Solar Flare Apocalypse

Chapter 8

They carried Adam on an old door to the center. They tried to be gentle, but Adam passed out on the way. When they got to the Center, they saw the ambulance waiting there, the back doors were open, and Dr. Taylor was arguing with Julie, a paramedic.

"I am the doctor, you have to listen to me. I am in charge!" He shouted. 

Julie's face was set and she took a breath. "When is the last time you did emergency surgery, twenty-five years ago?" She continued with calm voice. "I have experience as a field surgon's assistant. I've done this surgery on my own in Iraq. "

Matt helped get Adam into the ambulance.  He put his hand on the doctor's shoulder. "Sorry Doc, gotta go with Julie."

Doctor Taylor exited the ambulance and walked away with only his back showing how angry he was. 

Julie asked Matt to wait outside, and just before she shut the back doors, her partner, an out of breath man named J.J., hopped in. A volunteer held pressure on the wound as Julie and J.J. jumped into paramedic mode. She checked Adam's breathing and and hooked up a heart monitor, while J.J. started an I.V. and gave him a shot of morphine.

Jen found Matt sitting on the ground beside the ambulance. She sank down beside him and they hugged. They stayed there, praying, for almost an hour and a half , when Julie opened the side door and said, "It went well, he is stable, I think he is going to be fine."

Jen began to sob hysterically, finally expressing all her worry and fear and now happiness. 

"One person can sit with him," Julie stated.

Matt instantly said, "Let Jen, I'll give her a break when she is tired."

He knew nobody would keep her from her son now.

Matt kissed Jen and walked into the fire station and found a bed in the dorm style room. He happily crashed, knowing Adam would be OK now.

Hours later, Jen came into the darkened room where Matt snored, and sat on the side of his bed. She shook his shoulder until he woke up. 

"Adam is doing good." She whispered. 

Matt rolled over and asked what time it was. Jen smiled and looked at her wrist where her watch used to be. "Oh, a freckle past a hair?" She said, teasing Matt.  

Matt smiled at his mistake. He got up and told Jen to lay down and sleep. Her eyes looked droopy and had dark circles under them. 

"I'll wake you up if Adam needs you." But Jen was asleep almost before the end of his sentence.

Matt climbed into the ambulance where Adam lay pale and unconscious, his blond hair falling over his closed eyes. Matt reached out and pushed it back.

Julie told him she had turned off the truck before sunrise. She handed him a plate of breakfast and a to-go cup of coffee. "Liam brought breakfast for all of us."

J.J. came in and sat down in the crowded space. He stretched, and waved Julie out, so she headed to bed.

He listened to Adam's breathing and checked his pulse, relying on experience without a watch. He jotted everything down, then he began to undress the wound. Matt put his head between his knees and waited while J.J. cleaned and re-bandaged Adam's leg.

J.J. tapped Matt on the back when it was safe to look up again. "He is doing real good, no fever, or sign of infection. He's only asleep because we gave him morphine. We'll start to decrease it today, he should wake up tomorrow some time. 

Outside the walls of the fire station, the people of North Webster woke up and faced the day with serious faces. Some were thinking about the men they had killed, imagining blood still on their scrubbed hands. Others, like Tim Miller, were worried about more mundane things, like food.

Tim went into the community center dining room where he saw Sugar eating at a table by herself. The shy, handsome young farmer with dark red hair cleared his throat to get Sugar's attention.  She looked up and smiled, motioning for Tim to sit. 

The dining room was mostly empty at this early hour. Tim still kept his voice quiet while he asked Sugar for the help he needed. "I'm afraid we don't have enough food in town for everybody here, and for those who will be asking to join us in the next few weeks."

Sugar nodded, "I've been wondering. Have you got any ideas?" She asked, knowing he did. 

Tim answered her, telling of his plan to harvest the corn and soy beans that were still in the fields outside of town. He asked for a group of volunteers with guns to go with him that night, in case of another raid. 

Sugar agreed, and Tim went to get his breakfast.

All day the people worked hard. They re-enforced the barricade and worked on more passages through the walls.

The women kept busy cubing all the bread and rolls they could find. Then they spread them out on sheets to dry. They would make stuffing this winter, and bread pudding. Others went around town with a big wagon, looking for fruit trees that still had fruit to share.

Tim rounded up some helpers and went to work on the gardens. They picked anything left, and took it in wheelbarrows to the Center kitchen. They pulled out the plants and weeds, and turned the dirt over for planting. Tim took most of the turnip and kale seeds from the hardware store and the feed mill, leaving a bit, in case these crops failed, and planted patches in every garden. Tim knew turnips can be sown in the fall and harvested before winter. The kale would grow all winter for hard-to-get vitamins. When he was done with the planting, he planned to build a bank of cold frames. They would be able to grow lettuce and spinach all winter.

 Tim took a break and found Heather with her chicken helpers, and asked how the birds were doing. He noticed Heather's happy, smiling face, and long, brown hair shining in the afternoon sun. He blushed red just talking to her about chickens. He didn't think he'd ever be able to tell her he thought she was pretty.

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Auther's note, If you have read this far, I hope it means you are enjoying the story. I would love to hear your thoughts about the book! Thank You!!