The War for Survival (Survivors #2)

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

-Alec

"Erika??" I scoop her up and feel for a pulse. Barely one, but still there. My body trembles and I begin to panic. I lift her face in my hands. "Erika open your eyes.." They don't open and my heart constricts in my chest. I have to move.. now!

I pick her up and carry her out of the room. The rest of my team stands outside and stare in horror.

"Erika?!" Jared comes running forth to the front of the crowd.

"She needs help, now!" I move through the crowd as they clear a path for me. I sprint down every floor and out to the vans. The rest of the teams are outside waiting after clearing out the rest of the floors. "Everyone in the vans! Now!" I carry her to mine and I make the rest of my group pile and cram into other vans. Jared climbs in the back with me and the driver speeds off. "She needs blood." I grab a mobile heart monitor out of the medical bag and place it on her.

"We're the same blood type, here." Jared pulls out a tube and needle. "Her sister taught me this in the field once." He ties off his arm and then hers before placing a needle in both of their arms. His blood starts pouring into her and I start wrapping her wounds to slow the bleeding.

"Alec, her pulse is gone!"

My head whips to the flat line on the monitor. My hands shake and panic rises from within. My heart clenches so tightly in my chest I become immobile. I force myself to move and look back at her. "Fuck!" I start performing CPR over and over again but it doesn't change. "Come on you insane, stubborn girl!" I blow air into her mouth before going back to her chest. The line stays flat and it feels like something within me broke. "Come on! Damnit!" I keep trying and trying over and over again.

And then it happens. A spike in the monitor. I check her pulse on her neck quickly and there's a very faint one. "We got her!"

I sigh and fall back, staring down at her beautiful face. Her skin is pale and although parts of her may be marred with wounds, she's still the most beautiful, insane, stubborn woman I've ever seen. I lean closer to her ear. "Do me a favor and never do that again."

Her eyelids flicker open and she looks around the van. She doesn't speak a word and she can hardly keep her eyes open.

The van comes to a screeching halt once we reach the sanctuary and Jared pulls the needles out of their arms. Her eyes start to close and I tilt her face to look at me. "Hey, stay with me.."

"I.. I can't.." Her eyes start to close and I scoop her up, sprinting to the infirmary.

A nurse rolls a gurney over and shines a light in her eyes. She checks Erika's pulse and her skin pales. "No pulse! We need to get her to an OR now!" They roll her away from my view and my heart sinks in my chest.

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"She made it through surgery, we're supplying her with fresh blood after all she's lost. It was a really close call but she's going to be okay. Very weak but she'll be okay. We'll keep her for a few days. as long as she doesn't pop any stitches and takes it easy, she can be released." The doctor finally came to inform us after hours of waiting. "You can see her now if you'd like."

Me and Jared brush past the doctor and walk straight to her room. Releif washes over me as soon as my eyes land on her. She's in the bed, still asleep and hooked up to a bunch of monitors that I'm unfamiliar with.

Jared moves around me and pulls a chair up beside her bed. I lean on the door frame, hesitating staying or leaving.

You know she's okay now, you can leave. But my legs refuse to move. You don't even like her. You can't like her. But its becoming hard to tell if that's true or not.

Finally making a decision, I turn and leave the room.

"Wait!" Jared comes running up and jumps in front of me. "You're not gonna at least stay till she wakes up?"

I wince at the way he said 'at least' like I owe her that much. I helped her. I saved her. I brought her here. What else is there for me to do?

"She's fine. There's nothing left to do now." I keep my face impassive but a part of me knows the words are just lies.

"And to think, your reputation is so important that you can't even stick by her side until she wakes up. She'd do it if it were you. I saw the way you looked when you found out what happened, and I saw the way you looked when she almost died in the van. You can't hide that. But you try, for what? So everyone doesn't think anything less of the big man on campus?"

Something inside me snaps and I grab him by his shirt. "You have no idea what you're talking about. You don't know me or what I may or may not feel. Which is nothing. I was just making sure a soldier didn't die. Is that clear?"

"Crystal. Thanks for showing the kind of man you really are. The kind that would destroy her. She's way too good for you." He yanks free of my grasp. "If thats how you're going to be then just stay clear of her. Forever." He pushes past me and goes back to her room.

My heart sinks and a wave of sadness washes over me. I'm trying to damnit. She just makes it so difficult..

I leave the infirmary before I can change my mind. He's right. She is too good. And I can't be the one to destroy her. But what scares me more than that, is if I'm not there, who's going to be the one to keep her from destroying herself?