He gave me a determined nod, and I forced his foot, so his toes were pointed skyward. “God damn it!” he yelled and hit the side of the couch.
“Sorry,” I said as I quickly started to wrap his foot, ankle, and calf in gauze. It was a practiced task, one that I had done dozens and dozens of times and I was soon done with the first roll. I taped down the end of the gauze and started on the second roll. Once I had his entire lower leg wrapped in clean white gauze, I opened a small foil pouch and pulled out another roll. I laughed and said, “I hope you like pink.”
“What why?”
I held up a bright pink roll of casting tape for all to see, “Because you’re going to be sporting it for a while.”
“You have got to be kidding me,” he groaned.
“It’s not that bad,” said Christina, “I like it.”
“Of course, you do,” he said still dismayed by the intense color.
I dipped the whole roll into the bowl of warm water and started to wrap the ankle in the same way that I had with the gauze. Layer after layer the white was slowly consumed by the wet pink tape, and it began to look more and more like a cast. I finished with all three rolls and set his foot down on the table. “Not too bad if I do say so myself. Alright, you need to keep it still while it dries.”
“No problem. Doesn’t hurt much anymore.”
“That’s because the drugs are kicking.”
“Even better.”
I stood and cracked my neck. Sarah, who was standing next to me, cringed and threw a small glare my way. I cracked my knuckles, and she hit me in the arm. I winced as the impact sent a jolt down my arm, causing pain to flare up where I had been cut. She either hadn’t caught the wince or didn’t care because she gave no recognition of my pain. “Ok, you rest up. We need to get some people together to head back to Luke’s.”
“Why?”
“Just in case any survivors show up looking for help,” Sarah replied.
“And if any of George’s guys are alive and decide to poke around the camp,” I added. “Who wants to go with me?”
“I’ll go,” said Michael who had just walked into the room.
“Great, anyone else want to join me?”
“You’re not going,” said Sarah.
“Excuse me?” I asked dumbly.
“You’re not going. You can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Your leg, you can barely walk. What if you have to run or fight?”
“I’m fine. I’ll get by.”
“Really?”
“Yes really.”
“Show me?”
“Huh?”
“Show me. Just run to the far wall,” she said pointing, “without limping. You do that, and you can go.”
“Ok,” I said appearing confident on the outside but silently cursing myself in my head. I had been forced to limp out to the living room and figured that I probably couldn’t make it to the wall without limping. I took my first step onto my uninjured leg and instantly knew that this was a very bad idea. I brought my hurt leg forward and tried to run, only to gasp in pain and stop. “Ok, so I can’t run. I’ll be fine.”
“You’re not going,” she said crossing her arms.
I opened my mouth to argue but quickly shut it. The look in her eye told me it would be a good idea to stay silent. “Ok, you win.”
“Good,” she said smiling and walking away.
Everyone was looking at me as I stood there and watched Sarah’s retreating form. “Wow,” my brother said breaking the silence.
“What?” I asked.
“You are so whipped,” he said putting heavy emphasis on the word.
I smiled and then smacked him on the back of his head, “You’re damn right I am.” I followed Sarah out of the living room and towards the dining room. “You still up for a little road trip?” I called over my shoulder.
“Yep.”
“Good, cause you’ll be in charge of this one. For the most part.”
“What?” he said loudly as he ran to catch up to me, “Why me?”
“Because you’ve spent the most amount of time at the camp.”
“Yeah, so?”
“So, you know the people, they know you. You’ll be a friendly face, and you know the area.”
“Alright, if you’re sure.”
“I am,” I said giving him a confident smile. We gathered around the table and talked quickly about what they needed to do. There wasn’t much since those going would just be waiting around for anyone to show up. “Alright, you guys. Not much to say. Just take a good look around the compound and wait for anyone to show up. Stay on your toes, we don’t know if there are any bad guys left. Who’s all going?” Sarah, Michael, Jason, and Matt raised their hands. I held eye contact with Sarah for a few long seconds, but when I was met with hard eyes, I let it go. I didn’t want her to go, and she damn well knew it, but she didn’t care. “Ok then. Michael is in charge of this little op.” The others looked like they wanted to argue. I raised my hand to quell their worries “Unless there’s trouble. Then Sarah’s in charge.”
“What!?” asked Michael. Jason and Matt knowingly remained silent.
“You heard me.”
“Why?” asked my brother.
“Why? Because she’s a better shot and fighter than the three of you.”
My brother raised an eyebrow and was ready to argue when he saw Jason and Matt shrug and drop the issue. I frowned at him, and he said, “Ok. Whatever you say.”
“Good,” I said standing. “Then I think we’re done. You guys should go as soon as you’re ready and remember only for a couple hours. You don’t need to spend all day there.”
“Alright,” said Matt getting up from the table.
I started to limp back towards my room when Michael came up beside me. I glanced at him and said, “Look, Michael, I don’t want to argue.”
“I’m not going to argue. I just wanted to know, what you said about Sarah being a better fighter and stuff. You were just trying to get on her good side weren’t you?”
I laughed, “Nope, every word was true.”
