Again, this is part of the Broken Bride fic. If you havent' read Broken Bride, Save Our City, and Tonight's the Night, you should read them before you read this one so you'll know what's happening, because I'm going to tell you right now, if you don't, you won't.

This one is very long and is the main reason for the PG-13 rating, though Save Our City ended up being pretty gruesome too. So just a warning


Part III: The Lamb and the Dragon

Note to self: pterodactyls don’t have night vision. Raptors do. I basically dive into my machine after nearly having my head torn of my a pack of velociraptors. The problem now is that fuel cells have drains far to fast. The time portal is already glowing. The machine has already started to travel through time and I now have no control over where I am going. I had already set the machine to travel forward, so at least I know that where I’m going there won’t be dinosaurs, but that’s little reassurance because the chances that you’ll be there are miniscule.
    
I feel the pulling sensation that I assume is the machine being dragged through time. Then it stops. Cautiously I stick my head out of the machine just enough to see what is going on outside. The first thing I notice are the fires. Everything appears to be on fire. Then I notice the blood everywhere. I hope you aren’t here. I hope you never had to see this.
    
I climb out of my machine. I can’t see very well. The sun is out but it’s not providing much light. I look around. I don’t recognize anything. There are gapping holes in the ground where I can tell there used to be trees, and there are all kinds of bricks and twisted pieces of metal that I can tell haven’t been there for long. There’s some kind of precipitation falling from the sky but it’s not water. I hold my hand out to catch some and then eye it closely and realize that it is blood. Now I know why I don’t see anyone. If I had a choice I wouldn’t be outside either.
    
Just then the ground starts to move and a crack in the earth opens up several yards from where I am standing. Just as soon as it starts the shaking stops, but the crack remains. I have just survived an earthquake, but somehow that doesn’t seem like such an accomplishment. As I survey the ruins and what used to woods I realize that I will find nothing if I go in that direction. I turn around with the intent of looking for shelter bit I don’t have to look far. I am standing not far from Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Go figure.
    
I see a person emerge from a side door. I walk towards him only to realize that he is coming to me. As he gets closer I can see that it is Dr. Lawrence Kutner from House’s team. As he approaches me he begins to speak but I can’t hear him over the grumble of another tremor. All I notice is the blood spattering is clothes. He looks like he’s murdered someone.
    
“I said, where have you been?” he calls, though he is right next to me.
    
“What’s going on,” change the subject, because even if I was prepared to tell him that I’ve been in prehistoric times I know he won’t believe me.
    
He takes me down the path leading up to the back of the hospital. As we pass the fountain I see that the angel is no longer spitting a steady stream of water, but there is something dark in the pool in which he stands.
    
“Is that blood?” I ask.
    
“No, that was blood three days ago,” Kutner answers as casually as if we were talking about a new nurse in oncology. “Now it’s a scab.”
    
As we near the hospital another figure emerges, Thirteen. She has a wide gash down her left cheek bone that looks like it’s been there several days and looks infected, but I’m guessing it’s the least of her problems.
    
“How’s Taub?” Kutner asks quietly, like he’s not sure whether or not he want’s to know the answer.
    
“We just lost him,” she says and he hangs his head.     
    
“It’s probably for the better,” he finally says. “With is wife already gone, that amount of damage to his head, there must have been severe brain trauma, and no one wants to live in a world like this anyway.” Thirteen nods solemnly.
    
I follow them through the doors. The hospital is dark. With the electricity out the hospital would only be illuminated by light from the sun, if there was any. So the large windows are doing little good.
    
“There were a lot of people here,” Kutner tells me. “But a lot of them tried to leave to find family. Most of them didn’t make it past the zombies.”
    
“Zombies?” I repeat, sure he is kidding, though I don’t know who would joke at a time like this.
    
“We managed to look them outside the gates,” Thirteen explains. “But that’s only a temporary solution. Sooner or later they’ll get through. We maybe have another day if we’re lucky.” I’m not planning on still being in this time in another day.
    
“Anyway, that’s how Taub got injured, and that how Foreman died,” Kutner finishes. “Oh, but don’t worry. We got him back,” he adds upon seeing my horrified expression. “Though I’m not sure how exactly. His throat was cut.”
    
“It’s a good thing though,” voice says, and I jump, only to realize that Foreman has come up behind me. “I’m the one calling the shots with Cuddy gone,” his voice is raspy through his heavily bandaged throat. We’re in the process of coming up with another plan for once they break through,” he’s talking more to Thirteen and Kutner now. His voice is coming out strong, despite the raspiness, but he’s shaking so hard I’m surprised he can stand up.
    
There’s a loud noises as a window is blown out. Shards of glass and bits of ruble come flying, knocking us over.
    
“They’ve broken through the gate,” I hear Kutner call, but I don’t hear anyone answer. I sit up and look around. Straight in front of me I see Kutner sitting up and doing the same. Around the lobby the clinic patients are recovering, but we were the closest to the blast. To my right I see Foreman. He is rolling around on the floor holding his neck. Blood is pooling around his head and left shoulder. Behind him Cameron hurries down the stairs to come to his aid. I hadn’t seen Cameron yet. I am thankful that she wasn’t in the lobby during the blast. Then I turn to my left. Thirteen is also lying in a pool of blood, this one near her hip. Kutner and I stand up.
    
“Are you okay?” I ask, because the right left of his jeans is blood soaked below the knee.
    
“I’ll be fine,” he answers. “Get those two.” He glances at Foreman and Thirteen. I hurry over to Foreman, who already has Cameron kneeling over him.
    
