Page 15 of Crimson Born

“No. I’m afraid Josiah Yoder is the only one who uh... survived the accident,” the woman said.

Studying my face for a few seconds, hers softened. “You know what? Why don’t you go on up to the nurses’ station on Floor Six? Talk to the charge nurse there. Maybe they’ll let you in to see him for just a few minutes. The elevator is right around that corner there.”

I thanked her and walked in the direction she pointed, finding the bank of elevators and pushing the glowing button to summon one.

I’d never been in a hospital before, but I’d been to a shopping mall with Hannah, and we’d ridden the elevators there.

Back then it had seemed very exciting and “worldly.” Now I felt like I was living in a whole different world. Nothing seemed real to me, as if this was all a continuation of a nightmare.

Hannah and Aaron were dead. Reece must have died too, and I... I wasn’t sure what I was now—maybe somewhere in between alive and dead?

Maybe seeing Josiah would help. He’d been through the same horrific experience I had. He would understand how I felt.

Now that I thought about it, maybe he would be able to relate ineveryway to what I was going through. He and I were the only two to “survive” the accident. Maybe he’d been bitten last night as well.

Something leapt in my chest. Was it wrong that I was almost hoping he had been? I didn’t want him to be shunned by his family and community, but if hehadbecome a vampire as well, I wouldn’t be alone.

We could figure out our next steps and learn how to navigate this new life—if you could call it life—together.

That hope was dashed as soon as I spotted him.

Once again, my unusually acute new sense of smell detected his signature scent. He was in the first ICU room on my right as I approached the nurses’ station.

The large window gave me a clear view of his bed. While my injuries, including the bite on my hand, had healed overnight, Josiah was in rough shape. In fact, if I hadn’t picked up on his scent, I might not have believed it was him.

Both his eyes were swollen shut, the lids grossly misshapen and stained with red and purple. The rest of him didn’t look much better.

There were huge scrapes on his forehead and chin, I guessed from the asphalt, and matching ones on his right forearm and knuckles. The left arm was entirely covered by a cast, as was his left leg.

My vision blurred, and I turned away from the window taking deep breaths and pressing a fist against my midsection which felt tied up in knots.

I approached the nurses’ station in slow motion. “Hello. I’m a friend of Josiah Yoder’s. Can I… see him?”

The nurse’s answering expression wasn’t encouraging. “There’s a limit on how many people can visit at a time in the ICU. I’m pretty sure his parents are in there with him now.”

As I’d just passed his room and didn’t see Mr. and Mrs. Yoder, I was sure they weren’t.

“Could you just check for me? Please? I was in the accident with him, and I really need to see him.”True.“I’m his girlfriend,” I added for some extra persuasion.

Not so true. But I was desperate.

She hesitated, but something in my eyes must have convinced her because she scooted her chair back and got up.

“I’ll go take a peek.”

Going to that first room, she slid the door open, popped her head in, withdrew it, and came back to me.

“They must have gone down to the cafeteria. I’ll give you five minutes, okay? I should warn you—he’s in bad shape. I’m sorry to say it, but he’s not expected to make it through the night.”

“Oh.” My heart sank. Not Josiah, too.

The survivor’s guilt hit me like a heavy bag of grain. It wasn’t right that I should have survived the accident when all my friends died.

But had I reallysurvived?I wasn’t sure how much my life was worth when I’d lost my connection to my family, my community and entire way of living.

Preparing myself to say goodbye to the boy I’d known since I was two, I stepped into the dimly lit room.

The white walls and crisp white bedcoverings were a terrifying contrast to the kaleidoscope of colors covering Josiah’s arms, neck, and face. The soft whirs and beeps of medical equipment were the only sounds in the room.

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