The McClane Apocalypse Book Nine

by Kate Morris

  “Maybe we should let her,” Cory says as he carefully walks toward him with the tiny cup. “I read once that dog saliva is said to contain natural antibiotics.”

  “I’m not taking that chance with Sam. With you, I’d let her.”

  Cory chuckles. “Here.”

  He places the tea beside Simon on the stand.

  “Get a cold, wet rag and rest it against her forehead. She’s burning up.”

  Cory doesn’t even question. He just leaves to fetch whatever Simon needs. He returns even faster and places a white cloth on Sam’s sweaty forehead. She thrashes slightly and tosses her head back and forth on the pillow.

  “I’ve just about got this cleaned out and sanitized. I’m going to forego the homemade antibiotic salve Doc makes. We did earlier today, but it must not have worked.”

  “Why not?” Cory asks from Sam’s shoulder where he has his hand resting and she is still whimpering.

  He can’t think about that right now. He has to get her better. “Not sure. I’m instead going to make a sugar paste and apply it.”

  “Got it. What do you need?”

  “Everything is here in the clinic. Sugar, hydrogen peroxide and polyethylene glycol. It’ll be thick and keep out new bacteria and heal the infected flesh.”

  “Let me get that stuff.”

  Together, they mix it on the back counter, then Simon applies it immediately to her leg, winces when she does, and rewraps it with clean bandaging.

  “I’m going to leave you to watch her. I want to talk to Robert’s doctors. I know some of them are working the midnight shift with the Campbell Kids. I’d like to get their opinions.”

  “Don’t second guess yourself, Simon,” Cory says quietly and coos to Sam. “You’ve got this.”

  “I’m not, but they have compounded antibiotics over there. I think I could administer what they’re using for the Scarlet Fever on the Campbell Kids on Sam. It’s going to be stronger than what we have that’s homemade. I could run an IV line on her.”

  “Ok, go,” Cory urges. “I’ll stay with her.”

  “See if you can’t get her to wake enough to take that tea. She needs it, Cory, all of it. I’ll be back.”

  “Sure thing.”

  He runs through the drizzle to the town hall where he finds two of Robert’s scientists on duty. One of them hurries back to the clinic with him and inspects Sam for herself. Dr. Avery immediately agrees with Simon’s idea of the antibiotics. She’s never heard of the sugar paste for wounds but is interested in knowing more. Then he follows her back to their lab and gets an IV bag, drip line, and the bag of antibiotics to administer through it. She warns him that it is a very painful way of giving this medicine and that an ice pack used to be applied to the patient’s hand and arm to help reduce the soreness. They don’t exactly have ice, so he’ll have to improvise.

  “I got her to take the tea,” Cory tells him as soon as he’s in the room again.

  Simon removes his wet coat, tossing it on the floor in the corner. “Good, I’m gonna need your help. Do not let her move or thrash about until I have this line run. If she’s at all dehydrated, and she probably is because of the fever, then this could be difficult to get in. Plus, Dr. Avery said that it’s very painful, this medicine. I’ve heard that from Herb, too. He said antibiotics like these through an IV are painful. He said some patients complained it was like a sledgehammer hitting their bone.”

  “Fuck,” Cory remarks. “This is gonna suck.”

  “Just stay with me,” Simon orders firmly so that his friend doesn’t lose it. “I need your help.”

  Cory’s head jerks up, and they lock eyes. He nods. “Yeah, no problem. I’m not going anywhere.”

  They work together, and Simon is able to get the stick in on the first try in Sam’s small arm. She flinches in her fever-laden sleep.

  “Hold her still,” Simon warns. “This is the painful part.”

  “Shit, bro. That looked like the painful part. Damn. It’s just weird ‘cuz it’s Sam, ya’ know? She’s like my little sis.”

  “Steady. Here it goes,” Simon tells him and sets up the antibiotic bag on the same IV hanger using the piggyback method, making sure the antibiotic is at a higher elevation. Usually, Sam does this part. Now she’s relying on him to get it right. That doesn’t make him feel any better about the situation. “I’m gonna go out back and pump water from the cold storage tank. It’s the closest thing we’ve got to ice. It should be really cold tonight.”

