn't know what to really do, but their worries were quelled when Marcus opened the side door and stepped out, his hands in the air.

The young man shone a flashlight on him.

"M-Marcus? You're back already!?"

"I brought friends, is that okay?"

"Jen." The young man told the woman as he started to work on unlocking the gate. "Go get Geraldine right away. Tell her we have guests."

"Get Annie too." Marcus was quick to add in. "We got someone hurt real bad, needs help right now. I promise, I'll explain it all later."

He popped the lock off the chain, unfastened the deadbolt, and then pulled the barred gate wide open.
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More posts, more Busey.
"Okay so it's revealed everyone definitely has breast cancer, but it has absolutely no bearing on anything and nobody ever mentions it again." Julie said with a broad smile.

They'd been discussing what it would look like if their journey were made into a movie written, directed, produced by and starring Tommy Wiseau after Brandon told Julie he would have saved The Room. Julie had a gift for distraction and Brandon was grateful for it.

The truck came to a stop finally and Brandon opened the door to investigate. All levity was gone in an instant as he turned back.

"We're here. Help me move her." he said with a purposeful tone.

Willow lay on his jacket to spare her some of the indignity of her position. Gently he lifted her up ever so slightly, avoiding moving her as much as possible lest he cause her more harm. Julie being one handed, wasn't muvh help, but she grabbed Willows belt and helped lift her as evenly as they could. They half dragged her to the edge of the trailer where she could be retrived and placed on a stretcher easily.
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Annie Berman took one last look at her sleeping son – cherubic and mop-haired, with his father’s eyes and her dark hair and round nose. He was sleeping soundly and peacefully on his side. She smiled at the sight of him, but the smile had just the slightest undercurrent of sadness.

Connor was safe. He was unafraid. He was comfortable. But was he ready?

That question had been keeping Annie from sleeping as soundly as him. These walls around them had saved their lives, but her pessimism didn’t let her believe they’d stand forever. In her experience, nothing did. And when they fell – would Connor be ready? Would she?

She knew what Chase would say. You're safe, you're son is safe – enjoy it. Be thankful for it. He would tell her to lighten up and then he would smile and she would, for a while at least. Of course, Chase couldn’t tell her that now. He hadn’t been able to for a long while. Even before the virus uprooted the world’s existence, Annie’s had already been uprooted.

She soaked up Connor’s sleeping face for one more moment, and then allowed herself to close the door. She forced the anxiety she was feeling back into the bottle, where all her resentment, fear and grief was locked up. Then she closed it, and reminded herself that everything was normal. A new normal, maybe – but normal.

As she walked down the hall, Annie rubbed both her eyes with the crook of her thumbs. She was tired, it had been a long day of dealing with people’s paranoia and worry about their health and the health of their loved ones – and the people with legitimate worries were no more fun. She was ready to sleep. She just had one more person to check up on.

She opened the door to another child’s bedroom – there were stars painted on the ceiling, and the twin bed had come with Superman sheets, which she had to replace. This was her home now, but a month ago it had belonged to someone else. Whoever they were, they were gone now. Whoever used to sleep here had been replaced, but not by a child.

He lay there, as still as always, as the tube protruding from his neck pumped breathable air into and out of his lungs. It had been there long enough to be discoloured and full of pulmonary secretions. The feeding tube coming out of his stomach and hanging from an IV looked no better. And the catheter – Annie would think about that in the morning, and no sooner.

Annie looked at his face. What was stubble a couple days ago had turned into the beginnings of an unruly beard – he could never really grow a good one. He could use a shave.

She turned and moved to the bathroom, flipping on the warm water and filling a cup. She returned to the other room with that cup, a razor, and some shaving cream. She was about to get to work on her final chore for the night when her doorbell rang.

DINGGGGGGG DONNNNNNNG.

DINNNNNNNGGGG --

She arrived at the door mid-way through the second ring. As she opened it, she forced her game face on – a wry half-smile.

“Good evening,” she said.
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"D-Doctor..."

The young girl at the door was Jennifer. A young African-American woman of remarkably average height and build, and a head of kinky black hair (that could never grow into anything even close to a proper afro) and sharp brown eyes. She usually wore a reassuring smile. Tonight she did not. She looked nervous and her infamous motor mouth started up after a brief pause.

"Marcus came back. He had a group of people with him and we let them and one of them was shot. I caught a glimpse of her as I ran to get you, she looks pretty bad. A lot of blood. I just talked to Geraldine and she is already on her way out there, but Marcus wanted me to get you so you could save that woman's life and... yeah, sorry, I should let you go do that now, shouldn't I?"