“Oh come on!”
“Michael, I taught her how to fight.”
He stopped walking “Really?”
“Yeah. We’re not anywhere near done yet, but she’s a quick study.”
“And she’s good?”
“Oh yeah, she’s getting really good. She’s getting fast too. She’ll probably be faster than me soon.”
“Holy hell. Really?”
“Yep so watch out, she might kick your ass,” I said grinning.
“Yeah I guess I’ll have to,” he said scratching the back of his head.
“Good. That being said,” I stopped and turned to face him seriously, “I want you to watch out for her.”
“But you just said…”
“I know what I said. She can take care of herself, but if she’s given a chance, she’ll do something brave and get herself in trouble.”
He laughed, “So she’s just like you.” I gave him a skeptical look. “What Mr. Fire Fighter. You know it’s true.”
“Yeah ok and that’s why I would rather be going, but you heard the lady, I’m not going. So I want you to keep an eye out for her ok?”
“Yeah, no problem man.”
“Thanks, Michael. Hey, if no one shows up, leave a note or a map or something. Tell them how to get to us.”
“You sure?”
I shrugged, “Yeah.”
“You got it.”
“Thanks,” I said about to close my door, “Oh, wait. Come here,” I said opening the door so he could come in.
“What’s up?”
“I have something for you.”
“Ooh a present,” he said sarcastically, “Gimme, gimme, gimme.”
“Yeah, not now.”
“Ok, ok. What is it?”
I pulled out a pistol from its holster and handed it to him butt first, “Dad’s pistol.”
He took the gun w
ith both hands, “I can’t take this. You’ve been using it this whole time, you should keep it.”
“Nah, I have one of my own. I’m sure he would’ve wanted you to have it, seeing how you never had one for yourself.”
He looked at the gun before checking the magazine and chambering a round, “Thanks.”
“No problem. Now, let’s hope you don’t have to use it.”
“Yeah, I hope there’s no trouble.”
“I didn’t mean that. I just don’t want you to shoot yourself in the foot or something.”
“Fuck you.”
I smiled, “Go get ready.”
“Fine,” he said like I was telling him he had to get ready for school.
I shook my head and sat on my bed. It was funny how casual everyone was about everything. How calm my brother was about possibly going out into danger again. Just another day in hell, I thought sarcastically. The four of them left, and I sat on my bed to try and figure out what I could do to help around the house. My leg wasn’t that bad, but I took some painkillers so I could walk without wincing and settled for helping with some small things, organizing the storage, cleaning weapons and making bread. Let me tell you if you want a decent arm workout then make lots of bread by hand. Your forearms and hands will cramp faster than you know.
I was sitting in the living room reading and glancing at my watch, they had been gone for almost four hours, when I heard my radio crackle, “They’re back,” said Justin.
“About time,” I said setting down my book and standing. I greeted them as they climbed out of their trucks “Anything?”
“Yeah, just one guy,” said Matt.
I frowned “One? Just one? Well, where is he?”
“Dead.”
“What! Was he hurt bad?”
“Not at first. Fucker tried to jump us,” said Sarah.
“What happened?”
“Approached us like he was hurt, limp and all,” said Jason.
“Ok, but what happened?” I repeated.
“Moved pretty quick and grabbed me around my neck. Pulled his gun and put it to my head,” said Michael.
“Holy crap.”
“Yeah and I’d probably be dead if it wasn’t for your girlfriend.”
“Why?”
“She was trying to get him to let me go, and he was distracted, so I snapped back my head and nailed him in the nose. He yelled and dropped his gun to grab at his nose, and I kicked him in the chest hard enough to knock him out.”
“So she distracted him. That’s it?”
“No. I thought I had kicked him hard enough to take him out, but I was wrong. I turned my back to him to walk back to everyone else, and he went for his gun. You were right when you said she was fast. Before the guy on the ground could even get a bead on me, she had her gun in hand and put one in his chest. “
“That’s my girl,” I beamed at her. She smiled back. “So that’s the only person you found?”
“Yep, only one,” said Michael.
“Did you leave a note? A map?”
“Yep, just like you asked. Left one on Luke’s old building and at the front gates.”
“Good job.”
“Why thank you,” he said with a sarcastic bow.
“So, what’s the plan now?” asked Matt.
“Now? Now we wait.”
“Oh boy, sounds exciting,” said Jason.
We went inside and had a pretty calm evening. Matt and Jason took great delight in telling how Michael had to be saved by Sarah. At first, he was slightly irritated by their enthusiasm, but he was soon telling the story along with them and saying how happy he was that she was there. “You guys can go to hell,” he said after they told the story for the tenth time that night, “I’m freakin’ happy she was there. Did you see how fast she was? You guys would be happy too if you had a gun to your head.”
We were all sitting in the living room, Sarah on my lap. As Michael was singing her praises, I leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Thank you for saving my brother.”
“It’s no big deal.”
“It is to me. I owe you one.”
“You owe me more than one,” she said smiling.
“Keeping track are we?”
“Always.”
“So how many do I owe you?”
