Chapter 5

5

Ten hours later, the exploded contents of Simon’s first responders kit covered the break table of the nurses’ station at Healing Saints.

Gauze, blood pressure cuff, stethoscope, disinfectant wipes, bandages, penlight… do I have room for two penlights?

“You look like something I emptied out of a bedpan an hour ago.”

Simon laughed. “Love you too, Anya.”

“Seriously.” Anya’s voice carried a hint of reproach. “You’re not on the schedule today for a reason.”

“Don’t worry, then.” Simon offered her a smile. “I’m not really here.” Carefully repacking everything, Simon zipped his bag and shouldered it.

Anya crossed her arms over her chest, blocking his path. “How many hours did you sleep?”

“Enough.”

“I meant a number.” She eyed him up and down. “Six?”

“I’ll be fine.”

She nodded. “So fewer than five. You don’t have anything to prove, you know. After last night.”

Simon bristled. “Excuse me?”

“I brought you in on helping that unconscious firefighter because he’s the kind of person you’re always talking about helping. The reason you got into nursing in the first place.”

“I got into nursing to help everyone who needs it.”

“And did she? The other firefighter?”

“No. But I didn’t know that until I assessed her.” He didn’t add that he’d liked to have spent more time assessing her. A lot more time.

Anya blew out a breath and shook her head. “You always have a knack for soothing the stubborn ones.”

“I was raised on stubborn. That’s why I’m going out tonight. I’ve gotta go get a few more who’ll do anything to get out of coming to the hospital.”

She smiled at their inside joke, but it didn’t reach her eyes. When people went missing during a disaster, Simon and Anya liked to pretend they were simply refusing to be found so they didn’t have to come to the hospital. But tonight, the dark humor that usually kept their emotions intact failed them. Too many people unaccounted for in this emergency.

“Come on.” Anya took his hand. “I’ve got another present for you.”

“I’m meeting the rescue team downstairs in?—”

“This’ll only take a few minutes. Trust me.”

She led him down the hall to the ICU. Voices drifted out of the room she tugged him toward. “Simon, say hello to Ben Hoyt.”

Simon walked in, and an invisible weight lifted off his shoulders.

The injured firefighter from the night before was awake.

The young man lay in his bed with a lopsided grin on the half of his face left unbandaged. Next to his bed, a woman in her early twenties leaned forward, clutching his hand. She offered Simon a tearful smile, and the young man waved.

“Welcome back, Mr. Hoyt.” Simon smiled at the woman. “How’s he doing?”

“Really well.” She gave a little laugh, then sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve. “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t cry when he’s okay.”

“Don’t apologize. You both went through a lot, and it’s normal to still be recovering from the scare.”

The woman nodded. “Are you the one… did you save my Ben’s life?”

“He helped intake your fiancé when he arrived,” Anya said as Simon shook his head.

She took a shuddering breath. “Thank you. I don’t know what I—we”—she rubbed her very pregnant belly—“would’ve done without him.” She sniffed again, and Simon’s heart squeezed so tightly it ached.

He took a breath. “I’m just glad to have played a small part. I’m Simon, by the way.”

She smiled warmly and took his hand in her free one. “Chloe.”

“No, you’re Clover.” Ben blew a raspberry. “Cliver.”

Chloe rolled her eyes and laughed, visibly relaxing. “Ignore him. He’s been combining my name with our baby’s for the last twenty minutes.” She patted his hand. “Don’t forget, Benny. He might be a she . In which case, she’s Mia, not Oliver.”

“Oh-lee-oh.” Ben frowned and furrowed his brows. “Oh-low-ee.” He grinned unevenly, clearly affected by the cocktail of medications flowing through his veins, and seemed to notice Simon for the first time. “Do you have my helmet?”

“No, I’m sorry. You didn’t have a helmet when you came in.”

“Dass right.” Ben nodded sagely despite his slurred speech. “They took it.”

Simon looked to Chloe for help, but she shrugged and shook her head.

Anya appeared just as perplexed. “Who took it, Ben? Your colleague said you didn’t have a helmet on when she found you.”

Ben crooked his finger at Simon and glanced around furtively when Simon leaned closer. “I’m not supposed to talk about it.” He whispered the way a child would, in practically a shout.”They took my helmet off when they pulled me backward.”

Chloe hid her face in her hand and mumbled through her fingers. “Benny, we’ve talked about this.”

“They need to know.” More whisper-shouting.

“What do we need to know?” Simon asked as Anya shook her head at him.

“The aliens are here.”

“I’m sorry, did you say… now when you say ‘aliens’—”

“From outer space! Tall and black, like the gray ones but darker, with fire for eyes. He took my helmet off, then disappeared—poof!”

“Wait, ‘he’ who? I thought you said there were multiple aliens.”

