Into the Mist (Into the Mist 1)

CHAPTER

9

IMANI AND MERCURY half dragged, half carried six laden baskets each back to the foyer. Karen was standing beside the willow-like woman Gemma had called Doctor Hilary. She held a candle for light as the doc bandaged a woman’s bloody arm with long strips of torn sheets that Karen handed to her. The doctor looked up at the sound the baskets made, and nodded in relief.

“Yes, good. Ladies, light those candles and put them around the mattresses, then pull out all the bottles of analgesics you found and start administrating them to the patients. When you do give the patients the medicine, note on the paper I’ve tucked under the head of each mattress the time, what you’ve given them, and the amount—which should be double the dosage on the bottle. Be sure you ask each person if they have any known allergies first. If they do, let me know.”

“How do we know which people should get the pills?” asked Mercury.

“If they’re conscious and not hooked up to an IV, that means I haven’t given them morphine and they need pain relief. Gemma can help you if you need it. Oh, I’m Dr. Hilary, and you are?”

“Mercury Rhodes.”

“Imani Andrews.”

“Do either of you have medical training or experience?”

“We’re high school biology and science teachers,” said Imani.

“That’s better than nothing. Oh, bring me any antibiotic salve you found—like Neosporin. Did you come across any rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide?” Dr. Hilary asked.

“No peroxide, but there were a few bottles of rubbing alcohol and some tubes of Neosporin,” said Mercury.

“Excellent, bring those to me, please,” the doctor asked before she returned focus to her patient. Karen smiled nervously at Mercury and Imani but followed Dr. Hilary closely and continued handing her strips of cloth for bandages.

“Here are a couple pens I got from that gift shop.” Gemma seemed to materialize beside them. “Come on. I’ll help you guys.” She was already squatting beside the baskets filled with a hodgepodge of items from the convenience store. The teenager had no trouble finding the bottles of analgesics. She lifted one and called across the room to Dr. Hilary. “Hey, Doc, we should start with acetaminophen before ibuprofen, right?”

Dr. Hilary didn’t look up from the woman’s head she was bandaging, but nodded and said, “Yes, of course.”

“Okay, that means we need to find all the bottles of Tylenol,” said Gemma as she uncovered the bottles of alcohol they’d loaded into the baskets.

“Because ibuprofen treats pain and inflammation, and acetaminophen only treats pain,” said Imani as she crouched and began going through her baskets.

“You two are practically mini-doctors.” Mercury said as she went through her own baskets.

“I read a lot,” said Gemma with a shrug.

Imani spoke automatically. “And I’m a mom. We know things.” Her hands stilled and she whispered, “Or I was a mom.”

Gemma touched her shoulder gently. “You’ll always be a mom.”

Imani squeezed Gemma’s hand and nodded before she returned to picking through the baskets.

“Need help?” asked Stella.

“Always,” said Mercury. “We’re looking for alcohol, Neosporin, and acetaminophen. Where’s Jenny?”

Stella squatted beside her. “She went to the utility room with that Bob guy—the lodge’s handyman, who has a bloody nose. He thinks he can get the generator to work. Says there’s one on this side of the lodge.”

“I thought the EMP fried everything,” said Mercury.

“Apparently, if it wasn’t in use when the blast happened, and if the generator wasn’t damaged, we should be able to have power as long as the natural gas lines weren’t torn up.”

Imani’s head snapped up. “Wait, shit! Did you say EMP? You mean those bombs are nuclear?”

“That’s real bad,” said Gemma softly.

“There are other bombs that cause an EMP that aren’t nuclear,” said Mercury. “I was looking directly at Portland when the bomb exploded there, and I’m definitely not blind. If it was a nuclear detonation, I believe it would’ve damaged my retinas.”