"Oh, thank goodness." Mark rushed in, then the woman slammed the door shut and locked it.
Mark was met with two black men with crowbars and a white woman in glasses with folded hands to her chest.
"Good day fellas." Mark smiled at the new faces. The men wore stern faces while the woman had a worried look on her face.
"What's poppin'?" The older man said, still wearing the same expression.
"Got a gun on ya?"
"Am a cop." Mark replied.
"The name's Melissa. This is ma husband, Raymond, and ma son, Junior…" The good-samaritan woman pointed at the slightly shorter black man with a receding hairline, a moustache and a big belly; then at the youth that looked to be somewhere in the range of 18 to 19 years old.
"And this is our neighbour, Sheryl, the landlord…
"Follow me. Bring him upstairs."
Mark made no qualms and followed her until they got to her apartment on the second floor while feeling uneasy under the scrutinizing gaze of the father and son.
The apartment had 7 floors, and there were only 6 apartments on each floor, three apartments facing the other three.
As they entered the apartment, Melissa rushed over to the rectangular dining table and pushed everything on it off the table.
Mark quickly placed Damian on the table and took off his shoes.
"Tell me what happened to him" Melissa removed the cloth Damian wrapped around the middle part of his upper body and his glasses.
"Uh… He, uh… got hit by a truck and smashed into a walk." Mark glanced at Raymond and Junior.
Melissa went away and came back after a minute with medical gloves and a stethoscope around her neck, then listened to Damian's heartbeat.
"Turn him over."
Mark sharply did so, revealing the area around Damian's back that was affected.
"Jesus. Junior, get me a piece of cloth and some ice."
Melissa walked to the other side of the table where Mark was, "Give him some space."
Mark adjusted himself and kept a far enough distance from Damian.
Melissa touched the affected area and heard a crunching sound.
"This is bad."
"Oh my goodness, Damian. How bad?"
"He would-most-likely-die bad, about 9 ribs are broken."
Mark held his hand to his mouth, while the other went across his chest.
"What are the symptoms you've noticed? And what type of activities has he done after he was hit?"
"Coughing blood, can't straighten his back, pain and he has uh, uhm… been uh… driving."
"Driving?! For how long?!"
"A-About 20 minutes, I guess…"
Junior came back with the cloth and ice and voiced, "That truck had been parked there for more than 2 hours now."
"2 HOURS?! Where were you and what were you doing?" Melissa didn't wait for Mark's reply as she grabbed the ice and cloth from Junior and put the ice in the cloth then softly touched the affected area with it.
"Junior, check my medi-kit, I think I still have an elastic ace bandage. You'll know it when you see it."
"Ok, ma." Junior quickly zoomed off. He also started feeling the tension in the air.
She used the ice to reduce the swelling and also reduce the pain.
"Cack!" Damian coughed up blood, followed by a wheezing sound from his nose.
"He's also having breathing difficulties. He's bleeding internally!"
Melissa dropped the ice cloth and checked his spinal cord, neck and finally, his head.
"He also has a head injury."
"But can't you save him?!"
"Do I look like I'm playing here?"
Mark couldn't calm himself down anymore. He knew Damian was as good as dead and it would be his fault for letting all hell break loose and slamming him into that wall.
"You HAVE to save him, please."
"Get out! You're not letting me focus!"
Mark left the apartment and sat on the floor in the hallway, at the side of the door.
He raised his knees to his chest and used his hands to cover his face, then he buried his face in between his knees, "Oh my God. What have I done?"
…
After about an hour, Melissa came out the door.
Mark jumped up and looked at Melissa expectantly.
"He's resting now and in severe pain. He needs to be taken to a hospital."
"Ok. But how long do you think he could last?"
"Only about a few days or less. A few hours if it's the coronary artery or his aorta that got affected…
"Whether it's severe pneumothorax or cardiac and associated blood vessel injury, he could still suffer from respiratory failure, cardiac arrest, shock, and death. Does he have any family you can contact?"
"I don't… I don't know. But I think I'll be able to get him some help."
"Mhm, I hear you, but make it quick."
"Can I see him?"
"Sure. Go ahead."
Mark went in and was met with an almost mummified Damian.
A white bandage was wrapped around Damian's forehead. His chest and upper abdomen were also covered in bandages. Leaving only his lower abdomen open.
"Damn." Mark stared at Damian.
"You're in luck, do you know that?" Raymond came out from the kitchen as he used a towel to dry his hands. He was not so stern-faced compared to before.
"If we didn't see the news about the information about those creatures and the crisis, then I guarantee you we wouldn't open the door even if you brought a dying baby…
"On second thought… maybe we would've…
"The other neighbours locked their doors. Most of 'em weren't supportive."
"Thank you. I appreciate your help." Mark said.
He was about to leave but then, he stopped and turned to Raymond, "What did the news say?"
"People that killed other people will have a number behind their left-hand…"
…behind their… Mark subtly put his hands in his pockets.
"Don't worry, I saw your hand when you flipped your badge and when you carried the white kid in…" Mark was tempted to check, but he was not that foolish.
"Well apparently, if the demons bite you then you slowly become like 'em. The time varies for 'erbody… it's like, some zombie apocalypse type 'a-shit."
"Did it… Did it say anything else?"
"Yeah, Vilin issued an emergency executive order. That's all the media knows."
"Wait, an emergency executive order?"
"Mhm. I know the government is up to some crazy shit. I can just feel it."
…I wasn't able to contact headquarters. Does it have something to do with this?
Mark left the apartment without warning. He was a police officer and had an active duty to protect and enforce rules but it would all mean nothing if he didn't follow orders.
…I need to find out more about this…
Mark exited the apartment block and got into the truck.
There, he took a deep breath and took out his radio transceiver and switched it on.