She laughed quietly, “You don’t even want to know.”
“That bad huh? Well, I better start repaying you fast.”
“Yeah, you should probably get on that.”
I smiled and focused back on the conversations around me.
Sarah and I turned in early that night, and as we were lying in bed, I held her and asked “What happened today. Are you ok?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you had to kill someone again. I want to know how you’re handling it.”
I felt her shift a little to rest her head on my chest. With a deep exhalation, she said, “I guess I’m doing as well as I can.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning I didn’t want to kill anyone, but I had to. I hate how easy it’s becoming,” she said squeezing me tighter.
“I know,” I said softly.
“How are you handling it?”
“Just fine,” I said trying to lighten the mood.
“James,” she said in a warning tone.
“To be honest, I don’t even know. A part of me hates myself, hates that it’s so easy, but another part of me knows it’s the right thing. I know I’m doing it to keep others alive and I guess that’s what’s important.”
I could feel her nod, “We’ll get through this together.”
I smiled in the dark room, “Together.”
“Damn right,” she said happily.
“I think I can handle that.”
“Good. Now I think we need to get to sleep.”
“Yes, dear.” She hit me lightly on the stomach, and we settled in for the night.
I wasn’t given all that much time to rest as I heard my radio go off around three, “James. I think we might have a problem,” said Matt.
“What’s up?” I asked sleepily.
“I think we might have a Walker.”
“Ok, I’ll be right there,” I said, the possible danger sending a spike of adrenaline through my veins and cutting through my tired and pained state. I didn’t bother changing and with just a jacket to ward off the cold I limped to the roof. “What’s up?”
“Saw movement near the bottom of the road. I think it’s a Walker.”
“Let me check,” I said taking the night vision binoculars and glassing the driveway. I stared for nearly a minute before I saw movement. It looked like a woman, she was covered in cuts, and there was even blood around her mouth. “Yeah I see it,” I said to Matt, “Go ahead and take it out.” He nodded and raised the rifle. I was still staring at her when I noticed something off about her. She wasn’t walking like one of them, and I glimpsed what looked like a bundle of clothes in her arms. It dawned on me just in time “Wait,” I yelled, “Don’t shoot. That’s not a Walker.”
“What?” asked Matt confused.
“That’s not a Walker, it’s a woman, and she’s hurt.”
“How can you tell?”
“She’s holding a baby,” I said heading to the ladder. At the bottom of the ladder, I glassed her again as Matt stepped off the last rung. I saw her slow, stumble and fall. “Matt, get inside and get me a med kit. Run.” He took off. “And get Sarah and Liz,” I called after him.
I ran on my injured leg and the pain barely registered. I made it to where the woman fell and knelt down. “Are you ok?” I asked as I gently rolled her on her back.
She was still conscious, but I didn’t think she would be for very long, “H… help. Please?”
“Of course. Go ahead and close your eyes. You’re safe now.”
“M…my b…baby?” she said weakly.
“Don’t worry, your baby will be fine.”
“Thank you,” she said with a weak smile and closed her eye
s.
I looked at the small child wrapped in a dirty blanket and didn’t know if what I told her was true. I didn’t know if the baby would make it. “Where’s my med kit,” I yelled into the darkness. I heard the door slam shut but decided that I didn’t want to wait. I scooped the small woman up in my arms, careful of the baby, and started to walk towards the house. I could feel pain run through my leg with each step, but I did my best to ignore it. The woman in my arms was in a lot more trouble than I was.
“Oh my God,” said Liz as we met near the top of the driveway.
“Liz take the baby.” She did. “Let’s get them inside.”
“James, the blood around her mouth,” said Sarah.
“I know, but she’s not a Walker.”
“How do you…”
“She spoke.”
“What did she say?”
“Not much,” I said as I set her down on the couch in the living room. “Ok,” I said loudly “I’m going to need a few things.” I quickly rattled off a list of supplies and gave instructions to those around me. As they left to get what I needed, I looked down at the unconscious woman on the couch. “Don’t worry,” I said quietly, “You’re safe now.”
Chapter 10
The mother was completely unconscious, and her most threatening symptom was dehydration and exhaustion. The unconsciousness was solving the exhaustion, and the bag of Saline I was pumping into her was taking care of the dehydration. She hadn’t even flinched when I threaded her intern’s vein with a large twenty bore IV. While the mother was napping, Sarah was busy feeding the baby. We didn’t have formula or milk, but the child was just as in danger of dehydration as the mother. With some creativity, Liz was able to craft a makeshift bottle, and we filled it with watered down Gatorade. Normally you would give the baby something like Pedialyte which is designed for small children, but Gatorade would have to do. “How’s he doing?” I asked.
“She’s doing fine. Thirsty, but fine. How’s the mom?”
“I don’t know for sure until she wakes up but I think she’s going to be ok.”
“You think she was bitten?”
“Nope, but we’ll know for sure after you examine her.”
“What? Why me?”
“I could do it, but I think she would be more comfortable with another woman doing it.”
Survivors Series (Book 2): Heroes Never Die Page 11