Last Alarm
Chapter 27
"A Child's Love"
Part Four
UPDATE 6-13-2014:
Based on some suggestions by a few of my readers, this chapter and several others have been dramatically altered.
However, because of what I've done, these "altered" chapters might appear crudely written.
Eventually, I'll get around to "polishing up" these "altered" chapters so that they won't be so crude a read as they are now.
The reason for this "alteration" is because many of my readers became confused as to what I was hoping to accomplish by what I had originally written, and since it's looking like it'll take a couple of years to finish this story, I decided it wasn't worth continuing with what I was doing after all.
As a result, the glimpse into the future that was written into this chapter has been omitted and a completely new ending for the story will be written when the times comes, with a completely different outcome for all the characters.
I apologize for the confusion and the inconvenience.
Time: Morning Z-Day Plus 3
Location: Tokonosu City, Japan
Inside Residential Condominium of SAT Officer Sgt. Rika Minami
"Sensei, is he still alive?" Yuriko asked Shizuka, glancing over at the unconscious man as she walked by, her brow furrowed with concern over the welfare of her men as the fury of their gunfire seemed to be increasing.
"Sounds like it's getting really ugly out there. " Yuriko thought to herself as she glanced at her watch and grimaced at how much time had already passed since she and the children had returned to the condo.
"We really need to get moving, and quickly." Yuriko mumbled as she realized that the nurse hadn't replied to her question of the man's condition yet.
"Sensei, did you hear me?" Yuriko repeated a little louder after not receiving a reply from the school nurse as she looked out towards the front window, growing more anxious at the sounds of battle drawing nearer.
"Marikawa-sensei? Are you alright?" Yuriko heard the young girl Saeko ask the nurse, noticing that the teenage girl's voice sounded very anxious for some reason.
And then when the school nurse still did not respond to the teenager either, Yuriko then turned her head back towards the school nurse and was alarmed to see Shizuka kneeling next to the injured man, her face ashen in appearance and staring blankly at him, seemingly frozen in shock by the very grotesque sight of the man's scalp peeled back with his skull exposed and blood still oozing from the tissue surrounding the wound.
"Sensei?!" Yuriko said a little louder as she began to grow concerned that something must be seriously wrong, as Shizuka continued to stare blankly at the unconscious man without moving, as all of the children looked first towards the spellbound nurse and then looked up towards Yuriko with scared, anxious eyes.
"Oba-chan?" Alice said looking at Shizuka as Rei held her close.
Shizuka raised her head and looked over at Yuriko with tear-filled eyes.
"I don't think there's anything I can do." Shizuka said, her voice almost cracking with emotion.
"What do you mean?!" Yuriko said with alarm. "Is he dead?"
"No,..I-I,….."Shizuka replied stammering her words, seemingly unable to speak clearly.
"SENSEI, IS HE DYING?!" Saeko screamed in panic, believing now that her friends had been too late to help the injured American after all.
"NO! I,….what I mean is…." Shizuka stammered as everyone in their panic, began shouting all at once.
"What's wrong?!" "What's the matter with him?!" Can't you do something?!" How can we help?" " Sensei,Why aren't you doing anything?!" "SENSEI, PLEASE DO SOMETHING!"
"STOP IT!" Shizuka screamed as everyone immediately stopped shouting as they watched the nurse place her hands on the sides of her head as tears fell from her face.
"EVERYONE SHUT UP AND LET HER SPEAK, DAMMIT!" Yuriko roared, shutting everyone down before the panic set in and the situation went spiraling out of control.
"Sensei, what's wrong? Why can't you help him?" Yuriko asked calmly as the children anxiously waited for Shizuka's reply.
"I've just never treated someone injured like this before!" Shizuka wailed as she looked into Yuriko's eyes. "I've mostly treated cuts and scrapes and maybe even a few broken bones, but never something like this!"
"BUT YOU'RE A NURSE!" Saeko shouted angrily as Saya wrapped her arms around her, trying to calm her down.
"A SCHOOL NURSE!" Shizuka replied loudly. "I never treated an injury this severe before!"
"But you saw him get hit!" Saeko shouted as Saya and Takashi both tried to calm her. "Now you're saying there's nothing you can do?!"
"I didn't know he was this badly hurt!" Shizuka continued as everyone could see her hands shaking.
"This is worse than I thought it was!" Shizuka said as she gritted her teeth.
"He needs a medevac, a CT scan, bloodwork, IV's, major surgery,…!" Shizuka added as she looked at everyone apologetically.
"I can't do any of those things for him!" Shizuka wailed as everyone looked on helplessly.
"I-I don't know what to do that will help." Shizuka said as she wiped her eyes.
Yuriko looked directly into the face of the frightened nurse and realized that the reason for the nurse's hesitation to treat the injured American was not that the nurse wasn't qualified to treat the man, no matter how severe his injuries.
The real problem was that for all of her medical know-how, the school nurse had just never had to deal with such a traumatic injury as the one that was now before her, and seeing how serious the man's wounds were for the first time, she was overwhelmed by the extent of his injuries and was reacting out of fear not because of inexperience or lack of skill,…but of failure.
