Red Hill Read Free Page B

long. Do you have someone with you today?”
    â€œJoey, my boyfriend.”
    â€œGood,” the doctor said, patting her hand.
    â€œAm I going to be okay?” she said, struggling to sit on her bony backside.
    Dr. Hayes smiled in the way I imagined him smiling while speaking to his daughters. “We’re going to take good care of you. Don’t worry.”
    I helped Dana step to the floor. “Leave your gown on,” I said, quickly grabbing another one and holding it behind her. “Slip this on behind you like a robe.” She slipped her tiny arms through the holes, and then I helped her to the chair beside the cabinet. “Go ahead and put on your shoes. I’ll be right back. Just try to relax.”
    â€œYep,” Dana said, trying to get comfortable.
    I grabbed her requisition off the counter and followed the doctor to the workroom.
    As soon as we were out of earshot, Dr. Hayes turned to me. “Try to talk to her some more. See if you can get something else out of her.”
    â€œI can try. All she mentioned out of the ordinary was the bite.”
    â€œYou’re sure it wasn’t an animal?”
    I shrugged. “She said it was some drunk guy. It looks infected.”
    Dr. Hayes looked at Dana’s abnormal gas patterns on the monitor once more. “That’s too bad. She seems like a sweet kid.”
    I nodded, somber. David and I traded glances, and then I took a breath, mentally preparing myself to carry such a heavy secret back into that room. Keeping her own death from her felt like a betrayal, even though we’d only just met.
    My sneakers made a ripping noise as they pulled away from the floor. “Ready?” I asked with a bright smile.

Chapter Two
    Scarlet
    BY LUNCH , DANA HAD ALREADY been in and out of surgery. Christy told us they only opened her up long enough to see there was nothing they could do, before closing her back up. Now they were waiting for her to awaken so they could tell her she would never get better.
    â€œHer boyfriend is still with her,” Christy said. “Her parents are visiting relatives. They’re not sure they’ll get back in time.”
    â€œOh, Jesus,” I said, wincing. I couldn’t imagine being away from either of my daughters in a situation like that, wondering if I would make it in time to see her alive one last time. I shook it off. Those of us in the medical field didn’t have the luxury of thinking about our patients’ personal lives. It became too close. Too real.
    â€œDid you hear about that flu?” Christy said. “It’s all over the news.”
    I shook my head. “I don’t think it’s a flu.”
    â€œThey’re saying it has to do with that scientist over in Europe. They say it’s highly contagious.”
    â€œWho are they ? They sound like troublemakers to me.”
    Christy smiled and rolled her eyes. “ They also said it’s breached our borders. California is reporting cases.”
    â€œReally?”
    â€œThat’s what they say,” she said. Her pager buzzed. “Damn, it’s getting busy.” She pushed a button and called upstairs, and then she was gone again.
    Within the hour, the hospital was crowded and frantic. The ER was admitting patients at a hectic pace, keeping everyone in radiology busy. David called in another tech so he and I could cover the ER while everyone else attended to outpatients and inpatients.
    Whatever it was, the whole town seemed to be going crazy. Car accidents, fights, and a fast-spreading virus had hit at the same time. On my sixth trip to the ER, I passed the radiology waiting room and saw a group of people crowded around the flat-screen television on the wall.
    â€œDavid?” I said, signaling for him to join me in front of the waiting room. He looked in through the wall of glass, noting the only seated person was a man in a wheelchair.
    â€œYeah?”
    â€œI have a bad feeling