Page 9 of Chaos Destiny
“Write me a list,” Omar tried again.
I shook my head. “I can’t write you a list of every antibiotic I can think of. Omar, stop asking. I’m coming. If you’d like to run and tell Allen, be my guest, but by the time you get back, I’ll be gone.”
Allen was the “leader” of our encampment.
That made me the encampment’s “First Lady.”
It didn’t start as a relationship in the most traditional sense of the word, but people looked up to me as much as they looked up to him. However, for me, it had nothing to do with love or affection. Being the leader’s girl gave me privileges that should have been afforded to me, anyhow, as the only doctor in sight. Still, most of what I’d been able to accomplish had come from Allen saying whether I was allowed.
“If you’re going, we’ll need more manpower,” Omar said. “Can you at least let me get more people together?”
“Our group right now, the way it is, is fine. Plus, if we dawdle any longer, we might run into Allen, which’ll be a whole thing.” I raised an eyebrow. “Or is that exactly what you want to happen?”
Without giving him a chance to respond, I headed to the front gates, strapped with two pistols, a navy combat knife, and an M6 rifle. Nothing short of strapping me to a bed would get me to avoid going. Our camp needed medication. We needed antibiotics the most. Viral infections, we could treat with supportive care. We’d already had a few colds and unidentified upper respiratory illnesses pass through. Bacterial infections, unchecked, spelled a long, drawn-out death in situations like these.
Omar begrudgingly ordered the gate open.
I started off at the head of the six-person team, who hurried to keep up with me, creating a perimeter around my body like they were the Secret Service. Omar fell in step next to me. As far as we knew, we were the only two who survived the CDC raid.
“So, is there a specific antibiotic you’re looking for?” he asked.
I scanned the woods for movement. “Azithromycin or erythromycin.”
“Anything else?”
“Anything we can find. IV fluid would be nice. We couldpotentiallymake some, but the risk of contamination is too high.”
“I agree. We barely have somewhere clean to take a shit.”
I slid him a glance.
He grinned, a thin space between his two front teeth in the top row. Despite the nights being cooler, the days could get scorching. Sweat was already glistening on his brown forehead, soaking the tight curls along his hairline. He was a former Marine, called in on special duty once the task force was assembled. From the moment Omar and I met, it was like two cousins who’d been best friends as children running into each other after a decade of not seeing one another.
Another good shot in our group, Tasia, let out a loud whistle. “Damn. Why’s it so hot today? We’re almost in October.”
“Almost,” I reminded her. “Fall’s not here yet, but that’s why Allen went out with that group today. To prep for a South Carolina winter. I’m not familiar with the area, but he grew up here.”
“So did I,” she said. “I don’t see why we have to listen to him like his words are from the Bible.”
The other four looked at her like she’d blasphemed.
“Where would we be without Allen?” Omar asked. “Hey, Phil, where would you be without Allen? Dude saved you and your dog.”
Phil shrugged, his shaggy dark hair blowing in the wind. “Omar’s right, Tasia. I was out there by myself before Allenshowed up. So were,” he pointed with his chin, “Memphis and Dallas, the wonder twins.”
Memphis plucked a blade of grass. “Me and Dallas would’ve been just fine. We grew up in the country. The only difference between then and now? All the people.”
Dallas, Phil, and Omar laughed.
Tasia rolled her eyes.
I remained quiet.
It had been so long since I’d seen the world beyond our encampment’s walls. All we’d met so far were woods, but I felt the difference in the air.
The emptiness.
I’d always believed that human life could be sensed by other humans, even from great distances. As the trees wound endlessly down the roads and along the river, I felt, in my bones, that there would be only nothingness at the end of the broad, twisting stream.
