Chapter 4

Alice was taken in for the pre-donation screening.

The doctor kept going over her medication history and her physical condition.

"The boy's platelet count keeps dropping, and there are signs of bleeding in his lungs. Matched blood won't arrive for at least two hours. A direct-relative donation is the fastest option we have right now."

Alice rolled up her sleeve.

"How long will it take?"

"About ninety minutes to collect and process. You can't leave partway through."

She glanced at her watch.

"Then let's start."

I stood in the doorway and, for the first time, didn't argue with her.

While the nurse set the needle in her arm, Arthur was wheeled into the resuscitation room next door.

His consciousness was already slipping, but he was still murmuring numbers.

"Six points."

"One point short."

I took hold of his cold hand.

"You don't have to score anything anymore, Arthur."

He forced his eyes open.

"Seven points, and Mom won't leave."

Something closed around my throat.

"She's not leaving this time."

The words were barely out when Alice's phone rang on the table.

The first call, no one answered.

The second time, Kevin sent a voice message, only a dozen seconds long.

"Alice, the elevator just stopped, there's no light in here. I can't breathe, I think it's happening again."

Alice opened her eyes.

The nurse held down her arm.

"Ms. Farley, we've only just started the collection. Please don't move."

"He has claustrophobia."

The doctor said, "We can notify building management and emergency services. Your son is waiting on those platelets."

Kevin's third message came in right after.

"You promised. You said no matter where I was, if I got scared, you'd come. Alice, I really can't hold on."

Alice pulled out the needle.

Blood welled up fast from the puncture.

The nurse's face changed.

"Ms. Farley, if you leave now, everything we've prepped is wasted."

I blocked the doorway.

"Building management is already helping him."

"When it hits, he hurts himself."

"Arthur will die too."

"The backup blood is on its way."

"That's still two hours off."

Alice pulled out a tissue and pressed it to her arm.

"The doctors will find a way to keep him stable."

I grabbed her by the cuff.

Since he'd gone critical, it was the first time I'd reached for her on my own.

"Alice. Look at him. Just once."

Through the glass, Arthur's small body was hemmed in by machines.

The nurse kept swapping out blood-soaked gauze.

"He's waiting for your blood."

Alice's eyes held there for a few seconds.

"Kevin has no one with him."

"Arthur has no mother with him either."

"You're here."

She pushed my hand off.

"Lawrence, don't force me to prove something at a moment like this. Once the blood arrives, I'll come back."

"What do you score him?"

Alice didn't answer.

"He's just stuck in an elevator, and building management is already on the way. Arthur has bleeding in his lungs and can't wait for the backup blood. So what do you score each of them?"

Her patience finally ran out.

"Kevin could suffocate at any moment. Of course that's a ten. Arthur has doctors working on him. It's a different situation."

"So it's still a six."

"The score adjusts based on the resources available."

She turned sideways and walked past me.

Her soles pressed over the blood that had just dripped to the floor.

Inside the room, Arthur's eyes suddenly opened.

He saw Alice's back as she walked away, and lifted a hand covered in tape.

"Mom."

Alice's steps paused for a moment.

Kevin's stifled crying came through the phone.

She didn't look back.

Just before the elevator doors closed, Arthur asked, very softly,

"Am I seven points now?"

The next second, the line on the monitor snapped flat.

The doctors rushed in, one of them shouting,

"Cardiac arrest, get the defibrillator ready!"