BLUE IRIS
Chapter 24

Iris

I PARKED the car at the top of the hill-a park and a perfect place for a short hike for couples. Right now the beautiful scenic landscape decayed and abandoned. The twinkling city lights that supposed to be breathtaking were gone and

nothing but a gray and dusty dead city from the top.

The chains of the tree swing set creaked and sounded like in a horror movie, but we were not here to be horrified. This would be the last view we wanted to see the sunset-to watch the sun as it disappeared from the horizon. "Wanna go out?” I asked Colt, who was blankly and silently staring through the windshield. "You haven't said a word since we left. Blame me, please? We still have a gun. You can shoot me—" And that, he made a snap at me. "I don't want you to die with me." He gulped, eyes filled with regret and grief. I knew he was frightened, just like I was.

"Well, I don't want you to die either," I made a point.

"I'm not ready. I'm scared, Iris." I saw the truth in his eyes, and it was killing me that no one could stop death.

"So do I." I squeezed his hand-it alarmed me when it was surprisingly hot. "Are you okay?"

He sniffed. "No point of lying. So, no. I am not." He swallowed hard. "I feel hot. I mean, I feel like I'm burning and melting inside. I think it's already started, twig." The word twig made my heart flutter as it already stuck as his endearment for me, but right now all I felt was despair.

I cupped his face and looked at him in the eyes. "God knows I'm scared as well, Colton, but we're in this together."

Colt was right he was burning up and sweating. His eyelids were swollen and red. The bruises had gone worse and started to bleed when it stopped earlier.

He laughed, trying to be amused. "You sound like we are going into a heist." He then squeezed my hand and pressed it to his lips. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me, Iris. I'm glad I met you and made a move, otherwise, I would have regretted not doing before I die. I had the best experience with you, Twig, and I will forever cherish what we shared together till the day after. You let me feel something that was only in my imagination. For these couple of weeks, you shared the life with me that I thought would be impossible with the world is falling apart around us. You made me whole again."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as they started to water. My heart was bleeding that I couldn't do anything to stop it. "You are the best thing that ever happened to me too, Colton." I pressed my lips into his. "I'm glad to be there with you."

His breathing suddenly shallow. "I'm tired," he whispered and let his heavy lids flutter closed. "But I want to watch the sunset one last time." He licked his dry and swollen lips, then leaned his back against the seat.

My eyes burned with tears as I watched him slowly taken away from me by the virus, and I couldn't help him. I was useless.

I sniffed and cried helplessly.

It was tearing my heart apart. I shook there, silently crying as Colt started to draw a deep breath.

"I know you're crying, twig. Please, don't do this to me. It's already hard for me to go knowing I am hurting you. Don't make it harder." He tried hard to speak. "My throat feels like I swallowed shards of glass. It hurts, but I wanna hear your voice." He took a long deep breath. "Talk to me, Blue Iris. Tell me something."

"I'm here. Let me tell you a story." I blinked back the tears and took all my strength I had left into words. "When I first met you, you scared the living shit out of me." I sniffed. "But I was also surprised to see the most beautiful eyes staring back at me. Your stare alone gave a shiver." I looked at him. "In a damn good way though. Anyway, I thought you're a tough, badass, and hot guy I've ever met. You made me feel special, Colton. You made me whole" The blood flowed from his

nose.

He wiped it unconsciously, making him stilled upon seeing it. "Shit. You know what your name means, twig?" he murmured sleepily.

"No. Tell me what my name means, please?" I begged just to hear his voice. I wished I could hear it over and over again until I let go of my last breath.

"Hmm. The flower, blue iris. It symbolizes faith and hope." He coughed out. It was fresh blood.

God, don't, please!

Don't take him away from me. I need him. God, I want him more than the air I breathe. I was not ready to let him go.

I shook and hiccuped to cry, slamming my fists against the steering wheel until I couldn't breathe.

When everything seemed to be alright, we were tearing apart, and it was going to be a quick death, and I was not close to being ready for this. I felt hopeless, helpless, and useless. I'd rather die first because I couldn't take it as I watched him bleeding beside me.

"God, please..." I pressed my head against the steering wheel helplessly as I didn't have the guts to look at barely breathing Colt.

God, I'm not ready for this. I am not ready to let go of what we have.

But I didn't have a choice. I wished I could trade my life and save him instead, but this was not some fantasy stories. This is real, and I am losing Colton in a heartbeat. And I was also dying.

Damn it!

Then it suddenly hit me hard. My world spun and stop momentarily.

I quickly turned the rearview mirror toward my face and checked myself. I looked okay. My eyes were still blue. I patted my neck with the back of my hand, then to my forehead-I was not sweating. I'm not feverish. I was not bleeding. My breathing is okay. I felt good. Really good.

