Finding Humanity: Book 3 in the Saving Humanity Series

CHAPTER 16

Caleb, Matt, and the soldiers pulled into Sanctuary in silence. After fleeing the overrun bunker, they needed a plan. Surprisingly, Caleb still had the satellite phone Venger had given him, so he called to see if they could spend some time in town, to regroup and formulate a plan. He also wanted to make sure they hadn't been attacked, and have them keep an eye out for RBZs. Venger was more than happy to take them in, and he waited for them as they pulled through the gate. Caleb climbed out of the Jeep slowly, still holding his injured arm close to his body.

"Looks like things went sideways when you got back to the bunker." Venger placed his hands on his hips and looked Caleb up and down. "You all right?"

He shook his head. His arm throbbed, and the pulses sent agony from his arm all the way into his rib cage.

"You want Doc to take a look atcha?" He winked.

Despite his pain, Caleb couldn't help a small smile from touching his lips. "This time, I do."

True stepped forward and jerked her head to the side. "C'mon. We'll get you taken care of."

He fell in step next to her, and they headed for the building that Samuel had been in when the RBZs attacked the first time he'd been here. Caleb pushed the memory from his mind. He couldn't focus on the destruction the creatures had caused. He had to stay focused, and get his head in the game to take down the large, rotting threats.

"Where's Jan?" True asked.

Caleb winced hearing her name.

"Oh, no," True breathed. Her bottom lip trembled. "I'm sorry."

"She's not dead," Caleb said firmly.

True flinched at the harshness in his voice. "Oh."

She stared at Caleb, waiting for him to elaborate, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her the story. Part of it was because the pain was so intense, the ability to think clearly was being lost. The other reason was because if he kept it to himself, maybe he could convince himself the situation hadn't happened. As thoughts of the mangled Jeep ran through his mind, guilt flooded through him. He had been the one to send her back to the vehicle, to her doom. Maybe she would have been safer with him, in the bunker. Maybe she wouldn't have become a target.

And maybe a regular would have eaten her. This is why it's better for you to be on your own. Then all you have to worry about is yourself.

Caleb cringed. The voice had a point: Jan could have gotten eaten, and that would have made him feel worse. Even though the situation wasn't ideal, at least she was still alive. True opened the door to the medical building, and Caleb pulled himself out of his thoughts and stepped through. Doc stood in the hallway, examining some papers on a clipboard, and looked up when the pair stepped closer to him. His eyes drifted over Caleb, and he pushed his eyebrows together as his gaze fell on his arm.

"I can tell from here that that's not good." He tucked the clipboard under his left arm and held his right out to Caleb. "Let's get you to x-ray, and see how bad it is." He turned to True. "I got it from here. Thank you."

Caleb would have turned and thanked True, as well, but all he could focus on was the pain. In the darkness, the voice kept whispering that if he had been on his own, this would have never happened. He let Doc lead him to the x-ray room.

Caleb sat in a recliner, with his arm propped up on pillows and an ice bag on top of his flesh. The room had an incredibly homey feel to it; it didn't feel or look like a medical facility at all. Caleb liked that. It made him feel relaxed—unlike Maudas' lab, which made him feel like an experiment. The pain continued to throb through his arm, but it wasn't as intense as it had been before. He knew it was broken. When he'd placed it on the table for the x-rays, the angle of his forearm was off. As he sat there and let the machine do its job, it occurred to Caleb that the whole process was pointless. There was an easy fix to his problem. Well, an easy-ish fix. Finding some blood could prove to be challenging. Until he could figure that part out, he had to play the role of regular patient.