If Tomorrow Never Comes

Chapter 1

The loud Alarm that echoed through the air was enough to make me shield my ears from the racket. A groan escaped my lips before I ran away from the scene of the crime. I had accidentally bumped into someone's blue Corvette in my tired state. Those things are so sensitive, I guess even my uncoordinated self can set them off. The car probably belongs to some prestigious doctor who would come running out at any given second to check on their prized possession. The thought made me roll my eyes at the triviality of the subject.

I stumbled towards the large structure that stood tall a few feet away from me, trying to shake my grogginess and get in the right mindset for working. The county hospital, what a busy place to be. I'm not even qualified to do anything here, but upon receiving an urgent robocall from my university at 4 am requesting all the health students to report to the local hospital, I rushed in. I'm studying to be a nurse and I'm barely in my second year of training. I had assumed it was just a ridiculous practical test or something, until I actually got here. Several ambulances littered the parking lot that was already packed with tons of cars. There isn't a free parking space for miles. The chaos was at an urgent degree as multiple people rushed in and out of the pale blue building.

I gasped as someone smacked into me, knocking me to the ground. The person didn't even bother to acknowledge me as they kept on with their pursuit. Jumping back up, I turned to watch the man run off towards a woman who stood by the emergency entrance with a baby in her arms. She was crying hysterically as she clutched the infant to her chest. I examined the scene unfolding in front of me worriedly. Turning back around towards the full building I walked forward before stealing one last glance at the small family.

Hundreds of people stood in an unstructured line, exclaiming the urgency of their medical issues to four medical personnel who were making efforts to keep peace and organization within the hospital. Hundreds of sick people seeking medical attention littered every nook and cranny of the lobby. Some of the ill people were hunched over in pain and anguish as their healthy companions spoke for them. Others cried out in painful sobs or emitted shrill screams. The wailing of children echoed throughout the enormous infrastructure. There's something terribly wrong. Pulling out my nursing student identification card, I quickly weaved through the crowd and ran towards the men who were checking the people in. People yelled out at me for jumping the line as I caught the attention of the men at the front. "I'm a nursing student!" I exclaimed knowing this must be what my purpose here is. They quickly ushered me out of the crowd as they took notice to my flustered state flailing around my I.D. card.

   Suddenly a strong grip lached onto my forearm as the men helped me through the checkout. I turned around quickly to come face to face with wide tear filled eyes that sunk into a thin, pale face. "Please you have to help my baby she's dying!" The woman exclaimed while pushing her infant into my arms. A fearful gasp escaped my lips as I analyzed the baby girl's ghastly state. Her skin was a pale, sickly green color and her lips were nearly white. A grey speckled rash litterd the babygirl's skin. Deep red scratch marks were engraved in her skin as if she was trying to scratch away the ailment. The little girl shivered and shook in anguish, and for a split second her eyes snapped open exposing her green eyes that would've been beautiful if they weren't littered with black veins infiltrating her pupils. The whites of her eyes were an irritated red color. Her mouth opened slightly as if she was trying to cry but she was snatched from my arms by one of the doctors and shoved back into the woman's arms. "Ma'am please wait your turn! We are doing all we can," a man said as the woman cried out in frustration. My heart broke for her and the baby, but I was rushed away so quick I had no time to even think about how I could help them or anyone else in this hospital for that matter.

   One of the medical personnel rushed me into a room that was full of medical uniforms. "You'll be in the pediatric wing with other health professionals," The man said as he rushed around the room collecting different things. Only now did I realize he wore thick gloves and a surgical mask to accompany his scrubs. He handed me the same set up and told me to hurry and change, they needed all capable hands out in the field. "But I'm not a professional," I said in a nervous panic at what I just witnessed. "Half of the people working aren't professionals, but you still know more than the general public." His words made no sense to me since as far as I knew hospitals never went against protocol of any kind. This is illegal and grounds for legal action to take place. However at the look of the crowd I can't help but wonder how one third of them could even get seen without more health professionals stepping in. After seeing what those people are going through I want to help, I need to help them somehow. Those people need to be seen right away and if I can help at all i'll try my best. I may not be a professional but I know enough to aid a doctor in tending to patients. Whatever this illness is I have no knowledge of anything that does what it did to that baby.