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Grace used an iodine solution to clean around the wounds on both sides.

“How’s he doing,” she asked Sabrina.

“Blood pressure and heart rate are stable,” Sabrina answered.

“I’m going to remove the pincer now,” Luke said.

Grace grabbed a couple of sterile towels and handed them to him. “Wrap a towel around each side of the pincer. I don’t want you to tear your gloves.”

Luke wrapped them around the pincers and then grasping them he pulled them apart, slowly pulling the talons from John’s leg. Blood gushed out, soaking into the towels beneath his leg. Luke held the pincer up. “What should I do with it?”

“I put a plastic bag on the counter behind you. Lay it on that,” Grace said and Luke turned and dropped it on the bag along with the two towels. “We’re going to let the wounds bleed for a moment then flush them with a saline solution before we apply pressure and stop the bleeding.”

She moved away from the exam table for a moment and returned with several more towels and two bottles of saline wash. She handed one bottle to Luke before she cut the tip off one of the bottles and began irrigating the wound on the inside of his ankle. Luke copied her and cleaned the wound on the outside. At first the wash ran red then gradually it turned pink and then almost clear.

“Okay, I think that’s enough. Let’s put soft pressure on the wounds and see if we can stop the bleeding.” Grace set the bottle down, picked up a sterile towel and held it against the wound. Luke did the same thing. After a couple minutes the wounds still seeped blood but seemed to be slowing down.

“Will you bandage this, Sabrina?” Grace asked.

“Yes, of course, ma’am. Do you want me to apply an antibiotic ointment with a numbing agent?” Sabrina asked.

“Yes, please. There’s a tube on the tray and I think we can remove the IV now as well.” Grace removed the gloves then washed her hands. “He’ll be drowsy for a while but I want to move him back to his bunk. We need to clean and change the bandages every day and I want someone to be with him at all times.”

“I’ll get Mark and we’ll move him.” Luke glanced at the pincer. “What are you going to do with that?”

Grace frowned. “I’m not sure but for now I think I’ll wrap it in several layers of plastic and put it in the walk-in freezer. We might learn something about the creatures if we study that thing.”

“I’ll clean up in here while you deal with that.” Sabrina pointed to the monster’s limb.

Grace wrapped it in several more towels, then slipped it inside the bag, tied it shut and slipped the entire thing in another bag and sealed it. “I’ll be right back,” She lifted it, surprised by how light it felt. She carried it to the walk-in freezer where she set it in the far corner then returned to the exam room.

Luke and Mark had moved John to a stretcher and were carrying him out of Medical when she returned.

“Neil has medical experience so he’s going to monitor him tonight,” Luke said. “Then, Damien will take over at oh four hundred.”

Grace glanced into Medical. Sabrina already had the room in order. “I’m going to do a walk through and make sure everything is locked up tight. Thank you for your help tonight, Sabrina. You did good and you’ve definitely earned some rack time.”

Sabrina smiled and waved. “Night, ma’am.”

Grace notified security she was beginning her nightly check and that she’d only call for help if she needed them. They nodded. She started at the armory and worked her way around the building returning to security. “Everything is secure. I’m heading to bed. Wake me if anything happens.”

“Night, Grace,” Luke said.

SIX

May 8th, 2015

GUNNERY SERGEANT DAN Perryman dropped to one knee between the two semi-trucks and signaled to his men. Snake and Sherlock slid into the ditch to his right while Books and Sharp disappeared into the trees lining the left side of the road. Leaning forward, he ducked beneath the bumper and examined the body on the ground.

Blood and bits of gore covered the ground The red haired man lay face up. His arms, legs and most of his torso were missing. Dan noted the open doors on both trucks. The one in front didn’t have blood on it but the one behind it was covered in gore. He figured the driver of the second truck had gotten out to check on the driver of the first truck. He’d walked up to it, opened the door, and gotten the shock of his life. He’d probably ran, trying to make it back to the safety of his cab. He’d made it as far as the door before the Variant caught up to him. From the condition of the body Perryman thought there must have been more than one Variant because they’d torn him to pieces.

“Gunny, the signs on the trucks are Miller Food Supply,” Snake said, his voice calm on the headset.

“Looks like our intel about the food delivery was right,” Books said.

“The school is a klick away,” Sharp said.

“Move out and stay sharp,” Dan said.

They took their positions with Snake on point and Dan five meters behind him. Sherlock paced him on the left while Books paced him on the right. Sharp guarded their six. They moved fast but silently.

“Gate is open. Bits and pieces of bodies on the ground,” Snake reported.

“Any movement?” Dan asked as he moved up next to Snake and scoped the nearest buildings.

“No, but lots of places the Variants can hide,” Snake said.

“Sharp, you see anything?” Dan asked.

“No movement in the windows or on top of the buildings,” Sharp said, looking through the scope on his sniper rifle.

“Variants probably left,” Books said. “Doesn’t look like there’s any food left in the area.”

“I know you can’t relate, Books, but they’re called people,” Sherlock said. “In this case, they’re kids.”

“Abandoned, or not, this place will make a good post,” Books said.

“Stop the chatter,” Dan said. “We’ll follow the wall around. Go over it, find the bunker, get in, secure it then get some chow and rack time,” Dan said. “Snake, you take point.”

They moved out, guarding their steps and staying in the shadows. They’d only gone about a hundred meters when the sound of something scurrying across rocks reached them. It was a little different from the clicking they were used to hearing. This sound was more of a quick tapping, dragging sound like something hard and sharp coming down on rock. They dropped into the deepening shadows, their eyes scanning the area around them.

Dan held still, moving only his eyes as he searched for the Variant through the thick foliage where he’d taken refuge. Several meters away he caught a movement on the top of the wall. A breeze flowed over him, carrying the scent of rotting fruit as the Variant moved, reminding him more of an insect than a human. Its skin had turned a shiny black and looked hard like the shell of a bug. Its hands had formed into pincers with sharp talons. When it moved it made the tapping, dragging sound.

His night vision outlined the Variant in a green glow as it scrambled along the wall then jumped to the ground. It scrambled through the trees away from them. He waited a few moments then signaled his men to move out. They followed the wall around until the GPS indicated they were directly behind the cafeteria.

Dan pointed to Books then to his eyes and mimed cupped hands. Books nodded and moved next to the wall. Dan placed his foot in Books hands and lifted himself up until his eyes cleared the top of the wall. He scanned the campus, looking for movement.

A long low building was to his right. The parking garage. Next to it was a shed of some kind. Probably for the groundskeeper. Trees and dying flower beds lay between him and the loading dock at the back of the cafeteria. He grabbed the edge, climbed over and jumped down then moved to the back of the shed.