  “No, let me. You stay with her.”

  He nods as his friend runs from the room. He returns, and Simon dips a new cloth into the icy water. The cold water cloths help the pain because she stops moaning and trying to thrash to get away from the source of pain in her arm. A few times he has to stay her left hand from pulling at the IV and swiping at the pain she feels. He shushes her and coos to her and doesn’t care what Cory thinks. He’s genuinely, gravely concerned this infection might kill Sam.

  Cory leaves and comes back with two folding chairs and offers one to him, which he gladly takes. This night is far from over, even though the sun will rise in a few hours.

  “So, do you think Dr. Avery’s hot?” Cory asks.

  Simon’s gaze shoots up to his friend’s, and he can tell he’s just messing with him. They both laugh. It feels good to laugh, and he’s always had Cory around to make him, even in the worst of situations.

  “Seriously, bro,” Cory rounds back to the topic in a more thoughtful tone this time. “I think she might be interested in you.”

  Simon just scoffs and changes the subject.

  They sit together and occasionally talk as his mutt guards the door again. Her fever breaks about an hour later, but Simon knows that this does not mean it won’t return or that she has miraculously healed. The meds are just working, which does provide him with some hope. Infection can become an ugly beast, spread, and tear up the immune system. At its worst, it can internalize and attack organs, shut down systems, and cause permanent tissue and limb damage and even death. He tries not to let his mind travel to those possibilities, but Herb and Reagan have trained him so well that it seems ridiculous not to consider them. It’s his job to keep her alive and out of harm’s way, even from injury and illness. This task is self-inflicted and certainly not something Samantha condones, but Simon can’t help but feel protective of her. They’ve been through too much together, experienced some of the worst that life has to offer that he just naturally wants to keep her safe and secure. She deserves that much. One little person shouldn’t have to keep enduring pain and suffering.

  Cory makes him laugh every so often with the stupid stories he tells him, and Simon is thankful for the distraction, which he knows is being done on purpose. He has missed the companionship of his friend. Simon just wishes that it hadn’t returned under these circumstances.

  Chapter Eleven

  Cory

  “I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Paige says to her best friend and holds her hand.

  Cory is standing next to her. They’ve all been anxious about Sam. He went home to the farm to help out and also went a few days ago to spy on the assholes again, but Simon has not left her side.

  Sam’s fevers and infection finally cleared up last night. She was ill for nearly a week, worrying everyone, especially Simon and Herb. Her brother was so distressed over Sam’s well-being, he’d sent for Herb, who John had immediately brought back to town after dawn without hesitation. Even Robert’s doctors had gotten involved with her care. Everyone loves Sam. Cory feels very much the same, and he doesn’t know what he’d do without his little friend.

  “Me, too,” Sam replies. “I don’t like being stuck in bed. I’m ready to get up and get moving.”

  Paige laughs. “I’m sure you are. You’ve had a lot of people very worried about you, young lady.”

  Sam smiles weakly and squeezes Paige’s hand. She is lying in bed on the second floor of the house they all stay in when they come to town. Just yesterday morni
ng, they’d transferred her to this spot from the clinic so she’d be more comfortable.

  “We just want you to get better, kiddo,” Cory says and pats her slim shoulder.

  “I want to go home. I want a shower!” Sam cries out softly from the fluffy pile of pillows propped behind her.

  Paige smiles and says, “I’m sure. Herb said you could get a shower tonight if you felt up to it.”

  “Do I ever!” she exclaims, making Paige laugh.

  “I just saw your uncle outside,” Cory tells her. “He looks like he’s slept about as much as Simon.”

  Sam lowers her gaze. “Yes, they’ve both been here a lot.”

  “Simon hasn’t left your side for more than a few minutes in the last week. He was worried sick about you.”

  Sam sighs and nods. “Are you guys going on that run tonight? John said something about it. I wasn’t sure.”

