Compass (32 page)

“Thanks, Deck.” A jolt of emotion stabbed her in the chest. She screwed her eyes shut, fighting her heart with everything she had.

“Alexis, we’re here,” Mary stated, releasing her hand.

Alexis’ eyes flew open to see flames licking the night sky, brightening it with hues of orange and blue. Chaos already filled the hospital parking lot with people trying to find their missing loved ones. “Hey, I’ve got to go. I’m here and this place is a madhouse.”

“I’ll be there shortly,” Declan stated. “Oh, and Alexis?” There was a softness to his timbre that tugged at her chest.

“Yeah?”

“Ryan never gave up on you, so don’t you dare give up on him.”

Amongst all the commotion, Alexis couldn’t help but smile at the tender thought. “I’ll find him. I promise I will.”

“I know you will. Be safe, Doc.”

Alexis said a quick goodbye and slipped her phone away. She glanced over to Mary who was in a mad haste to park the car. Every spot, including the assigned parking was taken. They had to park out on the street, but once stopped, they grabbed their stuff, jumped out of the car, and dashed into the hospital.

The hideous stench of blood, smoke, and burnt flesh siphoned all of the fresh air from the lower half of the hospital. Gurneys were being pushed in by the droves. The halls were lined with injured and mangled bodies perched on bleached cotton linens screaming in agony and despair. The pale stains of tears mixed with blood splattered the usually white walls of the facility.

Total chaos erupted in the emergency room. Orders were shouted from every direction but they were mere noise in a sea of panic.

In the corner, Alexis and Mary watched as triage nurses tried to calm family members, begging for information regarding their loved ones.

Mary grabbed a passing doctor, demanding some instructions. The doctor directed them to the triage counter where everyone was discarding their belongings. In haste, the two women did as they were told. Before tucking her bag under the desk, Alexis pulled two things from her wallet─ a photo of Ryan and the tiny red compass she’d grabbed before leaving her apartment. Having those two items gave her hope and renewed her faith that she would find him alive.

Together, Alexis and Mary rushed into the corridors of the ER on a mission to locate Ryan. Fear gripped Alexis as she observed the carnage from the wreckage. She covered her face with a surgical mask in hopes to alleviate the putrid odor, but even the cloth covering was of no assistance.

Doctors and nurses rushed by, each one working diligently to tend to patients as fast as they could. Orders were yelled out at random. No one could seem to make heads or tails of what was going on. The only thing they were all certain of was the large amount of bodies flooding in.

Down the hall, Alexis caught sight of Dale. His light green scrubs were covered in blood, and sweat poured down his brow as he tended to an injured passenger. “There’s Dale,” Alexis yelled to Mary. Mary nodded and they moved toward their boss, hoping to get orders as to where they were needed. Alexis clung to a shred of hope that Dale might even have some information regarding Ryan.

As they approached their boss, a hand reached out from one of the blood soaked sheets, grabbing Alexis by the wrist. Alexis was startled by the touch and turned to see the hand belonged to a man wearing what was once an airline uniform. She searched his eyes hoping to find that hint of green through the blood stained orbs.

“Is it you?” she rasped, observing the man’s mangled face. His skin was black and red; burned from the fire. The man only groaned, indicating the severity of his pain.

“Ryan?”

The man garbled something that Alexis couldn’t make out. Something about him was familiar, she knew him, but couldn’t place him. What she did know was this man wasn’t Ryan.

“I’m Doctor York,” she offered. “We’re going to help you.”

“Kix?” Mary moved around Alexis. “Buddy, is that you?”

The man groaned, attempting to nod.

“Holy shit!” Mary hissed. “It’s the captain.”

Alexis gasped, realizing whom it was. All she wanted to do was grill him about Ryan’s whereabouts, but he was in too much pain to talk. She flagged down a doctor in the distance. He darted toward her, while she continued to hold the injured man’s hand. “Morphine. This man needs morphine,” she instructed.

Mary leaned into Kix. “Are you allergic to anything we should know about?” she asked, her voice raised.

Kix merely moaned in pain.

The doctor produced a syringe from his pocket. “There’s more in supplies. You’ll want to stock up,” he advised, rushing off before either woman could advise him of their discovery.

Alexis administered the narcotic to Kix. “This’ll help. I promise.” She patted his hand.

“Fisher,” he said, tightening his grasp on her wrist. Alexis jumped, stunned at the amount of strength he displayed in his current state.

