At 1600, the alarm on Zoe’s phone started to buzz and jingle, ending the nap that would carry her through the first night of three in a row. Zoe stretched out on her soft feather bed, fingertips grazing the touch screen and silencing the annoying alert while a lazy yawn. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she swung her bare legs over the edge of the mattress. Zoe rolled and shrugged her slender shoulders, sitting on the side of the bed and sliding the weight of her cozy down comforter from her lithe frame. With a natural and unpracticed grace, she treaded softly into the master bath. Going back to work after being off for a stretch was always so bittersweet, she reveled in her time off but always looked forward to catching up on the latest with her friends at work. Silver Bay General Hospital was like an information superhighway, always drama. While Zoe did not partake in gossip, she was not above listening to it… she was human after all.

‘Oh!’ Zoe blurted, glancing in the mirror briefly before the steam from the shower began to cloud the glass. Despite her days off and the sleep she thought she had caught up on, she still spotted to her disappointment the slightest trace of darkness under her blue eyes. The nightshift was taking its toll but she absolutely adored the nurses and patient care techs on the overnight. For the past 6 years, Zoe gave her life as an RN in the Surgical/Trauma Intensive Care Unit at SBGH. Of the four critical care areas, the SICU was by far the largest. Ever since graduating from nursing school, Zoe knew she wanted to be where the action was. As a new grad, Zoe knew she’d start in a medical-surgical unit, where she would hone her nursing skills and work her way into the trauma unit. Though Zoe craved the adrenaline, she stayed at bay as a staff nurse in tertiary care until a dreaded meeting with her old supervisor, Nurse Herron.

Nurse Herron was a battle-ax, plain and simple. The younger nurses in the unit called her ‘old school’, because of her stark white uniform with the nurse cap that looked as though it belonged in the Smithsonian rather than the modern world. The uniform never displayed a wrinkle and Herron wore it proudly. “Zoe, dear… you are ready.” Zoe smiled, stealing herself back to the present while idly washing with a pink loofah that was foaming her favorite lemon and lavender Bath & Body Works soap. After toweling off, she slipped on a white cotton sports bra and matching bikini before dressing in her ‘hospital blues’. The ciel-blue scrubs were provided by the hospital for certain units only, which included the ICUs and the OR… areas that were most contaminated. While they didn’t have the most flattering appearance, they were laundered and sterilized daily.

Not one to wear makeup at work, Zoe gently sponged on a touch of concealer and coated her long lashes with mascara. With precision, she finished off her look with her favorite lip balm and pressed her lips firmly together. It was unusually warm out for October and Zoe opted out of blow-drying her long, damp copper tresses. After a quick comb through, she wove the strands into a low fishtail braid which she draped over her shoulder after securing the ends with an elastic band. As she tucked a few loose pieces behind her ear, her gaze dropped to her phone which buzzed on the sink.

“Hey, girl. It’s my turn to stop at Starbucks. Venti Pumpkin Spice again?”

Zoe’s lips curled into a small lopsided grin as her slender digits typed effortlessly across the screen, sending the thumbs up emoji back to her best friend and coworker Amber. Almost instantly, another text buzzed in.

“Don’t forget, it’s Halloween… and as if the gods wanted to punish us further, the moon is full. It’s going to be an absolute nightmare. I hope you packed your big-girl panties.”

“Fuck.”

In the past 6 years, Zoe had never sworn so much in her life, it surprised even herself at times as she punctuated her vernacular with cuss words. Frequent exposure to trauma changes people and she was no different, experiencing tragedies more so than miracles. They say “Silver Bay is a dangerous place”, this fact only made more evident by the hospital capacity being at or exceeding a hundred percent, always. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the date on the screen, October 31st… Halloween. Amber was right. Peeping again, Zoe nodded to her reflection and popped the phone into her front-chest pocket.

Always prepared, dinner was already packed in her lunch bag and waiting on the top shelf of her fridge. Next to it, a large therm0 of cold water. Zoe grabbed both and tucked them into a large-flowered tote that she used only for work and zipped it up, scanning the kitchen for any other items that may have strayed. A creature of habit, Zoe flipped on the light over the kitchen sink and activated the alarm panel, securing the two-bedroom townhouse and snapping up her keys on her way out the door. After locking the deadbolt from the outside, she kneeled down on her small stoop next to the stairs where her jack-o-lantern sat. Using the stem, Zoe gingerly removed the top and turned on the LED light inside which illuminated the pumpkin face. ‘Carving pumpkins is not my forte’ she said to herself, replacing the lid and skipping down the steps to head towards her white GMC Yukon.

Honestly, the Yukon was too big for her. However, once Zoe had started in the medical field, her father Lou Walker, had insisted she buy a vehicle that was not only safe but would be reliable in all types of weather. Being considered essential personnel meant that reporting to work was not optional, even in times of crisis. The dead could walk the earth and the medical staff would still be expected for assuming shift. The Yukon would easily sweep the dead from the streets Zoe thought, chuckling to herself. Still, the truck was huge for a single woman, but comfortable.

Zoe hardly hit traffic working on the off-shift, heading in and out of the heart of Silver Bay opposite of the commuting flow. The Yukon rolled into the parking complex and followed the ramps to the roof, where employees parked. Typically, Zoe tried parking in the same spot, next to the elevator and under the halo of a garage light. As hoped, her spot was open and beside it, a shiny silver BMW x5 idled quietly Amber’s SUV. Amber waved, grinning and waving a coffee in each hand; her light brown curls were pulled up into a messy bun atop her head, gently bouncing with her giddiness. ‘Well, she seems to be well-caffeinated already.’