There was unfortunately, little time for sympathy.
"Sensei, listen to me." Yuriko said gently, as she knelt next to Shizuka and grabbed her arm and stared intently into her eyes.
"At our residence we have an emergency medical unit all set up for the treatment of the many refugees that have sought refuge at our home." Yuriko began.
"There are doctors and nurses there and a surgical team there as well that were all evacuated from Tokonosu General, and right now they are currently treating people even as we speak, and I'm sure that they can more than likely handle this type of injury once,…we,…get,…there." Yuriko said pausing on her last words for emphasis so that the overwhelmed nurse could grasp her words.
"All you have to do, Sensei," Yuriko continued. "Is do your best to help him until we,….get,…..there. Yuriko said again pausing on her last few words.
"But,…" Shizuka replied, still hesitating.
"Sensei, listen to me closely." Yuriko said through gritted teeth, her patience wearing thin with the hesitant nurse.
"My men are risking their lives out there all alone against an entire city, because I talked those poor men into trying to buy us some time so that we could try to help this man, because all of you refused to leave without him." Yuriko began angrily.
"Now, if you're going to just kneel there and tell me that there's no way you can help this man just because you can't pull it together, then I will have no choice but to leave him behind, because I will not lose any more of my friends on account of any of you today." Yuriko said coldly.
"And I will be taking my daughter with me when I leave." Yuriko said as she glanced over at Saya who gulped at the look in her mother's eyes, knowing full well that there would be no arguing with her mother this time.
"And whether any of you comes with us or not, won't matter to me one bit." Yuriko added as she glared at the rest of the teens.
"So pull it together, Sensei!" Yuriko snapped.
"Hai!" Shizuka responded as she stared once more at the open head wound and closed her eyes as tears began to again fall down her face.
Yuriko looked upon the young nurse's face and felt moved by the sight of the young woman wrestling against her fear, and in a moment of pity, Yuriko took a deep breath despite her own mounting anxiety, and tried once more to get through to the scared nurse.
"Sensei, listen to me." Yuriko began as she spoke softly to Shizuka, trying mightily to keep her own emotions in check. "You and these children all seem to care about this man a lot, which is very plain to see."
"Hai." Shizuka replied, opening her eyes and looking at Yuriko.
"And obviously all of you cared about him enough so that that every one of you were willing to risk everything, including your own lives by fighting against my men and refusing to leave until we agreed to also take this man as well as all of you, with us."
"Which tells me, Sensei," Yuriko continued. "Is that this man must have done something special to earn that type of loyalty and trust from all of you, am I right in my assumption?"
"Hai." Shizuka replied. "He has done a lot for us in fact, for the past two days."
"Then wouldn't you agree that it's safe to assume that he would feel the same way about all of you, Sensei?" Yuriko said smiling. "And that if something happened to him, that he would trust all of you to do what you can for him, even if it's not enough in the end?"
"I-I suppose so."Shizuka replied, nodding her head as she wiped her eyes.
"What is your name, Sensei?" Yuriko asked suddenly.
"Eh?" Shizuka replied, caught off guard by Yuriko's question.
"What is your name?" Yuriko repeated.
"Marikawa, Shizuka." Shizuka replied.
"I truly believe that this man trusted you, Shizuka-san." Yuriko said. "And all anyone can ask of someone they trust is for them to try their best when they need their help."
"So all I ask of you Shizuka-san, is to do your best to help him now and keep him alive if you can, until we can get him to where he needs to be, Sensei." Yuriko said softly to Shizuka as she patted her shoulder.
"I'm sure that your best is all this man would ever ask for from you too, Shizuka-san." Yuriko said as she gave Shizuka a comforting squeeze on her shoulder.
"And if it wasn't enough, he would not fault you for trying." Yuriko said smiling.
"It'll be all right, Shizuka-san." Yuriko said hoping that her words would be enough to encourage the nurse to move into action finally.
"Just take a deep breath," Yuriko continued. "And think about what you need to do, and what we need to do to help you, alright?"
"Hai." Shizuka said as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and then slowly let it out.
And upon opening her eyes, Shizuka then began to finally focus on the job at hand as she went down her mental checklist to begin treatment on a patient with traumatic injuries of the like that she had never faced before, as she reached into her own medical kit and placed a pair of latex surgical gloves over her hands as the children, kneeling nervously nearby, anxiously watched her every move.
Jimu-san? Jimu-san? Can you hear me?" Shizuka said checking for a response, as she felt along the man's neck for a carotid pulse, and then after not receiving a response, then reached over and pinched the skin on the top of his left hand.
"Sensei, Jimu-san wouldn't move at all, even when I screamed in his ear and shook him hard." Saeko said, trying to be helpful as she gazed worriedly over the unconscious man.
"Wakatta. Thank you Saeko-chan." Shizuka replied as she smiled at Saeko, trying to build up the spirits of the young girl and the rest of the teens, and trying to help her deal with her own apprehension in the process, as she continued her patient assessment.
