Echoes of Tomorrow Season One: Episode Two (Echoes of Tomorrow: Season One Book 2) (2 page)

As the car passed, Tyler and Marcy dropped to the ground and rolled as close to the car as they could manage. Tyler expected them to be seen, but the rolling cloud of smoke provided them with enough cover to hide.

The car came to a sudden stop on the other side of the building. Tyler wondered if they were getting their friend or to finish getting what he'd came in for originally.

It doesn't matter. "We need to get out of here now. You have your keys, right?"

Marcy patted her pockets for a moment then looked at Tyler with a pale expression.

"Office?"

She nodded.

Or course, it can't be that easy. He knew it could be worse. They could sit around, waiting for their fate. At least now they had the chance to get away. Slow as it may be on foot, it was better than the alternative.

A stark realization washed over Marcy's face, returning some of the color. She laid back on the ground, leaned under the car and reached for something. A few seconds later she pulled her arm out from under the car. In her hands she held a tiny black box. It wasn't large enough to hold anything significant, but there was plenty of room for a key. She slid open the lid and pulled a spare set of car keys out of the container. Marcy dangled the keys in front of her. If it wasn't for the large grin on her face, she would've looked like an older sibling bragging about the candy bar she got because she went to the store with mom.

Tyler worked himself to his feet to get in the passenger side of the car. Marcy, noticing his trouble, gave him a hand. He hated being like this, but was thankful for the help. Once he was secure in the seat she went to close the door. Her gaze shifted to the side of the car, where the wheelchair still sat.

"Think we should take it?"

"Know how to fold it up? I don't."

She shook her head then shut the door. It would've been nice to take it along, just to play it safe, but it wasn't worth spending more time here trying to figure it out. They'd caught one lucky break here today, Tyler didn't want to try for two.

Marcy backed the car out of the parking spot, hit the gas, and got the hell out of the pharmacy lot. A few blocks later she looked at him and asked, "where we headed?"

"At this point, I'd settle for anywhere but your work."

She smiled. "Me too." She noticed another accident a few blocks ahead and turned down a side street to avoid it. "I have something in mind. You trust me?"

Chapter Two

Marcy made a sharp turn down yet another side street sending what little sense of direction Tyler had down the crapper. Every attempt to jump onto the main road ended with her having to turn off it just as fast. Around every turn there was another accident. Too many to count. Some of the accidents had crowds gathering to inspect the damage, or turn off a car that was still running. Others were mini-infernos that raged as they passed by. As odd as it seemed, what Marcy had told him earlier was spot on. With the amount of accidents he'd come across in just the small area he'd traversed since this morning, he wouldn't be surprised if it was like this all over the world.

It was like a new pandemic was circling the globe. Not a sickness that caused mass casualties or turned the dead into walking zombies. Instead, a virus that eliminated mankind's ability to drive overnight.

Tyler imagined what the insurance companies thought about the carnage. With so much damage to property just today they'd struggle to operate in the black for months to come. It served the whole damn industry right the way he saw it, charging all that money only to drop you the first time you use the coverage. If you were one of the lucky ones who got to keep your coverage, you got the luxury of paying more money for the next few years to make up for it.

"Looks like we have to swerve around wrecks for a while. Running out of options."

"Where are we going anyway?" Tyler asked, getting curious. Wherever it was, it didn't seem far from the pharmacy, but he wasn't positive.

"We're almost there. You'll see soon enough." Marcy pulled out of the neighborhood and back onto Dauphin, heading east towards the highway.

The realization hit Tyler as soon as the hospital came into view as they passed the line of trees hiding it. This was the same hospital he intended to bring Mark earlier today, that was until he was attacked, carjacked, and nearly killed. It was almost ironic how the events had brought it around full circle. As long as Marcy could keep from getting caught in an ambush and Tyler could keep himself alive, he thought he could deal with anything.

Marcy turned the corner into the parking lot and brought the car to a stop once she was out of the entrance enough for another car to get around. "What the hell is going on?"

