Chapter 7

<Gregory>

Gregory scratched the back of his head, trying to figure out which way to turn. He could've sworn that he knew where he was going, but as it turned out, he had absolutely no idea. He sighed and turned around, looking behind him hoping to see a sign that would point him to where he would need to go. There wasn't a single sign that showed him where to turn to find his way back to Amanda's room.

A groan rose in the back of his throat as he knew he wouldn't be in this predicament if he wasn't so focused on his thoughts. He couldn't stop thinking about what his dad needed to talk to him about. So many possibilities had swarmed his brain and made him forget where he was and what he was doing.

A young nurse walked down the hallway towards him, with her eyes glued to the clipboard in her hands.

"Excuse me?" Gregory asked as she got closer.

She looked up wide-eyed as if surprised he was talking to her. "Yes?"

"Do you know where Amanda Sutton's room is?"

"You'll want to go to the front desk and ask the receptionist there."

"Thank you." Gregory nodded towards her and started to walk around her, but stopped when he realized he didn't know where that was either. "Um, could you show me where that is too?"

A smile lighted her face in amusement and she tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. "It's down that hall and your first left. Then if you keep going straight you'll see it. Anything else I can help you with?" She brought the clipboard up to her chest and held it there looking at him.

He shook his head, hoping that she didn't get the wrong idea on anything. "Thank you for your help. I needed it."

She nodded and smiled again. "Course."

He tipped his head towards her and turned, beginning to walk down the hall she pointed out. He walked down the hall with his hands in his pockets, taking glances at the doors he was passing, wondering how each person was doing.

"We're losing him!" Someone yelled causing Gregory to freeze.

The noise of fast wheels turning and hurried feet made Gregory plaster himself against the wall as the stretcher came into view a little ways down the hall, coming his way fast. Paramedics, Emergency Consultants, and other people he couldn't name surrounded whoever lay on the stretcher. Squeaky noises came from the bed and Gregory realized that the person's heart had stopped and someone was doing compression's.

"Grab more towels and apply pressure!" Another person yelled, causing Gregory's heart to jolt in his throat at the urgency and tension that was now surrounding him.

He plastered himself more against the wall as they went past him. He caught a glimpse of bright red on the man's arm, stomach, and thigh. His stomach twisted slightly at seeing the paleness of the man lying on the stretcher and the concern on the staff's faces.

He probably wasn't going to make it.

"What happened?" A doctor walked out of a room down the hall concern etched on his face as he watched the stretcher go by and the urgency of the staff around him.

A nurse stepped away from the stretcher and walked up to the doctor with a hushed voice, but Gregory still made out every word. "There was a Taking this morning. He tried fighting off the Officer until he shot him in the arm. But he wouldn't stop until he got his daughter back, and ended up getting shot in the thigh and then finally the stomach which stopped him. It was chaos after that."

Gregory didn't blame the man for doing what he did, but at the same time, he still couldn't believe that he did. If he knew that there was a possibility of getting shot, then he should've just backed off. But instead, the man went up against something that no one can control.

He found his way to the front desk and remembered where he was at now. He still had no idea how he ended up getting lost. He walked down the hall, thoughts still focused on the man on the stretcher, until he found Amanda's door. He brought his hand up and knocked softly, waiting for her voice to let him in.

He listened for another minute and knocked harder this time, wondering if she could've fallen asleep. He put his ear to the door and shivered as the coldness touched his skin. He concentrated on any noise that could indicate that she was in there, but he couldn't hear anything.

He finally decided to just go in. He lifted his head away from the door and brought his hand to the knob. He turned it and heard the click as the door opened.

"Amanda?" He said into the room, hoping to hear her voice in return. But still nothing.

He opened the door fully and saw that the bed was empty, and the IV lines were dangling off the machine. Where was she? Is she hurt?

He looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath, exhaling it as he looked back down. His eyes immediately fixated on a small red dot on the floor. He squatted down and looked at it closer. It was a small blood drip, which he was assuming came from the IV line that was in her arm.

He looked along the floor and spotted another that was near the door. He stood and walked over and stepped into the hallway. He turned to the left and looked at the floor. After not seeing anymore, he turned to the right and spotted another that was a couple feet away from the room.

He followed the drips that were spread apart every couple of feet and walked into a waiting room. He looked around searching and then spotted her in a corner next to a couple.

He walked forward silently, his eyes on Amanda hoping she would look at him. Almost as if he had spoken aloud, her gaze met his.

She had her hand on the woman's arm, and turned her gaze away from his back to the man with the woman and said something to him that Gregory couldn't understand.

The man tugged the woman closer to him and gave Amanda a small smile. Amanda then said something to the woman and leaned in and hugged them both. Gregory's heart clenched in his throat at seeing the compassion and sympathy emanating from her. She didn't care about her issues from the looks of it, she was just focused on the couple. And for some reason he couldn't explain, that warmed his heart.