"Patient is not responsive to verbal or painful stimuli." Shizuka said out loud as she then bent down low and looked into the man's blood-covered face and gasped.
"What is it!" Saeko said, alarmed.
"Calm down, child." Yuriko said soothingly to Saeko. "Let her concentrate."
Saeko glanced at Yuriko, and then back towards Shizuka, as she knelt helplessly waiting for something to be done to help the American, as she now began to experience the same fear and anxiety every person feels while seeing their loved ones in a crisis.
"Shizuka-san, what is it?' Yuriko asked as she grimaced at the sound of battle outside.
"He has massive swelling and edema to his face, especially around the eyelids." Shizuka replied.
"Is that bad?" Rei asked worriedly as she was busy trying to console Alice who had her head turned away from the gruesome sight.
"Yes,….I mean,…possibly." Shizuka replied catching herself, as she tried to pry the man's blood-covered eyelids open.
"It may indicate massive bleeding in the brain cavity as well as under the facial tissue." Shizuka said as she finally managed to pry the man's swollen eyelids open and shined the beam of a small penlight into each of his eyes, and then shined the bright beam of the penlight into both of his ears.
"No visible signs of blood or CSF in either ear." Shizuka said out loud, making a mental checklist of all of her findings during her assessment of the American's wounds.
"CSF?" Saeko asked, starting to grow more frightened by the terminology Shizuka was using that sounded so grim to her ears.
"Cerebrospinal fluid." Shizuka explained as she took the man's pulse. "It's the clear fluid that covers and protects the brain."
"If any of it was leaking out of his ears, then that would indicate his condition is definitely very serious." Shizuka replied as she continued her assessment.
"His pulse is very weak, and his respirations are also very slow, with pupils slow to respond to light." Shizuka said as she looked into her bag and then pulled out a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff.
"I don't have anything in my med-pack that will handle these types of injuries." Shizuka said out loud as she began to wrap the blood pressure cuff around the man's arm.
"All right, then what do you need?" Yuriko said calmly as she raised her hand to shush everyone who were just about to begin shouting in panic again.
"She really needs to work on her bedside manner." Yuriko thought with a frown. "Oh well, at least she's focused on what she's doing now."
"The small med-pak that Jimu-san has attached to his main pack was better equipped for battlefield injuries than what I have." Shizuka said as she placed the earpieces of the stethoscope in her ears. "I need the supplies he has in it, or he's going to continue to deteriorate."
"And," Shizuka added as she squeezed the bulb filling the bladder of the sphygmomanometer as she took the man's blood pressure. "We need to transport him to your medical facility as fast as possible."
"We loaded his pack into the Humvee last night; I can run over and get it!" Takashi offered as he turned to run out the door.
"I'm afraid we don't have enough time for that." Yuriko stated as the sound of the gunfire seemed to be coming a lot closer to their position, indicating that Yoshioka and his men were now losing ground and were beginning to pull back. "We need to get moving, now!"
"BP is 70/50, and falling." Shizuka said out loud as she looked over at Yuriko. "Patient is going into shock."
Yuriko gritted her teeth in frustration as she then spied the chubby teen standing nearby with a high-powered rifle in his hands, who gulped as he met her angry gaze.
"You!" Yuriko said in a commanding voice as Kouta reflexively snapped to attention. "What's your name, son?"
"H-Hirano, Kouta. Age sixteen, Ma'am!" Kouta said as he looked at her.
"Hirano-kun, do you know how to use that, rifle?" Yuriko said, pointing at his weapon.
"YES, Ma'am!" Kouta acknowledged with pride in his voice.
"Good. Then go up to the front door and keep a close watch on the street!" Yuriko ordered. "I want to know what's happening out there!"
"YOKAI!" Kouta replied as he ran to the front door and stepped outside onto the patio.
"Yuriko-san!" Shizuka said as Yuriko turned her head and met her gaze.
"I can't stabilize him with what I have with me!" Shizuka shouted. "He needs advanced therapy and I.V. fluids to replace the lost fluid volume so that he doesn't go into hypovolemic shock from massive hemorrhage!"
To Yuriko and everyone else in the room not familiar with human anatomy and physiology as well as medical terminology, Shizuka's words made about as much sense as Stephen Hawkins trying to explain Quantum Physics to a room full of preschoolers.
But the tone of her voice and the serious look on her face was more than enough to convince everyone that her patient's situation was desperate.
"What do you need then?!" Yuriko asked, confused by the nurse's words and growing more anxious as she stared out the front door at the sounds of battle.
"I need to get to Jimu-san's pack as quickly as possible!" Shizuka replied as Yuriko bit her lip.
"All right, we'll grab it as soon as we drive back out into the street!" Yuriko replied in frustration. "Do what you can for him in the meantime!"
"Hai!" Shizuka replied grimacing at the sound of the gunfire and the enormous pressure on her to stabilize the injured man with what few supplies she had that were more appropriate for minor cuts and scrapes than large traumatic injuries such as an open head wound.