  “Yes, we’re going with Dave and his sniper. Luke’s going with me and Red here. He’s going in with a few of Dave’s men, and Paige and I are going to try and find those women. Luke will be working on gathering intel from the inside. Derek’s our driver.”

  “Are you scared?” Sam asks Paige.

  She shakes her head, “No, not really. I used to do this all the time. I’d rather sneak around and not confront anyone than get into a war with them. They guys will be with me, too, so that’s comforting. I used to do it by myself without backup. We couldn’t afford for all three of us to go together on trips to scout for supplies, not with Maddie. She was hard enough to keep quiet as it was without taking her into an abandoned grocery store. So I just got used to going it alone. Gavin and I would take turns.”

  “Just be careful,” Sam warns and gives her hand a gentle squeeze.

  “Want me to help you with a shower?” she offers.

  “No, I think I can manage.”

  “I’ve got a while before we leave,” Paige says. “Let me help. Just in case you get dizzy or slip and fall.”

  “Sure,” Sam agrees and flings away the blanket.

  “Besides, it’s either I help, or you’re gonna get stuck with Simon. He was already against you getting out of bed.”

  “I’ve been getting out of bed since yesterday morning,” Sam informs her.

  “Yeah, but this is Simon we’re talking about,” Cory jokes and pats her arm.

  Paige jumps when her brother says from the doorway, “What were you saying about me?”

  “That you have this weird rash that…” Cory starts teasing but is smacked by Paige.

  “Geesh, Cory!” Paige complains. “I was just saying that you worry too much. Sam wants to take a shower, and I’m going to sit in the bathroom with her in case she feels weak.”

  “I can do that,” he says and strides into the room with authority.

  Cory smirks, knowing that Sam will not tolerate any obstinate, overbearing behavior from Simon. She might be small, but Samantha Patterson is a force not to be reckoned with.

  “I don’t think so!” Sam retorts.

  The look of puzzlement on his face is funny to Cory, and Paige even laughs at her brother. He genuinely doesn’t understand why Sam wouldn’t want him in the bathroom with her. He is so clueless.

  “Just think of me as your doctor, Sam,” Simon reasons.

  She scoffs and waves away his hand, “No.”

  Paige laughs and pats Simon on the shoulder, “We’ve got this, Dr. Murphy. You may stand outside the bathroom door, but that’s it.”

  “Fine, but I’ll help you to the bathroom,” he complies. “I don’t want you to fall or stumble. You could do damage to your wound or the incision…”

  “I know that,” Sam returns impatiently.

  Paige stands back as her brother gently pulls Sam to her feet and moves his hands to her slim shoulders to steady her. Without preamble, he ducks slightly and wraps an arm around her waist and takes her right arm and hooks it around his neck.

  “I’ll be your crutches. Just lean into me and keep that leg straight.”

  Sam takes a deep breath, her brow pinching together as if she is annoyed with Simon but takes his advice.

  It doesn’t take long for her to shower, and she is slightly winded and tired after as she limps with Simon’s help again to the bedroom where Cory waits for them. He excuses himself so that she can get dressed in peace. When he returns, mostly in case Paige needs his help with her, Cory sits in a chair in the corner as Paige towel dries Sam’s hair for her and braids it into two, thick braids on either side of her head. Then she presses a kiss to her forehead. Sam is out a few minutes later, but Cory is left thinking about Paige doing those motherly deeds with their kids someday, which makes him long for children with her, something he never would’ve thought of himself doing.

  They tiptoe quietly from the room only to find her brother sitting on the top step leading downstairs.

  “Is she ok? Do you need my help again?” he asks as he jumps to his feet.

  Cory smiles. He is so transparent when it comes to Sam.

  “No, she’s fine, sleeping actually,” he answers for them. “You should get some rest, too. You don’t look like you’ve had much lately. Or are you trying to grow a full beard on purpose? All you need is a pipe and a cardigan, and you’d really look like a professor.”

