Page 31 of Into the Mist

“’Kay,” Mercury said. “Does anyone know where Tyler is?”

Jenny nodded shakily. “Uh, yeah. He was in the generator shed with us. He stayed behind to—well, I’m not sure why, but he seemed to know what he was doing, and Bob trusted him.”

“Would you go get him?” Mercury asked as she took a length of torn towel Karen had dropped and covered Bob’s face with it. “Then we can help him move Bob.”

“Sure.” Jenny left quickly and retraced the blood-spattered trail Bob had left behind.

The doctor stood and rolled her shoulders.

“Hey, um, Dr. Hilary?” The voice came from a woman who lay on the mattress closest to Bob. She had a bandage around her thigh, but other than that she appeared uninjured.

Hilary drew a deep breath and raised her chin before she responded. “Yes, Nicole.”

“Are we all going to die like that?”

Gemma spoke before the doctor could. “No. You’re not bleeding out. Look at your bandage. After Dr. Hilary sewed your cut closed, it stopped bleeding. Your nose isn’t bloody, right?”

“Right,” Nicole said as she stared at the clean bandage that swathed her right thigh.

“And you haven’t coughed any blood, right?” Gemma asked.

“Right again.” This time Nicole looked at the teenager and smiled. “I actually don’t feel too awful. Well, my leg hurts and I’m hungry, but that’s it.”

“Then I’m going to agree with Gemma,” said the doctor. “As long as we keep your wound clean, my prognosis is that you will recover.” Hilary raised her voice so that it carried to the other patients spread out on mattresses circling the blazing hearth. “No one else has been bleeding like Bob. So, I do not believe any of your injuries are life threatening, but the truth is we don’t know how the green fog works on any of us. Bob walked around for most of the day with a bloody nose before that escalated and cost him his life. So, please don’t panic, but do let Gemma or me know if you start feeling odd or begin bleeding.”

“And I can help with the hungry part,” Stella spoke up. “I’m one hell of a cook, and Bob said that the gas is working. I’ll go see what I can make to feed us—unless the Cascade chef is in here somewhere—and then I’ll be an excellent sous chef.”

Hilary cleared her throat and then under her breath said, “The chef is dead. So is his staff.”

Stella nodded grimly then smiled at the room. “Let me see what I can do.”

“That sounds really good,” said Nicole.

“You be the chef. I’ll be your sous chef,” said Mercury.

“And I can bake biscuits from scratch,” said Imani.

“Sounds great—unless the doc needs you; then I can manage.”

Hilary waved them away. “Go ahead. We can handle it out here. Food’s pretty important right now.”

Gemma stood and wiped her bloody hands on the towel she’d tied around her waist like an apron. “What’s next, Doc?”

Hilary smiled at the teenager, which changed the doctor’s face from pleasant to beautiful. “Clean up the blood. Finish dosing ourpatients and placing ice packs. I have two more breaks to splint, and I believe only one more laceration that needs to be sewn—for all three I could use your help.”

Jenny returned with Tyler, whose eyes were red and cheeks blotchy from crying.

“Darn it. I really liked Bob,” he said sadly and crossed himself as he gazed down at the dead man. Then his eyes found Gemma. “Your mom told me to tell you that she’s outside with Ken. He, um, didn’t find anyone alive and was pretty broken up about it.”

Gemma nodded. “Thanks, Tyler. Mom’s a good listener. I hope she can help Ken, but I also hope she doesn’t stay outside too long.” Her gaze went to a window from which the ashen light of an unnaturally dark sky stained the foyer gray. Then the girl sighed and headed to the mattress that held a middle-aged woman whose arm jutted out at an awkward angle from her body.

“She’s one tough kid,” said Imani.

Mercury brushed her hair from her face. “I was just thinking the same.”

“Everyone underestimates teenagers,” said Stella.

“You mean everyone who doesn’t teach them for a living,” corrected Mercury.