through northwestern Pennsylvania. It had hit LaMar Pond in the past three weeks. It was a virulent strain. One that was resistant to the vaccine. Several deaths had been reported throughout the affected area. It was hitting the local Amish community especially hard. In addition to her usual weekly home visits, Alexa had been out to see several children and one elderly woman already for the virus. Noah’s family had been hit, as well. Thankfully, his wife and children were on the mend.
Megan, the pretty young receptionist, shook her head, never looking up from her computer. Alexa didn’t take offense. Megan, like everyone else, was busier than usual. Even with the yearly shots, two nurses were already down with the flu. Nurses they couldn’t afford to do without. This was a clinic funded chiefly by donations. There wasn’t a hefty budget. The owners barely had enough staff to cover the clinic as it was.
The dispatch radio sent out a series of beeps. For a moment, the employees at the clinic paused, mostly out of habit, as many of the staff also worked shifts at the main hospital. That particular beep pattern was for the ambulance service and volunteer fire department in the next town over. Any victims would be transported to the hospital. Static crackled briefly before it was replaced with the dispatcher’s voice. Alexa winced. A four vehicle crash on the interstate. Conditions were bound to get worse. The weather forecast had said the snow was supposed to continue all day and into tomorrow.
Had Noah been in an accident, too? His usual driver was very cautious, but there were many other drivers out on the roads who were in too much of a hurry.
The dispatcher’s voice stopped, and the cheery sounds of Christmas music filled the air. The dichotomy of danger and joy was jarring to her. No one else seemed bothered by it, though, so she put the thought aside.
Alexa glanced at the clock on the wall and felt her tension go up a notch. Noah was now ten minutes late. If he didn’t show up in the next five minutes, the clinic’s policy dictated that he would lose his appointment. That would keep the clinic from getting even further behind schedule. She gnawed on her bottom lip. It could also set Noah’s recovery back a bit. Which would be a shame. Both his children were recovering from vicious cases of the flu, and he had come down with it, as well. Noah had chronically weak lungs, so he’d had a hard battle on his hands. But, hopefully, today’s exam would show that he was truly on the mend.
If he showed up.
Needing something to do, she moved to the counter against the wall, took a mug off the shelf and made herself a cup of hot tea. Still, she couldn’t get Noah out of her mind.
Alexa didn’t get caught up in her patients’ lives. She wouldn’t allow herself that luxury. No, as a nurse practitioner, she learned the value of keeping a professional distance.
Actually, she tended to keep her emotional distance at all times, professional or not.
The one time she hadn’t had nearly destroyed her.
She shook her head, refusing to give in to the memories that haunted her. Memories that had forced her to leave her home in Downers Grove, Illinois.
A tingle hit her between her shoulder blades. She hunched them slightly, suppressing a shiver. Nervously, she glanced toward the window again. No one was there. She couldn’t quite shake the feeling that something was wrong. The feeling had dogged her all week. Like a dark cloud, always hovering over her head, blocking out the sun. At times, she’d have the sensation of being watched. Sometimes at work. Sometimes at home. Once when she was running errands in town. She’d made a valiant effort to remain positive, but it was starting to weigh on her.
Frustrated, she stirred her tea with more vigor than was called for. She so didn’t need this stress. Hadn’t she made the decision to move to this rural northwestern Pennsylvania town to heal from the tragedy that had devastated her and to rebuild her life? How was she to do that when she was always tense?
The sound of a rough engine outside the building caught her attention. Some of the tension drained out as she noticed Noah stepping out of the van. Finally. A sigh escaped her. Setting her tea mug down on a side counter, she scooped up Noah’s file.
His driver started to drive off as Noah reached the clinic door. His hand was on the handle, and he started to pull the door open. A blast of cold air whooshed inside the busy waiting room, then the glass pane shattered with a loud crash. Everyone stilled, shocked. Noah stood with the door half open. A second gunshot blasted into the silence. Alexa screamed, dimly aware that others were screaming too as the young Amish man at the door swayed, a dark stain spreading across his shoulder. Not again. She wouldn’t lose another patient.
In the midst of the madness, Alexa realized that the other patients were potential targets.
“Get down!” Running across the lobby, Alexa reached the door and grabbed on to Noah as he started to crumple to the ground. Yanking him inside the building, she yelled for help. One of the other employees appeared at her side. Together, they managed to pull Noah across the lobby and behind the receptionist’s counter.
“Noah! Noah. Can you hear me?” No response. Leaning closer, she gently shook his shoulder. Her hand came away wet. A quick glance confirmed her fears. Her hand was covered with Noah’s blood.
“An ambulance and the police are on their way.” Megan fell to her knees beside Alexa, gauze bandages in her hands.
Alexa nodded her understanding. She grabbed the bandages and started to do what she could to stop the bleeding. Noah was still breathing, although there was a rasp to it she didn’t care for. Whether that was from the virus or from the injury, she couldn’t tell.
“Where’s the doctor? Grab me a blanket, will you?”
Megan quickly left, returning in seconds with an armful of blankets.
“I haven’t seen the doctor for almost an hour. He was in the back, treating patients. I’m amazed he didn’t hear the commotion.”
Alexa nodded to let Megan know she heard her. They needed to keep Noah warm. She was worried he could go into shock. “Cover him. I can’t relieve the pressure on his wound.”
On the floor, Noah moaned; his eyes were shut. Alexa encouraged him, keeping her voice calm, not letting on that inside she was a quivering mess.
“Come on, Noah. Fight this. You have a family to take care of,” Alexa told her patient.
What was that? She straightened, closing her eyes to hear better. Yes! Sirens.
“Do you hear that, Noah? Sirens. The ambulance is on its way.”
The next few minutes were frenzied. The ambulance crew arrived in a flurry of activity. Alexa sat back on her heels, letting the paramedics take over for her. She remained alert, ready to help in an instant if they called on her. She’d do whatever they needed to help Noah.
Another siren split the air. Red and blue strobe lights flickered on the walls, glinting off the shards of glass still on the floor. She shivered. She hadn’t realized until now how cold the clinic had become with the door’s window broken. But she could see little puffs emerging from people’s mouths as they breathed.
A LaMar Pond police officer entered the building. He quietly began to talk with the staff and patients. As he worked the room, a second officer arrived. He sauntered in casually, but his bright blue eyes were anything but causal as they canvassed the room. His black hair was dotted with snowflakes, which melted as she watched.
“Parker,
