All Chapters of Reborn Before the Apocalypse: The Last Medic System: Chapter 1
- Chapter 5
5 chapters
1. The last door
Rain hammered the stone steps of Saint Brigid Hospital, and Caleb Rourke braced his shoulder against the heavy ER door. The metal was cold through his wet jacket, and the smell of antiseptic drifted out from the hall behind him.Marcy Dunn stood just inside with a clipboard pressed to her chest. "Keep it open, Caleb, because I count nineteen people so far," she called over the storm.Caleb did not look back, since his eyes were on the dark street. "Nineteen is good, Marcy, so keep counting out loud for me," he replied.A white-haired man shuffled up the steps with a cane, and Caleb reached out to catch his elbow. "Easy now, Mr. Webb, the stone is slick, so lean on me," he urged.Mr. Webb gripped Caleb's sleeve with a shaking hand. "Thank you, son, I did not think my legs would get me here," he gasped.Caleb guided him through the gap and gave him a gentle push toward the hall. "Twenty," he announced, and Marcy marked her clipboard with a quick nod.Marcy leaned close, and the light fr
Last Updated : 2026-11-01
2. Forty-five Days
Caleb jerked upright with a gasp, and the rough couch cushion scratched his cheek. Rain tapped on a tin roof above him, and the smell of burnt coffee filled his nose.He slapped a hand to his shoulder and pressed down hard. 'The teeth went in right here, and now there is nothing but skin.'"Twenty-two," Caleb whispered, and his voice came out dry and thin.Nobody answered him. A fan hummed in the corner, and a wall clock ticked beside a paper calendar.He held up both hands and began to count his fingers out loud. "One, two, three, four, five," Caleb muttered, and each number shook in his throat."Six, seven, eight, nine, ten," he continued, and then he let out a long breath. The latch on the break room door clicked in the draft, and he flinched at the sound."Your hands are real, Caleb Rourke, and so is this room," a calm voice said inside his head.Caleb froze and stared at the empty room. "You are still here," he breathed."I am always here, because I am made for you alone," Triage
Last Updated : 2026-11-01
3. Sealed Cabinet
The blue number kept counting beside Caleb's shoulder, and the cold side of the ambulance chilled his palm. Rain drummed on the bay roof, and the smell of diesel hung thick in the damp air."Triage, I need to know what we are working with," Caleb murmured."Tell me what you want to see," Triage replied inside his head.Caleb tapped the rig twice and looked up at the dim ceiling. "I want to see what this hospital has in its rooms, because I cannot save anyone with empty shelves," he explained."I can give you one sweep to begin with," Triage offered. "It reads stock and storage, and it does not read people."Caleb nodded slowly and let out a breath. "One sweep is enough, so start it," he urged.A pale blue pulse rolled out from his chest and slid across the floor. It climbed the walls like water, and a low hum buzzed against his back teeth.Caleb gripped the rig and whispered, "That tingles like cold metal on my tongue." The light passed through the brick, the pipes, and the doors, and
Last Updated : 2026-11-01
4. Fair Trade Rule
Caleb waited with his palm flat on the cold rig, and the red ring pulsed in the dark below the floor. The drip echoed in his memory, and he held his breath."Triage, whose are they?" he whispered again."The sweep reads what is there and nothing more," Triage answered at last. "It cannot read who put it there."Caleb frowned at the empty air where the glow had been. "Then show me the cabinet again, and show me what is inside it," he urged."The sweep is spent," Triage replied. "It fades now, and it will not return today."The red ring shrank to a dot and went out, and the bay looked plain and gray again. Caleb rubbed the chill from his arms and let out a slow breath."Then I need a key and a good reason, and I have neither," he muttered."You have time," Triage offered. "It is not much, but it is something."A woman's cry cut through the rain outside, sharp and high. "Somebody help me, please, my arm is on fire," she called.Caleb grabbed the trauma kit from the bumper and shoved the
Last Updated : 2026-11-01
5. The Scavenger
The white letters still glowed in the air, and Caleb sat on the crate with his hand pressed to his shoulder. Rain ticked on the bay roof, and the damp smell of concrete crept around his boots."You do not have to explain that rule to me, Triage, because I know it better than anyone alive," he murmured at last."I know you do," Triage replied. "That is why I wrote it for you."Caleb rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand. "Why that rule, and why that one first, when I have a hundred questions about you?" he asked."Because that rule keeps you alive long enough to ask the other ninety-nine," Triage answered. "A medic who is empty cannot help anyone."Caleb gave a slow nod and swallowed against the tightness in his throat. "That is true, and I learned it the hardest way there is," he admitted."Then learn it again, and learn it gently," Triage urged.Caleb ran his thumb along the rough cloth of the sack beside him. "Then I will keep it, and I will keep it hard," he vowed."Good," Tria
Last Updated : 2026-11-01