"Sensei," Takashi offered. "What can we do to help?"
"I need someone to get me two large towels, one dry, and one soaked in warm water." Shizuka said as she began squeezing the bulb attached to the blood pressure cuff, re-inflating the cuff again.
"I'll get them!" Saya shouted as she hurriedly rushed off to the bathroom to get the towels.
As the sounds of gunfire drew closer, and the tension in the room grew higher, Yuriko had to prevent herself from running outside to join her men as she watched the school nurse trying desperately to race against the clock.
"His vital signs are still very low." Shizuka said as she deflated the cuff.
"What can I do to help?" Saeko asked as she looked at Shizuka desperately trying to save the man's life.
"Talk to him, Saeko-chan." Shizuka said wiping the sweat from her face as she then listened to the man's lungs with the stethoscope.
"But he's unconscious!" Saeko said feeling helpless. "How is that going to help?"
"Because perhaps by the sound of your voice he will know that we are still here." Shizuka said gently.
"I know he's unconscious, but sometimes it helps trauma victims anyway even if they're unresponsive, by talking to them as if they can hear you." Shizuka said, as she then began probing along the man's neck and spine, knowing that by her keeping Saeko busy with talking to the injured man, she was also helping the frightened teen to relieve her own anxiety as well.
"Jimu-san? Jimu-san?" Saeko said, squeezing the unconscious man's hand as tears fell down her face.
"We didn't leave you, Jimu-san. We're here with you." Saeko said as she continued to speak, not knowing if she was being heard, but willing to try anything that would help.
"What are you doing?" Rei asked curiously as she held the still-crying Alice in her arms, as Shizuka kept probing up and down the man's spine with her fingers.
"I'm checking for any possible fractures or injuries to his spine." Shizuka replied. "We're going to have to roll him over, and I don't want to aggravate any spinal injuries if there are any."
"What will happen if we do?" Saeko asked apprehensively.
"We could accidentally sever his spinal cord and either permanently paralyze him," Shizuka replied. "Or possibly kill him."
"Geez, could you at least try to tone it down for the children's sake, drama queen?" Yuriko mumbled to herself through gritted teeth.
"I don't feel any deformities or any signs of injury, that's good news." Shizuka said as Saya finally arrived with the towels.
"Yuriko-san, I need something to serve as a backboard or litter so we can roll him onto it." Shizuka said out loud, as she pulled a few small 2X2 gauze sponges from her pack and prepared to dress the ugly wound.
And then after taking a deep breath, Shizuka then gently lifted the large flap of the man's torn scalp and flipped it back over the exposed skull, cringing slightly as she did so, the loose flap of scalp feeling jelly-like in her hand as she laid it back over the exposed area.
"Komuro-kun!" Yuriko began, pausing a moment and then breathing a sigh of relief upon hearing the sound of one of the vans finally pulling up to the rear of the condo, followed by the sound of the doors of the van being opened as, Kukugari and Matsudo then both walked through the door.
"Hai!" Takashi replied, turning away from the sight of Shizuka folding the American's scalp back into place and seeming like he was almost ready to puke.
"I need you to find something that we can use to carry this man on!" Yuriko shouted as Shizuka used the wet towel to wipe some of the blood away from the man's face and scalp and then placed some small gauze sponges over the wound.
"Like what?!" Takashi asked, looking a little pale.
Yuriko looked around the living room of the condo and then spied the door of a small closet next to the kitchen.
"I need you and my men to yank that door off its hinges, and make sure you tear the door knob off as well, and when you're done doing that, bring it over here!" Yuriko shouted as she then turned towards the front door.
"HIRANO!" Yuriko roared.
"HAI?!" Kouta shouted in reply from the small patio.
"What's happening out there, I need a *sitrep?!" Yuriko shouted as she heard the sound of a grunt and then the sound of wood splintering as the small closet door was torn off its hinges by the three men.
(*Sitrep- Military term for "Situation Report")
"They're keeping "Them" at bay for now!" Kouta replied. "But we really need to hurry because the Infected are really pressing in on them, and they're beginning to fall back!"
"All right then, get back over here and help us!" Yuriko shouted as Takashi and the other two men hurriedly walked over carrying the small door.
"What do you want us to do now, Sensei?" Yuriko asked as Shizuka was wrapping the dry towel around the American's head as Rei was wiping the rest of the blood from his face with the wet one.
"I need all of you to help me roll him over onto that door when I tell you." Shizuka said as she motioned for Saya and Rei to kneel on the unconscious man's left side.
"And we need to be careful when we do it, or we'll be doing him more harm than good." Shizuka added grimly as everyone nodded in understanding.
As the women all positioned themselves on the man's left side, Shizuka then motioned for Matsudo, Takashi, and Kukugari to bring the door over and place it against the man's left side in front of the kneeling women, and then after the door was in position, she then had them kneel on the floor on the American's right side.
She then grabbed the American's left arm and straightened it out on the floor over his head as she grabbed the man's head gently in her hands.
"When I count to three," Shizuka said looking towards the anxious eyes of all the people staring at her.
