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“I have a pulse,” Bette answered. “Barely. ” Then she shooed them out the door. “Get Charlotte,” she said, then shut the door on them.

“I’ll get her,” Peggy said.

“Oh, God, we can’t lose Nerit, too!” Katie exclaimed.

Travis reached out and gently guided her into his arms. He held Katie close, feeling her body trembling.

Kevin sank into a chair in the waiting room and buried his face in his hands.

“She can’t die,” Bill said after a moment of excruciating silence. “She just can’t. We need her. She’s vital. ”

The clinic door swung open and Charlotte raced in followed by Belinda.

The two woman rushed into the examination room where Nerit was and when that door was briefly open, Travis caught sight of Nerit’s pale unmoving form.

Katie was pale and gently dabbing her eyes with her shirt sleeve. Being pregnant, her hormones tended to get the best of her, but she was trying to remain calm.

The Reverend entered, his Bible clutched in one hand, his expression bewildered and frightened. “They’re saying Nerit is in here dying. ”

“She can’t die,” Bill repeated.

Kevin looked up at the older gentlemen and sighed. “Her pulse was barely there. She felt so heavy in my arms. ”

The Reverend looked down, his eyes glimmering with sudden tears. “I will pray. ”

Outside the door Curtis’ voice screamed shrilly, “Get the fuck out of here!

Get out!”

“You will all be struck down as she has been! All of you! Consumed by sin you will be consumed,” Mary shouted back.

“Get them out of here,” Travis said to Bill, his voice raspy. “Get them the hell out of here!”

Bill looked up then over his shoulder, as if becoming aware of the commotion outside. “Oh, yeah. Okay. ”

“Fucking get out of here now!” Curtis sounded as though he was about to break.

Bill stood up, adjusted his uniform, then headed out.

Silently, the Reverend sat down, his hands clutching the Bible.

“Sorry, Reverend,” Travis finally said. “I didn’t mean to swear in front of you. ”

“It’s all right. These are hard times. ”

Kevin looked toward the door that Nerit lay behind. His expression was shadowed by pain. “I didn’t know what to do when I found her,” he said in a low voice.

“You did the right thing bringing her here,” the Reverend assured him.

Katie looked grim. “This can’t be happening. It can’t be. ”

“It is and we must do what we can to support her during this time,” the Reverend answered her.

Katie reached down to the Reverend. He took her hand then Kevin’s.

Travis slowly stepped into the circle and took Katie and Kevin’s hands.

The four of them stood in silence for a moment, then the Reverend’s voice, full of warmth and faith began, “Dear Heavenly Father, be with us now in this most terrible hour of despair and rest your hand upon your child and our dear friend, Nerit. Bring her comfort in this time and heal her body…”