Endless Winter (Book 2): Rain & Ruin (8 page)

There, there’s movement and the crowd starts to part so I lunge towards it only to come to a stop because there’s Ben. He’s in a wheelchair and his expression is one I’ve never seen before. It’s like he doesn’t even know me. That doctor is standing behind him holding the handles of his chair. He’s talking to me but all I can see is the look on Ben’s face and I can’t bear it so I look away and then there’s Rex. Rex, who wants to be with me and wants to talk to me and work things out, except this Rex looks disgusted with me. I can barely breathe now and all those faces are starting to blur and the ceiling is pressing down against my head and all I can do is RUN!

I push through the blurry angry faces and stagger free but the ceiling is still coming down so I hunch my shoulders and move my broken body as fast as I can back towards the offices and then the tunnel. I think I hear someone calling my name but it’s hard to hear over the roaring sound of the ceiling coming down so I just stagger on. I bounce from wall to wall until I can’t go any further and my legs give out and I fall down to the cold concrete floor of the tunnel. I just lay there and wait to suffocate. My lungs aren’t working anymore but that doesn’t matter because the ceiling is all the way down and about to crush me. It’s over, so I just let go and hope I’ll be with Mom and Dad soon.

Ethan takes Ben over to the clinic while I push the cart full of milk jugs to the kitchen. By the way the people working in the kitchen reacted, you would think I was delivering molten gold instead of fresh milk. I swear, one of the women even has tears in her eyes. I tell them that Ethan recommended that the milk be given out to all children and everyone happily agrees.

I leave the kitchen in search of my brother with a satisfied feeling but wishing Skylar was here to see just how happy her unknown contributions have made people. As I walk through the barracks I can’t help but feel proud of the way these people have all come together since we arrived to organize and create a functioning home. The sign-up sheets Lance had created and printed from the office computers are full of people who want to work. The garden grow area is already full of soil and seeds from the bags taken from the storage containers. The cooking and cleaning lists have plenty of volunteers signed up so no one person is stuck with all the grunt work. So far everyone is getting along and happy to have such a safe place to stay but I wonder if it will stay that way. At the hotel, all these people were kept under Ted and his men’s heavy thumb so no one dared to cause any trouble. I worry that once the shine of safety and comfort wears off there might be issues.

As I scan the different groups for Matty, I put it out of my mind for now. I have enough to worry about with Sky being so sick.

A small body hurtles into me from the side causing me to stagger. Looks like the kid’s found me instead. I snatch him up and throw him over my shoulder and spin around causing him to laugh like a loon before depositing him back on his feet.

“REX! Are you back for good? Is Skylar and Ben all better? Can I see Ben?”

“Whoa there pal! Ben’s doing a lot better and he’s over in the clinic with Ethan getting another x-ray so yes, we can go visit with him for a few minutes before he heads back to his place. Skylar, well, she’s still pretty sick so I’m going back over to stay with her for a while more.” I tell him and give his messy hair a rub.

He frowns at the news that I’m going back so I tell him my plan. “I really need your help but I’m not sure if you’re old enough to help me.”

“Yes I am! I’m totally old enough for…uhh what is it?”

I laugh at this instant declaration even when he doesn’t know what I’m asking. “Well, Sky and Ben’s animals need to be looked after. The cow needs to be milked and its stall needs to be cleaned out. The chickens need to be fed and the eggs collected as well. Do you think you’re big enough to handle that with me?”

Matty places his hands on his hips and scowls at me. “Of course I am! Ben showed me how to do it already when they first gave us the tour over there. It’s easy! I don’t even need you to do it with me. I can do it all by myself!”

I throw my arm around his neck in a loose head lock and pull him along with me towards the clinic.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure you could manage a whole farm by yourself but I think I’ll stick around to help out this time. Come on Farmer Joe, let’s go see if Ethan’s ready to head back over yet.”

Ben easily slips out of the headlock and starts strutting beside me while pretending to have his thumbs stuck under imaginary suspenders. He has me chuckling with his sad attempt at a farmer’s accent. “HYuck, hyuck, hyuck. I’m Farmer Joe and I’m gonna milk me some cows.”

We’ve just reached the clinic’s doors when I hear raised voices coming from the center of the barracks. I turn to look back and my mouth drops. That’s Sky over there and she’s pointing a gun at someone’s head! The crowd shifts and I get a look at who it is. I curse under my breath, of course it’s Sasha. I’m thrilled to see Sky awake and on her feet but the gun in her hand has me panicking. I can just image what she felt when she woke up and found Ben missing. I’m about to sprint over to them when the doors behind me open up and Ethan pushes Ben through in his wheelchair. I yell at him over my shoulder, even as I start running.

