Tears were spilling down Alik’s cheeks as he watched them load her into the ambulance and begin their stabilizing techniques. A warming blanket was put on her body and an IV was started.
Another paramedic came up to Alik trying to get him to lie down on a stretcher, too. He would have to be treated for a gaping head wound with possible concussion and smoke inhalation. Not a good mix.
Alik didn’t care what they did to him as long as he could stay next to his mom as they did it. If he could look over at her, reach out and touch her, they could do whatever they wanted to him. He just wanted to be with his mom.
He was put on a stretcher next to his mother. Just before he passed out from his raging headache, he saw them put a bag to her face and start to breathe for her.
Oh, please God, was his last conscious thought.
Chapter 58 Find a Way Out
Evan reached the bottom of the seven-story building and frantically looked around for an exit. The front entrance was completely blocked by huge debris from the explosions.
He remembered there were connecting corridors to each of the four smaller buildings, but it was dark and smoky and he was worried about tripping on something and dropping Meg.
“Maze, buddy, we need your help,” Evan pleaded. “Find a way out, Maze. I need you to find a way for me to get Meg out of here.” Evan looked into the coyote’s soft yellow eyes.
And with a quick bark, Maze bolted. Evan looked down at his sister in his arms. “I just sent Maze to find us a way out. I hope he understood me because without him, we’re in trouble.”
As he continued making his way through the darkness looking for a lighted “exit” sign, Evan wondered why there were no fire sprinklers going off. Why would you have all of this important research here and not have multiple fire extinguishing mechanisms? Something wasn’t right.
Not two minutes had passed before Evan’s thoughts were interrupted by Maze howling. He carefully followed the sound of Maze’s voice. He was so turned around after walking in the dark; he honestly didn’t know which direction he was heading. He had to completely trust Maze to lead them to safety.
Evan was mumbling to himself, “Maze if you found a way out for us, I’m getting you the biggest steak you’ve ever seen.” And just as he finished his sentence, Evan felt cold air blow in toward him. Maze barked happily at an opening in the wall. “You did it, Maze! You’re awesome!”
Evan was so thankful to see emergency vehicles that he nearly cried. Nearly.
Exiting the building with Maze at his heels, Evan started to yell, “HELP, Help! My sister’s hurt! Help!”
Two paramedics came running pushing a stretcher. Evan laid his sister down gently on it and watched as the professionals tended to her. He felt so much relief to have gotten his big sister to safety, but in his mind he was calculating how much blood she possibly lost.
Even as he was thinking it, one of the paramedics said, “She’s lost a lot of blood. We need to get her some O-Neg stat!”
Evan’s mind raced. If he and his siblings had been treated with a mind altering formula that hyper developed their bodies and intellect, then maybe they had different blood than regular people. Maybe regular blood would hurt Meg, not help her.
“She can have mine. She’s my sister and we have the same rare blood type. Take my blood and give it to her.” Evan said all this with a calmness in his voice that made the adults around him stop and stare.
“Get in the ambulance; we’re taking her to Saint Frances Medical Center. We can get your blood transfusion there,” the paramedic said and finished pushing my sister’s stretcher into the rig. Evan climbed in next, and just before the doors were slammed shut, Maze jumped into the ambulance. He stood protectively next to Meg’s unconscious body. The paramedics looked at each other with wide eyes.
“There’s a coyote in here,” one of the paramedics whispered.
“He’s with us,” Evan said patting the coyote’s soft fur. Maze let out a soft whimper and licked his hand.
Not willing to argue, the paramedics signaled the driver to move. Moments later they were speeding down the highway with lights and sirens blaring.
Chapter 59 Saint Frances
The emergency room was busy though all other ambulances had been diverted to surrounding hospitals while St. Frances took all the injured from The Institute’s explosions.
The first ambulance rig to arrive carried a female in her forties and a male who looked mid-teens. The paramedics only knew that they were mother and son but had no other identification or background information to share with the emergency staff.