I am good. I am really really good.

What the Colt did not infect me. I am not infected.

Oh, my god!

"Colton?" I shook him, but he barely responded. "Colton!"

"Ohmygod! Ohmygod!" Shaking, I started the car, quickly revved the engine, and drove down the hill. "Colton, please, hang in there?"

A soon as we reached the road, I buckled his seat belt to secure him. I was thankful when he stirred.

I had to drive faster to reach any nearest hospital or clinic, and I wasn't sure where to replace since there was no GPS to guide me.

Everything was clear to me right now, but I pushed that thought out of my head. I needed proof.

The sun was down, and we didn't get a chance to watch it set as we planned.

I could barely see the road other than the headlights that helped me track down the deserted road. The surrounding was like a blur as I drove beyond the speed limit. Luckily, if I could call it luck, there was no police patrol like before. In our new world—people didn't follow rules anymore-they follow their instincts.

Now, time was not on my side, and I was about to run out of gas, and here we were, still in the middle of nowhere while Colt was fighting for his life.

"Colton!" I checked him up again. My heart was hammering in my chest.

He was shaking-it only had been a few hours since we left the cabin, but he was already bleeding to death.

I had never felt so much pain that hurt through my bones to watch him on the brink of his death.

As time stretched by, all I could do and hope was for him to hang in there tight, and for me to replace a clinic that had the supplies I needed.

I hung on to the tiny hope I had left that what I was about to do would help him live at least a few hours. And I would do anything and trade everything to have a few seconds with him.

My eyes widened, and my heart skipped its beat when a small light from a distance came to life. My hope soared high. I thanked God. "Oh, my god!" I laughed like crazy.

The name Johnson Delivery Clinic was barely visible. I parked the car to halt and jumped out, didn't bother turning off the engine. I took my gun and scouted the one-story building from the outside-it was quiet, and only an old sedan was parked outside.

Cautiously, I slowly pushed the glass door open. It was dark, and I let my eyes adjusted before I walked inside. Aside from a room to my left-it had at least eight doors on both sides of the hallway. My steps echoed on the entire floor no matter how hard I tried to keep it discreet.

"Who are you?" the frightened man's voice asked, pointing a flashlight right into my eyes, making me squint.

Adrenaline rushed through me. My heart pounded wildly in my chest as I pointed my gun at him. "I mean no harm, but you have to step back and stay away from me. Now!" The man startled and paled. "Don't hurt me." He was tall and slim with curly ginger hair.

"I need to know where to replace a stretcher? My boyfriend is sick, and I need him in one of these rooms." I waited, and he was still rooted in his place, speechless. "Stretcher!" "Max!" a woman's voice called from a close distance.

"Stay right there!" I yelled. "Don't come out. I might have contact with an infected person."

"U-um, t-that's my pregnant girlfriend. She's about to give birth at any moment," the guy named Max explained. "I'm sort of a nurse. I want her to deliver our baby here." Sort of? "I'm running out of time, Max," I roared. "Where is the fucking stretcher?"

"Oh, t-the first one from the left." He pointed.

"I need an airtight room. Can you tell me where it is?"

Max looked confused. "An operating room?"

"Is there anything I can use for transferring blood."

"You mean a blood transfusion set?" Confusion made his eyebrows squished together.

"Yes." I nodded. "Yes."

"Yeah. It's pretty complete I think, but the medicine"

"I don't need medicine. Can you help me open the door?"

He nodded quickly. "Sure."

"Thanks."

I quickly went to the first room marked as an emergency room with two small beds. I found the stretcher I was looking for. Without wasting time, I pushed it outside where I parked the car. When I opened the passenger door, I stilled. My heart almost stopped beating. Colt was gargling with blood all over his mouth.

"Oh god." With shaky hands, I turned his head to the side. "It's okay, Colton. You'll be alright." It was a complete lie, but I needed the strength and hoped this would work. My last hope.

I had faith in him that he would give me a few seconds or minutes or if we would be lucky, a few hours of his life. I still had a lot of things to tell him, and I wished it didn't have to reach this point that I might not get another chance. "Stay with me, Colton. We're almost there."

I couldn't breathe I didn't have any strength to fill my lungs as regret swirled in the pit of my belly. I grabbed him and swung his arm around my shoulder after I unfastened his seat belt. Colt was huge and slicked with sweat mixing with his own blood. We fell to the ground in a thud, causing me to wince in pain.

I was running out of time.

After a few adjustments of the stretcher, I able to roll Colt over and place him on.

With all my strength left, I ignored my ragged breathing, exhaustion, and pain from the fall. I pushed him inside the clinic.