Tyler shrugged. "You're the one in the know, remember." He marveled at the loaded parking lot in front of him. Even from their limited vantage point, it was easy to to tell they wouldn't find a parking spot anywhere close. Cars lined up anywhere there was a spare space of asphalt, with no regard to others around them. Some drivers, ticked off at being blocked in, slammed their cars into the vehicles blocking their escape.

Thousands of people stood out in the middle of the parking, holding whatever they had to protect them from the sun. Some people sat down on the asphalt, using nearby cars for their meager amount of shade.

The most furious action seemed focused around the covered white tents set out front of the hospital. People wearing white medical outfits stood around the front, talking to people as they got close. Tyler knew what they were doing already. They'd set up the tents as a makeshift triage unit, to screen people as they entered.

Marcy frantically renewed her attempts at finding a working radio station, giving up after the dial passed through all the AM and FM stations twice.

"We should go," Tyler said, watching the movement on the lot.

"You need to get that looked at," she said, pointing to his head. "Besides. Maybe someone here will know what the hell is going on."

Tyler wasn't sure about taking his chances up front. He'd watched at least twenty people stroll up to the front of the line, trying to get seen, and the nurses hadn't accepted even one. He knew the odds they would put his bumps and bruises above the needs of the others here was as close to zero as they got. There was just too much going on to get his hopes up.

Besides, he'd had a few concussions in his life. Sure, none of them as sever as this one seemed to be, but he knew the symptoms would pass with time. He needed to get some rest and take it easy, something he intended to do the second he got home.

"I'll be fine."

She turned off the car and pulled the key. "I didn't snake through half of Mobile to turn back now. At least give it a shot."

"Fine, but I'm not responsible for puking on your shoes." Tyler opened his car door. "And you get to apologize to anyone I throw up on."

Marcy got out and rushed to Tyler's side of the car and helped him out. Tyler's dizziness was playing nice for now, but he still welcomed the help.

"Just going to leave your car there?"

"Have a better place in mind?"

"No. Figured I'd give you a chance to change your mind."

For Tyler, the trip to the front of the hospital was nothing short of torture. A few rows into the walk, the vertigo set in with a vengeance. With every step, the dizziness threatened to send him in a head first topple into the pavement. It took everything Marcy had to keep both her and him upright though she often needed to stop at a car for them both to rest.

Tired and weakening, Tyler looked upon the people as they passed. Most of the injuries he saw were minor; cuts, scrapes, and bruises were the most common, but he'd occasionally pass a broken bone or a cut that would require stitches. He tried to look for someone else with a head wound like his, but he didn't see one. That gave him a hint of hope they'd take a look at him, he didn't know how much longer he'd be able to deal with the dizziness.

"Just a little farther," Marcy said, moving her body back under his arm to support him. "Don't give up on me now."

Tyler's head pounded as he got back upright, blurring his vision within the first few steps. Within a few steps, the vertigo took hold and sent him tumbling into the asphalt. He felt his consciousness fading as he stared into the bright blue sky.

Tyler wanted nothing more than to rest. To have Marcy leave him alone to sleep it off.

The people closest to the pair moved in close, forming a wide circle around them to watch. Other than to whisper things to the people standing next to them, nobody made a move to help.

"No sleeping," Marcy said, putting Tyler's head into her lap. "Not until you see the doctor."

Bile welled up in Tyler's throat, putting a sour taste in his mouth. He focused on his breathing, hoping to keep it in. When the steady breaths turned labored, the circle backed off a few steps to give them more room. If he wasn't trying to keep from puking on Marcy and the front row, he could laugh at their fear of the situation. How people could sit back and watch another person suffer was beyond him. Part of him almost wanted to have Marcy help him up and let it rip. Maybe then they'd realize there wasn't anything to see.

"Move out of the way!" someone shouted from in the crowd. A wide path cleared in the crowd as people stepped back. In the back of the crowd a woman wearing a set of green scrubs ran through the crowd. The middle aged woman jogged to Tyler who was still lying on the ground.

