Wolf Running Read Online Free Page A

She looked up at Nowen. “I just started here two months ago. This is my first real nursing job. Damn it, where is everyone?!” Her voice rose. To Nowen, it sounded like she was approaching hysteria.
    “Earlier, I saw people outside, running like lunatics, as if they were fleeing something. And I saw someone get killed. I think. You’re a nurse - can you tell me what’s going on?” Nowen spoke sharply, cutting through the other woman’s distraction.
    “I’m not sure.” Jamie’s voice was shaky. She looked at her wristwatch and tapped the dial, as if what she saw was unreliable. “About six hours ago or so, everything went nuts. I think it started in the ER. A lot of people had come in from a riot down at City Hall. Some of them got shifted up here to ease the strain. Suddenly we had Code Blues going off everywhere. People were just dying left and right. We were trying to move bodies out to make room for more incoming patients and we couldn’t keep up with them.”
    Jamie’s hands were twisting around each other, her fingers tangled together. Her voice faltered as she continued with her story. “And then it got...weird. I heard emergency calls coming in from all over the hospital. Calls for help and for security backup. A lot of the calls...came from the morgue. I mean people just started freaking out, running and screaming...patients and staff were fighting....I saw Mr. McGurk doing something to his mother....there was a lot of blood... “ Her voice trailed off for a moment. “I ran for the utility closet while he...finished with her.”
    Nowen saw the far-off look in Jamie’s eyes. She snapped her fingers to get the nurse’s attention. “We can’t be the only people left in this building. The phones. Can we call someone?”
    “Oh my God, I didn’t even think of that!” Jamie gasped as she grabbed one of the white phones and pulled it toward her. “What the hell is wrong with me?” she murmured, punching buttons. She tried one set of numbers, listened, and then disconnected. She hit more buttons on the phone. “I tried Admitting, and no one’s answering. So now I’m trying 911.” Jamie listened, and then slammed the handset down. “A recording. Why aren’t emergency services answering?” She looked up at Nowen with haunted eyes. “Oh, Jesus, how bad is it out there?”
    “Is there anyone else you call?” Nowen urged.
    “I’ll try other numbers here in the hospital”. The young nurse went through a series of calls, each ending the same way: no answer. With the last number she tried she listened longer, her eyes clenched shut. Finally Jamie set the phone back its cradle. The look she turned on Nowen was full of despair and her blue eyes shimmered under a haze of tears. “My parents. No one’s answering there, either.” She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away.
    Nowen walked a few steps away to give the other woman some privacy. Should I say something? Maybe. But why? I don’t even know this woman. When the sniffling behind her stopped she looked back over her shoulder. “So, what now?
    Jamie wiped her face. Her eyes were still bright with unshed tears, but she seemed calmer now. “Uh, let me think. We should look for other survivors. Just because no one answered the phones doesn’t mean no one’s there. They could be hiding, waiting for help, like I was.” She snapped her fingers. “The intercom! I can call for everyone still in the hospital to come up here.” She was reaching for the microphone when Nowen’s hand shot out, blocking her.
    “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
    “Well, why not? It’s the fastest way to contact everyone.”
    Nowen pointed at the dead nurse on the floor. “Whoever killed her could still be around. We might not want to announce our presence.”
    “Oh. Right.”
    “We should still search the building for more people. Or go outside and see if we can get help.”
    Jamie checked her watch and shook her head. “It’s already after