“We have to get some of our supplies to them.” She gave Nowen a worried look, as if expecting resistance.
“We don’t have that much ourselves.” Nowen said, and then caught the horrified look spreading across Jamie’s face. “But of course, we should help them. Do you know how we can get supplies down to the second floor?”
“There’s always the stairwell-” As if in response, a faint moaning echoed down the hall. The slower Revs were as content to stand still as to move, but the fast ones seemed to be everywhere, flowing like liquid into every empty space. Jamie winced at the sound. “On second thought, no.”
Nowen looked around the room they were in. “Jamie, do the delivery rooms have windows?”
The other woman looked puzzled. “Some of them, yes. Why-ohhhh!” Her eyes widened as she caught on.
Chapter Seven
Then
Jamie’s pencil scratched across a manila folder that had once held a patient’s records. She talked as she drew, sketching a rough outline of the hospital. “Ok, so, Exeter General is laid out like a capital L. The front of the hospital faces south, and the back faces north, and the wings run east and west, like so.” She blew a strand of limp hair from her face. “The hospital is four stories tall, with a kind of sub-basement for the morgue and the body pick-up, mechanical systems, etc. Oh, and the emergency generators, and thank God those are still going.”
Jamie chewed on her lower lip for a moment, then continued drawing. “The floors are stacked in tiers, like one of those Mexican pyramid thingies. Going out the front is a no-go. Those damn Revs just collect there. But, the north side is a little better. I think. There’s just the staff parking lot, some small metal buildings for, I don’t know, electrical systems or whatever, and then there’s this narrow alleyway with a fence. That alley opens onto this street, Corsica, which, if you follow it far enough, turns into Highway 287 North, and then if you follow that long enough, leads into Wyoming.” She raised her head and looked off into the distance. “You know, I think north is the way to go. North, or maybe west. Less people so less Revs, and I wonder if the cold of the mountains wouldn’t just stop those damn things.”
Nowen had been studying the rough map as Jamie drew. Now she studied Jamie from the corner of her eye. The successful delivery of a large part of their stores to the second floor yesterday, via two open windows, knotted bed sheets, and a mop bucket, had caused a sea change in the young woman’s attitude and outlook. It seemed that just doing something, anything, was enough to draw her out of the despair that had threatened to consume her. There had been some discussion of trying to get the other survivors up to the fourth floor, but the pregnant woman couldn’t make the trip, the elderly couple wouldn’t even think about climbing up a rope made of bed-sheets, and the nurses wouldn’t leave their charges alone. Nowen had a feeling that the doctor would have loved to have climbed up the makeshift ladder but his self-image wouldn’t let him.
Nowen tapped the counter to get Jamie’s attention. “And where am I going?”
Jamie turned back to the map. She pointed at a spot just past where Corsica and the alley met. “Here. There’s a gas station, and they have a lot of food - I mean, it’s gonna be junk food, but it’s food. And water, sports drinks, etc.” She turned to Nowen, concern evident on her face. “I wish you weren’t going to do this.”
Nowen looked away from the turbulent emotions in Jamie’s eyes “We don’t have any choice.”
Jamie sighed loudly. “I know we don’t have any choice!” Her tone was acerbic. “I can still wish! I can still wish that all of this never happened, and I can still wish that the Navy would come marching in to save us.”
“We’re pretty far inland for the Navy.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say that was a joke.” At
“We don’t have that much ourselves.” Nowen said, and then caught the horrified look spreading across Jamie’s face. “But of course, we should help them. Do you know how we can get supplies down to the second floor?”
“There’s always the stairwell-” As if in response, a faint moaning echoed down the hall. The slower Revs were as content to stand still as to move, but the fast ones seemed to be everywhere, flowing like liquid into every empty space. Jamie winced at the sound. “On second thought, no.”
Nowen looked around the room they were in. “Jamie, do the delivery rooms have windows?”
The other woman looked puzzled. “Some of them, yes. Why-ohhhh!” Her eyes widened as she caught on.
Chapter Seven
Then
Jamie’s pencil scratched across a manila folder that had once held a patient’s records. She talked as she drew, sketching a rough outline of the hospital. “Ok, so, Exeter General is laid out like a capital L. The front of the hospital faces south, and the back faces north, and the wings run east and west, like so.” She blew a strand of limp hair from her face. “The hospital is four stories tall, with a kind of sub-basement for the morgue and the body pick-up, mechanical systems, etc. Oh, and the emergency generators, and thank God those are still going.”
Jamie chewed on her lower lip for a moment, then continued drawing. “The floors are stacked in tiers, like one of those Mexican pyramid thingies. Going out the front is a no-go. Those damn Revs just collect there. But, the north side is a little better. I think. There’s just the staff parking lot, some small metal buildings for, I don’t know, electrical systems or whatever, and then there’s this narrow alleyway with a fence. That alley opens onto this street, Corsica, which, if you follow it far enough, turns into Highway 287 North, and then if you follow that long enough, leads into Wyoming.” She raised her head and looked off into the distance. “You know, I think north is the way to go. North, or maybe west. Less people so less Revs, and I wonder if the cold of the mountains wouldn’t just stop those damn things.”
Nowen had been studying the rough map as Jamie drew. Now she studied Jamie from the corner of her eye. The successful delivery of a large part of their stores to the second floor yesterday, via two open windows, knotted bed sheets, and a mop bucket, had caused a sea change in the young woman’s attitude and outlook. It seemed that just doing something, anything, was enough to draw her out of the despair that had threatened to consume her. There had been some discussion of trying to get the other survivors up to the fourth floor, but the pregnant woman couldn’t make the trip, the elderly couple wouldn’t even think about climbing up a rope made of bed-sheets, and the nurses wouldn’t leave their charges alone. Nowen had a feeling that the doctor would have loved to have climbed up the makeshift ladder but his self-image wouldn’t let him.
Nowen tapped the counter to get Jamie’s attention. “And where am I going?”
Jamie turned back to the map. She pointed at a spot just past where Corsica and the alley met. “Here. There’s a gas station, and they have a lot of food - I mean, it’s gonna be junk food, but it’s food. And water, sports drinks, etc.” She turned to Nowen, concern evident on her face. “I wish you weren’t going to do this.”
Nowen looked away from the turbulent emotions in Jamie’s eyes “We don’t have any choice.”
Jamie sighed loudly. “I know we don’t have any choice!” Her tone was acerbic. “I can still wish! I can still wish that all of this never happened, and I can still wish that the Navy would come marching in to save us.”
“We’re pretty far inland for the Navy.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say that was a joke.” At
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