“Sky’s over there and she’s got a gun! Bring Ben so she knows he’s ok!”

I figure I’ll beat them to Sky and get her calmed down but it seems like every person in the barracks has moved into my way so by the time I push a path through the crowd Ethan and Ben are right on my heels. The crowd finally parts all the way and I get a good up close look at Sky. She’s lowering her gun and puts it back into her holster but she looks awful. I can tell something is seriously wrong right away. Her chest is hitching like she’s just run a marathon and her face is paper white with black and blue circles under her eyes. But it’s what’s in her eyes that worry me the most. They’re full of terror and confusion. She spins around in a circle like a trapped animal trying to find a way to escape until her eyes find Ben.

Ethan tries to calm her down.

“Skylar, it’s ok! I was just taking Ben for an x-ray and then bringing him right back. You’ve both been very sick.”

I can tell she’s not hearing him at all. Her eyes dart away from Ben and meet mine. What I see in them breaks my heart. She’s lost in confusion and panic and I don’t think she even really sees me in front of her. There’s small agonizing gasps coming from her that scare me. She’s way too sick to be trying to deal with any of this. I go to reach out to her but she spins away and charges through the crowd with her shoulders hunched over like she thinks someone’s going to hit her at any moment.

“SKY, Skylar!” I shout after her but she keeps going back towards the offices. I turn to Ethan and see that Ben is sobbing.

“We have to go after her. She’s not thinking straight! Bring Ben, she’s going to need to see that he’s ok.”

I don’t wait for an answer, just spin and chase after her. I can’t believe she’s even still on her feet let alone running, after being unconscious for three days but she disappears into the office hallway ahead of me. I hit the hallway at top speed and immediately crash into Lance sending us both to the floor. I try and scramble away from him but he grabs me by the arms and holds me still.

“What the hell is going on? Was that Skylar I just saw running past? She doesn’t look very good!”

“Let go! I’ve got to get to her, Lance. She doesn’t know what she’s doing right now. She needs help!”

I finally shake off his hands, stumble to my feet and lunge to the tunnel doors. As soon as they slide open I see her. She’s not even half way back to her side and she’s laying on the concrete floor. No, no, no, she has to be ok! I reach her in seconds and drop down beside her. My hands reach out to touch her but they freeze half way. Her eyes are open but they’re fixed on somewhere that’s not here. She’s on her side in the fetal position with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Her whole body jerks with every hitch of her chest as she tries to force air into her lungs. I know it’s not working because her lips have a blue tinge to them.

I’ve seen a lot of damaged people since the bombs dropped but never like this. I don’t know how to fix this but I hope Ethan can. I reach over and slide my arms underneath her and gently cradle her against my chest before pushing to my feet. I’m afraid of jostling her if I run even though both my heart and head are screaming for me to. So I walk quickly instead back towards the barracks. I’m not letting go of her even with one hand so when I get a few feet from the door I yell at the computer.

“AIRIA, open the tunnel door.”

The doors start sliding open even as the reply comes.

“Rex Larson, Skylar Ross’s vital signs are deteriorating quickly. Medical treatment is needed.”

I don’t bother responding because the doors open revealing Ethan and Ben in his wheelchair on the other side.

“Rex, I’m not authorized to open…” He takes one look at Skylar and stops what he was going to say. Instead he turns Ben’s chair around and pushes it towards Lance who is standing there with them.

“Take Ben into our suite and keep him there. He doesn’t need to see his sister like this!”

Without even looking at Lance for his reply, he’s turned back to me and reaching for Sky’s neck to check her pulse. His face tells me all I need to know and we both start moving as fast as I can with Skylar in my arms. I ignore Ben’s screaming for his sister as Ethan’s yelling ahead of us for people to get out of the way. I don’t even see them because my eyes are locked on the doors of the clinic and hopefully what’s on the other side can save this sad broken girl.

“On the bed, on the bed, Rex!” Ethan’s yelling the minute the clinic doors open. He’s a whirlwind of activity as he turns a valve to an oxygen mask and quickly slides it on to Sky’s face. He’s hooking up machines to her that I don’t understand and I just stand there waiting for something good to magically happen. Once the beeps fill the room Ethan stares at a machine and chants under his breath, “Come on, come on Skylar, breathe.”

