Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59521 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59521 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
A sick sort of hope kicks in my chest. At least they won’t just let her die without a fight.
I go back to Iris, who is shivering beneath the blanket, Tatiana stroking her hair. Rachel is back now, too, sitting beside her. “We need to talk,” I say, as gently as I can, even though my stomach is twisting and turning inside me.
Rachel looks at me, a question burning behind her red-rimmed eyes. “Is she going to be okay?” she asks. Her voice is a weapon. “You promised—”
“No, I didn’t,” I say, sharper than I intend. “But we are doing our best. Come.”
We help Iris into a more comfortable position, then we move away from her so we can talk. I’m dreading every second of this.
“This is what we have to work with,” Ace says, holding up the blister pack from the first aid kit. The label is faded, but the word ‘Amoxicillin’ is clear. Ten pills. That’s it.
“We need to make a decision,” Kellen goes on. “We use them, or we can keep them, in case things get worse for more of us. We have to consider that if we use them all now, and someone else gets sick or injured, we’re screwed.”
Rachel’s voice wavers as her shoulders straighten. “She’s dying. What are you even talking about, saving them for later? Iris might not even make it through the night.” Her voice cracks, desperate and furious. “Is that not what we would consider an emergency? Why is she any less valuable than any of you?”
“Never fuckin’ said she was,” Kellen growls. “But the fact is, if we use them and she dies, we are left without. If she is too far gone, we’re wasting them. We need to make a call and decide if she has a shot at living through this or not, but right now, it’s not lookin’ good and I would say her chances are pretty fuckin’ low.”
“But they’re not zero,” Aggie snaps from beside me. “Doctors say even bad infections can turn around if you start antibiotics in time. She has a chance.”
Zeke shakes his head, jaw clenched. “If we had more, I’d say do it. But we don’t. We’re not doctors. We can’t play God out here. Even with all the pills, there is a high chance she won’t make it. That’s a fact, cold and horrible, but true.”
“Well we have to try!” Rachel yells, throwing her hands up. “If it was her,” she jerks a finger at me, “then we wouldn’t hesitate.”
“Fuck off, Rachel,” I snap, sick of her blaming me for everything. “Stop taking your shit out on me, I’m trying to protect her, too.”
“Oh bullshit, all you want is one less mouth to feed.”
I clench my fists.
Ace holds up a hand, cutting everyone off before we can take this further. “Enough. We vote. That’s how it goes, it’s the only way it’s fair out here. None of us get to play God, we are a team.”
“I don’t think we should gamble with a life,” I say, voice steadier than I feel. “If we’re stuck out here for months, then that is a risk we’re taking but we don’t know that we will be. She could live, and for that, I vote that we give them to her.”
Rachel is openly crying now. “Please,” she begs, looking at Ace. “Don’t let her die. Not like this. I vote we give them to her.”
Tatiana, who has been silent the whole time, pipes up. “We give her half now. If she gets better or improves, we finish the rest. If not, then at least we tried.”
Kellen grunts. “Splitting the dose does nothing. It won’t fucking work.”
“I know how antibiotics work!” Tati snaps, all teeth. “But we don’t have enough for a real course regardless, so maybe we do what we can instead of arguing about it.”
Zeke exhales, angrily. “I vote no. We save them and do whatever else we can. I think it’s too late.”
“It’s not!” Rachel cries.
Ace puts a hand up. “We all get the chance to vote, Rachel.”
“I say give them to her,” Aggie whispers. “She deserves a chance.”
Ace glances at Kellen.
“Do what Tatiana said, give her half, see what happens. If she improves, we make a choice, if not then at least we tried.”
Ace glances down at the pills, pausing for a long beat. He’s weighing the way we’re all looking at him. “Adrian is exploring, so we can’t ask him. I think we split ‘em, it’s the best choice.”
He looks to us girls, his eyes moving over each of us.
We all nod. Because it’s better than nothing.
A kind of silence settles, the kind that could either be relief or defeat. Then, Rachel lunges for the blister pack, only to have Ace hold it up and shoot her a look so intense that she runs off crying. I hold my hand out, and he gives me three tablets to begin with. I turn, walking over and kneeling next to Iris, who is trembling so bad she can’t hold the pill, so I press it to her lips and tip her head back, dribbling some water into her mouth.