Austin hid behind the dining hall and ate his apple in secret. He realized it had been days since he’d eaten anything sweet. He took his time, savoring the entire thing, core and all.
When he was finished, he went to the clinic to visit his mom. He was met at the front table by a Yellow Jacket.
“Can I help you?” asked the man.
“My mom’s inside,” said Austin. “I just want to see how she’s doing.”
“I’m sure she’s fine,” said the Yellow Jacket.
“Well, she wasn’t fine yesterday,” said Austin. “I’d really like to say hi to her.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” said the man. “Nobody is allowed in the clinic unless they’re sick. Run along now.”
Austin spotted Darsha standing across the room, bringing a cup of water to someone lying on a cot. “You let her inside,” said Austin, pointing to her. “She’s not sick.”
“She’s part of the volunteer staff,” said the man.
Darsha heard Austin’s voice and came over to them. “Oh, forget your stupid rules,” she said, grabbing Austin by the hand. “Let’s go.”
The Yellow Jacket stuttered out an excuse, but Darsha just pulled Austin along behind her.
As they walked across the room, she turned to him. “I just got here myself. Your mom doesn’t look any better.”
Austin rushed over to his mother’s cot. Darsha was right. She looked awful. “Mom, it’s me.”
She turned toward him. “Hi, buddy,” she mumbled. Austin touched her face. She was burning up. She was clearly getting worse. He looked across the room and spotted the woman from the other day. He marched toward her. Darsha followed.
“Why aren’t you helping my mom?” he demanded.
“We are helping her,” said the woman. “We’re doing the best we can.”
“Well, you need to do better!” Austin shouted.
“How did you get in here anyway?” she asked.
“That doesn’t matter,” said Darsha. “What matters is that you give Austin’s mom the treatment she needs and you get her healthy again.”
“There’s only so much we can do with our limited resources.”
“I bet she’d be fine by now if she was a Yellow Jacket!” yelled Austin. “I bet you would help her then!”
“Okay, that’s enough.” The woman got the attention of the Yellow Jacket at the door. He stormed over. “Will you please get this young man out of here? The stress isn’t good for his mother.”
“Gladly.” The Yellow Jacket grabbed Austin by the arm and began pulling him away.
Austin yanked his arm back. “Keep your hands off me!” He stepped toward the Yellow Jacket. “I’ll leave, okay?”
The Yellow Jacket raised his hands. “Easy, kid.”
Austin went back to his mom. “Have they been giving you any medicine?” he whispered.
“Not much,” she said. “Just some painkillers once a day.”
He knew she would need more than that if she was this sick. And with the rations on food and water, it was likely she wasn’t getting enough nutrients either. He turned back to his mom one last time. “I’m going to help you, Mom. I promise.”