“Of course not, silly,” Lexi slurred. “I kinda like you holding me down.”
“That’s the whiskey talking, not you.”
“The whiskey in the bottle is talking? Like in Beauty and the Beast? That’s one of my favorite movies!” Lexi broke out singing the theme song for the movie, reaching the high notes and the low ones.
“Good God.” Joe huffed. “Hannah, are you ready?”
“I am. Hold her down. Tight.”
“Got her.”
“Lexi, open your mouth. This might hurt a little,” Hannah said.
“Yes ma’am.” Giggling, Lexi opened her mouth like a baby bird wanting to be fed.
Hannah reached into Lexi’s mouth and clamped the pliers onto the infected molar. Lexi scrunched her face and uttered a mumbled version of ‘ouch.’ Hannah leaned in, and with a quick jerk, twisted the pliers.
The sucking sound of the tooth popping out of its socket was no comparison to the visceral scream leaving Lexi’s body that escaped the concourse, the ramp leading to the stands, to the field and the level above.
Joe struggled to hold Lexi down as her body arched and her legs and arms flailed. She let out a long breath, her eyes rolled into her head, and she went limp.
During her internships assisting dentists, Hannah had never seen a patient faint or die. She hadn’t signed on to have someone’s life in her hands.
She prayed she hadn’t killed her first patient.
Chapter 25
“Did you hear that?” Becca asked. “What in the world was it?”
“Probably Lexi getting her tooth pulled without any anesthesia,” Ethan replied.
Ethan had returned to Becca and her two teens, who had camped out on the concourse above where Lexi and Joe were. He had explained saving Joe and Hannah from an ambush and how they shared the antibiotics they found at the zoo. He also explained how they killed two wolves about to attack Lexi and the dog with her.
“Why wouldn’t the wolves feed off the corpses?” Becca asked.
“They were juvenile wolves and were probably practicing their killing skills on Lexi. Without any big male wolves to keep the juvenile ones in line, the younger ones do whatever they want to. Just like with teens.” Ethan flicked a quick glance to Kinsey and Tyler. The teens had their eyes planted on the floor.
“I know exactly what you’re talking about.” Becca stared at her children as only a mother could do.
“We don’t mean to be trouble,” Kinsey said.
“I don’t either,” Tyler piped in.
“Let’s all just get along. Okay?” Becca asked.
“We will.” Kinsey elbowed her brother. “Right?”
“I agree.”
Ethan reached into his pocket and withdrew several bottles of antibiotics. “You need to start taking these immediately.”
Becca washed down one of the tablets with a gulp of water.
“I also found hydrogen peroxide and bandages in a looted pharmacy. We’ll use it to keep the wound clean.”
“What’s the plan now?” Tyler asked, munching on an energy bar.
“Tomorrow morning we’ll meet up with Joe and his group. We found out we’re both traveling to the in the same direction. Since there is safety in numbers, we’ll travel together.”
“They live in Katy?” Becca was excited at the prospect she could be neighbors.
“Not exactly. They are heading a few miles further west, although we will be traveling on the same main road,” Ethan explained.
“How will we get home?” Kinsey asked.
“By walking.”
“It must be forty miles to our house. My mom can’t walk that far,” Kinsey protested.
“Oh yes I can,” Becca piped in. “Sore leg or not, I’m getting out of here. This place isn’t safe anymore. And it’s starting to smell. Who knows what else is lurking out there besides wolves?”
“One thing’s for sure. We will all need to be on our game,” Ethan said. “By now, grocery stores will have been looted, water is running low, and people will get more desperate by the day. We’ll lay low tonight because we need to rest. We have a long walk in front of us tomorrow.”
The four took their respective places to sleep. Becca and her two teens slept elbow to elbow, while Ethan slept a few feet away. He needed to give the family space, but on the flip side he couldn’t be too far away in case something went wrong in the night.
He worried about Becca being able to walk forty miles and slowing them down. The teens were better suited for the long walk, considering their youth and physical fitness. They’d complain about it, but in the end, walking was the only option. There had been no sign of FEMA buses or any type of government or military vehicle coming to their rescue.
The citizens were on their own.
Ethan had witnessed the results of government failure during his military career. Warlords ruled the land with an iron hand, killing indiscriminately for pleasure, and killing anyone who challenged or threatened their power.
The polite society of rules and manners, laws and consequences would become a footnote in a textbook at some point in the distant future.
The ones who lived would be the ones who relied on their wits and their prior planning to survive upcoming catastrophes. Commerce as everyone knew it in the modern world would no longer exist. Eighteen wheelers full of produce, meat, bread, canned goods, toiletries, medicine, and a plethora of other goods would have stalled on country highways and urban freeways. The drivers would have abandoned the trucks, leaving the contents for looters to sell or for desperate folks foraging supplies. Ethan didn’t blame any of them, rather, considering the action as a necessary means of survival. Those too timid or shy or those who weren’t capable of standing up for themselves or defending their property would be left behind. Others who were ruthless would drive out the timid survivors or kill them and leave their bodies to rot.
The spoils of
