"Well, that was pretty uneventful," Byron deadpanned. Julie rushed to him, and the two embraced. He broke it too quickly, barking orders to the others in the room. He needed to do what he could for Glenn before it was too late.

Julie provided towels, sheets, and plenty of thread and sewing needles to help stitch wounds while Byron scoured the medical supplies they brought from Sal's. He hoped to find anything that would help with the infection and suture any tears in the intestines. There were sure to be perforations and possible contaminants.

Elliot turned out to be remarkably good at holding lights in the perfect spot, so Byron used him to assist. Jesse handed him "instruments," which mainly were Julie's kitchen knives and a pair of her long-gone ex-boyfriend's fly fishing forceps, scissors, and tweezers from a tying kit he left behind. She held it ransom when he wouldn't give her money for rent. He never did, and she never threw it away.

After over three hours of intense repair and suture work, Byron closed the last wounds.

"We've done all we can do. He's either going to pull through or not. What we need are antibiotics. Lots of antibiotics. Who wants to run over to the Walgreens and get a few scripts filled for me?" He gave a half-hearted laugh and sat down on a kitchen chair.

Mikel stood up and offered to go.

“I don’t want to lose anyone else. If antibiotics are the best chance to keep Glenn with us, I’ll get what he needs. I’ve got no idea what antibiotics look like in a pharmacy, but if you write everything down, I’ll find them.”

“I’m in. The two of us have a better chance together, plus I know my way around a pharmacy. Three is too many, but a single person isn’t enough. We have a better chance of success together.” Seth said as he gathered rounds for his AR.

“Good. I was hoping someone else would come with me. I didn’t want to volunteer anyone but strength in numbers, right?”

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They reloaded their weapons, ate a bite of food, filled their water, and said their goodbyes. Sal clapped Mikel on the shoulder and whispered to him.

“I knew you had this in you. You’ve stepped up big, man. Thanks for that. Made things easier for me. A lot easier. Be safe. I’ll hold things down here. Plus, Jesse will make sure everyone’s safe. She’s tough as nails and a better shot than most.”

“Thanks, Sal. See you in a few.”

With that, Mikel and Seth were out the door and down the stairs.

#

The fire started as most do: Too much heat near a flammable object. In this case, it was a heater that had a bad thermostat. It wouldn't kick off and kept trying to reach 76° even though it was well above 90° in the apartment. The dirty cleaning towels piled next to the vent were used to apply acetone to clean some items and weren't adequately vented. A small plume of flame ignited, then burst across the towels. Soon, the entire room was ablaze. Within 20 minutes, three apartments on the same floor were ablaze, as was one a floor above.

Two hours was all it took for the fire to spread to the adjacent buildings. The next great Chicago Fire was about to get out of control.

The apartment owner had gone outside and was currently roaming around the North Riverside area. There was no current direction or agenda in her roaming, just a strong desire to stay outside and enjoy the fresh air. She also wanted to have some fresh meat. As she wandered about, the craving for fresh meat became more and more immediate until it was the only thought she had.

At first, she thought about heading to Trader Joe’s and getting some steak. The grills at her building were very good. Her next thought was maybe she could taste the steak before she cooked it. Soon it went from a taste to a bite.

The next thought disturbed her for a moment. She regularly flirted with one of the cashiers. A younger woman named Stella. Stella had purple and gray hair and the most beautiful mountain and flower tattoos. She always wondered what other tattoos were hidden beneath Stella’s uniform.

Now, however, she was thinking about how Stella would taste, how her fresh meat would taste. It did bother her. She didn't want to harm the girl, but when she really thought about it, that's all she wanted to do. She wanted to taste the meat hidden beneath that beautifully artistic mountain range tattooed on her shoulder and upper arm. The deliciously tender flesh was hidden under those sexy pants Stella always wore. She would taste amazing.

As she made her way towards Trader Joe’s, the city behind her began to glow.