He shoots a look my way and his frown deepens. “You should leave, Rex. If her oxygen levels don’t come up, I might have to intubate her. That’s not something you want to see.”

I just give my head a hard shake. “I’m not going anywhere! I don’t understand what happened. She seemed ok a few minutes ago!”

Ethan shakes his head. “No, she wasn’t. I imagine that display out there was her running on pure adrenalin. Her lungs are already bad enough with the pneumonia so she was pushing past her limits with that but I’m almost certain based on her reactions that she was having a severe panic attack and hyperventilated on top of it. Her body just shut itself down to try and survive. I think she must have woken up confused and when she couldn’t find Ben it sent her into a spin. This is probably the break that I thought was coming.” He turns back to the monitors and his shoulders slump. “I’m sorry Rex. We shouldn’t have left her.”

I’ve got nothing to say to his apology because I feel the same. I never should have left her alone. I’ve got so much guilt on my shoulders for what Sky’s been through. As much as she’s done for me and mine is how much damage I’ve done to her. I just want her to get better so I can ask for her forgiveness.

All I can do is sit and watch as Ethan reattaches an IV to her pale lifeless arm and starts injecting it with medicine. I’m in a haze of despair as people come and go and Ethan tries to tell me everything he’s doing but none of it means anything to me until I see a slight flutter of her eyelids. I hold my breath until they slowly open to reveal her confused sleepy blue eyes. My breath whooshes out of me and a slight grin tugs at my lips but before it forms she starts struggling and tries to pull the oxygen mask from her face.

Ethan grabs her arm and pulls it away causing her to start thrashing in panic. I jump to my feet from the chair beside her bed and lean over her so all she can see is my face and I talk slow and loud.

“Skylar, calm down! Everything is ok. You are ok. Ben is ok. You need to stay still and listen to me!”

Her body stops struggling but her eyes are full of fear when they meet mine. I brush her cheek with the back of my hand and try and explain what has happened.

“You and Ben have pneumonia but Ethan has been treating you both with medicine. We knew you didn’t want Ben to be over here so Ethan and I have been staying with both of you over at your place for the last three days. Ben responded to the medicine faster and started to get better first. There is an x-ray machine over here in the clinic so we brought him over for a chest scan to look at his lungs and then we were bringing him right back. You must have woken up right after we left and panicked. I’m sorry I left you alone but Ethan doesn’t have the authorization to open the tunnel door so I had to go with him to let him and Ben through.”

Her forehead furrows in a frown but her slight nod lets me know she’s understanding me so far. Ethan had let her arm go when she calmed down so she lifts it to the mask on her face again. I gently capture her hand before she can pull it off and keep explaining.

“You have to leave that on right now. Your lungs are having a hard time so you need the oxygen to get better. Ethan thinks you might have had a panic attack and hyperventilated so you really need the oxygen.”

Her voice is muffled under the mask but I can still make out her words. “The ceiling was coming down. It was going to crush me.”

I shoot a quick glance at Ethan and he gives a grim nod of understanding before moving forward into Skylar’s field of vision. Her eyes track to him as he starts talking.

“Hi Skylar, we met briefly on the day you let us in. I’m Ethan and I’m a doctor. Ben is doing great. He responded nicely to the medicine I gave him and is quickly recovering. I don’t want you to worry about him right now. I promise you that we will keep him safe and get him healthy as quick as we can. Right now we need to worry about you. The pneumonia hit you very hard and I’m worried about the damage you might have done to your lungs. As soon as you’ve rested a bit, I’d like to get a chest scan and draw some blood. I know this is hard for you but you need to let me take care of you.” Ethan’s face softens and he gently takes her hand free hand in his. “Sweetie, I know it’s been your job to take care of Ben but you really need to let us help you. You can trust us. You’re not alone anymore. We want to help but you have to let us.”

I see a tear roll out from the corner of her eye and it trickles across her temple and into her hair. Ethan runs his palm across her forehead and his voice softens even more.

“Sky, honey, you did a great job all these years. Your parents would be so proud of you but do you really think they’d want you to have to do it all alone? There are a lot of bad people still left in the world to be fearful of but we aren’t them. I’m a doctor and I’ve dedicated my life to helping people. Lance was a soldier and he protected people. Belle was a school teacher before the bombs. I hope you know that Rex and my son, Marshall are good people too. I know that Sasha did a horrible thing to you and your brother but she’s just a mixed up kid and now that we’re here we’ll make sure she won’t ever do anything like that again. We are the kind of people you can trust, I promise.”