"I want all of you men to roll him over at the same time towards the door while I hold his head still. I want to make sure his body stays in-line at the same time, understand?" Shizuka said as everyone nodded their heads in agreement.
"I want the rest of you to help us keep him from rolling over too fast when we roll him onto the door, understand? " Shizuka added as she looked at the women kneeling next to the door.
"All right everyone, ready? " Shizuka asked as everyone readied themselves.
"One, Two, THREE, ROLL!" Shizuka ordered as everyone gently rolled the man over onto the door.
And then after another command from the nurse, they all then centered his body on it, as Shizuka then finished wrapping the man's head with the towel.
"All right everyone, let's go!" Shizuka said as everyone then placed their hands underneath the edges of the door and lifted the unconscious man off the floor using the door as a makeshift litter.
The closet door was only five and a half feet in length as compared to the man's six foot height and so as a result, the American's feet were almost comically left hanging off the edge of the smaller door.
But there was no time left to be choosy as everyone hurriedly carried the injured man out to the awaiting van and slid him along the floor of the vehicle, as everyone then hurriedly piled in afterwards and slammed the doors shut, as the roar of gunfire drew closer.
And as Takashi tried to reposition the man's feet so the rear doors wouldn't hit them, he felt the familiar shape of the American's compact pistol under the man's pant leg, still concealed in its holster strapped to his boot.
And casually, so as not to attract attention, Takashi looked over the interior of the van to see if anyone was watching, and then deftly removed the pistol from its holster and shoved it into the small of his back, covering the butt of the pistol with the tail end of his shirt.
"Saeko-chan, stay next to me and keep talking to him!" Shizuka ordered as she held the American's head steady as Saeko climbed over everyone and then knelt down next to Shizuka, holding one of the man's hands as she continued talking to him.
"Arisu-chan," Shizuka said looking over at the still frightened child who was now sitting in Rei's lap and was being held securely in her comforting arms.
"Stay there with Rei-chan, all right?" Shizuka said sweetly.
"Hai, oba-chan." Alice replied as she held on tightly to Rei's arm with one hand and held on to her squirming puppy with the other.
"Oba-chan, is Oji-chan going to die?" Alice said looking over at the blood stained towel on the man's head as everyone then looked up at Shizuka, waiting for her response.
"No, he'll be all right, don't you worry." Saya replied with a smile.
"We're taking him to a safe place, Arisu-chan." Shizuka replied. "So just stay there with Rei-oneechan and don't worry, okay?"
"Hai." Alice replied as she sat in Rei's arms, frightened by the noise from all the gunfire nearby and the sound of all of the loud anxious voices of all the people inside the close confines of the van, as they got ready to depart.
The sound of the driver's side door being quickly flung open startled everyone, as Kukugari quickly jumped into the driver's seat and shifted the van into gear, while Yuriko jumped into the front passenger seat and snapped on her seat belt.
As Matsudo and Kouta opened up the sliding door on the side of the van and jumped in, Yuriko then quickly glanced at her watch once more as she tapped on the dial of her watch in front of Kukugari's face and then ordered him to take off, as he nodded his head in acknowledgment and stepped on the accelerator.
And as he released the clutch, the van suddenly lurched forward; sending everyone in the rear of the van sliding back over the un-lined floor and causing the door that the American's body was lying on to also begin sliding from the sudden acceleration of the van.
"TAKE IT EASY!" Shizuka screamed as the American nearly slid off the door as the children tried to help her steady the man as the van then violently turned the corner and raced down the driveway.
"He's doing the best he can under the circumstances, Sensei!" Yuriko shouted as Shizuka glared at her and the driver.
"All of you just need to hold onto your friend as best as you can, but we have to get out of here,.. FAST!" Yuriko said as everyone quickly grabbed ahold of the unconscious man as the van came to a screeching halt, as the mechanic Matsudo opened the sliding door on the side of the van and jumped out running towards the Humvee.
"Takashi! Grab that med-pack Shizuka-san needs and HURRY! Yuriko shouted at the teenage boy as she glanced at her watch again and swore, as Takashi jumped out the open side door of the van and ran full speed towards the Humvee to retrieve the American's med-pack.
As Takashi ran towards the Humvee, Yuriko unfastened her seat belt and flung the passenger door open of the cargo van and jumped out, walking towards the front of the van and stopped in the middle of the road and looked down the street towards where her men were desperately holding the line.
And Yuriko gritted her teeth at the sight of Yoshioka and his men bravely putting up a stiff resistance, despite the fact that they were now being forced to fall back regardless, as the huge crowd of Infected steadily pressed in on them without letup.
And after just one look at the sheer numbers that were bearing down on the small group of men, Yuriko realized that it truly was a miracle that Yoshioka and his men hadn't been overwhelmed already.
But if they didn't retreat now, and fast, that would no longer be the case.
"YOSHIOKA-SAN! Yuriko screamed at the top of her voice trying and failing, to get the attention of the Security Chief over the roar of the gunfire.
