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The man moved carefully, pulling the blanket back. Then he lifted the foreign over sized white shirt that draped over her body.
As the bandage on her stomach was slowly revealed, her brain seemed to fully remember the wound, and with it, the pain.
She could feel it then. The splitting ache in her side rushing back all at once.
He peeled back one edge of the tape, then the other, before she could see the angry red slit stitched together beneath it.
She stared down at it, her medical brain kicking into gear as it measured the wound and counted the stitches tucked throughout.
She tore her eyes away to shoot a glance at Maddie, who remained unusually quiet beside her as he checked over the wound.
“Do you remember what happened?” he asked as his fingers lightly pressed against one of the more swollen areas.
“Yes,” she rasped. “Well—I remember the gunshot.”
He nodded, eyes still fixed on the wound. Then finally, he gave it a satisfied nod and dabbed the bandage back into place.
“What about after that?” he asked, leaning back and pressing the glasses back up on his face.
She remembered the city—the road. Then she remembered the dreams—or—hallucinations. But nothing beyond that.
She shook her head lightly.
He nodded again. “That’s okay. That’s normal.” He cleared his throat, taking a step back and leaning against the wall. “When you arrived, you were unconscious. We took you in and repaired the wound as best we could.” He paused for a second, as if waiting for her to absorb what he’d said. “Erin mentioned you worked in the medical field before the outbreak. Is that correct?”
She nodded, feeling a small flicker of relief at the knowledge that at least Erin had made it there okay.
He gave her a small, tight smile. “You had some slight tearing from where the bullet grazed your liver. But we patched it up. I don’t think it’s anything to be concerned about. But you’ll need some time to heal.”
She nodded, barely able to focus on anything besides Maddie’s hand in her own.
“How—how do you have..” The words trailed off as she looked down at the IV in her arm.
Luckily, he seemed to understand. “We’re a military run safe zone. We get supply drops once a month. It allows us to keep a decent stock of medical supplies here. So luckily,” he paused, nodding at her torso, “we’re able to handle incidents like these when they arise. Its not perfect. Definitely nothing like what we had before, but sometimes it’s enough to get the job done.”
Her eyes remained fixed on her arm, slowly absorbing the words, yet still not fully understanding.
“I have to go now,” he said, stepping toward the door. “But I’ll be back in a bit to check on you again.”
Saff said nothing, still dazed as he gave her a small, understanding smile and walked out.
She waited a moment before finally turning back to Maddie, who still hadn’t spoken.
But she saw it then. The tears silently flowing down her face.
Saff squeezed her hand lightly. “Are you okay?” she asked. “Did everyone—did they all make it?”
Maddie silently moved forward, lips quivering as tears rolled down her face onto her neck. One shaky hand slid up her arm onto her shoulder, while the other gently found and cupped her cheek. She placed one soft, tear-stained kiss to her brow.
Saff relaxed into the touch, turning her head into Maddie’s lips—the lips she didn’t think she’d ever feel again.
They stayed like that for a minute, each unwilling or unable to let go. Then Maddie finally pulled back a few inches, resting carefully on the bed beside her.
“What happened?” Saff whispered.
Maddie wiped the back of her hand against her face. “They picked us up in a boat in the harbor.”
Her voice was cracked and raw, as if she’d lost it at some point and it was just now beginning to return.