Seventh Dimension - The King - Book 2, A Young Adult Fantasy Read Online Free Page B

didn’t
respond. I felt for a pulse. I didn’t want to leave him. I looked
around for help. I didn’t see any medics except for a young woman
dressed in a white coat.
    I ran to her. “Can you help? A man is severely
injured.”
    I pointed to the back row where he lay.
    The nurse shook her head. “All the patients are
triaged. Those at the back are not deemed salvageable.”
    My heart sank at her unsympathetic words.
    “We are
concentrating on the ones we can save. We’re just trying to make
those souls comfortable.”
    “No, you must come,” I pleaded. “He’s—he’s a friend
of mine. This is his family.” I showed her the photograph from the
man’s pocket. “They will be looking for him.”
    The nurse
sighed. “I’ll be with you in a minute—after I start this
IV.”
    She pointed across the room. “Someone started a wall
up towards the front where people are posting photographs of the
missing.”
    Then she
returned to the patient in front of her, a young girl not much
older than me.
    I bolted to the
front. Dozens of photographs had been hastily hung—of children,
mothers, fathers, grandparents, brothers, and sisters—of someone.
Many had scribbled notes with names, emails, and phone numbers to
contact. There were even a couple of pictures of dogs and one cat—a
black and white one that reminded me of the nursing home
mascot.
    I stole some scotch tape and tacked the picture of
Lilly and her mother among the others. I wrote on the top—father is
on a cot in the back.
    I hurried back
to find the nurse leaning over Lilly’s father. She was checking his
blood pressure and temperature.
    “This man needs a doctor if we are going to save
him.”
    “So there is a
chance?” I asked.
    “If you’re the
praying type, I would pray. I’ll find a doctor.” She brushed past
me.
    I knelt beside the man and spoke gently. “I posted
the picture of your wife and daughter on the front wall. Hopefully
they will see it and be here shortly.”
    The man nodded. “I’m an Arab,” he said.
    An Arab? Lilly had given me a Christian Bible. How
could she be a Christian if he were an Arab?
    The man closed
his eyes. Guilt over my sudden lack of empathy for the man
convicted me. An Arab kidnapped my father. I couldn’t leave him,
though—not now. I’d stay with him for Lilly’s sake.
    A few minutes later, the nurse reappeared with a
doctor. I moved out of their way.
    The doctor did a quick assessment. “I examined this
man when the medical team brought him in,” the doctor said. “I felt
his injuries were too severe. Is he your father?”
    I shook my head. “He’s the father of a friend.”
    The doctor felt the man’s abdomen. “Keep him warm,
and we’ll schedule him for surgery. We have a van with supplies on
the way. If he can live a few more hours, he might make it.”
    “Thank you, sir.”
    The doctor turned to the nurse and gave her some
orders I didn’t understand.
    Then he spoke
to me, “Through that door are some stacked cots that were brought
in earlier. Set them up wherever you can find room. Another bomb
exploded and more casualties are on the way.”
    “Yes, sir.” I
hurried towards the back. The door opened into a dark hallway lit
only by emergency lights. A few cots remained, stacked along the
walls. I gripped one but something caught my attention.
    An old door
appeared in the hallway. Rough-hewn wood framed it and the door
seemed out of place in the recently rebuilt synagogue. The studs
beside the door were loose and unattached. A cool breeze blew
through the square opening at the top.
    I leaned on the
cot, suddenly feeling weak. Resting to catch my breath, I peered
through the window of the door. Beyond it, a bright light shone
through the darkness. Could this be an illusion, the work of the
enemy, attempting to break into the synagogue?
    I edged closer.
I expected a barrage of bullets, but the light drew me. I pushed
open the door and the harsh light temporarily blinded me. I blinked
a