“…burn ward’s full. We’ll have to overflow them somewhere.”
“Have we tried maternity, yet? They should have room.”
“They’ve already started filling it up; I wonder if there’s room in…”
Fin walked around the corner and the conversation drifted away. Xander and Grace stood up and walked over to him as he entered the waiting room. It was packed, and as soon as Xander and Grace had vacated their seats there was a mad dash from the multitude of standing people to try and sit down. Grace reached Fin first, and her violet eyes seemed worried, dark lines marring her face.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“He’s fine,” Xander grunted. “The medical team here is one of the best.”
Fin nodded. “I’m fine. What’s going on here? I didn’t see any injured when I was at the Damp Field.”
Xander and Grace exchanged a look quickly. Fin wasn’t able to read it.
“Not here,” Grace said, looking at the full waiting room.
Fin followed his fellow Conduits out of the hospital and to their truck. Once safely inside, and the doors shut, he saw their unease. They shifted uncomfortably in their seats, glancing around the parking lot, almost as if expecting an attack.
Fin leaned forward, resting his arms on the backs of the front seats. “What’s going on?”
Xander met his eyes in the rearview mirror. “That wasn’t the only Damp Field that was breached.”
Fin stared at Xander’s reflection. “There was more than one? More than one Soulless?”
Grace turned and looked at Fin. “All of the Damp Fields in New Brooklyn were breached.”
Fin slumped back into his seat, ignoring the brief stab of pain from his freshly healed injuries.
Grace continued, “There are reports of more Soulless. I’m not sure how we missed it. You were the only Conduit at a Damp Field. You were the only non-mundane responder.”
“I couldn’t even scratch the Soulless. What good would guns do?” Fin scratched at the diamond in his sword hilt. “Do we have any numbers yet?”
Xander shook his head. “Nothing yet. But initial intelligence suggests we might be dealing with the Soulless army.” He started the truck. “This isn’t an isolated incident. It happened all over the city. Maybe even the region.”
Fin started to speak, but Grace cut him off. “We can talk more. We need to get back to command. Regroup. Figure out a strategy.”
“Plus,” Xander managed a grin, “you need to change your clothes. You look like a bum.”
Jacob Kolasch 