The alarm from room four was screaming in continuous high notes that rattled the thin glass panels of the medical supply cabinets.

Nurse Elena ran past me from the break room, her blue scrubs rustling as she sprinted toward the pod.

“Stay back, Claire!” Elena shouted over her shoulder without slowing down.

I didn’t stop.

I pressed my hand tighter against my right side and forced my feet to move faster along the shiny floor.

My vision blurred at the edges as the pain pulled at my stomach, but the sound of Brooklyn screaming a third time pushed me forward.

Two more nurses in dark blue uniforms came around the corner near the ice machine, carrying a silver crash tray between them.