Tipping Point (40 page)
Authors: Rain Stickland
Gilles was still looking at her like he wasn’t sure if she was crazy or not, but he sat there and thought about it for a minute.
“Maybe. We’ll see what happens. If it’s as bad as you say, I’ll know soon enough and we’ll all be seeing you. For now why don’t y’all go donate blood. It sounds as if the hospital might be needing a lot of it.” Then he looked at Cameron and waited until she was looking back at him.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, kid. You did the right thing even if it might have been the hard thing. I’m sure your mother will tell ya that, but I thought you might want to know it from a cop. You’ve got nothing to worry about. Nobody will press any charges.” He patted her shoulder and stood up. Mac walked him to the elevator so she could say goodbye privately.
“Thank you for saying that to her,” she said quietly. Gilles just nodded and patted her shoulder too. Mac figured it was probably inappropriate for her to hug him at the moment, despite their long-standing friendship, so she squeezed his arm and let him go, hoping he would remember her offer.
Just when Mackenzie was about to ask the nurse where they could go to donate blood, he headed toward them to let them know Neil was in recovery. He said the doctor would be out to speak with them in a few minutes, but that it looked like everything was fine.
Mackenzie sat between the kids again and waited, relief causing her to sag in her chair. Even with logic telling her he was going to be fine, hearing it from the nurse seemed to make it sink in.
It felt like ages had passed, but finally the doctor came out to speak with them. Other than a chipped rib, antibiotics to stave off infection, and a chest tube to deal with a collapsed lung, it looked like Neil was healthy as a horse. Mackenzie looked the doctor in the eye as she went over everything, making sure she was telling them the whole story.
“You can go in to see him now, but limit it to one at a time. If he remains stable, it should only be a day or two before we release him.” Mac thanked the doctor and headed toward Neil’s room. Knowing how scared Billy was, she kept her visit brief so he’d be able to see his dad.
“You scared the shit out of us, cowboy. You know that?”
“Tell me about it. I’m okay, though. I love you, honey.”
“I love you, too. So much. I’m going to let Billy come in now, though. He’s terrified even though everyone is telling him you’re going to be okay.” Neil gave a small nod, obviously trying not to move his chest too much.
“Okay. Is Cameron here? I’d like to thank her after Billy comes in.”
“I’ll let her know.” She kissed him softly on the mouth, her thumb stroking his jaw, and stared into his green eyes for a moment. It took every ounce of her will to drag herself away from his side.
After Billy went into the room, Mac looked at her daughter, and though she had some questions of her own she knew they would have to wait. As tough as Cameron tried to be, Mac could see she was a mess. Killing someone changed a person. Mackenzie knew all about that.
E
PILOGUE
S
TILL
W
ATERS
Brian Newman received the news of his son’s death with a surface calm. After all, everyone had always told him that Gerry would come to a bad end one day. He knew they were right. It didn’t change the fact that his son was dead.
Brian maintained his stoic demeanor, even on the rare occasions people felt they needed to extend false sympathies. Most of the time they were far too busy trying to deal with the issues caused by the power outage.
Brian didn’t notice. After all, what parent would care about such petty issues when they were about to bury their only child? He was pretty sure there was more to the story than the cop had told him, and whatever he had to do he was going to find out the truth.
C
OMING
S
OON!
G
ROUND
Z
ERO
Tipping Point Book Two
Author
The world had gone dark, but Mackenzie was one of the lucky ones. She’d been preparing for it for years. Not everyone was as fortunate. In a desperate bid to save a friend from going into a diabetic coma, Mackenzie manages to find a chemist who can make insulin the old way, but she still has to get it to her friend before it’s too late. The problem is, she has to leave the safety of her hidden farm and travel hundreds of miles to get there...without getting herself killed by desperate survivors.
I
MPERFECTIONS
Anthology
Editor and Contributing Author
A bit of horror, some fantasy, and a dash of science fiction, all with a dystopian twist,
Imperfections
brings together some of the best up-and-coming authors. Don’t miss it!
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A
BOUT THE
A
UTHOR
Rain Stickland has been writing since the age of twelve, when the fever took hold and never truly dissipated. Despite two decades of interest in off-grid living, she was only recently introduced to the vast world of preppers. Her interest kicked up a few notches, however, during the Northeast Blackout in 2003, when the world went dark for millions of people, some for weeks.
Called the Canadian Tornado by friends, she’s written and published nearly 400 articles on a wide variety of topics, including everything from stem cell transplants to the care and feeding of cats, dogs, and ferrets. She lives with her daughter in Ontario, Canada. You can find out more at
www.rainstickland.com
.
Table of Contents
4 - One Strange Encounter After Another
6 - Confessions and Combustion
7 - The Good, the Bad, and the Very Bad
9 - Tripping the Moonlight Fantastic
13 - Nostalgia and Gerrymandering