Tyler's world spun out of control as the nurse knelt down next to him and placed her hand on his head.

"What is wrong with him?"

"Concussion," Marcy said. "I bandaged him up the best I could, but we ran into problems before I could do much more."

She pulled a small light out of her front left pocket, flicked it to life, and used it to stare into Tyler's eyes. "Medications?"

"Aspirin," Marcy answered. "Not sure if he's on anything."

"Nothing," Tyler had to force the words out as the world spun out of control.

The nurse ran her finger along the wound in her head, she was careful not to press down too hard. She kept it there, focusing on the large knot right above his temple. "How did you get this?"

Tyler explained everything he could remember, which wasn't much. He hadn't seen the blow coming. If he had he might have been able to defend himself. At least, he wouldn't be hobbling around like a drunk that got kicked out of the bar after last call.

The nurse looked at Marcy with seriousness in her eyes. "He needs to be looked at now. You his wife?"

Marcy shook her head and looked down at Tyler almost wondering what to say. She opened her mouth only to close it a moment later.

"She's a friend," Tyler said, giving her a smile.

Tyler felt a sharp pain on the side of his head, just below where Marcy bandaged him earlier. He gritted his teeth, trying to hold in a scream but let out a quiet moan anyway.

"We're running out of time," the nurse said, taking a spot on the other side of Marcy. "Do you think you can help me carry him inside? Stretchers and wheelchairs are at a premium out here."

"I got him this far."

Tyler held his hand on the bump, hoping pressure would be enough to dull the pain as it was growing out of control. He hadn't felt this bad since his first accident as a teenager when he'd fractured his skull in a car accident. He wanted to believe everything would be all right, but he didn't believe it. His thoughts drifted back to his family as they helped him to his feet. He wanted to call them; let them know everything was OK.

Tyler fought against unconsciousness as they plowed through the crowd. To stay awake he focused his attention on listening to people as they walked by. Overwhelmingly, the crowd seemed displeased that he was getting special attention. Some of them, rather loudly, voicing their opinion about the hospital staff's preferential treatment of people.

Tyler held his awareness at the edge though he struggled to keep it together; often struggling to move his own limbs. If it wasn't for Marcy and the nurse, he would've been out for the count well before reaching the entrance to the hospital.

The nurse led Tyler through a gap in the white tents towards the emergency entrance of the hospital. Tyler glanced into the open flap of one tent as they passed by, noticing a set of tables and chairs inside. Another nurse sat in a chair, writing something on a pad of paper while a woman spoke between tears. Most of her words were a jumbled mess of syllables, but Tyler could make out four simple words.

My family is missing.

The words made Tyler wonder about his family and if they were still at home safe and sound.
Things have gone to shit in Mobile in a hurry; hopefully it isn't the same back home.
At this time of the day Melanie and Ryan would be in school,
learning about something or the other. Thanks to his job, Tyler never followed along with what his kids were doing. Unless one of the kids had gotten well off the beaten path, he wouldn't have a clue what was going on. Keeping up with the kids was Carrie's main job, one she did very well. Once he got settled in, he intended on calling back home just to make sure.

Armed men stood guard outside the door to the emergency room, weapons held at ease across their chests, but ready to shoulder at a moment's notice. Seeing the men made him feel safe about going inside, but also uneasy knowing they had to be deployed to keep things safe in the first place.

As they approached, the nurse held up her badge and the armed men stepped to the side letting them pass. She led them through a set of automatic double doors into the hospital.

Goosebumps took control of Tyler's exposed skin as they stepped into the air conditioned hall. He opened his mouth to ask the nurse if she could turn the temperature up a little, but the words came out a jumbled mess.

"Don't speak," the nurse said, helping him into a wheelchair just inside the door.

Once he was secure, the nurse looked over at Marcy. "You can take a seat in the waiting room, we will let you know how he's doing."