"Damn it, he can't hear me!" Yuriko swore in frustration, as she removed her pistol from its holster and noticed Takahashi returning to the van with a small, tan-colored cordura pack under one arm.
And also carrying a shotgun slung over his shoulder, and a wooden bokken in his other hand.
"Sneaky little brat." Yuriko groused as she watched him jump into the van and slam the door shut.
"KUKUGARI! Yuriko shouted, turning her attention back to the men fighting desperately down the street. "AFTER I SHOOT, I WANT YOU TO HONK THE HORN THREE TIMES!"
"HAI!" Kukugari replied, as he stared astounded at the sight of his friends fighting so desperately against such overwhelming numbers.
Yuriko then raised her pistol high over her head and fired twice into the air as the Security Chief, in the act of reloading his rifle, snapped his head around at the sound of the shots coming from Yuriko's pistol, followed by the sound of three long blasts of the automobile horn coming from directly behind them.
And as he saw Yuriko waving at him as she stood in the middle of the street in front of the cargo van, Yoshioka breathed a deep sigh of relief at her arrival.
"Not a f_cking moment too soon." Yoshioka mumbled as he slapped another magazine into the magwell of his rifle home.
After waving back in response, Yoshioka then roared as loud as he could to his men over the roar of the gunfire.
"EVERYONE! He roared. "BACK TO THE VANS! FALL BACK! FALL BACK! FALL BACK!
Almost completely out of ammo and in serious danger of being overrun, Yoshioka's men needed no further encouragement as they all turned tail and ran as fast as they could back to the awaiting vehicles.
Yoshioka quickly raised his rifle to his shoulder and snapped off two more shots into the advancing horde and then quickly followed his men, running full speed towards the Humvee as he grabbed the door latch and flung the passenger door open and jumped inside, slamming the door shut and rolling down the window.
Yoshioka then stuck the barrel of his rifle out the now open window and continued maintaining a steady rate of fire at the approaching horde, covering his men as they piled into their vehicles, until all of his men were on board and the vehicles began racing down the road, tires squealing.
With its own tires kicking up dust and gravel, Yuriko's van lurched forward into the street and then turned sharply to follow the rest of the retreating vehicles as Matsudo and Yoshioka followed closely behind in the Humvee, bringing up the rear, as the enormous crowd of Infected swarmed over the exact spot they had just occupied minutes before, moving like the wave of a tsunami flooding the entire area, as the screams of victims still trapped in their homes echoed behind the retreating vehicles.
The small caravan roared down the empty city streets at full speed, the vehicles swinging violently from side to side, around street corners and past shuffling stragglers of Infected that had been traveling towards their previous location from the opposite direction, attracted by the noise of all the gunfire.
And while the small caravan had for the time being, safely escaped the clutches of the enormous horde of Infected that they had left far behind them, the drivers of each vehicle seemed to be unconvinced that they were safe and in the clear, as each vehicle flew down the narrow city streets just like the proverbial "bat out of hell."
Which was beginning to concern the passengers in the third van who were starting to get a little apprehensive at being tossed around within the close confines of their vehicle, for no apparent reason.
Especially one particularly pissed-off, pink-haired passenger.
"DAMMIT! WHO TAUGHT YOU HOW TO DRIVE, AHOU?!" Saya shrieked angrily as she was thrown against the side of the van onto her back, accidentally flashing Kouta as her legs kicked high in the air and her skirt flounced up as his eyes widened at the sight and his teenage hormones went into overdrive.
"SAYA-CHAN! WATCH YOUR MOUTH, YOUNG LADY!" Yuriko scolded as she looked over her shoulder and glared at her daughter as Saya and everyone were struggling to keep their balance in the wildly pitching van.
"Andrew-san was the one who taught me!" Kukugari answered nonchalantly, as he made another high speed swerve and then grinned broadly at hearing Saya shriek as she was tossed again, in the opposite direction onto her face, accidentally giving Kouta another sneak peek, this time at her blue-and-white striped rear.
"Who?!" Rei shouted as she and Alice slid across the floor of the van.
"A former bodyguard of ours!" Yuriko explained as she placed one hand on the dashboard and braced herself as they made another wild turn.
"WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT, YOU PERV'!" Saya shrieked at Kouta, her face beet-red with embarrassment, as she tried to pull down her skirt.
"WHY IS HE DRIVING THIS WAY FOR?!" Takashi yelled as he was slammed against the wall of the van by another particularly violent turn.
"Dammit, doesn't he use his brake at all?" Takashi wondered angrily as the van zoomed down a narrow alley without slowing.
"They're" not running after us, and "They" sure as hell can't drive. What's the hurry?!" Takashi yelled as the van swerved violently again.
"We only have a small window in which to retrieve all of you before the JSDF makes another sweep of the entrance to the tunnels!" Yuriko yelled and then smirked, as she watched Kouta trying to keep a handhold on the van and trying to help Saya at the same time as the van suddenly bounced after hitting something on the road, tossing Saya into his lap as she immediately began to blush.
"If we keep shaking Jimu-san up like this, we could kill him!" Shizuka shouted in frustration as she and the children tried to keep the man from sliding around the floor of the van.
