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In the rush to return to normalcy, people found themselves in jobs they had no aptitude for. Janitors were promoted to executives and file clerks found themselves as managers. It was ludicrous, but we played along with the charade in hopes of finding our way back to the world we wanted. That winter was a time of scrambling and failures. The people who were most capable were struggling to stabilize the systems most needed: utilities, security, food distribution, unseen work that felt like abandonment to the average citizen as grocery stores were looted and neighborhoods burned unabated.
History of a Changed World - Angus T. Moss
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NICK RACED INTO THE building, all thoughts of plants and blight jettisoned. Angus was the beating heart of this settlement. If anything happened to him, it could all unravel. At a time like this, with so many things in flux, they needed his gentle guiding hand. Nick trotted down the hall toward the infirmary where a crowd had started forming. Nick shouldered his way through.
Martin, the head of the Watch, positioned himself in the doorway, stolidly blocking the entrance. Brawny arms folded, a scowl on his weather beaten face, he kept the residents at bay just by staring them down. He gave Nick a tight nod, stepping aside to let him enter.
The curtains were closed around the first bay. Old Dr. Jameson stood with his back to the room, a veiny hand holding the curtain open just enough for him to peek through. His white hair was tousled, and he had a white coat on over pajamas. He turned as Nick approached. “Not life threatening,” he said.
Nick let out the breath he’d been holding. “What happened?”
“Stumbled on the stairs.”
“How bad?”
“Possible break. Ruth is examining him.”
Nick’s anger kicked in again. She was too new here. An interloper. “Why her?” he demanded.
Jameson’s hazel eyes held a sheepishness, tainted with sadness. “I was asleep. She got here first.”
Nick peered into the curtained area. Angus looked a little more disheveled than usual. His shaggy white hair veered in all directions. His face was paler than usual. He held a cold pack on his forehead with another propped against his other elbow. Ruth stood over him with a sonic wand. She looked up, caught Nick’s eye and pointed to Angus’s hip. “Broken,” she mouthed.
Tilly erupted into the infirmary, shoving people out of her path. Her gray eyes, sharp as glass, sought Nick first.
“Broken hip,” Nick said.
Tilly’s eyes widened. Nick knew what she was thinking—the same thing he was. A fall and a break like this could often be a precursor to a quick and irreversible decline. She rushed past Nick, through the curtains. “What have you done, you silly old goat?” The gentle lilt to Tilly’s voice didn’t quite hide her terror.
When no answer came, Nick joined her at the bedside. Angus opened his eyes looking disoriented making Nick’s heart sink with despair. Tilly took Angus’s hand.
“Angus?” her voice had a tremor in it now.
Nick bit back his curses. They needed Angus at the top of his game. They couldn’t afford to have him muddled or confused. He looked away, watching Ruth putter with the machines. Who could take his place? No one here had the breadth of thought or the depth of insight.
“It was a cat,” Angus grumbled. He shifted on the bed and sucked in a breath. “Ow.”
“A cat?” Tilly looked to Nick. “There aren’t any cats anymore. Are there?”
Nick thought about lying, but knew better. “I haven’t seen any.” He didn’t want to think about that statement. All the cats had died in Year Five, the cat flu.
“I swear it was a cat. I came down the steps to the storm tunnel to meet with Martin. Something he wanted to show me, and I stepped on the damn thing.” He scowled at the people bunched around his bed. “Squealed like a cat,” he insisted. “Shot off down the corridor. It looked like one of those orange tabbies.”
Nick’s fear eased hearing Angus sound more like himself. He wondered if Wisp could sense something as small as a cat. He’d been able to find Harlan’s horses that had gotten trapped down by the river.
“Did I hear him?” Martin peeked in through the curtain. “Scared the life out of us, Angus.”
“Me, too!” Angus grunted. “What’s the bad news?” he asked scowling at Ruth.
“Bruises, contusions, sprained elbow, minor concussion and a broken hip,” she ran down the damage for them.
“Broken?” Angus looked surprised. “Are you sure? It hurts, but not like a break should.”
Ruth waved the sonic wand at him. “The machines don’t lie.”
“Huh.”
“Bed rest for the next five days. When the swelling comes down, we’ll reevaluate then.”
As Angus began arguing with Ruth and Tilly over his restrictions, Martin signaled to Nick, indicating the far corner of the room.
“He sounds okay,” Nick said as he joined Martin.
“Only fell about five steps. Could have been worse. I want him to have a shadow.”
“No argument from me. What about William?” Nick remembered how desperately Lily’s brother had wanted to join in the fight against the raiders. The boy needed a job to distract him from the torture he’d endured at the hands of Rutledge’s mercenaries.
“Exactly who I was thinking of.” Martin nodded distractedly as if plotting things out in his head. “If I get everybody upstairs, you think Wisp can find that animal?”
“Did you see a cat?”
“I was right inside the door waiting for him. I heard a weird sound before he tumbled. I got over to him by the time he hit the ground. Didn’t see any animal, cause I had all eyes on him.”
“So he really did step on something,” Nick said trying to hide his relief. Angus wouldn’t lie out of embarrassment, which only left a hallucination. And he didn’t want to think what might have Angus hallucinating.
“I’m afraid it might be a rat. We gotta find it, get rid of it and then figure out how it got in.”
Nick agreed. “I’ll speak to Wisp.”