Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 97275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
“Sure you did. What do we have today?” I asked while scanning the charts.
“It must me a full moon, the whole floor is filled; we’re actually having to double up patients to rooms.” Cheyenne informed me.
It was six hours into my shift before we got our first break. I’d called Max about twenty minutes before, and just took my eighteenth bathroom break of the day when the power went out. It had been flickering on and off for the entire shift, and we’d prepared for it to go out almost as soon as I got on shift.
We checked every single battery in every single machine that resided on this floor. We also informed the patients that if the power did go out, not to panic. We had hospital policies that prepared us for any possibility when the lights went out, except one. They didn’t tell me how to prepare for a killer set on taking you out, and didn’t care about babies getting hurt in the process.
Alpha scratched at the door frantically, and I assumed that it was Max on the other side, but when I opened the door, nobody was there. Alpha slunk out the door and into the hallway, leaving me behind. Good thing the battery on my phone was fully charged as I was now down a guide dog who left me high and dry in the dark.
The high pitch cry of a baby screaming in pain had me dashing through the corridor and straight up to the nurse’s station. Just as I rounded the corner, I tripped over something and fell to my hands and knees. Pain radiated up my arm, but all I could think about was how thankful I was that I’d caught myself before falling on my belly.
I may not be showing much at this point, but it was definitely there if my pants have anything to say about it. It was just the tiniest of bumps. It fit perfectly in the palm of Max’s hand, which seems to have a permanent home there whenever we are within reaching distance of each other.
I ignore the pain in my arm, as well as the stinging in my knees that signals that most likely, I’ve broken the skin, and turn to see what tripped me. It doesn’t register with me at first, but then I see the long curly blonde hair and it takes everything I have to hold the throw up that wants to exit my stomach inside me. I crawl over to her quickly using the hair as a guide since my phone is now somewhere I can’t see it. Once I reach her head, I feel something slick, but continue to run my hand over her face until I reach the crook of her neck.
Her pulse is steady and strong, and I release a breath that I didn’t realize I was holding. Just as I was standing to find someone to help me, I heard a noise that chilled me to the bone. Alpha’s growl warned me that something wasn’t right, and I needed to find a place to hide. I couldn’t hide though, if something was wrong, there were eighteen babies on this floor that didn’t have the same warning that I’d just gotten.
Moving the desk chair out from under the counter, I dragged Cheyenne’s limp body over to the little nook and folded her inside. I felt her front pockets and was elated to find her phone there, yet quickly deflated when I couldn’t figure out how to work it. It was a brand new one that I had absolutely no idea how to even open, so I shoved it back into her pocket. I shoved the chair in front of her. Most likely she wouldn’t be seen anyway, but more is better and all that.
A quick survey of the floor and surroundings yielded nothing, and I cursed beneath my breath. Crawling on my hands and knees, I peek around the nurse’s station and see my phone lying face up illuminating the hallway. I crawled quickly to it and called Max.
“I’m about five minutes away, there was a wreck at the intersection in front of the hospital, or maybe it’s just an abandoned car, hell I don’t know. I went around the side street and am just pull…” Max was saying before I interrupted him.
“Something’s wrong. The powers out, I found Cheyenne unconscious with a head wound, and Alpha is somewhere on this floor growling at something.” I whispered as quietly as I could.
“Fuck me. Can you go hide somewhere?” He asked. I could hear a commotion in the background, almost as if he was running, but I couldn’t be sure.
I crawled along the hallway wall, keeping one shoulder on the wall so I wouldn’t get lost. “No can do, I have babies to take care of, and parents to warn.”
The first opening I came to signaled to me that I reached the first patient room. Pushing it open silently, I listened for a heartbeat before going in all the way. Since I could still hear Alpha growling, I made an educated guess that whatever was wrong wasn’t on this side of the floor. There were no sounds of TV, or moms talking to their babies, no sound whatsoever, and just as I made it to the bed, I heard a whimper.
“It’s okay, its Payton, I’m a nurse on this floor.” I whispered.
“Payton!” A voice hissed.
It took me a few moments to recognize who it was since she was whispering. I finally realized that it was another nurse that was normally on day shift. “What do you know?”
“Nothing. I came out just as the lights went out. This was the first room I came to so I could check on them. When I came out, I saw some woman standing behind Cheyenne with a flashlight. She swung it at the back of her head, and Cheyenne went down. I closed the door and haven’t moved since. I put the family into the bathroom.”