With both engines off, Zoe and Amber climbed from their seats and met at the elevator.

“Here you go.” Amber handed the piping hot cup to Zoe.

“Oh, thank you! What—”

Zoe had pressed the button for the elevator and was abruptly interrupted when the familiar sound of sirens screamed. The two young nurses looked at each other, eyebrows raising. ‘It’s already begun.’ As the sirens grew closer, Zoe and Amber stepped to the edge of the garage, ignoring the arriving elevator. A med-flight ambulance was speeding towards the ER, close behind a parade of Silver Bay police cruisers followed, their blue lights flashing and strobing in sync with the ambulances red ones. Without looking away, Zoe asked, “What do you think it is?”

Before appearing on the unit, Zoe and Amber ducked into the ladies locker room to switch into their work clogs. When the pair arrived in the SICU, their nurse supervisor, Katharine was conducting an impromptu staff meeting. Katharine was a woman in her own category, much like her previous manager Nurse Herron, but more fearless. She was her staff’s most supportive champion, always doing right by her nurses. She handled conflict with poise but wasn’t certainly one to cross, especially if you were a surgeon abusing power in her unit. Physically, she was even more imposing, the statuesque blond woman was stacked in all the right places. She kept her icy blonde tresses short in a no-nonsense style, accented by tailored pants suits… never wearing a skirt. Angular features and high cheekbones combined with her frame gave Katharine a fierce high-fashion, editorial look, striking without any cosmetic influence. As if she wasn’t perfect enough, Katharine was also very skilled in critical care and thought nothing of changing into scrubs and helping out on the unit, working alongside her staff.

Zoe felt fortunate, as she watched her leader command the attention of the room. She had been ‘groomed’ into the nurse she was today by Herron and Katharine. When Zoe was deemed ‘ready’ by nurse Herron, Zoe left her old unit as a one who was bright, motivated, and easy to teach. However, despite Zoe’s maturity for twenty-six, she was shy and meek, one could even argue she was a pushover and easy to manipulate. In six years, with the aid of Katharine and the SICUs seasoned nurses, Zoe began to develop confidence and wielded it effortlessly in simple and complex situations alike. With patient care always at the forefront, Zoe earned the respect of both her peers and surgeons. ‘Zoe, focus’, she told herself. It was then she saw Katharine holding up a bright red pager, ‘the trauma beeper.’

“Alright everyone, as we all know… it's Halloween.” Katharine’s confident voice paused and nurses and care techs nodded, whispering among themselves. “I have brought in extra staff to assist us with the expected onslaught that we will probably come in. Per the hospital board, all staff who are in direct patient care over the next week and picks up overtime will be given bonuses at the end of next month.” There was a soft chatter of excitement, however, the veteran staff looked at one another worried. The hospital was not feeling generous; they expected complete and utter chaos.

Almost as if it were timed, there was a sudden deafening thunder. Everyone fell silent, eyes wide and shining. The only sounds heard were the soft beeps of monitors, medication pumps, ventilators, and life-support machines. Katharine swiftly sidestepped to the charge nurse station’s computer and brought up the hospital’s news feed. Everyone followed quickly behind her.

“BREAKING NEWS” flashed across the monitor and everyone gathered. There was live footage of an industrial area of Silver Bay, where warehouses, factories, and mills littered the seaport and its scattered piers… completely engulfed in flames, whipping and licking the air, consuming everything in its wake. Zoe’s mouth gaped open and she looked over at Amber, who was gasping in disbelief. The SICU staff was completely floored, the silence finally breaking as a pretty brunette by the name of Josie spoke up. “We are going to have a lot of burns to manage tonight. Get ready.”

Katharine shook her head slowly, face remaining glued still stuck on the screen. In a voice that seemed far away, paling in comparison to her demeanor just moments before. “No…” Adding even more quietly, “We won’t. Fires like that take everything with it.”

The realization washed across the group; everyone in that area would likely be burned alive. Zoe felt her mouth go dry as her skin began to prickle. She tried unsuccessfully to swallow her stomach back down from her throat, soft fingertips brushing and covering her lips. She felt Amber rest her head softly on her shoulder, the fingers of her free hand intertwining with that of her friend’s.

Suddenly, the phone rang and the trauma beeper screeched to life. Some jumped while others remained lost still in thought. Josie answered the phone. “Hello? Yes. Understood. OR Seven with ETA of four hours. Multi-trauma. K9 Police officer… wait, what do you mean the dog won’t leave?” Josie raised her eyebrows as Zoe watched her furiously scribbling down details of the incoming admission.

Josie continued, “This is ICU. We can handle it. What? What do you mean they’re staying down here? We are barely going to have enough room to accommodate patients let alone a troop of cops and a dog!”

Katharine snatched the phone from an exasperated Josie and simply said, “Bring the damn dog.”

Katharine hung up the phone and glanced at Josie, while she understood the plea of her trusted head nurse, arguing with the admissions department, it would get them nowhere. Josie quickly regained her composure, passing out the assignment for the night. Non-critical patients had been moved out of the SICU in preparation for things to come, so there were a lot of empty rooms. They would fill quickly tonight and everyone standing there now, would be a different person come the morning. Josie swept a dark curl from her forehead with the back of her hand while dark chocolate eyes lifted under a thick curtain of ebony lashes, fixating on Zoe and watching her thoughtfully.

“Hey Red?” Zoe immediately lifted her stare to meet Josie’s. “This one is yours. A decorated K9 police officer with multi-trauma, ETA is four hours. The dog is with him; a black Rhodesian Ridgeback by the name of Rudy. There’ll be a large police presence for his and our protection.”