Hi there!
Here it is! The promised chapter ( ^-^)ノ∠※。.:*:・'°
I've been waiting so long to publish this chapter because the plot will actually start to set into motion. Or conflict. Or motive, or whatever really!
Note that the rating is bouncing up a step. Things are getting serious in sector 45!
Take that as a warning!
Now to the fic! (￣▽￣)ゞ
Day 27
He doubted he had ever seen Delalieu as relieved as the moment he announced that he was planning to going to the compounds. He had a feeling the Lieutenant wanted nothing more but to join him, just to make sure the girl was taken care of afterwards, but that he had held himself back. Something Warner wasn't sure if he thought was for the best or not.
Exiting the tank he saw that the snow had increased over the past few days he had spent inside. It was deep enough for footprints to appear when you set your foot down; and since it was still snowing they were covered up and replaced with new ones every few minutes. Same was with the sun panels on the roofs.
He had made sure to equippe each house with a broom so that they could clear the panels if necessary. It was extra important now during the winter, since the span of daylight was shortened.
He could already see a few inhabitants taking the initiative, standing at the roof of their boxes with brooms in hand, sending cascades of snow down the sides. A few unlucky neighbors getting it all over themselves if they walked too close on their way to work.
Others were happy over this extra snow it seemed. But that was mostly the children playing in it.
What he couldn't see was the girl.
Alice.
"Soldiers, find your patrols and change the guards", Warner ordered when everyone had exited their tanks. There was about twenty of them.
"I have some things to take care of. You are dismissed."
The monitoring group had reported to him that the girl had been staying in her living department since Delalieu had tried taking her to the medical center.
That's where he went first.
It was Martha Nelson that opened the door to him. A mother of three, two boys and one girl, a husband in the military, a sister down the street. She worked at the uniform factory.
She was the hostess of the girl.
"She's not here", was the first thing she said after they exchanged greetings.
Warner frowned.
"I was informed she was sick. Shouldn't she stay out of the snow?", he asked.
Martha looked down, took a deep breath.
"She went out for a walk, said she needed some fresh air", she answered quickly.
She was worried he realized.
'Odd that she let her outside if that's the case', he thought.
Suddenly a little boy came to the doorway and clung himself on his mother's leg.
"I let Alice borrow the gloves she gave me!", he announced proudly.
"So she can play in the snow if she wants to!", he explained. Pronouncing his L's as W's.
"Yes, and that was very nice of you, Benjamin", his mother said, stroking his hair.
Benjamin looked up at Warner. A sudden interest in his eyes.
"If you see Alice", he said,"tell her to come back soon. 'Cuz her cough will get worse if she eats too much snow! Mommy said that."
"Please", he added quickly.
Warner couldn't help but feel a smile tug at the corners of his mouth a little at the request.
"I'll go look for her", he said.
Then he nodded a goodbye to the two. Martha not looking like she wished him a good farewell.
He found her after a good snow-filled quarter of an hour. She was by the fence, staring at what layed on the other side through the squared net of metal thread.
Standing in an almost perfect profile.
Her nose was a little upturned, he noticed. Like a soft ski slope.
She must have stood there for quite a while because there were no footprints in the snow around her. Looking at her worn jacket he saw that some had collected on her shoulders.
"Here I am!", Warner announced as she didn't notice his presence.
She startled and slowly turned her head towards him. A bit too slow for the energetic girl he had seen running around with the other children.
"War… ner…?" Her voice broke a little between the shallow breaths she was taking. He could tell by the small puffs flying from her mouth.
When she looked at him he saw that she had a red, fevery hue across her cheeks. She was sick. It was very obvious.
He asked himself again how on earth Martha had let her outside.
But that wasn't his fault was it? She was the one being stubborn about having to meet him. And he was going to let her visit a doctor as soon as this was dealt with anyway.
"Yes I'm here, as promised", he said and took a few steps closer to her.
"Why are you outside by the way? I thought you were getting worse."
She looked down at that. Ashamed maybe?
"It… feels better... outside", she answered softly. Putting a hand to her chest as if it hurt.
"You just have to tell me your last name and I'll let a doctor have a look at you", he assured.
Then he waited for his long awaited answer. Watching as Alice's breaths tried to deepen, but couldn't.
She coughed.
She managed to get out some incoherent syllables between them, but he couldn't make anything of it. She realized the same.
She took a pause to try get her breathing under control. But it didn't work.
The coughs only deepened, and Warner's eyes widened at the sound.
It sounded like two rocks being grinded together.
"Alice?", he asked, slightly worried about that sound.
But Alice didn't answer, or couldn't hear him. The hand that had been on her chest was before her mouth now, and the other held onto the fence for support. Her gloved fingers interlocking with the metal squares.
Her shoulder's jerking in the ravaging coughs. Her knees starting to weaken underneath her, and she started slumping downwards.
"Alice..!"
Warner hurried up to her, panic on his face. He didn't know anything about medical aid except sprained ankles, contusions, concussions, gunshot wounds and other flesh wounds. And the after shock from the gunshot wound and other flesh wounds.
All the knew about airways was the heimlich maneuver and CPR, and that wouldn't work in this situation.
"Try taking small breaths!", he told her. And somehow he managed to still keep his ordering voice intact with his racing heart.
Standing above her he looked around to see if there was a soldier nearby that could fetch a medic. But since they were by the fence, hidden by view by some buildings he saw no one.
'I brought twenty more soldiers and not a single one is patrolling around this one building?!'
"Small I said!", he when the sound of stones grinding only intensified.
Then he looked down again.
And his frantic heartbeat almost stopped.
Alice had put a hand on the snow covered ground. The one that had been before her mouth. And as her hand slid a little in her ravage coughs, he saw that the snow wasn't just white. It was red.
He went rigid.
Then he turned his head and shouted with all his might,"Somebody get a doctor. IMMEDIATELY!"
Just as Alice coughed again and a stain appeared before her. Dark red against the white snow.