I didn't want to go but I knew Joshua was probably right. Will you come with me? I wanted even less to be alone.
“Of course.” Joshua nodded, giving my arm a squeeze.
Slowly I was beginning to feel better, and I reached up, wanting to take my mask off. “I did call for you,” I rasped, staring up at Josh.
“I barely heard you,” he admitted. “I was busy.” He looked sheepish in response and my hand moved over his arm.
“What were you doing?” I wanted to know what had been so important. Obviously the drones flying overhead wouldn't have made it possible for him to run back to the house to find me, but still…I didn't understand what he'd been up to.
He glanced at Chancellor Collins and I turned to see what was going on but missed the exchange. Joshua sighed. “Keeping the town safe.”
I wondered precisely what that meant. I didn't ask. I let Joshua put the oxygen mask back over my mouth and nose. I turned my head, seeing Chancellor Collins and Sydney carrying Hazel to the medical center.
I hoped they didn't plan on doing that with me. I could walk there. My legs weren't broken. I just had a horrible headache and terribly sore throat. I'd be okay. I probably didn't even need to go to the medical center. Slowly I moved to sit up and Joshua reacted. “What are you doing?”
“I want to walk on my own.” I pushed myself off the ground, grimacing from the instant headache. Joshua wrapped an arm around my waist as I pushed the oxygen mask off. “I'm okay.” I didn't feel steady on my feet but I hadn't hit my head. I felt capable of walking to the medical center. It wasn't that far away.
“For the record, I'm against this,” Joshua told me but didn't let go. He held one arm around my waist as he walked with me across the street. We had to walk half a block east towards the clinic but I knew I could do it. I swayed a little in his arms but finally Joshua pushed open the doors as we entered. Hazel was already lying on a bed.
Sydney came rushing towards us. “What are you doing walking?” She wrapped another arm around my waist, helping me to a bed.
“My legs aren't broken,” I remarked as I moved to lie down. The headache vanished.
“No, but you've inhaled a lot of smoke. You might be dizzy for a little while.” She grabbed a penlight, checking my pupil reaction.
“I'll be fine,” I rasped hoarsely as I gently tried to push her away.
Joshua sighed. “You don't sound fine,” he reminded me. “Olive, would you let her do her job, please?”
I put my arm down to my side and lay there motionless as she looked me over. She put a small device on my earlobe, glancing at the monitor. “What's that?” I asked, wanting to know what she was doing to me. It didn't hurt.
“Checking how much oxygen is in your blood,” Sydney remarked. She grabbed a vial along with a syringe, antiseptic wipe, and rubber band. I grimaced as she tightened the rubber band on my upper arm, preparing to draw blood. “We want to run a few blood tests,” she told me.
“Why?” I coughed, trying my best to hold still. “I'm fine,” I reiterated. I didn't like when she pierced the needle into my skin. I looked away, glancing at Joshua as he stood there with me the entire time.
“We need to run a CBC, metabolic profile, Carboxyhemoglobin and Methemoglobin. If that's okay with you.” There she was again, sounding like the Sydney I knew. Hating to be questioned and, even more importantly, just hating me.
“Whatever,” I muttered, closing my eyes, glad when she finished and put a small bandage on the broken skin to keep the bleeding at bay. “When can I go home?”
Joshua sighed, glancing at Sydney and then finally at me. “We're going to have to find another place for a few days,” he offered. “There's a lot of smoke damage to the house. We'll probably need to clean what we can and apply a fresh coat of paint to the inside walls.”
It wasn't something I looked forward to. “Where will we stay until the house is cleaned up?” My voice was hoarse but I was sounding a little more like myself.
Joshua smiled. “I'll worry about that. You get some rest, okay?”
I frowned, reaching for his hand. “Are you leaving?” I didn't want to seem like a wimp but I wasn't crazy about staying in the infirmary any longer than necessary.
Joshua leant down, dropping a kiss to my forehead. “For a few hours. You should rest,” he insisted. “I need to take care of a few things. I'll be back with lunch though, okay?”
I nodded, wondering what he needed to do that couldn't wait. I suspected the fact we couldn't stay in our house tonight may have been part of it but I didn't want to think about that at the moment. I closed my eyes, trying to get some rest while I heard Sydney bustling around the medical center, tending to Hazel and a few other patients I wasn't familiar with.
I slept a few hours and when I woke up Sydney was checking my vitals. “Everything okay?” I asked, as she scribbled down some notes. My voice was less raspy.
“Here,” she offered, grabbing an empty cup and filling it with water. I took it from her, sipping it slowly. My throat felt raw but the cool liquid seemed to go down okay.
“Thanks.” I put the cup beside my bed. “Can I go home?” I felt better.
“Yes, your blood work came back fine.” she smiled. I wondered if she was glad to be done with me. I moved to sit up, wanting the wires removed as I was ready to leave. “Olivia.” She stared at me seriously and I paused what I was doing, glancing up at her.
“Hazel wasn't thinking very clearly with what she did today. You both could have been killed. I know she was trying to protect you.” Her voice grew quieter so Hazel couldn't overhear our conversation. “But you're much too important for anything to happen to you.”
I sighed, glancing down at my arms and realizing how dirty I was from the smoke and ash. I chewed on my bottom lip before glancing back up at Sydney. “I wouldn't know what else to do. Hazel was quick on her feet and I know she was right. The smoke would have signaled the drones to attack us.” I defended Hazel. How could anyone suggest otherwise?
“I'm going to talk with the Chancellor but I'd like to put you and Joshua up in different housing.” She stared at me. “We have some facilities that are newer, a little more up-to-date. You wouldn't have the need for a wood-burning stove,” she acknowledged. “I'm just worried about you. If something were to happen…” Her voice trailed off.
“I know.” I didn't need her to spell it out for me. “Listen, I'm fine. I appreciate your concern but unless the drones fly over the town again soon, we're okay.”
Sydney sighed. “That's my point, Olivia. The drones come whenever the government sends them. We have little to no warning at all. If we'd have known we wouldn't have sent Jaxon, Margo, and Mason out to the Gravelands.”
My face paled. Had they been seen driving east? “You think they've been caught?” I asked, feeling my stomach sink.
“There's a meeting right now,” she admitted. “It's why Joshua has been gone for a while,” Sydney explained. “Listen, I know you want to help and do what's best for all of us but you have to sometimes do what's best for you first,” she told me seriously. “You are important and I know you realize that. You could have been killed today and you were lucky you weren't. Maybe Hazel in her split decision did what was right. I can't know for certain. I do know that if you ever become pregnant and a stunt like that happens,” she stared at me gravely, “it wouldn't end well for the baby.”
“I'm not pregnant,” I answered bluntly. “If that was one of the tests you ran, you should know that.”
“It wasn't,” Sydney remarked. “Joshua assured me when we brought you in that you weren't pregnant. You just…you need to be careful. Okay?”