The Badass Protector

Iris

“COLTON?” I shook him, but he barely responded with a low moan. “Colton!”

“Ohmygod! Ohmygod! Colton, please, hang in there?” shaking, I started the car, quickly revved the engine, and drove down the hill.

As soon as we reached the road, I buckled his seat belt to secure him. I was thankful when he stirred.

I had to drive faster to reach the nearest hospital or clinic, and I wasn’t sure where to find it since there was no GPS to guide me.

Everything was clear to me right now, but I pushed that thought out of my head. I needed proof.

The sun was down, and we didn’t get a chance to watch it set as planned.

I could barely see the road other than the headlights that helped me track down the deserted highway. The surrounding was like a blur as I drove beyond the speed limit.

Luckily, if I could call it luck, there was no police patrol like before. In our new world-people didn’t follow the rules anymore-they followed their instincts.

Now, time was not on my side, and I was about to run out of gas, and here we were, still in the middle of nowhere, while Colt was fighting for his life.

“Colton!” I checked him up again. My heart was hammering in my chest.

He was shaking-it only had been a few hours since we left the cabin, but he was already bleeding to death.

I had never felt so much pain that hurt through my bones watching Colt on the brink of his death.

As time stretched by, all I could do and hope was for him to hang in there tight and for me to find a clinic that had the supplies I needed.

I hung on to the tiny hope I had left that what I was about to do would help him live at least a few hours. And I would do anything and trade everything to have a few seconds with him.

My eyes widened, and my heart skipped its beat when a small light from a distance came to life. I thanked God. My hope soared high.

“Oh, my god!” I laughed like crazy.

The name Johnson Delivery Clinic was barely visible. I parked the car to a halt and jumped out. I didn’t bother turning off the engine. I took my gun and scouted the one-story building-it was quiet, and only an old sedan was parked outside.

Cautiously, I slowly pushed the glass door open. It was dark, and I let my eyes adjust before I walked inside. Aside from a room to my left-it had at least eight doors on both sides of the hallway. My steps echoed on the entire floor, no matter how hard I tried to tiptoe.

“Who are you?” the frightened man’s voice asked, pointing a flashlight right into my eyes, making me squint.

Adrenaline rushed through me. My heart pounded wildly in my chest as I pointed my gun at him. “I mean no harm, but you have to step back and stay away from me. Now!”

The man startled and paled. “Don’t hurt me.” He was tall and slim with curly ginger hair.

“I need to know where to find a stretcher. My boyfriend is sick, and I need him in one of these rooms.” I waited, and he was still rooted in his place, speechless. “Stretcher!”

“Max!” a woman’s voice called from a close distance.

“Stay right there!” I yelled. “Don’t come out. I might have contact with an infected person.”

“U-um, t-that’s my pregnant girlfriend. She’s about to give birth at any moment,” the guy named Max explained. “I’m sort of a nurse. I want her to deliver our baby here.”Sort of?

“I’m running out of time, Max,” I roared. “Where is the fucking stretcher?”

“Oh, t-the first one from the left.” He pointed.

“I need an airtight room. Can you tell me where it is?”

Max looked confused. “An operating room?”

“Is there anything I can use for transferring blood?”

“You mean a blood transfusion set?” Confusion made his eyebrows squish together.

“Yes.” I nodded. “Yes.”

“Yeah. It’s pretty complete, I think, but the medicine-”

“I don’t need medicine. Can you help me open the door?”

He nodded quickly. “Sure.”

“Thanks.”

I quickly went to the first room, marked as an emergency room with two small beds. I found the stretcher I was looking for. Without wasting time, I pushed it outside, where I parked the car.

When I opened the passenger door, I stilled. My heart almost stopped beating. Colt was gargling with blood all over his mouth.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

“Oh, God.” With shaky hands, I turned his head to the side. “It’s okay, Colton. You’ll be alright.” It was a complete lie, but I needed the strength and hoped this would work-my last hope.

I had faith in him that he would give me a few seconds or minutes or, if we were lucky, a few hours of his life. I still had a lot of things to tell him, and I wished it didn’t have to reach this point where I might not get another chance.

“Stay with me, Colton. We’re almost there,” I said under my breath. My emotions were all over the place.

I couldn’t breathe-I didn’t have any strength to fill my lungs as regret swirled in the pit of my belly. I grabbed him and swung his arm around my shoulder after unfastening the seat belt.

Colt was huge and slicked with sweat mixing with his own blood. We fell to the ground with a thud, causing me to wince in pain.

I was running out of time.

After a few adjustments to the stretcher, I was able to roll Colt over and place him.

With all my strength left, I ignored my ragged breathing, exhaustion, and pain from the fall. I pushed him inside the clinic.

“Max!” I called out as I placed the gun between Colt’s feet. Whether they were having a baby, I would not hesitate to shoot him if he did something stupid, just in case.

“I’m here.”