lass sealing out the world. Ophelia flipped through the appointment documents,

s were kind, crinkled at the corners. "Miss, regardin

en dogs bark, Arthur," Ophe

omething grimmer. He passed a tablet back to h

oto of a mangled semi-truck. On the side of the cab, bare

ia murmured. Her brow furrow

e tight. "But in New York, the only people reckless eno

red at the logo. "I he

city have given up. They

ance of Mercy General. A security guard stepped

didn't speak. He just pointed a

s widened. He stumbled back, salutin

k baseball cap from her bag and jamming i

.. conspicuous," A

distractio

l bag from the floorboard. Inside clin

phone buzzed with a message from Arthur. It was a six-digit number. S

like a ghost, weaving through the corridors. She passed the main lo

ling dead?" so

. She turned a corner and

ng doctor in scrubs stumb

paper out of the air before they hit the floor.

back. "He's bordering on ventricular fibri

mas Yates, Intern, stared at her. "W

her mistake. "Jus

him and sprinted

or. Room 304. Not a VIP s

ipped

her Barnes. The only person in that house who had ever

at the chart at the foot of the bed-congestive heart failure, chronic. Her eyes flicked to the monitor, noting t

Nana," sh

gle blue pill. It shimmered slightly in the fluorescent light. This was a compound

r bange

ey

reathless, angry. "What ar

ed for

pped, grabbed his wrist, and twis

double, his knees

e through the night, be

ld woman's mouth and massaged

atic, jumping line suddenly smoothed out. Th

forgetting the pain in hi