Vampires Among Us [Vampires Among Us 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

Soon, everyone was loaded in Jordan’s transport van and headed to the VCTF office. From there, they would take the elevator down to the underground hospital.

Chapter Ten
     
    Charles was standing at the front door of the VCTF office as the transport van pulled up to the front door. Kevin scrambled out to the van as it pulled up.
    “Has Dr. Carlson been notified that we have two injured?” Kevin inquired as he lifted Erica and quickly headed for the front door.
    “Yes, he is waiting for us,” Charles replied, following Joshua who was carrying Jennifer, right behind Kevin.
    The elevator was crowded as Charles, Kevin carrying Erica, Joshua carrying Jennifer, Davidrick carrying an IV bag for Erica, Marshall, and Jordan all piled into it.
    Once the elevator stopped and the door opened, everyone rushed at vampire speed towards the hospital. Dr. Carlson was waiting at the front door for them. Standing beside him was a team of four nurses. They had both patients on tables side by side in order to access both at the same time.
    Joshua had removed the knife out of Jennifer’s abdomen while they waited for Jordan to arrive on the scene. Once she was placed in the transport van, she fed on a pint of blood, which had helped the wound start to heal. A quick X-ray revealed no major organs had been damaged. Her arm, severely broken and deformed, would need to be reset back in place in order to heal properly.
    Erica, however, was a different matter. She had briefly regained consciousness during transport, but only for a few seconds. She did recognize Kevin’s face though, and he took that as a good sign. A CT scan revealed that she did have a bit of swelling in the brain, but Dr. Carlson was optimistic that the swelling would go down on its own. He had the gash on the side of her head stitched up in little time, and then it was a waiting game to make certain her head injury didn’t cause any permanent damage.
    By the time Dr. Carlson was finished treating his two patients, his otherwise empty waiting room had been turned into a crowded room. A very worried Rosetta, Kate, Elizabeth, Charles, Alec, Jordan, and Davidrick were sitting around waiting for news.
    “Who is running the office?” Marshall asked Alec upon stepping out into the waiting room to find it full, all occupants concerned over Jennifer and Erica.
    “Tim, Victor, and Scott are all handling things at the office. I have John, Nicholas, and Isaac out looking for Shawn. They will call us if they need help. I have everything covered. How are Jennifer and Erica?” Alec calmly replied. The line of succession put him in tied third place with Joshua, as both were brought into the VCTF at the same time. With Kevin, Marshall, and Joshua all tied up with the injured, he had stepped up to the bat and took control of running of the unit.
    Marshall noted Alec had his arm wrapped securely around Elizabeth, but decided now was not the time to comment on the observation. It was possible he was just trying to be a friend. Remembering that he had come out to update everyone, he stated, “Jennifer is going to be fine. Dr. Carlson is drugging her up in order to set her arm, and Kevin and Joshua are flipping a coin over which one she can bite if the pain gets too severe.” Marshall chuckled at his own joke, but then quickly grew serious. “Erica is not totally out of the woods yet, although Dr. Carlson is very optimistic she will fully recover. We are waiting for the swelling to go down in her brain, and for her to regain consciousness.”
    Kevin sat next to an unconscious Erica, refusing to leave her side. Although she had briefly opened her eyes while in transport, her eyes held more confusion than anything. Kevin had gently stroked her hair while whispering reassuring words that she was going to be okay. She had only stayed coherent for a quick minute before succumbing to a world of blackness. Now, Kevin was left waiting and worrying if she would hate him for what he had done to her.
    Kevin was still positioned in the exact same spot two hours later when her eyelids flickered open. She immediately tried to sit up, forcing Kevin to gently hold her down as Dr. Carlson briskly walked over to examine his newly awakened patient.
    “Erica, you have an injury to your head. It is important that you stay still,” Kevin stated calmly, all the while going through an inner turmoil himself. He was responsible for her injuries. The gash on the side of her head had been his doing alone.