**********

As the SUV and van were brought into the safety of the walls and the gate closed behind them, a woman came walking around the corner from Eckinger Street. She was tall for a woman and a little on the pudgy side, but definitely still well within the healthy range. Her light brown skin and dark blue eyes served as a constant reminder of her mixed African-American and white heritage. She wore a simple pair of jeans and collared shirt. Her face was soft, but also broad. Not at all unlike...

"Sis!" Marcus rushed over and embraced the woman strongly.

"Hey, bro." The woman smirked in response, but her tone quickly turned serious. "Did you find Jerome?"

"Nah, I'm sorry. I couldn't make it up there. Shit's real bad out there." Marcus admitted. "Look, Gerry, these people saved me and Candice. Can we get them situated with a couple of the spare houses for the night? I promise you, they're cool. I wouldn't bring 'em here otherwise."

"Alright, alright." She caved in fairly quickly, lifting her arms in a mock surrender.

She strode over to Randall and Eli, but first glanced at Willow, who had been laid on the ground.

"Annie is on her way right now, don't worry. She'll take care of you her." She felt helpless as she said that, being unable to do anything more.

"But in the meantime, my name is Geraldine Blackwell." She extended her right hand to Randall, quickly realized her mistake, and turned to face Eli as if that had been her intention all along. "Welcome to Fort Flint."
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Annie’s half-smile washed away, replaced by a grim and serious expression. She put a hand on Jennifer’s shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

“Get Ajay to meet me at the clinic,” she ordered. “Go.”

She released Jennifer, then grabbed her medical bag, which she kept stocked and waiting on the couch off her foyer. Then she grabbed her coat off the hook by the door. She hurriedly threw it over her shoulder as she jogged outside, and kicked the door close behind her – hopefully not loud enough to wake up Connor.

When she was outside, her hand instinctively snaked into her coat pocket for her keys. She caught herself before pulling them out. It was an impulse from the old days. She knew literally everyone in this community, and everyone knew her. No one was going to break in and steal stuff. No one was going to kidnap Connor.

She pulled the keys out anyway and quickly locked the door. Old habits die hard.

Then she headed for the entrance, breaking into a run.
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Julie took a moment to take the place in. It was huge. Relatively speaking of course. She imagined there were gated communities out thee that must have survived, they'd probably be bigger, but what was impressive was that it was all scratch built fortifications. These people had really come together and done something impressive with the amount of time they were given.

She always thought staying put was a surefire way to get yourself killed. As she and Kevin made their way through New York they came across sheltr after shelter that had been gutted by rotters. Even Brandon's family who had the weapons and supplies to stick it out got overrun. Mt Kisco was almost destroyed from within. She and Kevin got by by staying on the move and making camp away from urban areas. Until they met him that is. They let him share their fire, even gave him food. She had enough more pressing unhappy thoughts to contend with, so she put that one out of her mind.

Brandon sat on the ground next to Willow like always. She wondered if he might just start running around in circles, tearing things apart and howling like an anxious lonely dog as soon as they took her away to operate. His eyes were practically glued to her as he watched her breathing. It was endearingly pathetic.

Julie attempted to holster the pistol she was still awkwardly carrying around. The holster shed had was made for the Browning, so it was too thin for the larger gun. She tucked it into the front of her pants instead.

"Hey Brandon, since there's really nothing..." she began before she was cut off.

"Whoah! What are you doing? You want to blow clit off?" Brandon asked quickly but carefully removing the pistol from Julie's pants.

"The safety was on." she pointed out.

Brandon turned the safety on.

"Okay, okay. I'll tuck it in behind then. Shoot myself in the ass instead. Never could twerk properly anyway." she said iliciting a stifled chuckle from him.

He turned back to Willow, and Julie nudged him in the should gaining his attention again.

"Stop worrying. We've done everything we can by getting her here. There's no point worrying when there's nothing to be done about it. Be pragmatic with your emotional resources." she advised waving her hand around at that last part, admitting it sounded like self-help bullshit.

It did help a little though, and Brandon his head in acknowledgement of the wisdom of it. Wisdom or not it changed very little.
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Is that so?
Randall didn't immediately even respond to Geraldine. He couldn't. This place... was gated. It was safe. Sure, Mount Kisco had been as well, but they didn't have the same conveniences as here. He saw a house on the corner with the lights on. Lights! What Marcus had said was true; there was electricity here. And that meant they probably had running water too. He could take a warm shower.