"If we don't get through the tunnel entrance on the other side in another twenty minutes before the JSDF resumes their patrol of the area, we'll be stuck on this side of the river with no way across and we'll all be dead!" Yuriko snapped as the van violently lurched to the right to avoid an Infected man in the middle of the road.
"What tunnels are you talking about?!" Rei asked as she and Alice were slammed against the wall of the van after another violent lurch of the van threw everyone to the left.
"The JSDF built a network of tunnels underneath each of the canals that separate all sections of the city for mass evacuation in case of a disaster or possible strategic use!" Yuriko replied yelling over the roar of the engine and the squeal of the tires.
"The tunnels were built a long time ago, during the Cold War, and have remained secret, for the most part!" Yuriko explained as she glanced at her watch.
"How did you come to know about them, then?!" Takashi yelled as he tried to steady Rei.
"My brother is a general with the JSDF!" Yuriko replied as she looked into Takashi's face. "He advised us last night of their existence and also delayed the security patrols long enough for us to slip through and gain access to the tunnels!"
"The only problem is," Yuriko added as she anxiously looked out the front windshield and breathed a sigh of relief as their intended destination loomed in sight. "Is that he could only delay them for only so long before it would arouse suspicion!"
"So he delayed them so we could slip through, and then he informed us that once we were through, we only had a two hour window before they would resume their patrols!" Yuriko said still speaking loudly but then lowering her voice as she rested her head against the headrest of the passenger seat, as the vehicle finally slowed and everyone then began tending to the multiple bumps and bruises they had sustained from the wild ride.
"And it was also imperative that we get out before the two hour deadline ended, because after today,…" Yuriko began, her voice sounding especially grim.
"After today, the JSDF is going to permanently seal the tunnels on this side of the river with explosives to try to contain the Contagion." Yuriko said with a heavy sigh.
"And anybody stuck on this side is dead." Yuriko said as everyone's jaw dropped at the realization of how close all of them had been to being left for dead by the authorities.
"Fortunately, we've just made it in time." Yuriko said breathing a sigh of relief as the small caravan headed towards the entrance of an underground parking garage located beneath an office building began to slow down as they drove down the ramp leading into the basement.
"So how's our patient?" Yuriko said turning her head and gazing at everyone in the rear of the van with a slight smile, as Shizuka glared at her in anger.
"He's still breathing, no thanks to all of this slamming around!" Shizuka said with a huff.
"Sensei, is he going to be all right?" Saeko asked looking at the unconscious man worriedly.
"I don't know Saeko-chan." Shizuka said as she started to take the man's pulse again.
"The scalp wound aside, if it's only a concussion, he might be awake very soon." Shizuka said frowning.
"If he has any bleeding in the brain cavity though, he might slip into a coma." Shizuka added as she reached for her penlight to check the man's pupils again.
"You mean he might take longer to regain consciousness?" Kouta asked.
"No, Kouta-chan, I mean he might not wake up at all." Shizuka said grimly as the children all looked at her apprehensively.
"Geez, is she always this blunt about her patients?" Yuriko thought sarcastically as she rolled her eyes in disgust.
"Saya-chan?" Shizuka said, looking over at Saya who was busy slapping Kouta's hands away from her as she tried to get off his lap. "Could you please come here and take over holding Jimu-san's head still, so I can give him an I.V.?"
"Eh?" Saya replied looking first over at the nurse and then the blood-soaked towel wrapped around the injured man's head and began to turn pale at the sight.
Takashi, noticing Saya's visible discomfort over Shizuka's request, and wishing to be helpful as well, raised his hand and offered to take her place instead.
"It's all right Takagi-san, I'll do it." Takashi volunteered, as he got up off the floor of the van and climbed over everyone to switch places with Shizuka .
"Put on some on gloves first, Komuro-chan before you touch him." Shizuka ordered as Takashi reached into the nurse's med-pack and donned a pair of rubber surgical gloves he found after rummaging through it, as Shizuka shifted herself slightly out of his way so that he could position himself behind the man's head as he finished putting on the gloves and moved over towards her.
"What do I do?" Takashi asked, trying not to look at the man's injuries too closely.
"Just hold his head still so it doesn't move." Shizuka replied as Takashi knelt behind the man's head and placed his hands on the blood-soaked towel covering his head, and trying not to gag at the smell of the blood, as Shizuka moved her hands off the man's head and removed her bloody gloves and slipped on a pair of clean ones.
"Don't squeeze his head, Komuro-san!" Shizuka warned as she noticed Takashi pressing too hard on the man's head. "Just hold his head still, and try not to put pressure on him."
"Hai." Takashi replied, wishing he had just kept his mouth shut and not volunteered after all.
Takashi was not at all squeamish at the sight of blood, the past three days of The Outbreak having proved that.
However, for some reason today, the sight and smell of blood coming from a friend was beginning to affect him now, and for the life of him, Takashi could not understand why as he tried to hold the American's head still and tried not to retch at the same time.
