Amber’s POV


    The hospital’sb left a lot to be desired. It was tiny, the size of a broom closet, with only a quarter of the supplies that I’d worked with in other ces. Beggars couldn’t be choosers though. This was all I had to


    work with, so I had to seed with just this. Somehow.


    So far, the Head Healer had provided me with the files of the earliest patients to get the disease, some of which, unfortunately, had sumbed before the healers truly understood what they were dealing with.


    They still didn’t know, only that it was a deadly pandemic. They were throwing every method of healing they had at it, some working better than others. I had that list too. Everything they’ve tried against the effects.


    So far, I had a few ideas of what this disease could be, but without running the necessary testing, I couldn’t be sure. Tests took time, something these kids didn’t have much of. But giving these kids treatments without being certain of the disease could have unintended negative side–effects.


    If only I had a case where I could be certain of the child’s vitals before they became sick. If I could specifically track the changes, and the speed at which those changes urred, then –


    A knock on the door startled me from my train of thought.


    —


    Without looking up from my notes, I said, as politely as possible, “I asked not to be disturbed.”


    To find a cure, I needed time to think, and that meant quiet. I knew people were stressed and tensions were high, but if I could not have a moment to myself, then I wouldn’t be able to –


    “I’m sorry to trouble you, Healer,” said the nurse at the door. I recognized her voice as the one to show me theb. “But the Head Healer thought you needed to be notified of our most recent patient.”


    More patients. My heart sunk. How many children were left in this town that remained unaffected by this mysterious disease? Too few, it seemed. Far too few.


    I started to reply. “I’m sorry, but – ”


    “It’s your daughter.”


    I dropped my pen. My mind went nk but my body moved of its own ord. Standing, I rushed to the nurse. “Where is she?”


    I followed the nurse down <i>to </i>the waiting room, where a few chairs had been lined up with a nket thrown over them. Aliceid there, with another nket over her.


    “There weren’t any rooms<b>,</b><b>” </b>the nurse said apologetically, but I was beyond hearing her now.


    Julian stood near Alice’s head, while one of the assistants collected her vitals. I rushed there and


    demanded of Julian, “What happened?”


    “Nothing,” Julian said. “We went for a walk, but the ce is like a ghost town. All the stores were closed. We didn’t even see anyone. Then, suddenly, she started coughing up blood.”


    “Mommy, I’m scared,” Alice said, her voice so weak that it broke my heart. I knew, from examining the files of the other children that she would fall unconscious soon, as her body gave it’s all to fighting off the


    disease.


    “Stay strong, Alice,” I told her, holding her gaze. “Keep fighting until I can find a cure, okay<b>?</b>”


    Alice’s eyelids fluttered. “I’m so sleepy…”


    As the assistant hooked up her heart monitor, I ordered an IV to help stabilize Alice.


    Things had been dire before, but the pressure was even worse now. I had to find a cure. My daughter’s life depended on it.


    As another healer arrived, I told him, “I’m trusting my daughter to your care.”


    “I understand,” the healer said, clearly taking this role seriously.


    Then, I started toward the stair, eager to get back to my research. I made it to the stairwell before I noticed Julian was following me.


    “What are you doing?” <b>I </b>confronted him. “Stay with Alice.”


    “The healer will watch her now,” he said. “You need an assistant.”


    He wasn’t wrong. There were a lot of files for just one person to wade through. That being said, Julian


    was no healer. Would he even know what to look for?


    “I’ve been training for this,” he said. I realized that was true. All those days of training at the clinic, he had


    been preparing for this exact scenario, to assist me with research and development of possible cures.


    But with our daughter’s life on the line… Could he handle what needed to be done?


    “Are you sure?” I asked.


    “I won’t disappoint you,” he said. The determination sparked like electricity in his eyes. Perhaps it was


    because our daughter was sick, that he was so fixated on helping. I couldn’t me him.


    Even though I felt panic within me, I was able to bottle it up to focus on what needed to be done next. One what I could do.


    Julian might have felt the same.


    “Very well,” I said. Together, we rushed up the stairs, with Julian following me to theb.


    Theb was small for one person. Two meant we were working shoulder to shoulder most of the time.


    Yet, as we worked, I found, to my surprise, that Julian was a dependable assistant. He evaluated the files quickly yet efficiently, pointing out more things that were helpful than those that were not.


    With the nurse giving us regr updates on Alice, we were truly able to concentrate on our tasks.


    As much as I never wanted Alice in this position, her acquiring the disease was helpful. Because I knew her vitals before the disease, and in coborating with Julian, could assess how quickly the symptoms came on, I was able to narrow down the possibilities.


    In this windowless room, I lost track of time. Nothing was more important than finding a cure, not eating or drinking or sleeping. Eventually though, as my eyelids grew heavy, my body started to be more sluggish than I would have liked, my pen moving slowly across the paper.


    At one point, Julian wrapped his arm around me, and tugged me against him. I went more willingly than I


    would have liked, my head falling down onto his shoulder.


    “Rest,” he said.


    “There’s no time,” I told him.


    <b>“</b>Just for a moment,” he said. “Your body will give out if you don’t, and then you will be of no help to


    anyone. Alice needs you rested.”


    He wasn’t ying fair, saying things like that. But I knew he was telling the truth. As a Healer, it was easy to give out medical advice, but it was much more difficult to ept it for myself.


    “Rest,” he said again, and this time, I found that I was just too tired to deny him again. His arm was so


    firm around me, I felt safe against him. Listening to his steady breathing, feeling the gentle rise and fall


    of his chest against mine, I soon found myself lulled to sleep.


    It was dreamless and couldn’t havested more than an hour or two.


    When I blinked my eyes awake, Julian was in the same position, lightly trailing his fingertips up and


    down my spine.


    How easy it would have been <i>to </i>fall back into darkness.


    But I couldn’t now, because my mind was fully back online,


    And I had an idea for a cure.