<span style="font-family:Philosopher"><span style="font-size: 15px"><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#cc99ff">The little suburb was just inside the Fresno city limits outside of Clovis. A small two bedroom with a silent ambulance in the driveway stood with the shades drawn and the doors barricaded, protecting the two survivors within. </span></span></span><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#cc99ff"><span style="font-family:Philosopher"><span style="font-size: 15px">Tuck peeked through the shades at the quiet and empty street, </span></span><span style="font-family:font1522365474"><span style="font-size: 15px">pensively drawing on a cigarette.</span></span><br/>
<span style="font-family:Philosopher"><span style="font-size: 15px">Leaving the hospital had been hard enough, and travel since then had been slow going. Well, until they realized Tuck had stolen an emergency vehicle already running on fumes. Stopping for gas hadn't really been an option and now they were stuck. <br/>
<br/>
"Thought you gave that up!" came a familiar, grizzled voice. Tucker fought a smile and he blew a puff of smoke into the air before turning to face the older man stretched out on the couch in the dimly lit living room. Robert was still hooked to a variety of lines and wires, and he'd moved the mask away from his mouth to speak. Tuck had grabbed the necessary oxygen tanks and IV fluids, but the ambulance didn't hold many more supplies and the medication holding the worst of Robert's symptoms at bay had rapidly lost their effects once he stopped taking them.<br/>
"I did, but in light of the new state of things, I figured it was time I stopped letting your silly cancer guilt trip me away from them. We're all good as dead, anyway." Tuck half joked, putting the cigarette out on the window sill just the same.<br/>
<br/>
"If that's the attitude that's supposed to get you back to my daughter, you're both screwed." Robert retorted before a coughing fit took over. Heaves wracked the man's body and Tucker silently moved to his side, unable to do anything more than offer a comforting hand placed on Robert's shoulder. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and it was becoming harder to tell if that was from the irritated tumors lining his throat, or if the ones in his lungs were starting to rupture. <br/>
"You're not supposed to be talking." Tucker said quietly, using the corner of the thin hospital blanket covering Robert's frail body to wipe the blood up before moving the oxygen mask back in place. Robert looked like he might speak again, but must have thought better of it because he let his head rock back onto his pillow while he took a few shaky, wheezing breaths.<br/>
<br/>
Both men knew Robert's time was running out, though they'd both avoided discussing it out loud. Tucker had wanted so badly to get him back to Kate, even if it was just to say goodbye. Now they were both stuck and Tuck knew he'd be the only one leaving.<br/>
For awhile, they'd kept up with the news reports filtering in and out on the radio. They knew the military had been trying to build a safe zone somewhere near downtown Fresno. They'd remained hidden when droves of the monsters that had taken over passed through the streets. Robert had kept his thoughts to himself when Tucker refused to open the doors for citizens begging for sanctuary. And for the past two days, the world outside had been quiet. Maybe they were the only two people left.<br/>
<br/>
But Tucker's head wouldn't allow him to believe that. Just because Kate's phone had started going straight to voicemail well before the cell towers dropped service altogether didn't mean she wasn't out there. Kate was smart, Tuck had to believe she'd made it out of Goldleaf and into Fresno. Maybe she'd even gotten back to the house and armed up with one of the many guns in their safe. She could shoot. And she'd probably be a lot better off that he was, considering all he had was his department issued .9 mil and the spare bullets he'd happened to have on hand. If the mass of infected that had passed through earlier in the week was any indication of how these things traveled, Tucker felt pretty confident he could take out at least 12 before having to figure out how to deal with the other dozen or so.<br/>
<br/>
"You gotta stop waiting, son..." Robert rasped, his forehead beaded with sweat, no doubt from the pain. <br/>
"I can't leave you here, old man." Tucker said, forcing another grin as he clapped one hand over Robert's.<br/>
"I'm not going.... anywhere...." came the labored reply. Tucker's jaw tensed and he only gave the bony hand in his a gentle squeeze. <br/>
"If we keep... sitting here.... I'll just drown in my own.... lungs." Robert continued, the effort sparking another bout of breathless coughing as he reached behind his head and pulled the pillow out from under it. Tucker eyed him warily as he roughly shoved the pillow over Tuck's ever tightening fist.<br/>
"You've lost it, Bob." Tuck managed to say past the building lump in his throat. <br/>
<br/>
"There is one thing... you and I... treasure most.... I need you to hurry up and find her.... so I can rest in peace." Robert insisted, pushing the pillow feebly against the arms of the son he never had. Tuck almost didn't realize he now clutched the pillow rather than the old, rough hand. <br/>
"I'll find her." Tuck promised, his tone steady, despite his trembling hands. <br/>
"I know. That's why we were both lucky to find <i>you.</i>" Robert smiled, moving the mask away from his mouth. He was wrong, of course. Tucker had been the lucky one. He didn't belong anywhere until he suddenly belonged with them. He wasn't supposed to have to say goodbye like this.<br/>
------<br/>
Twenty minutes later, Tuck stood over the kitchen sink, unable to look towards the silent living room. There was an elephant on his chest and a boulder in his gut and he wasn't sure what to do now. What was he supposed to tell Kate? Would it be better that she knew he'd found Robert at all? Or would not knowing be the real comfort?<br/>
Guess he didn't need to worry one way or the other until he managed to at least leave the house. <br/>
Tuck couldn't leave Robert there on the couch. He owed him far more than that. With that in mind, Tuck decided he'd leave as soon as Robert's body was taken care of. With any luck, he'd be headed out before nightfall.<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
Meanwhile, Kitty was anxiously preparing to greet the inbound convoy, full of new refugees that would need to be checked and given packages of allotted food and water. <br/>
As busy as she was, she still couldn't avoid dwelling on the hope Tucker would be among them. Scrubs were hard to come by, so Kitty had been instructed to report to the tents as she was, and then she was given an army green ball cap to identify her as a medical volunteer. The next tent revealed a line of tables with various tools and equipment they might need and Kitty was given a stethoscope, a thermometer, an otoscope, and a small flashlight. <br/>
<br/>
Doc Thomas sought her out soon after and walked her down what they were now calling "tent row", pointing out where to send people with minor injuries, where they were keeping the basic medical supplies, and the clipboards they were using to keep track of the new members. <br/>
Finally she was given a stack of red wristbands with different numbers printed on them, their makeshift hospital bracelets, to place on each approved refugee's arm. <br/>
"So, for now I'm going to have you sit at the tables near the entrance, the trucks will come in, the refugees will be unloaded, and they'll line up. You and the other volunteers will start exams, try to keep it simple and short. Temp right off the bat, then eyes, ears, throat. Bracelet and then send em down the line. Soldiers will be posted behind you, anyone with elevated temperatures or symptoms of any kind, they'll handle it. Bruises, cuts, broken bones, apply basic first aid and then send em to the tents. Anything that looks like a scratch or bite, the soldiers will deal with. Any questions?" the doctor asked, stopping in front of the tables and eyeing her carefully.<br/>
<br/>
"No, I don't think so..." Kitty replied tentatively, taking a seat and turning to spot the row of armed soldiers behind her, idly chatting as they waited for something to do. She couldn't help but wonder if she'd have the capacity to turn away a refugee just for sneezing or having a cough. How heart wrenching that would be... Not to mention the possibility of families getting separated. As if reading her mind, Doctor Thomas clapped a hand on her shoulder.<br/>
"Hey, don't worry. This should be fairly easy, the soldiers bringing them in should have already taken a look at everyone before loading. Think of the processing more as a formality than a test they have to pass." he winked, turning and leaving Kitty to herself.<br/>
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