Chapter 25 Under Siege
Finished
Kiara wasn’t sure if Joy had been standing by the door the whole time, but the moment she called her name, the door to the left on the seventh floor flew open.
When Joy saw Kiara’s face, she let out a huge sigh of relief. Finally! Get in. quick.”
Kiara ushered Sibley inside first, then moved to help Alec..
She hadn’t forgotten he was still injured.
But Alec was faster. He pressed a hand to her waist, gave a firm shove, and pushed her into the apartment before slipping inside himself.
Just as he was about to shut the door, someone lunged from the hallway, gripping the frame with both hands, his face twisted, in rage as he tried to force his
way im.
A flash of cold fury passed through Alec’s eyes. He drew the gun from his waistband and started to chamber a round-
Thud!
Kiara shoved him aside, stepped forward, and kicked the intruder square between the legs.
The man’s face went from pale to a sickly purple in an instant. His hands slipped from the frame, and he crumpled to the
floor.
Before anyone else could charge forward, Kiara slammed the door shut and threw the lock.
From the hallway came a barrage of vile curses, but she ignored them..
After brushing so close to death, her nerves had been wound tight as steel cables. Now that the door was locked, she finally exhaled–only for another sound to snap her attention back.
A heavy thump. Alec collapsed, hitting the floor like a felled tree, and lost his consciousness.
They dragged him into the living room, but he didn’t wake.
His skin was ashen, his black T–shirt soaked through and crusted with blood.
One glance, and Joy knew it was bad. She grabbed her surgical kit, snipped away the shirt with a pair of scissors, and exposed the damage.
Aside from the gunshot wound near his shoulder blade, he had two knife wounds–one in the lower abdomen, the other in the upper left chest
Kiara understood instantly. There was no such thing as some noble rescue.
Haha! Alec was gambling.
In that blistering heat, with wounds like these, he wouldn’t have lasted long.
Better to throw in with them–maybe he’d have a shot to survive.
“Scalpel, number ten, Joy said, now wearing a mask and gloves, her voice calm and firm. Gone was the bubbly, naive girl from before.
Kiara had learned the instruments over the past few days. She passed them to Joy without hesitation.
“Clamp”
“Needle driver
“Forceps
“Cauze
11 AM P P.
Chapter 25 Under Siege
It was exhausting work. Kiara struggled to keep pace but managed.
Finished
An hour later, Joy peeled off her gloves and mask, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and sank to the floor. “He’s lost too much blood. This is the best I can do.”
If this were a normal world, the obvious choice would be to rush Alec to the hospital. But even naïve Joy knew hospitals were nothing but dead husks now–overrun, shut down, and useless
Kiara was exhausted herself. She caught her breath and said. Thank you, Joy
It wasn’t just for saving Alec. It was for opening her door when they’d been cornered outside.
With so many people watching for a chance to strike, letting them in had been a dangerous gamble.
But Joy had done it anyway.
“We’re friends,” Joy said with a playful grin. To her, she and Kiara were already battle–forged friends–bound by danger, the kind who pulled each other up without hesitation.
The living room was sweltering. The curtains had been left open for better light during the makeshift surgery, and neither of them had paid the heat any mind. Now, with the tension easing, the sweat was impossible to ignore.
Joy walked over and drew the curtains shut.
As for Alec, Kiara had repaid her debt. Whether he lived or died was now in fate’s hands–hovering over him wouldn’t change a thing.
She took Sibley’s hand and introduced her to Joy.
Unlike Joy, Sibley couldn’t relax. Her nerves stayed as tight as a drawn bow.
Outside, the mob hadn’t dispersed, every so often, a sharp whack rang out as someone hacked at the door with a blade.
Sibley started to get worried; they would be on the losing side if two or three dozen people broke through. They were just three women. No matter how good Kiara was in a fight, she couldn’t take on that many
Joy just plopped down on the floor, sitting cross–legged, “Relax. It’s scorching out there. They’ll last maybe an hour before they give up.”
The hallway air was worse than inside–tighter, heavier, with no shade. Out there, under the heat, staying conscious was a challenge in itself,
Her words settled Sibley’s nerves a little.
But Kiara was still curious. “Why are they so desperate to break in?”
Joy smirked. “Remember Elmer from the other building? Top floor, like you? Not long after the blackout, he was blabbing in the group chat about you having solar panels on your roof. Said people should team up and pry some off you. Somehow, the story twisted into you having an entire room stocked to the brim with supplies. Last night, a few groups already tried to get
She let out a long sigh. I called you over and over, but you never picked up. Then thy phone died, and I had to stop. Thank God you’re okay.”