"Max!" I called out as I placed the gun between Colt's feet. Just in case. Whether they were having a baby, I would not hesitate to shoot him if he would do something stupid.

"I'm here." He was inside the room with his mask on.

"I'm getting inside the room, and I want you to come outside that door once it's locked. I need your help."

"Okay."

A single light in the hallway illuminated around in a white glow. Max must have flicked it on.

At the operating room, a surgical bed at the center, lamp, medical equipment, machines, stainless tables covered with green sheets, drawers, cabinets, and a stroller. Great!

I gulped. My brain suddenly shut down, and I didn't know what to do. What should I do next? I berated myself for not following my parents' path.

Jesus! Breathe, Iris. Breathe.

He did not bleed from a gunshot wound, and I wasn't even sure if my idea would work on him. Just great!

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat.

"Max?" I banged the door.

He rushed toward me and peeped through the small glass window right away.

"How can I transfuse blood to another person?"

His mouth gaped, then swallowed. "Transfuse blood?" He blinked and stared at me as if I was insane, and I was actually insane with this idea in my head, but it was worth a try. Otherwise, I would regret it for not trying. "Yes. I want to give him my blood."

"You need to check your blood type and your recipient."

"I don't have time for that."

"If your blood doesn't match with his, the antigen in his body will reject it, and it will cause a reaction that might lead to death."

"I need it right now or else..." I gulped. "He will die, and I can't let that happen."

"Is he..." He gulped, horror flashed his already pale face. "... infected?"

"Yes. And in an hour or less, he will die. He's already deteriorating, Max." My eyes were burning with tears, and I felt like someone stabbed my chest again and again. "Now you have to tell me how to transfer my blood to him. Directly." "Jesus! I don't know if it works. First, you need an empty bag to fill it with your blood, and once you're done you need to hook it to him. I don't think you can do it alone."

"I need to do it, Max. Is it possible that I will hose my blood directly to him?"

His dark eyes widened. "It's not the 18th century, miss_"

"Iris. Call me Iris."

"Iris, if you want to save his life, you have to do as I say. Wait here, and let me go to the lab to replace an empty bag. I'll show you how to do it."

"Thank you! Please, be quick."

I dragged myself down against the door and rubbed my bloody hands against my face. I started to shake to cry as I watched Colt shaking. He was getting worse, but still breathing. Quickly, I stood up and found a clean cloth and IV fluid. I wiped the blood away from his face, but it still continued bleeding.

"Hang on tight, Colton." My tears wouldn't stop streaming down my face. "We're almost done." I placed the sheet on his forehead just like how my mom used to do when I had a fever.

"I'm so sorry, but I can't give up on you. Not now. Forgive me if this won't work, but I have to try it otherwise, I will forever regret if I didn't even do my best to save you."

Max came back quickly. He explained to me what to do and after I got the blood into the bag. "But you can't give the blood if he has a fever. How does a blood transfusion even work? A plasma could stop the bleeding, but for a case like this, you know there's no cure, right?"

"I have faith and hope in him, Max. Thanks for the help."

A half-hour later or maybe less, my vision blurred. I was sweating profusely. I was totally exhausted.

That was not the right time, but everything came flashing back to me why Otis wanted me alive and what they did to me back in the colony. Still, it didn't make any sense.

If it wasn't from that experience though, I might give up and watch Colt as he died in vain.

I squeezed my eyes shut and breathed deeply.

"Iris, are you okay?" A loud banged from the door echoed, but I could barely stand on my own feet to continue giving Colton my blood.

Use a tourniquet to spot the vein, then insert the needle. When there's a backflow you're in, remove the tourniquet. Apply adhesive to secure it, but the bag should be ready; connect the set to the bag then let the blood flow until it reaches the end of the set. Use the regulator to adjust the blood drip, then connect it to him. Good luck!

I could barely see the needle-it was blurry, but this time I didn't have the luxury to wait until I would be okay.

"Iris, I have something here for you to drink. I'll open the door and throw inside, okay? You need to drink this or else you will collapse!" Max was still telling me something, and somehow I managed to block his voice out of my head. I need to focus on the matter at hand.

My fingers were trembling. My sweat was dripping down my eyes, making me not able to see clearly.

I can do this.

I need to do this.

Colt. I need to do this for him.

I saw the blood flow. Untie the tourniquet and pull out the needle. I shook to cry and laugh like an insane person. I realized I should have done that for him before I drew my blood, but I successfully did it anyway. I grabbed the tip of the tube, pulled the cover with my teeth, and blindly connected it to the cannula. Adjust the drip and look at the flow, when the drop continues it means you did it right.

I lifted my gaze to the bag of blood hanging above my head.

My world spun and blurred, and I lost my strength to fight as the blackness was falling over my vision. Completely.