The Cardinal Bird (1 of Cardinal Series)

Chapter 19

A/N: We meet someone new from canon...kind of.   

The attention in the hallway shifted to me.  It was suffocating and yet somehow thrilling at the same time.

After a moment, North tilted his head back to indicate the room he was standing in front of. "This is your room. Corey went ahead and got the kit out. We've got Doc on the line to help walk us through it as much as he can."

Silas walked us into the room. Nathan was dragging one of the mattresses off the bunk beds out into the middle of the floor. Corey was beside it pulling things out of the first-aid kit.

"We should probably put something down on the beds," Karl said, stepping up to the doorway. "Leaving blood on them would lead to questions."

Corey pulled out one of those plastic thermal sheets that he had used on me in the van earlier. Nathan then took one of the sheets off the bed and put it on top.

"It's the best we've got," Corey said. "We'll have to take the sheets with us and dispose of them somewhere, but at least she won't just be laying on the plastic. They'll probably just think we stole the sheets since it happens so much."

"Hope you weren't wanting your deposit back," Nathan joked.

Silas stepped into the room and put me down on the bed. It crinkled as my weight settled, but Corey was right. It was better than laying directly on the plastic.

Everyone else tried to crowd into the room, but Karl stopped that. "We can't all fit in here. Why don't some of you go keep an eye on things. Make sure none of the workers come up here to check on us just out of curiosity."

There was a moment of silence. When no one moved to leave, Karl said, "Axel."

"Right," Axel said. Of all of them here, I knew Axel the least. He seemed serious all the time, and it was no different now. "Raven and Silas, keep an eye on the hall. Brandon, North, hang out in the lobby. Make sure the situation has settled down after Raven and Marc's quarrel. They could still call the cops on us, and we'll need a head's up if that's going to happen."

"Head's up?" Raven questioned.

"Like a warning," Marc supplied.

"Why didn't he just say so?" Raven said.

Marc gave Axel a helpless look, but Axel ignored them both. He continued on with his instructions. "Marc and I will go between the floors or just keep an eye on the stair well. Nobody should be heading up here since we have the whole floor to ourselves. Oh, and don't assume anything."

"Like what?" he asked.

I answered before Axel could. It was all of our safety on the line, so it broke down any barriers caused by shyness. "Ivanov recruits all people. From children to elderly, female or male. Don't just assume that a drunken teenager is a drunken teenager."

There was a silence again as they took in my words before everyone dispersed. Nathan squatted down next to the bed as Karl stood up, his arms crossed.

Corey got some medical supplies ready, but I stopped him for a moment.

"Would it be okay if I showered first? I'd really like to wash the...tank off of me," I said slowly.

Corey and Nathan turned to Karl in an eerie movement of coordination. Since he was calling the shots, I looked Karl's way also. He seemed to think about it. "Yea, sure. Go ahead and shower, but you have to make it quick."

I nodded, but Corey gripped my arm to stop me. "We're serious, Sang. You have to be fast. Doc is worried about infection. We need to get you looked at to see if we have to go to the hospital or not."