He instantly recoiled at the mere thought of letting his recently cauterized arm get anywhere near water, but he told himself he would find a way. Nothing in this world was going to stop him from getting a shave and a warm shower. He was also reminded that he would need to talk to the doctor here about his arm. Whatever they had done to it while he was out, he doubted it was a medically professional job. At the very least, she could change the gauze and help with any complications that might have arisen. A real doctor. Inside of a real community. With all the proper commodities. What more could Randall have really asked for? He felt a tinge of regret already knowing he would need to leave this place soon, but at least they could rest here for a while. Regain their bearings.

"A-ah, right." Randall muttered when Eli did not immediately respond to Geraldine's offer for a handshake, probably because he was having the same thoughts. "I'm Randall Phillips. The stunned man beside me is Eli."

He extended his left hand. Geraldine smile, withdrew her right and offered her left, grasping Randall's hand. The young male guard from before still stood nearby, watching the display take place. A few other people had filed from indoors to check out what the commotion was all about as well. Needless to say, they were attracting a small audience.

"Thank you, Mr. Phillips." Geraldine said. "Let me start off by saying that this is not at all standard protocol for this, but Marcus pulls for you and tells me you saved his life and his girlfriend's. And you have injured, so I can't really turn you away."

"Thank you." Randall told her sincerely. "Truly, thank you."

"Don't get too happy yet. I have a lot to go over with you guys and you are going to have to work to keep your spots here." Geraldine assured him firmly. "But for the time being, you people obviously need some rest. You can take those two houses just behind us."

She pointed to an off-white house on the corner of Richmond and Eckinger and the white house on Richmond directly next to it.

"One of those places has never had anyone in it, the other belonged to someone we lost a week ago. So for the time being, they are yours. You can split yourselves among them however you like, you may even keep your weapons. You can help yourselves to a well-needed shower and change of clothes."

Her expression turned serious. "Just don't get any ideas with those weapons, we have a few policeman and plenty of guns ourselves. Again, I am only trusting you like this now because my big half-brother spoke so well of you."

**********

DIIIIIING DOOOOOOONG!

Ajay stirred awake; he had fallen asleep in his desk. The young man of Indian descent tried his best to rub the tired sleep out of his chocolate eyes. On the bright side, his naturally poofy and curly hair was probably not any more unkempt than it usually was. Despite that, he ran a hand through it to make sure it felt normal. It did.

DIIIIIING DOOOOOOONG!

Was it Annie again? Ajay never got visitors after dark unless it was something related to work.

"Ajay! We got injured!" The voice of a young woman, probably Jen, was shouting through the door now. It was her turn to be on guard duty tonight. "Annie needs you at the clinic!"

Injured? It was always work related. Although that bothered him slightly, he was okay with it. Ajay was not a man of great muscular physique. He wouldn't last long outside the wall, erecting fortifications like Marcus, nor would he be good at doing supply runs like Jimmy. He was genuinely glad that his job was as Annie's assistant. He had been attending med school when the outbreak happened, so while he wasn't a certified doctor, yet Annie had wanted him to help her out in the clinic she was starting because of his knowledge. He took the opportunity in a heartbeat He didn't like the 24-hour on call aspect of it, but that would change in time. As they grew. But for now, someone out there was badly injured. He got into the medical field because he liked helping people and there was no better opportunity than times like this.

When the door opened, Ajay already had his own bag of medical supplies in one hand, his rectangular glasses resting on his nose, and a look of determination in his eyes. Even if he was wearing very casual attire, he still looked like an off-duty doctor.

"Thank you." Ajay walked out of his house, locking the door behind him as he went.

"She wants me to meet her at the clinic proper?" Ajay confirmed with Jen as the two of them started walking down Eckinger Street towards Richmond, where he could already see the bustling of some activity.

"That's what she said... but they pulled the victim out of the car. She was unconscious, I don't know how Annie intends to move her that far."

"What injuries are we looking at?"

"Gunshot wounds by the sound of it."

"Crap." Ajay rubbed his forehead. "Alright, I'm going to run to the clinic and grab a stretcher. In case Annie asks."

With those words, Ajay broke into a jog and made a break for the clinic.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
It's like a whole other world, Eli marvelled as the doors closed behind them. A wall. Power. Probably water, too. Everything Marcus promised.

He snapped out of his reverie when Randall introduced him, then studied Geraldine as she continued to talk. He tried to get a handle on her. She was level-headed and accepting. It was such a far cry from everyone else they had met earlier today. How did a place like this possibly survive – hell, thrive – when the world outside looked like it did? The lack of an immediate answer had Eli’s emotions battling. He wanted desperately to be relieved, but was too suspicious to get all the way there.

“Thank you,” he said anyway. “Like Randall said.”

Eli remembered Willow, unconscious and bleeding. He shoved his paranoia aside – she was what mattered now.