“I can’t see,” he rasps. That doesn’t surprise me. Most of his head, face, and neck is cut and covered in blood.
    
“Risk of infection…” Cameron is muttering. “…blindness is permanent.”
    
Foreman’s breathing is labored because the bandages have been ripped from his neck. “You cowards will see what power means,” he chokes. “When the dragon comes his will be done. In the fires you’ll be cleaned. Let him rise.” Then he closes his eyes. Cameron and I look at each other and we both know he won’t wake up. We also both know that we’ve been tricked. This dragon, and the zombies, Foreman has been on their side all along.
    
“We need to burn his body,” Cameron says.
    
“Why?” I ask.
    
“We didn’t burn Chase or Cuddy’s and they both became zombies,” she explains hoisting Foreman onto her shoulder. “I’ve got this. Go help with Thirteen.” I glance over at Thirteen, who Kutner had rolled over on her back. I hurry over to him.
    
“Help me stop the bleeding,” he says, glancing down at the shirt he has pressed to her side. He has only been holding it there for a minute but it is already impossible to tell that it used to be white.
    
“How much damage is there?” I ask, because I don’t want to remove the t-shirt.     
    
“Critical, but it’s hard to tell exactly what was hit,” Kutner replies.
    
“Are the O.R.s still sterile?” I ask.
    
“No one’s been in them since they were cleaned up after they were last used,” he answers.
    
“Get he to one,” I say. “And if there’s any kind of surgeon still here get him in there. I’m going to go see what’s happening outside.”
    
“Take something heavy with you,” Kutner says, beckoning to a women in what looks like it used to be a nurse’s uniform and motioning for a stretcher. “You have to hit them on the head to kill them.”
    
I nod and get to my feet and begin to look for discarded weapons, but when I see what’s outside the window I start to doubt that anything I might find on the floor of the lobby would be of any help. Sitting in the middle of the parking lot, standing the height of the hospital, is a large red dragon with the head of Dr. Gregory House.
    
“What are we going to do?” I hear from behind me. I turn to see Kutner and Cameron coming up behind me.
    
“I guess we know now why House never showed up,” Kutner sighs. “I’m just glad Cuddy didn’t have to see this.” Just as he finishes the House dragon shrieks loudly and breaths flames onto the other half of the hospital. Within seconds it’s burning to the ground.
    
“We’re screwed,” Cameron says, and I do a double-take because I would have never in a million years pictured her saying that, but I guess things change when half the people you know have died and you’re facing what could very possible be the end of days.
    
Then my eyes fall on it, my machine, and I know that’s the one thing that can save us. That means I would have to give up on saving you, but I have to do it. I can’t just go and leave Cameron and Kutner and Thirteen here to face their deaths.
    
“Come on,” I say and I make a run for it. I hope they’re following me because I don’t have time to check. I crouch behind my machine and they get down next to me.
    
“After I flip this switch we’ll have a maximum of five second to hit that thing with this. Otherwise we’ll get dragged back in time to who knows when,” I explain quickly.
    
“What is this thing?” Cameron asks.
    
“Never mind,” I say. “We get one chance.”
    
“Is this a time machine?” Kutner asks in amazement.
    
“Help me lift it,” I say, digging my fingers under it. Cameron gets to my left, Kutner to my right, and we manage to hoist it a few feet off the ground.
    
“We need to get closer,” I say. “There’s no way we can throw it that far.”
    
“Are you kidding?” Cameron protests.     
    
“Either we die by the dragon or we get sucked back in time and get attacked by raptors,” I reply. “At least this way we have a chance to live.” We move as quickly as we can, which is still pretty slow, towards the House dragon, who’s busy enough burning down the hospital that he doesn’t notice us.
    
“Okay, here’s how it’s going to work,” I whisper, because we’re right at the dragon’s feet. “ I’m going to count to three, flip the switch, and we’re going to throw this thing and run to those cars over there without looking back, understand?” They nod and try to look calm, but I can tell they’re both terrified. “One,” I say. “Two. Three!” I flip the switch, which I can just barely reach with my right thumb, and we toss the machine with all our might. It must only go up about five feet, but is was enough. It hits the dragon’s knee and we all three turn and run. Behind us I hear the explosion. Kutner is in the front, already ducking behind the car. Cameron and I are farther back, and we’re not going to make it. I make the decision in a split second. I diving into Cameron knocking her to the ground. I grab her and roll us behind an overturned marble picnic table, which I hope is to heavy to be moved by the blast, because I don’t think the three of is together could have gotten it back up.
    
Once the echo stops it is silent. Cameron and I are both afraid to breath, but after a minute we here Kutner calling for us. We stand up, thought our legs feel like gelatin, and we look around.
    
“No dragons,” Kutner is smiling and coming towards us. “No zombies. It worked…Why aren’t you happy?” Cameron turns to me and they both stare. They are both beaming.
    
“What’s wrong?” Cameron asks, concern evident in her eyes. I shake my head. “Come on,” Cameron prods. “You saved my life. You saved everyone’s life. What can I do?”
    
“It’s just, I built that machine to go back in time to May 17, 2008, right before she left to go pick up Amber left to go pick up House, and save her,” I explain. “And I know now that I won’t be able to, but I just wish that I could tell her goodbye.”
    
Cameron smiles serenely. “It’s done,” she says, and suddenly I can’t see her and Kutner anymore. I’m spinning very fast in pitch darkness, and then I’m outside our apartment building. It’s a breezy and warm outside, though it’s already dark. I look up to our living room window, and through the blinds I see a shadow. There you are.


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