“Say that again?” Alexis beseeched him.

“Fisher,” his voice wavered as the drugs began to take their effect. “Find him?”

“Not yet. I will though.”

Kix squeezed her hand tighter, trying to lift himself from the gurney. “You...have to find him,” he struggled, “saved my life.”

He coughed hard from talking, causing him to spit up blood. Mary grabbed a bedpan from the foot of his gurney, holding it up to his mouth.

“Kix, you have to calm down,” Mary warned. “We’re going to find Ryan. Don’t you worry.”

“Please. He’s…” Kix’s eyes rolled into the back of his head. His mouth flopped open. The grip he had on Alexis faltered.

“Kix?” Mary called. “Kix. Wake up.” She shook him, but got no response.

Alexis checked his pulse. It was there but fading. She yelled out, “I have the Captain here. I repeat, I have the Captain!”

A young doctor rushed over, pushing Alexis and Mary aside. Alexis gave the doctor a rundown of what she’d observed and the medication provided. Mary explained how they knew the man. Alexis glanced down at the doctor’s chest, catching a glimpse of the name on his ID badge, Doctor Michael Rucker.

As the two women talked, Doctor Rucker examined Kix. He waved over two orderlies. “We need to get him into the OR, now.” He rushed his fingers through his already disheveled blond hair, his brown eyes turned to Alexis and Mary. He produced a faint smile.

“Thank you. We’ve got it from here,” Doctor Rucker advised.

Alexis grabbed the doctor by the arm, not letting him walk away so easily. “Do you know if we’ve located the First Officer?”

The young doctor’s face contorted. “Not that I’m aware of.”

Alexis released the doctor, her heart sinking in her chest. The very thought of Ryan still being among the missing left her feeling cold and numb. She looked around the open space of the hospital. These were people, broken, injured, and in need of her care. It was her job, her responsibility to aid them and while she wanted nothing more in the world than to find Ryan, she had a duty to perform.

She heard Mary say something to the doctor, but didn’t pay attention. Everything inside her shut down except the need to assist.

Mary grabbed Alexis by the shoulders. “We’ll keep looking,” she whispered to Alexis.

Alexis stepped out of Mary’s grasp. Her natural instinct kicked in. Push down the pain. Don’t acknowledge it. All she had to do was throw herself into her work. It was what she was good at and all she could rely on. “Agreed, but I think we need to separate.”

“Um, are you sure?” Mary examined Alexis. “I don’t like the idea of…”

Alexis lifted her hand, determination in her stance. “I’m fine, Mary. I get your concern. I really do, but now that we’re here, I know what I need to do. Ryan is out there, waiting on us to find him, but we have to help all of them.” She pointed toward the rows of beds. “We’re obligated to help.”

Lines appeared between Mary’s brows. To Alexis, it was obvious that Mary didn’t agree with the decision, but Alexis knew if they remained together, she wouldn’t be able to continue with the job she needed to do. Mary was a reminder that Ryan was missing, and right now, she needed to focus on the task at hand.

Mary pulled Alexis to her chest, hugging her tight. “We’re going to find Ryan, okay? We’re going to find him.”

Alexis clung to Mary; her hands fisted the back of Mary’s top. “Agreed.”

The two women parted, each going separate ways with a promise to meet each other, in that exact spot, in two hours. Once Mary was out of sight, Alexis dove into helping the flow of patients entering the facility.

The quarters were cramped with bodies making the rooms hotter than normal. The stench of death surrounded her. Each person she came across, she helped to the best of her ability. Alexis was focused, and driven, which allowed her to block out the constant ache in her chest. That steady thrum of fear that tried to creep into her mind whenever she assisted someone who turned out not to be Ryan, telling her that the man she loved was forever lost.

Work was easy. She could get lost in issuing a prognosis. This was what she was trained for. While lost inside the job, she didn’t have to feel. She didn’t have to think beyond issuing her next command, and Alexis had no qualms in shouting orders when necessary. The vile smell of blood and singed flesh was sickening. It turned her stomach, yet still she trudged on.

“Tell me what we have?” Alexis asked a nurse as she approached her next patient.

“Female, approximately thirty years old, possible broken pelvis on the right side, left leg broken, and possible concussion.”

The woman grabbed for Alexis, crying hysterically. “My son. Where’s my son?”

“Calm down, ma’am,” Alexis tried to console the woman.