"Well, I guess I can start an I.V. now that we're not being tossed around anymore." Shizuka said tersely as she climbed over Takashi, and then knelt next to the unconscious man's side, directly across from Saeko as she unzipped the small med-pak that Takashi had retrieved from the Humvee.
Shizuka then opened up the American's med-pack and reached inside for an I.V. catheter and tubing, and set the I.V. administration set next to her on the floor of the van.
She then reached into the bag once more and pulled out a large opaque plastic bag and tore it open, revealing a smaller clear plastic bag inside of it that was filled with a clear fluid and stamped all over with large words and numbers on it.
She then removed the smaller bag from its wrapper and then stuck one end of the I.V. tubing she had pulled the cap off the end of, into a small port on the bottom of the bag and then squeezed the small chamber attached to the tubing, filling it half full of the clear fluid.
Shizuka then released a clamp attached to the I.V. tubing, allowing the bag to drain and forcing all the remaining air in the tubing to escape as the children observed in complete fascination, watching the air bubbles traveling all the way down the other end of the long length of clear tubing until all the air was cleared from the plastic tubing and the clear fluid from the bag began to flow out onto the floor until Shizuka clamped it off.
"What is that stuff?" Saya asked peering curiously at the bag of fluid Shizuka was holding up as Saya adjusted her glasses.
"An isotonic solution called normal saline." Shizuka replied as she handed Saya the bag holding it on its end as Saya looked back at Shizuka, with a confused expression on her face.
"Just hold the bag in the air for me until I have the catheter in place, Saya-chan." Shizuka said as she smiled at the look of unease on Saya's face as she took the end of the bag in her right hand and then lifted one end in the air, acting as if the bag were going to explode in her hand.
"It's just water and salt basically, Saya-chan." Shizuka laughed as Saya frowned at her, embarrassed at being so jumpy for no reason.
"If it's just water and salt, how is this supposed to help him, then?" Saya asked as she watched Shizuka place a tourniquet on one of the man's arms and then after finding a vein, started rubbing the spot with an alcohol swab.
"It's a little more complicated than that, but basically it helps him by replacing the fluid lost from his system." Shizuka started to explain.
"While it doesn't carry any oxygen carrying capabilities the same as blood does, it does aid in replacing fluid volume to help in the prevention, or reversal of hypovolemic shock due to significant fluid loss from major hemorrhage due to massive injuries suffered from extreme trauma." Shizuka added as everyone gawked at her, completely baffled by her words.
"Uhmmmmm,…. okay." Saya said, blinking her eyes.
Saeko-chan, would you hold this please?" Shizuka asked, handing Saeko the other end of the I.V. tubing as she uncapped the cover on the end of it.
"When I ask for it, just hand me it to me, okay?" Shizuka said as Saeko nodded her head.
"Yuriko-san? " Shizuka said, looking over at Yuriko as she was about to uncap the cover of a very large needle in her hand. "Can we stop for a moment so I can insert this catheter? I really can't do this with the vehicle bouncing around."
"I'm afraid not, Sensei." Yuriko replied as their van went over a speed bump as they traveled down the ramp leading towards the lower levels of the basement. "We're just barely going to make it as it is, so I'm afraid you're just going to have to do the best you can."
"But at least there won't be any more high speed turns or speed bumps from here on." Yuriko said shrugging her shoulders and smiling as she looked upon the scowling face of the frustrated nurse.
"Oh, very well." Shizuka sighed as she uncapped the needle and checked for "burrs" on the catheter surrounding the needle before she prepared to place the I.V. catheter into the man's arm.
Shizuka then took a deep breath to steady herself as she then stretched the skin of the man's arm over the injection site with one hand, and then placed the needle over the antecubital vein she had chosen to place the catheter into, as everyone including Yuriko leaned closer completely fixated on what she was doing, as Shizuka then pierced the skin of the man's arm with the needle and advanced it into the vein.
A flash of red suddenly filled the small chamber on the end of the catheter indicating a successful insertion, as Shizuka then slid the catheter over the needle and then pulled the needle out completely, while also applying pressure to the vein above the site to prevent blood from pouring out as Saeko then handed her the other end of the tubing.
Shizuka inserted the end of the tubing into the open end of the catheter and then taped everything down with a veni-guard securing everything just before the man suddenly jerked his arm.
"WAAAAAAH!" Shizuka screamed as the previously "unconscious" man suddenly jerked his arm away from her and then pulled his hand out of Saeko's and grabbed Saeko's arm, frightening her, as he then suddenly sat up as everyone screamed in surprise.
"JIMU-SAN! IT'S JUST US!" Saeko shouted, suddenly afraid that the American was about to start fighting everyone in the close confines of the van as everyone jumped back, obviously fearing the same thing.
Saeko gasped as the American's hand squeezed her arm in a vise-like grip as he slowly turned his towel-covered head and seemed to be staring at her even though his eyes were swollen shut.
Saeko stared in shock at the man's swollen face, mere inches from her own as, she heard everyone screaming in the background as the man's bloody lips parted….
