The haggard look on his face relaxed. His twisted lips turned into a slight smile. He closed his eyes and let out a deep, ragged breath.
I wasn’t sure whether to sob or bust out laughing. In the end, I did a mixture of both, and I probably sounded like an emotional donkey.
Getting myself under control took a few moments, but once I did, I shook Stone again. “Keep talking, buddy. Keep talking. Don’t go to sleep.”
“I-I can’t,” he wheezed. “I’m s-so tired.”
“Tell me about the time you got kicked out of the homecoming dance freshman year. Remember that? C’mon, Stone, tell me!”
He mumbled something I couldn’t understand. This time, I didn’t think he was cracking a joke. If he closed his eyes for too long, I knew they might close for good. So I had to pull out all the stops. Every last trick in my bag.
“Stone, tell me about your comedy award in middle school. You know, I thought a couple others deserved it more, but…”
The paling flesh of his brow rose, wrinkled. That was a good sign. “You’re l-lucky I’m hurt, G-Grady.”
“Uh-huh, stay with me, Stone. Just stay with me.”
It was another two long minutes before help came. Eleanor’s steps stormed down the corridor. Lee followed her, looking like he’d seen a ghost.
“Is he okay?” Ell asked.
“Hanging in there,” I said.
“Doc Hart’s on her way. Nina too.” Ell bent down with Lee.
“Shit,” Lee mumbled. “Stone, brother, you’re lookin’ mighty rough.”
“I-I know,” Stone croaked. “Per u-usual, right?” A ghost of a smile crossed his face. Another good sign; I began thinking that things were going to be okay. That was, if the crazy people outside got handled and the power was turned back on.
Together Lee and Ell took Stone from my bloody lap and into the hospital. I stumbled behind them. They entered the nearest room and set him on the bed. Ell unzipped Stone’s jacket, and then lifted his shirt. Gently, Ell wiped some of the mess away. With her other hand she shined a flashlight on Stone’s chest. The bullet wound was tiny, and it was closer to his shoulder than his heart, thank God.
He exclaimed in pain. Suddenly, a newfound strength filled him and he gripped my arm, his nails digging into my flesh. I felt this, but only slightly. The whole scene had a way of making me forget about everything else.
“I think it went all the way through,” Ell said.
Lee had his back turned to us. He was chewing his nails. Through his fingers, he mumbled, “Yeah? It’s clean?”
“I-I think so,” Ell answered. ”From what I can see.” She pushed on Stone’s shoulder, making him turn a bit, and pointed to the exit wound. “See?”
I peered at the bloody mess. Stone’s fingers were still digging into my skin. He was shaking now. For the life of me, I couldn’t make heads or tails of what I was seeing. Ell was trained in that regard, I guess, but not so much me.
“There may be fragments inside,” Ell said. “Doc Hart’ll know better.”
Lee risked a glance. He shuddered at the sight and clamped a hand over his mouth, as if he was about to hurl.
The door to the room opened and in came Doc Hart and Nina. The doctor was timid, but when the time came for her to don the rubber gloves and white coat, she pretty much transformed into a different person.
“Everyone out!” she barked.
Lee bolted, and Ell sidled out of Doc Hart’s path, but I stood my ground.
“No way,” I said, but I could tell by how her bright green eyes glared at me that there was no winning this argument.
“Grady, he’s going to be okay,” Doc Hart said. “I’ll fix him up, but I need space, okay? You hovering around here will do him no favors. We need all hands on deck elsewhere, or else the City will be breached. Go to the gym and see how you can help out there, okay?”
It pained me, but I nodded. I was holding Stone’s hand, and I gave it a squeeze. He looked up and smiled a good, strong smile.
“I’ll be o-okay, m-man.”
“You better be. Or else I’m gonna kick your ass.”
The smile widened. “Yeah, fat chance.”
Tears stinging my eyes and unsure of my best friend’s fate, I left.
4
New Love
I didn’t immediately head to the hub. I was too worried about Stone, so I hung around outside, hearing his terrible screams as Doc Hart did whatever it was she did to fix him up.
Each scream raked blades down my heart. My knees were weak, shaky; I was cold—freezing cold, in fact—but a steady stream of sweat trickled down my back. Eleanor stayed with me, squeezing my hand. She kept saying everything was going to be okay. The Scavs had handled the attack by the gate, and no one who’d been inside the City had been hurt. Mia, Monica, and Chewy were safe in the hub with everyone else.
All seven crazies were dead, but among them were also two dead Scavs: Ayden and Stu Whitmore. It took a while for their losses to sink in, but when they did my heart grew heavy. They died trying to protect us. The remaining Scavs were hurt, and so was Nick Rider, although their wounds were minor, nothing fatal. But all wounds in the apocalypse carried the risk of infection and eventual death if not treated properly.
About an hour after I’d left Stone in the care of Sharon Hart, Lee and Nick called my name. Lee waved me toward them at the far end of the corridor.
“Now,” Nick said, “he’s gonna be fine, Grady. Don’t you worry.” His head had been bandaged where a few splinters from a shot wood beam had burrowed into his cheek. He seemed defeated, and that was a first I’d seen from him.
“Just a flesh wound,” Lee added. “He’s a tough cookie.”
“I know he is,” I said. “Everything okay with you?”
“Also just a
