Day of Reckoning

Chapter 7

Gabby

I startle awake when the doctor places a hand on my shoulder. Sleep fades quickly as I look up from my spot next to Dawn"s bed into the kind green eyes of the tall man towering over me. His sandy-blonde hair is unkempt in a cute kind of way. He"s much younger than most of the stuffy doctors I"ve seen in London, but it"s his gentleness with Dawn that puts me at ease. No other person in Texas has treated us as they would their own people.

“Good morning Dr. Cole,” I say.

“I"ve told you a million times, Gabby, call me Darren.” When he smiles, I can"t help but smile back.

“How"s my sister doing today?”

“Her vitals look good. It shouldn"t be long now.” He pulls out a large needle.

“What"s that?” I ask.

“Something to help,” he explains before injecting it.

I guess he is the doctor. There was a time when I would have flirted mercilessly with the hot doctor and he would have responded, but these days I don"t feel like myself or at least, I don"t feel like the person I used to be. The only thing I can focus on is my sister. The doctor leaves and I scoot closer to the bed. He said I might have my sister back soon.

The minutes pass by and maybe I"m imagining it, but I swear I see her hand move. I look at her monitors. Her breathing is steady and nothing seems to have changed.

I glance at her face and see it again. Her fingers move in my grasp. Finally, her eyelids flutter open and a sob escapes my throat. “Dawn.” A grin spreads across my face and Dawn tries one of her own, but smiling is too much for her right now.

“Hi,” she croaks.

I jump to my feet and poke my head out the door. “She"s awake!”

Stunned, the nurse runs into the room and checks Dawn"s monitors. She gets on the phone to call the doctor. Dawn"s eyes focus on her.

“Sis, this is your nurse,” I say. “She"s been taking care of you.” Dawn nods and looks around. A few moments later, she opens her mouth.

“Where am I?” she asks softly.

“I"ll explain everything as soon as we get you checked out,” I say. “Dr. Cole should be here soon.” As if on cue, Darren walks in.

“Hello there, Dawn.” He brushes her hair to the side. “I"m Dr. Darren Cole. I"m so glad to finally meet you. We"ve been waiting for you for quite some time.” He smiles at her, but she doesn"t return it. She looks to me and asks the question that will break her heart.

“Drew?”

I look to Dr. Cole and he gives Dawn a sad look. I squeeze her hand.

“He didn"t make it,” I whisper.

At first, she looks confused but then understanding registers in her eyes. She starts shaking her head and says “no” in the stubborn way she has. Her hand grips mine tightly as a sob constricts her chest. I can"t say anything to make it better. This pain is hers. For once, I can"t take it away.

Dr. Cole steps into the hall to give us some space as tears spill from Dawn"s eyes.

“What am I going to do, Gabs?” She squeezes her eyes shut.

Cracks spider through my heart and before long, my face is damp with tears. So much pain. So much loss.

This place, these colonies, will just keep hammering us down until we have nothing left to lose. It"s like quicksand, pulling us down into the darkness.

What happens when we can no longer see any light?