Page 26 of Every Last One

Tears were falling down Gail’s cheeks as she moved toward her daughter. Phoebe’s eyelashes fluttered, and she opened her eyes. “I’m here, baby. Mommy’s here.” Gail swept back some of her daughter’s hair from her forehead. It was wet and plastered to her flesh, but at least her color was returning.

“I can’t believe that you… that you did that, went out there. Do you realize how reckless you were in doing that? You could have killed yourself, killed the rest of us.”

Gail’s heart was still pounding from the experience, but she’d do it again. “We’re all scared, but there was no way I was letting my baby die.”

“I heard a gunshot. Where did it come from?” She was speaking stoically and staring blankly at the floor.

“Hey, are you all right?”

“Just tell me. Where was the gun fired?” Torres slowly lifted her eyes to meet Gail’s.

“It was in the break room near the nurses’ station.”

Nurse Torres touched her neck, her fingertips toying with the collar of her uniform, and tears beaded in her eyes.

“For what it’s worth, I don’t know if someone was hit.” Gail would keep the fact she’d heard screams to herself. That’s if Torres hadn’t heard them herself.

Torres nodded while chewing her bottom lip.

Gail glanced at Phoebe. Her sweet girl was now resting peacefully, her little chest going up and down while the monitor tracked her heart. Stronger, more even dips and peaks. But she knew it wouldn’t stay that way. Gail took the walkie-talkie from the pocket of her sweater. “I grabbed this from the nurses’ station. We can call for help now.”

“No, you can’t.” Torres’s face blanched.

“Like hell I can’t, and why wouldn’t I?”

“If you do, there’s a good chance the gunman will hear you and come right here. You don’t want him in here with Phoebe.”

Gail felt a jab under her ribs. “Then what are we supposed to do? Wait and do nothing?”

“Pretty much. Yeah. Police are already out there. I peeked outside and saw them.”

After she told me to stay away from the windows…“Then they must have heard the gunshot. Why aren’t they coming in?”

A ding sounded from the nurse’s pocket.

Gail lit up. “Was that your phone?”

“Actually… I think it was.” Torres reached in and pulled the device from her pocket. “It’s a text message.”

“Then the phones are back up. Or at least cell phones. I can call the police and tell them someone was shot.”

“You just said you didn’t know if someone was hit.” Torres looked up from the screen of her phone. Her expression shadowed.

“I don’t, but the police will come much faster if they think someone is hurt,” Gail said, rushing to backpedal.

“No, you can’t lie to them.” Torres’s gaze fell back to her phone.

The hairs raised on Gail’s arms. “Bad message?”

Torres shook her head, sniffled, and put her phone away.

Gail saw the bars on hers and called 911.

FIFTEEN

12:55 PM

Sandra had talked over the walkie-talkie several times in the last forty minutes, trying to lure a response, but nothing worked. If they were even still listening. Thirty-five minutes had passed since Sandra got through to the man over the radio. His words “everyone is okay” continued to haunt her because she had no foundation of trust with him.