Katy Palminer frustratedly drove through the empty streets. She knew it was dangerous and that there was a high chance she’d be killed. That didn’t stop her from doing what she felt was right though.

Katy’s wife was in the military and had been called upon to fight, her hospital had been evacuated and she was told to flee. She was a doctor though. She couldn’t just sit on a couch somewhere and watch the news of her countrymen or family being slaughtered and not help them. It wasn’t in her nature.

So, she’d stolen an ambulance from her hospital and drove straight into the areas she knew had been hit the hardest.

Unfortunately, her fears of being too late were becoming more and more real by the second.

She’d been driving in the remnants of the war zone for an hour, stopped to check countless pulses and had yet to see one living soul.

Just as she was considering going back to the hospital and being useful, she saw a person waving on the side of the street. She slowed down to get a closer look. It was a teenage boy.

Katy stopped the ambulance immediately, shutting off the siren and lights as she pulled over. She didn’t want to draw attention to the victims, it was only meant to be opportunity for the victims to see her.

She jumped out of the ambulance and ran to the teen she’d seen. He was covered in stained clothing, presumably stained in blood.

“Hey, I’m so glad you’re alive! Come over to the ambulance and I’ll get you all fixed up,” she spoke warmly to the teen.

“No. No, you don’t understand,” his pitch was high and panicked. “This blood isn’t mine.”

“Okay,” Katy remained calm, knowing any tension from her would only exacerbate the situation. “Can you bring me to the person bleeding?”

“Yes. Yes!” the boy screamed, turning to run.

“Wait!” Katy yelled before he was out of sight. “I have to grab my bag and supplies.”

She sprinted to the vehicle and opened the back door. She fumbled around with a bunch of tools and bandages. Judging by the amount of blood on the boy, she had a tough job ahead of her.

Katy stuffed everything she could think of into a bag and returned to the boy. He took off as soon as he saw her and she raced to follow him.

They continued through the alley, across lawns and over fences. Katy was suddenly glad for the siren, clearly this boy had sought her out.

He ran into a small one floor home and left the door open for her to follow.

Katy stepped in and closed the door behind her. The house was dark, only one candle to light the whole space. She assumed that was because some power lines had been broken, but it also could have been a plan to remain hidden from soldiers.

The boy waved his hands manically from beside the candle, “Here!”

Katy quickly joined the boy on the floor and saw the patient in question. They were covered in blood and Katy questioned her own abilities at that moment. She didn’t know that she’d be able to save the young woman before her.

After finding a dull pulse, Katy grabbed scissors from her bag and cut the shirt on the woman. She assessed the damage and found three bullet wounds still leaking blood. She carefully turned the woman and checked for exit wounds. There was one from the gunshot on her arm.

Katy carefully laid the woman back down and asked the teen to put pressure on the two smaller bullet wounds. One on her shoulder and one on her upper arm. Choosing to focus her efforts on the bullet in her abdomen, Katy got to work assessing the situation.

She pulled out a head flashlight and slipped it on to help her see. The gunshot hadn’t appeared too deep which was a great relief. Katy then grabbed her disinfected tweezers and got to work.

She worked tirelessly for hours. Retrieving the bullets, assessing the damage, sewing up what she could, and bandaging the wounds properly. She kept the wounds as clean as possible in the unsanitary room.

All the while a teenager was scrutinizing her every move. The boy watched her the entire time, clearly judging her ability and wincing when she’d sew up the woman.

Katy wasn’t opposed to making small talk with the boy to distract him from the situation, but she didn’t want her attention to be divided.

When she wrapped the final wound, Katy fell back on the floor.

The boy looked at her, concerned. “You okay, Miss?”

She looked at him, “Yeah, yeah. Just tired is all, sorry.”

The boy shrugged and continued looking at the woman.

“Is this your mom?” Katy probed carefully.

“No. My sister,” the teen whispered, obviously concerned for her.

“I’m sorry, kiddo. She’s a fighter, though,” Katy responded.

“We were trying to hide. She got shot before we could take cover. She fell down and I think the soldiers thought she was dead or that she’d die, so they kept moving. We broke into this house because it was close.” His eyes widened as he realized he just confessed to a crime.

“Hey, hey, don’t worry. You were very brave. I’m sure the people who own this house wouldn’t mind. You were just helping your sister,” Katy rushed to calm the boy.

He nodded and continued his silent observation of his sister.

For the first time, Katy looked around the house. The photos on the wall were of a happy couple, she silently prayed they managed to make it out alive. In her gaze, she noticed a landline phone. Her cellphone hadn’t worked since she got to the warzone.

“I’m going to make a quick call. I’ll be right back,” she said quickly.

She stepped over to the landline and dialed the number she long since had memorized.

“Hello?” A stern feminine voice replied.

“Hey mom,” Katy sighed out in relief.

“Katy! What the hell? Where have you been? We had to leave the air strip without you!”

“It’s fine mom, I chose to stay. I’m in the war zone, I br-”

Katy’s mother cut her off with a tense anger, “You’re where?! Don’t you dare tell me you went to the war zone to try and patch up the wounded! Are you insane?!”

“She what?” Katy heard her father shout in the background.

She rolled her eyes and waited for her mother to explain the half story to her father before she spoke again. She knew trying to interrupt them and explain would be only be pointless.

“Katy! What in the hell is going on?” her father’s gruff voice suddenly overtook the phone’s speaker.

“I couldn’t do nothing, dad,” she tried to defend her stance.

“Katy, you know this is foolish. Get out of there. NOW! Get to the airport, we’ll pick you up!”

“No,” she said sternly. “I’m staying.”

A crash of the front door startled Katy causing her to drop the phone. A pair of soldiers appeared in the doorway. Katy instantly blamed herself for speaking too loudly or for using the headlamp.

She glanced at the terrified teen and said, “I’m sorry.”

Countless aggressive cracks from the firearms echoed out.

When it was silent once more, all three of them, Katy, the teenager and his sister, were killed. Their bodies riddled with bullet holes not even the best doctor could have saved them from.

The soldiers left without ever hearing the screaming coming from the phone.

The phone gently swung in the air, hanging by its coiled cord.

Katy’s father screamed, “This is President Zeke Palminer! I demand someone tells me what the fuck is going on! Katy! KATY! Answer me!”