“So where’s this doctor? Time is…”

He trailed off when he saw a raven-haired woman jogging their way, a white coat flapping behind her – not a doctor’s coat, too many stylish buckles, but close enough. She was modestly pretty, looked to be in her mid-30s to early-40s, and wore the solemn expression of a professional.

Annie, he presumed.

“I’m here,” she called out when she was close enough, and was only a little out of breath. Her eyes quickly passed over Randall, then Eli, than all the others – they were sharp and searching. “I was told someone was injured.”
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"Over there."

Kelsey was the one to answer it. She ran up to the doctor and pointer her finger near the van, where Willow was resting face down on the ground with Brandon and Julie watching over her. Glenda just arrived there was well, kneeling over and running a hand through the unconscious woman's pink hair.

"She's dying! Please!" The little girl begged.

**********

Randall noticed the doctor come up and ask about Willow; but Kelsey had already pointed her in the right direction. There was little more Randall could do on that front rather than pray that they gotten here fast enough and that this doctor was good enough to save her life. A lot of hoping and no doing. Randall didn't like that.

"Why are you so quick to trust us?" Randall turned his attention back to Geraldine. "Don't get me wrong though, I'm grateful for the hospitality, but with such limited space and resources, why just let us all in on a whim like this? It doesn't feel right."

Geraldine's lips curled into a dry smile; "I understand your hesitation. As I said before, normally we have a protocol for letting new people in. We only had about twenty people when we started here, but we've grown a lot in the past month, over eighty strong now. And we only take in the people that pass our vetting process. Letting you in like this is... unconventional, I admit. But as I said; Marcus vouched for you immediately. Said you saved his life. So the way I see it, I owe you my big bro's life. Well, half-brother, technically."

A weary look crossed her face for a moment before she continued; "Of course, my advisers aren't going to like this, but consider your easy entry a personal favor. You helped some of my people out, so I'm going to help you guys out. Of course, we will be hashing out details and introductions tomorrow, there is no getting around that. But not all of the living are monsters, Mr. Phillips. I think you and I both want to believe that."

Randall noted how confidently and fluently she spoke. She wasn't a woman who charmed through her looks, although Randall acknowledged that she was by no means an unattractive woman (more homely, he would say); she was one who could charm with words. He found himself already letting his guard down at her seemingly earnest and forthright explanation of the situation.
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli watched as Annie reacted to Kelsey – her face softened at the sight of her, and then hardened again an instant later as she moved over to Willow. She regarded Willow’s unconscious form without further reaction.

“What happened?” she asked, looking up at the group.

Another figure came running down the street before anyone could answer. Annie noticed, then nodded to him – he was a young brown kid with poofy hair, and he was pushing a stretcher towards them as fast as he could.

“Tell me on the way,” Annie said quickly. “Help her up.”
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Brandon jumped at the chance to do something. He took Willow's shoulders while Glenda took her legs and the indian guy supported her midsection.

"She's been shot. Three times, I'd say they were 22 magnums, no exit wounds. One in the leg, two in the abdomen. One of those is affecting her breathing." he explained as they lifted her.

Shot protecting him. Brandon stayed glued to the doctor and her assistant as they moved. If there was anything he could do to help it would come from her.
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"Well, if you all are just going to stare, I will take the first step myself." Maxwell announced, slinging his personal belongings over his shoulder and walking towards the house on the right. "I have a date with a shower and a warm bed. I'll see you all tomorrow."

Before he could retort, Randall felt a hand on his good shoulder and turned to see Marcus. Candice was huddled up beside him.

"Hey, man. Thanks again." Marcus told him simply. "Listen, Candice and I are gonna head back to our place, we've both had a pretty shitty day. If and of you need anything though, come to us. We're in 3170 Eckinger. Small brick house, just a couple doors up from the corner on the right."

"Absolutely. Will do."

The two men exchanged nods before Marcus and Candice both walked off towards their estate, arm in arm. Randall was glad he had stopped the car for them.

"Just so you know, I'm not gonna ask what happened." Geraldine sighed as Marcus and Candice left as she her eyes in exhaustion. "I don't think I want to know about it right now; we can leave that discussion for tomorrow. But if you want to enjoy the lights, you guys got about..."

She glanced at her watch. "An hour and a half. Until we can implement our solar power plan, we turn off the power after 11 to conserve fuel for our generators. Annie's clinic and house are on separate generators that can run 24/7, so don't worry... your friend is in good hands with Annie. Now, I know this is rushed and informal, but if you don't have any other questions, I will leave you to your devices for the night and we can have more a more formal meeting first thing tomorrow morning."
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"They'd have proper working toilets here. Out of the way!" Julie ordered as she trotted past Max towards the house they'd been designated.