  He sneers at Cory and rubs his stubble, and Paige laughs and ruffles his unruly, wavy hair.

  “Get a shower, little brother,” she says. “Go to bed.”

  Simon frowns at his sister, “Right! How could I possibly sleep tonight knowing where you’re going and what you’ll be doing?”

  “Don’t worry,” she says. “You heal people. Sometimes you also have to fight and kill them,” Paige remarks with matter of fact frankness, to which her brother frowns harder. “Well, you do. But this is what I do best, Simon. I did this to stay alive. I did it to forage for things to keep my friends and a baby alive another day on this earth. This is what I can do to contribute. I have stealth skills. I may not have many others, but I have this. And, more importantly, I want to help.”

  He wrestles with his own indecision but finally nods. “Fine. It’s not like you’d listen to me if I said no anyway.”

  “Probably not,” she agrees and hugs him to her. Simon squeezes her so tightly as if it’s the last time he’ll ever see her. “I’ll be careful. Cory will watch out for me.”

  “Yes, I will,” Cory promises and rests his hand briefly on his friend’s shoulder. “Don’t worry.”

  He nods against the top of her head, glares at Cory, and releases her. “I’d feel better if was going with you, too.”

  Cory then pats his shoulder roughly and says, “Bro, you can’t. You’ve got nothing left in the tank. You need rest. You look like a damn zombie. And, besides, John said no, so you can’t go.”

  His mouth pinches together tightly as if this still angers him.

  Cory punches him in the shoulder this time and says, “Keep an eye out for little Sam. That’s the most important thing you can do tonight.”

  After midnight, they pack the truck and leave. Derek drives, John rides shotgun, and she sits in the back with Cory, which is nice since he doesn’t get a lot of time with her when the family and especially Simon are around. They drive to the BB King restaurant again, meet with Dave and a few of his men, and plan their night.

  “Got those schematics,” Dave announces and pulls a rolled-up wad of papers from his bag. “One of the women we took in had worked at the county courthouse, and a few of the guys escorted her to get these.”

  “Cool,” John remarks. “This’ll make it easier to figure out where we’re going.”

  Dave talks with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, “No, shit. Now, that kid said these idiots have rooms over here, to the north.”

  “Right,” Derek agrees. “The main entry is here,” he says, pointing, “and then this long section here to the right is a huge atrium. That’s where they’re growing their food. He said their using hydraulic power, water-power o
r hydroelectric, to fuel their power source. He said that’s in the main atrium, lobby area. Restaurants were there, shops, site seeing crap.”

  “Ooh,” Cory jokes, “I’m gettin’ a steak dinner tonight.”

  “You might be eating lead if you don’t pay attention, knucklehead,” John teases right back.

  Cory laughs and says, trying to be serious, “So, we’re looking for the women.”

  “Right, you need to reach that main corridor on the third floor, back here,” Derek states, pointing to the place on the schematic. “This floor here is where the women are supposed to be housed. There are guards, or there’s supposed to be guards, down here posted at the end of this hallway.”

  “Cory will take care of them,” Dave tells her.

  Paige nods nervously. He can tell she doesn’t really want to think about the logistics of this statement. She knows exactly what Dave means.

  “Over here,” Derek says, “is your exit. You’re going to need to make it to this one with the mother. If you can’t get to this exit for some reason, then your next option is down here, down this long hall. I wouldn’t recommend it. The kid said he’s not sure what’s beyond that point because he was never allowed past there.”

  John points to another area of the map, “The executive suites are housed mostly over here, and that’s where the boss is and most of his men. They keep the men and women separated with the exception of those doing work or guarding.”

  “And watch out for this area,” Dave warns. “This here is where the men running patrols come through with supplies. One group pulls up to the front. The other pulls up here in the back. There’s a parking garage below ground. We think that’s where they enter when they come through the back. That’s a dangerous place to dilly dally. They mostly leave with five to ten men on each run, sometimes more since we’ve been taking them out. They’re getting paranoid, so they’re running bigger and bigger groups out.”