Page 38 of Resolution
“What are you doing here?” Melly asked as she tried not to wince from the enthusiastic hug.
“I’m the megacannon operator for the APC today,” Tamsyn said proudly. “Cody’s been teaching me and Jeff needed all hands here today.”
“She did a great job too,” Jeff said. “She’s a natural.”
“Don’t tell me Mike is here,” Melly warned, suddenly worried her brother might have been drafted as well.
“He’s at the ranch with Devora and Jenny,” Jeff assured her. “Although he was upset by my decision. He wanted to rescue you himself. It’ll take a while for him to forgive me so I’m counting on you to help him see reason.”
“Since I would have made the same decision, I’m totally on your side,” she said.
“Let’s get moving.” Jeff glanced over his shoulder at the ruins, where the rest of his team was emerging from the smoke, pulse rifles at the ready. “We need to get the kids on board the flyers and take off so I can drop the final bomb.”
“Ybidliuz had a cat,” Melly said as she ushered the children to the flyer’s ramp. “Uninfected.”
“Saw a cat heading for the hills,” Trent told her. “I’m sure it’ll be at a safe distance by the time we let the final bombardment loose. Cats are survivors.”
Reassured, Melly followed the last of the children into the flyer and made sure they were all settled in seats. She handed out juice packs Jeff had thoughtfully stowed away in the tiny galley and her young charges hardly noticed when the flyer took off in a gentle trajectory. The children were silent for the most part, clutching their meager possessions or tattered lovies. They’d all need help making this next transition, Melly knew, and she vowed to do her best, but she wouldn’t be in Millersville full time. She’d have to ensure Jeff brought her into town on a regular schedule so she could meet with the kids and the families for consultations and counseling. Mental health needs took a priority in the ongoing apocalypse. People focused so hard on simply surviving that the stresses of life in the midst of the disaster had to be ignored day-to-day but these children had been through multiple traumas and would need care.
Thirty-seven of them, Melly remembered with a wave of exhaustion. And one of her, the only doctor on the planet as far as she was aware, except for Dr. Sharpton at Glastine and no one needed to be cared for by him. I’ve got to watch my own mental health.
The flyer shuddered a bit, which Melly assumed was caused by dropping the final bomb and accelerated into a wide, sweeping turn. Suddenly it felt as if a huge tailwind was pushing them and the craft rocked in turbulence that had the children crying out in alarm. She got up and walked the aisle giving reassurances. In the vids she could see a huge pillar of fire and ugly smoke behind them, rapidly growing smaller as they flew toward the south.
Jeff emerged from the cockpit. “Sorry about the last bit of excitement,” he said to the children as he came up to Melly, putting his arm around her waist and pulling her close. “Nothing but a routine flight from here until we reach your new, permanent home.”
“Will my mom and dad be there?” asked a young girl in the row next to Melly.
Jeff glanced helplessly at Melly, who knelt in the aisle and smoothed the girl’s tangled hair with gentle fingers. “No, I’m sorry, sweetheart, she won’t be. Miss Sandy and I are going to help you each find a new home to live in, new families, but they won’t replace your parents, I understand that. My mom and dad died in the outbreak too, you know. I miss them so much but I’ve made new friends and found a new home. That doesn’t mean I’ll ever forget my parents or stop loving them in my heart but they’d want me to go on and try to be happy.”
Jeff squeezed her shoulder and she saw him watching her with eyes full of love.
You’re my happiness, she told him via the subaural com. Always.
Chapter Twelve
The welcome at Millersville was warm. They’d established a good relationship with the mayor on their initial visit when Jeff had provided assistance to defeat and capture a local warlord who threatened the town and Melly stepped in to treat the wounded, as well as victims of a building which collapsed during the battle.
She was bone weary but forced herself to hold it together while she and Sandy led the children off the flyers and into a big groundtruck, which conveyed them to the old high school, where the town had prepared the gym to be a big dormitory, with cots and blankets. There was a committee waiting for them, headed by the mayor’s wife, her new baby slung in a carrier.
“We’ll keep them here tonight,” she told Melly and Sandy as the children selected their beds. “We’ve got hot food coming. Tomorrow we want to interview them and then try to match them as best we can with the families who volunteered to take on the responsibility.”
“Siblings stay together,” Melly said. “The true familial connection is essential in this uncertain world.”
As the mayor’s wife was voicing her agreement, Sandy added, “There are close friendships in the group as well, as tight as brother or sister. They should stay together.”
“We’re highly motivated to help these children,” said Mrs. Tommlin, one of the older women assisting the mayor’s wife. Melly knew her from the medical emergency situation during the warlord battle and respected her. “We also know our town and our people, so we can avoid any…mistakes in placement.”
“There were a few medical issues I want to treat before I go,” Melly said. “My husband and his men will be bringing my medkit.”
“You can set up in the trainers’ room over there, for privacy,” Mrs. Wyler said, pointing across the building.. “Do you need any help?”
“Tamsyn, my assistant, will be here. The two of us should be fine. I examined the entire group a few days ago at the lab so I can assure you there are no health issues, aside from the children I need to see now. And those aren’t infectious issues.” Melly gritted her teeth to stay on her feet. Exhaustion was clawing at her but she was determined to take care of the young patients today.
“We’ll need a list of names and relationships,” the mayor’s wife said to Sandy as Melly walked away to check out the designated room.
Despite her eagerness to leave Millersville and get to the ranch, Melly forced herself to take her time and do her usual thorough treatment for the six children she’d earmarked as having medical issues which needed care. She gave her aftercare instructions to Sandy and then finally gave herself permission to signal to Jeff she was ready to leave. He’d been lingering near the exam room anxiously and she took comfort in the fact he was aware of how much it was costing her to be the doctor right now, instead of giving in to her emotional and physical reactions to her own treatment at the hands of the Khagrish. Jeff would watch out for her.
As they were going to leave the gym and take the waiting groundcar to where the flyer was parked, there was a happy outcry from the gymnasium and Melly paused, trying to see what was going on.
