The First

Chapter 72

To complete the chest compression, Ross leaned all his weight onto his right arm. Teagan's chest crackled like pan-fried popcorn.

Gavin must have noticed the worry in his eyes. "It's okay. It's the cartilage in her chest separating from the ribs." He handed the newborn to Alexa. "It happens sometimes during CPR."

Ross pressed again and again. "Come on baby girl ... work with me."

"What's happening? What's happening? What's happening?" Ellie had curled up on the chair in the corner.

Alexa wrapped Teagan's baby in a blanket. She put her hand on Ellie's shoulder. "I need you to take him, Ellie. We'll help Teagan. Right now, I need you to be the big sister you've always been. Go. Watch him and the other one. Tell me if there is any change.

Ellie took the swaddled baby into the other room.

"You want me to take over, agent?" Gavin asked.

Ross nodded, stopped CRP and checked Teagan's pulse. "Still no pulse."

"Continuing CPR." Gavin took over. "This would be much easier with a defibrillator, AED, intubation kit, and meds."

The request jogged Ross's memory. "An ambulance ran off the road a few blocks from here. If I cut through back yards, I could be there and back in a few minutes."

"Go now," Gavin said. "I'll keep her heart beating. But there's not much time."

I'm not losing another kid.

Tears barreled down Alexa's face as she whispered into Teagan's ear. Ross found her eyes. They pled for the life of her daughter. He nodded and darted out of the room.

Past Ellie and the babies, (on his way through the kitchen) he picked up his Glocks. He stuffed one in his belt at the base of his back, filled his pockets full of extra clips, and headed out the front door.

Dawn blinked through the clouds. 

Ross crossed Alexa's backyard and hurdled a small wooden fence. The fender of the ambulance glimmered between two houses. He'd be much faster than he thought. But fast enough to save Teagan's life? He wasn't sure.

Another couple of feet.

From his right came a large black object. Its jaws opened wide and snapped toward his leg. Ross shot one round into the Rottweiler's head. It wouldn't have been his first choice but a life hung in the balance. Instead of climbing the chain link fence, the dog threw him off his trajectory.  His bad shoulder hit the fence first. The link joints snapped and he crashed to the ground, ripping open his stitches.

More pain ... but no time to feel. Ross stumbled to his feet and picked up his weapons.

The ambulance had run up on the curb with both front wheels. A mangled shrub poked out from under the wheel wells. Drips of blood oozed to the ground through the back doors of the ambulance. When he opened them, a slow-motion waterfall of decaying human remains poured to the ground. Both medics had their insides ripped out. The body of a formerly pregnant woman lay on the gurney. The stench filled his nostrils and snuck down the back of his throat. Still, there wasn't time to waste. He gagged as he crawled through the muck.

On a shelf to his right was the defibrillator. Each medication seemed well stocked. Now he needed to find a way to carry everything. That's when he saw the keys in the ignition.

Ross started the ambulance and an idea popped into his head. But would the space between the houses be wide enough?

Please vote and comment. Hold on to your horses. Next chapter's a doozy.