She had to overcome her impulse to draw her pistol as she opened the front door. No rotters here. With almost religious reverence she reached for the light switch. Even though she'd been told they had power and seen lights in windows, the experience of flipping a light switch was an absolute novelty. Even given their very serious situation she gave an excited little noise as the light came on.

The bathroom was the first stop. This was yet another novelty, a working toilet. The seat was icy cold, but she sat down with complete comfort. She took of her business and noted that despite the cramps she'd been experiencing since earlier the day before, she hadn't bled even slightly. Normally she would have by now, which was strange.

She straightened herself out and washed her hands, inspecting herself in the mirror. A feeling of despair came over her. Somehow the relative luxury of this place reminded her of just how bad her appearance had gotten. Over a month on the road with only the occasional opportunity to bathe, as well as a terrible diet of canned food goods... God, her complexion. She slept with Eli looking like this?

Max called the first shower though, so she put her beauty concerns aside and opened the bathroom door for whoever needed it, and went in search of some beeding to claim as her for tonight.
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli watched as Annie and her assistant pushed Willow away on a stretcher. He looked back and forth from them to Geraldine – then decided to follow them. This community stuff was overwhelming enough on its own. He could think about it when Willow was safe, or at least when he had done all he can to make it that way.

“We got a professor of biology with us,” he added as he ran alongside them. “He thinks she’s got a bullet in her intestine and another in her lung.”

“A professor of biology?” Annie looked back at him as they moved. “What kind of biology?”

That took Eli by surprise. “I dunno – just biology.”

Annie shook her head slightly and looked forward once again. She kept pulling the stretcher down the street.

* * *

They arrived at the clinic – which was all the other way on the other side of town, the nearest building to the western wall – just a short while later. Annie opened the door to the building and let Ajay and the new arrivals wheel the patient in.

The clinic was literally a clinic, just an optometry one. Since Annie had taken it over, she’d had Marcus and some other handy people hastily but practically refurbish it and stocked it with all the miscellaneous medical equipment and supplies they had recovered. Over the last couple weeks in particular, its stock had grown considerably.

Ajay led the way through a spare lobby. A door behind the reception desk led to a combination of office and stock room. The two other doors led to makeshift exam rooms. Ajay chose the closest one.

“Get her on the table,” Annie ordered, entering the room behind them and putting her bag near the sink.

She immediately started tying off her hair, before reaching for a cap and face mask. If what the blonde newcomer had said about no exit wounds was right, Annie knew where this would be going. She also retrieved her glasses from one pouches of the bag. Finally, she peeled on a pair of plastic gloves.

“Step aside,” she said brusquely to that blonde one, who was standing between her and the patient. Hovering really. Annie guessed ‘boyfriend.’

She slid her glasses on and started the exam in earnest, handling the unconscious woman firmly but gently. She noted the entry wound on her leg, and then lifted it up to notice a larger wound on the back. Both were stitched up hastily but she was still able to get a good read on them.

“Bullet went through the leg,” she reported straightforwardly, then moved up the body.

No such look on the abdomen – the bullet was likely still in there, like the boyfriend said. The real problem was the bullet supposedly in her lung, though. She squinted and looked closer at the point of impact, which was surrounded by a grey ring of discoloration. Her lips tightened under her surgical mask.

“There are three gunshot wounds to the chest total,” she reported with practiced dispassion. “She was shot twice in very close proximity, so it only looked like one. She…” She trailed off and looked behind her. “What’s her name?”

“Willow,” the bald Puerto Rican man in the plaid shirt answered from the door. His arms were folded, which emphasised his broad shoulders and toned forearms. Annie wondered if he was trying to be intimidating on purpose, or if he couldn’t help it.

Annie nodded back, and then turned to her assistant. “Ajay, my stethoscope,” she commanded simply.

Ajay complied, retrieving the device from her bag and handing it to her. She used it to listen to Willow’s breathing. It was dangerously shallow.

“Before she passed out, what were her symptoms?” Annie looked once again to the room.
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Is that so?
Glenda recalled what she had seen of Willow before she passed out; Glenda had been there a few minutes before it happened. She was worried for Willow, she was paler than she had been before. Not that much of a surprise. But all Glenda could do for her now was give the doctor all the information that she needed. She took a deep breath to ready herself;

"Shallow breathing, blood from the mouth, and difficulty speaking." Glenda swiftly listed off the three most prominent things she noted. "She was also a little pale... but I guess that goes without saying."
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