Rise From The Ashes: The Rebirth of San Antonio (Countdown to Armageddon Book 3) by Darrell Maloney

Hannah?”
         The radio call caught everyone off guard. It was just after dinnertime, and everyone was dreading another long night when they would all be up, hoping and praying  for Scott to appear. Or at least get close enough to call on his radio to report he was okay.
         But they weren’t expecting a call from Robbie.
         Hannah rushed from the dining room to the security console. She was half full of anticipation and half full of dread. She knew Robbie wouldn’t call unless he had something to report.
         The only question was, what was he reporting? It could be very good news, or very bad.
         “Go ahead, Robbie. This is Hannah.”
         “Hi, Hannah. First of all, I don’t want to get your hopes up. We found a man in Scott’s house. Unconscious from a bullet wound. He’s alive, but the doctors say that he lost an awful lot of blood and he’s in bad shape.
         “The problem is, we don’t know who it is. It might be Scott, but we can’t tell because he has no identification on him.
         “It could be someone who was shot in a gun battle and took refuge in Scott’s house.
         “All we know for sure is that he was in Scott’s living room, passed out on the floor, and that he gained access through the back fence.
         “ Can you put his wife on the radio to give me a description?”
         “Robbie, this is Joyce. I’m his girlfriend. He’s about six feet tall and around a hundred and eighty pounds or so. Dark brown hair and brown mustache, but his mustache is starting to gray.”
         “Any tattoos?”
         “Yes. He’s got the words, “Ride Like The Wind” on his upper left arm and a Harley Davidson emblem beneath it.”
         “Okay, good! That’s the information I was looking for. It’s definitely Scott. He was shot once, and apparently his vehicle was stolen. Like I said, he is unconscious and critical. The doctors did surgery and repaired the damaged vein, but he’s lost a lot of blood and will have a long road to recovery.”
         Joyce wept, but tried her best to maintain her composure. Linda hugged her sons and openly cried.
         “Thank you, Robbie. Thank you so much.”
         “It’s not a problem. I’ll call you back daily until he regains consciousness, and will pass on anything he has to tell you. The doctors want to know if he has any drug allergies.”
         “No. None.”
         “Okay. I’ll go back by there and let them know. Is Hannah still close by?”
         Joyce handed Hannah the microphone.
         “Go ahead, Robbie.”
         “Hannah, I have some news for you too. We took Scott to the same hospital where John is staying. After we got Scott admitted, I went up to Quarantine to check on him. The doctor said his white blood cell count is looking much better, and that the infection is going away. He also said that John is starting to move his hands and legs a bit. He hasn’t woken up yet, but they’re saying they’re hopeful he will within a few days. So I guess all of those prayers have been working.”
         Now Hannah was crying too.
         “Thank you, Robbie. For everything.”
         “Don’t mention it. I’ll call again sometime tomorrow to report on both of your patients, unless something significant happens before then. Is there anything either of you want me to tell them if they wake up before I check in again?”
         Hannah looked at Joyce.
         Joyce nodded her head yes, but couldn’t seem to get any words out.
         “Joyce says to tell Scott she loves him. Same goes for me if John comes around.”
         “Okay, you got it. Keep the faith, you two.”
         Hannah left the security desk and sat on the couch. Rachel and Misty sat on either side of her and she held them close. They cried together.
         Tom looked around the room and saw that everyone was either in tears or close to it. And he felt his own