“No! Where’s my son? He was in the bathroom on the plane when it went down. You have to help me find him. He’s only six,” she pleaded. “I never should’ve let him go alone. Please, help me!”

Alexis turned to the nurse, her brow raised in a silent question. The nurse shook her head slightly, providing Alexis a confirmation that the whereabouts of the child were unknown.

“Kyle!” the woman screamed in agony. “Where’s my son? Kyle!”

“I need you to calm down,” Alexis commanded, her tone strong and powerful. She looked to the nurse. “Have we verified allergies?”

“I, um,” the nurse stammered, looking through the paperwork provided by the medics.

Alexis let out a huff of impatience. “Any day now,” she snapped.

The nurse glanced up, a snarl flaring her nose. “Yes. All clear, Doctor,” she smarted back.

Alexis pulled a syringe from her pocket and inserted the needle into the woman’s vein. “This should help calm her,” she instructed the nurse. The drugs did the trick and the woman settled, her eyelids closed. Alexis took the opportunity to examine her patient. “She needs to be sent down for x-rays for her pelvis and then Ortho will need to come put a cast on her leg.”

“Yes, Doctor,” the nurse replied.

Alexis started to walk away, and the nurse grabbed her by the arm. “Doctor, can I make an evaluation?”

“Are you disputing my prognosis?” Alexis questioned.

“Not at all. You’re a good doctor. There’s no disputing that, but I think you need to take a step back, though. You almost snapped that woman’s head off, not to mention mine.”

Alexis met the blue-grey of the nurse’s eyes. The woman meant well, but her accusations only brought forth the ache that Alexis was trying to bury down. “I beg your pardon?” she sneered.

“See! Right there. Doctor, step outside. No one will look down on you for taking a break. You need a break.” The nurse crossed her arms over her chest in defiance.

“Fine,” Alexis barked. She ripped her mask from her face and the gloves from her hands, as she headed toward the exit. It bugged her, because she knew the nurse was right. Not that she’d ever give her the satisfaction of telling her so.

Alexis reached the fresh air of the outside. One glance at the smog drifting in from the wreckage and all of the emotions she’d pushed down spilled forth. She slid down the side of the wall, crying to the point of convulsions. He’d promised her that she’d never have to fall. And she did. She fell hard for him, and now he was going to leave her─alone.

She rocked on the balls of her feet. Tears poured down her cheeks and neck. “Ryan, where are you?” she whispered to the emptiness around her.

“Alexis?”

At the sound of the man’s voice, Alexis jumped to her feet, wiping the tears from her face. In the dark corner, she caught the sight of a cigarette being put out against the wall. Declan stepped out of the darkness, a weary expression on his face.

“Declan!” Alexis exclaimed, throwing herself into his arms. Declan encompassed her in his warm embrace. He silently rocked her, letting her cry into his shoulder.

“It’s okay, Lex,” he whispered, taking on Ryan’s nickname for her. “It’s okay. Ryan’s going to be okay.”

“I can’t...I can’t…”

Declan shushed her, petting her matted hair. “You can.”

“No! I can’t. I try to shut it all out, to do my job, but I can’t.”

“You’re cutting yourself short, Lex. You’re strong, or he wouldn’t have fallen in love with you. You forget, I’ve known Ryan along time. I’ve watched him with other women.” Declan cupped both sides of her face in his hands. His green eyes pierced hers, dark and handsome, but lacking the luster of Ryan’s eyes. “Never once did I see him light up as he does with you. Lex, you’re his world. No other woman had a chance because you’ve always held his heart. Now,” he pressed his hand over her chest. “Follow your heart. It’ll guide you to him.”

“My compass.” Her voice was tight and thick with grief. She reached into her pocket and withdrew the simple toy. In the palm of her hand, the dim light cast a dark shadow over the compass. Even though she couldn’t see the dial, she felt secure simply having it.

Declan glanced down, taking the compass between two fingers. He smiled, refraining from asking her about the significance of the toy. Instead, he held it up in the light to examine the face.

“Ryan gave it to me,” she admitted.

“Fitting,” Declan hummed. “After all, he’s your one true north.”

He placed the compass back in her hand. Alexis clasped her fingers around the toy, her eyes clenched closed. She dropped her hand to slip the compass back into her pocket, but managed to miss the opening. The toy fell to the ground, clanking against the concrete. Panic swirled up inside her. She and Declan both dived to retrieve the compass, almost hitting heads. They chuckled and Declan held up his hand, to request she allow him. She nodded her understanding.