Chloe rubbed his hand.“It’s okay, Benny. No one’s blaming you.” She bit her lip as she looked at Simon. “Helmets are very expensive. With heavy-duty straps that stay in place. Necessary, but”—she whistled—“they cost.”

“Two aliens.” Ben held up one finger.

“Ah, Mr. Hoyt.” Dr. Thorne entered the room with the kind of grin that set everyone at ease. He tapped his clipboard on the footboard of Hoyt’s bed. “So good to see you awake. How are you feeling?”

The young man held up his finger to his new audience member. “ Two. ”

“I think Mr. Hoyt is struggling with diplopia at the moment,” Anya said.

Chloe shook her head. “What is?—?”

“Double vision.” Simon hated interrupting patients, but the worry in Chloe’s eyes spoke volumes. The man she loved wasn’t well. She needed answers quickly.

“Well, we can take a look at that,” Dr. Thorne replied jovially. “Let’s do a few tests, shall we?”

Simon took a slow, deep breath, feeling as though a piece of his heart had healed. He didn’t always get the pleasure of seeing his patients through their entire recovery, especially if they’d been admitted. Visiting Ben Hoyt after his conversation with his grandmother brought his life back into focus.

As Dr. Thorne and Anya prepared to wheel Ben out of the room, Simon took Anya’s hand. “Thanks for my present.”

“Any time.”

Simon’s phone vibrated in his pocket, and he offered her an apologetic smile as he checked the message. It was from Dr. Wash. I’m in the lobby.

Anya returned his smile with an encouraging one of her own. “Go bring us the really stubborn ones, okay?”

Simon nodded and grabbed his bag, waving to Chloe and the young firefighter. “Take care of yourself, Mr. Hoyt.”

Ben grabbed Simon’s hand as his bed passed. “Don’t go in that forest.” The clarity of his voice caught Simon off guard. “There are monsters in there.”

“I’ll be careful,” Simon promised, then headed down to the lobby.

A tall, thin white man wearing glasses and dressed in khaki-colored clothing waited for him. “Simon Kai?” He held out a hand. “Lucas Wash. Thanks for joining us on such short notice.”

“Always happy to help.” Simon shook Lucas’ outstretched hand.

“This should be one of our easier trips. The fires are under control in most spots, but there’s still a lot of smoke in the area.”

“Are we looking for anyone in particular?”

“We have several reports of missing persons.” Lucas led Simon to a car and continued talking while they drove through the hospital complex lot, arriving at a helicopter with its rotors already spinning.“Our choppers can punch through large quantities of smoke, so we’ll cross the fire line as many times as possible. Watch your head.”

Simon ducked as he boarded the copter, which was crammed with a gurney, medical equipment, and more carabiners, hooks, and rope than most mountain climbers would carry. Another member of their rescue team introduced himself as Andre and helped Simon into a helmet and safety gear, buckling him to the chopper.

As soon as he was settled into the cramped seating, they took off, rotor blades pounding.

“We’ll be there in about ten minutes.” Lucas’s voice sounded tinny through the radio in Simon’s helmet. “Sit tight until then and try not to breathe.”

The ground disappeared beneath them, and Simon’s stomach sank into his feet as they quickly gained altitude. For the first few minutes, the flight was totally clear and calm. Well above the level of the hospital and town lights, the stars sparkled in the sky. The cold air swirled throughout the cabin, and the thumping rotor blades set a steady rhythm that lulled Simon into peaceful relaxation.

I could do this all the time.

“Masks up. We’re almost at the smoke line.”

Lucas’ command drew Simon’s attention to the pitch-black windshield.

How is the pilot flying if there’s something blocking the windshield?

A honey-yellow glow flickered at the lowest part of the windshield, and Simon realized there was no barrier preventing them from seeing out.

Here, the smoke was so thick, not even starlight could break through.

As they neared the fire and Simon’s eyes adjusted to the new lighting, he could see the smoke like a towering mountain that rolled as it expanded, folding on itself before billowing outward again, reaching for them.

There are monsters in there .

Simon could certainly understand why Ben felt that way. He might’ve been higher than the moon when he made those declarations about aliens having eyes burning like fire. But before Simon’s eyes, the fire took on movements of its own, a life of its own.

Am I really trusting the loopy mutterings of a patient? I must be more exhausted than I thought. Ben couldn’t even count to one successfully.

But something nagged at the back of Simon’s mind, incessantly poking at him, sowing seeds of doubt into his Ben Is High Theory. As the helicopter soared into the smoke and debris, Lucas turned on the searchlight, and Simon craned his neck to see the ground below. They made pass after pass through burning campsites and wasted hiking trails. They found abandoned cars and campers, signs that people had been forced to escape in a hurry, leaving behind what they couldn’t carry.

Seeing all the discarded items, Simon realized what had been troubling him about the young firefighter.

Heavy-duty straps that don’t budge… Expensive but necessary…

If nothing out of the ordinary had caused his injuries, then how had he lost a helmet designed to never fall off?