Time/Date Error (Damned of the 2/19th-Book Six) - Done

It's a Girl

I wouldn't trust Gordons to start the War Fighter Tunnels up, which meant I had to do it. I couldn't have any of the females risk it.

The lights clicked on ahead to expose a large room. I could see ballistic shields surrounding a bank of computers as well as heavy doors stenciled with what was beyond. I could see two large tunnel openings even as far back as I was.

"We're almost there," I said, somewhat unnecessarily, but I was concentrating on the stencils.

"MED-BAY" was on the right.

"Get Harris in there, put him on one of the tables, I'll get to him as soon as possible," I snapped, "Groom, treat him for a sucking chest wound, just in case, use both of your field dressings, I'll replace it from my kit."

I'd need help, I'd need someone to assist me.

Groom was the only one I'd trust. She'd gone through Special Weapons, even though it was the NBC side, and it made me trust her more than anyone else.

I moved over to the dark computers, setting the paper down and reading the rest.

Instructions on how to fire up the tunnels, step by step. The computers were down, so the system hadn't gone to standby.

"I'll be back," I told them, and moved into the darkness of the section where the power and heat would be.

I rushed it as fast as possible, going steady so that I didn't rush and have to start over, but I could feel every second slipping by. I knew that each second Harris's chances were decreasing, but the mission had to come first. Had the bullet hit his lung? Had it shattered a rib and driven the rib fragments into the lung or heart? Had it gone all the way through?

The generators were the easiest part, they fired right up and the lights got brighter. Before only every third light had been on, once the generators fired up all of them turned on. I moved over to the heating section, following the instructions to turn on the emergency electric furnaces first and then the electrically heated water heaters.

I moved back into the "egg" section, moving toward the computers, when he came out of the tunnel that was labeled "Lower Access Point", jogging toward us.

"You succeeded in activating the lights , that is good," Stillwater said, moving up next to me. He sat down in the chair, smiling at me and putting his hands behind his neck.

"Gonna help?" I asked him. "I've got one man wounded and one in labor."

He nodded, standing up. "Go, provide them with medical care. I shall finish reactivating this facility."

"Thanks," I moved toward the surgical bay. When I went inside Harris was sitting up, his shirts off and looking at his pectoral muscle, which was covered in iodine. When I came in, he looked up.

"Through and through under my armpit," He said.

Groom looked up from behind him. "Looks like all he needs is stitches. I wanted to wait till you were here."

I nodded, moving over to the sink, stepping on the pedal and using my teeth to take off my gloves. The pipes groaned and thumped, but water and ice chips started to dribble from the faucet.

"N NAGLE & M STOKES WERE HERE - 1986" was scratched into the side of the sink.

My gloves off, I grabbed the soap and started washing my hands, wrist to fingertips, singing softly to myself a song I'd memorized that was four minutes fifteen seconds long. The water was cold, just a few degrees above freezing. By the time I was done, the water was lukewarm and I was tempted to keep my hands in it.