As I walked out I saw Emmett at the sink, rinsing blood from his hands.
"Looking good." He said, "Here." He handed me a hard plastic holster, I strapped it snuggly to my jeans. Emily came from her room and held out a gun for me.
"It's loaded and ready, so be careful."
"I've worked with guns before guys, don't underestimate me." I said as I slid it carefully into the holster at my side. Emmett grinned at me as he tightened the belt around his waist.
Emily dumped her bag onto the island, picking out a few medical supplies to stick back into the bag, gauze, Medical tape and a few random things.
"Reese, make yourself useful and sort these into the closet while we are gone." She ordered.
"Yeah yeah." He said pushing passed us in an irritated manner. We rolled our eyes at him as he disappear to his room.
"Okay… ready?" Emmett asked. I nodded, Emily stepped from the side of the island with her bag.
"Ready."
"Let's roll out." He said. We waved goodbye to Russell and made our way up the stairs, pushing through the security doors and into the garage. We waited for the doors to close before Emily opened door in the garage and looked outside.
"Coasts clear." She said.
"Let's go." Emmett responded, he took the passenger side front seat as I slid into the drivers spot. Emily threw her bag into the back and slid into the middle seat. Emmett pushed the button on his backpack, and a buzz sounded through the garage, I watched the metal plate move from the garage door, then the garage door followed. I pulled the suburban out of the garage, we watched it close, then sped off down the road.
Parking in front of a store on the far end of town my nerves raced. Emmett squeezed my knee, "don't worry, it's not as bad as it seems."
We watched as a slug lumbered slowly at the entrance of the store. She seemed fairly normal, besides for the large chunk missing from her arm. Her dark gray skin sort of wrinkled around her face.
"Take the keys with, in case someone tries to take it." Emily said. I nodded, and pulled the keys from the ignition, as we left the car I locked the door with the remote and shoved the keys into my pocket. Emmett and Emily held their bags in their hands as we walked slowly to the door.
"Easy to drop if we need to run." Emily whispered.
Emmett walked up to the slug, pulled a knife from the side of his jeans. He jammed it through the neck of the slug it flailed for a second then fell to the ground. He kicked back, wiped the goo from the blade in his jeans and slid it back into its place.
The doors seemed to have been barricaded at one point, but someone, or something, pushed its way through, leaving a path of blood and destruction in its wake. Emmett pushes aside a few slug bodies, checking each one for signs of life, but ultimately clearing a path for us to run if needed.
The store was brightly lit by the windows on the front and the skylights places strategically around.
Many shelves had been tipped, ravaged through and picked clean if all your average food items and other things people found necessary. We made our way to the back of the store, where the pharmacy and medical supplies section was, continuing to push bodies out of the way to clear the path.
"We need medical supplies." Emily said, "Anything and everything we can fit in our bags."
"Should we split up?" I asked.
"No." Emmett said quickly as he unzipped his bag, "we only split in groups of two unless one person is in a safe place, we aren't safe here." He looked around pointed, "bandages and first aid kits." He said, I followed his finger, gauze, ace wraps, and other first aid items strewn about the floor, I nodded and went to them. Emily walked further down the aisle to a section of hardly touched feminine hygiene products, and began to stuff her bag as neatly as possible with the items.
I started packing with any medical items I could take.
"Leave room for pharmaceuticals." Emmett warmed as he motioned to the pharmacy counter, the metal grates were closed, leaving it nearly untouched. "We are going to try to get in there."
After a few moments we had all packed our bags as much as we could with items.
"I think I'm at capacity." Emily said.
"Me too I agreed."
Emmett pulled his bag over to me pulling the top open, I giggled.
"Ribbed for your pleasure." He teased.
"Gross!" I said as I rolled my eyes, but I laughed at him.
He zipped the bag shut and slung it over his shoulders, Emily and I did the same then we trudged down the aisle to the pharmacy.
We peaked over the counter, it seemed quiet and uninhabited, as if it had been closed prior to the breakout, and no one came to open it since.
Emmett set his bag by the counter and pulled a long metal nail file from the side pocket along with a Bobby pin.
"You know how to lock pick?" I asked.
"Jack of all trades." He said.
"And you couldn't have done that at the airport?" I asked sarcastically.
"We were in a rush." He said with his wide grin. I laughed at him. "Keep an eye out."
He took the pick to the lock on the metal grate, slowly fishing around in the lock. After a moment of clicking I heard a groan from inside the pharmacy, we watched a slug amble out from behind a shelf and move slowly toward us, though he wouldn't have been able to get through with the grate closed, it also meant we couldn't get in. We realized then why the pharmacy hadn't been bothered, no one wanted to deal with the slug inside.
We watched him hobble for a moment, before Emmett straightened himself, pulled his gun from his holster and aimed it through the space in the grate, using the silencer to prop it on the space. A low pop rang through the area, and the slug fell to the ground. Emmett set his gun on the counter, then continued on with his picking.
Finally the lock clicked open and we were able to push the grate open. Emmett hoisted himself over the counter and picked up his gun, surveying the area slowly, his gun readied. He peered behind every shelf and assured no one else was back there before he holstered his gun once more. "Can one of you come help?"
"Yeah." Emily hoisted herself over the counter, "we will hand you meds, just pack 'em in the bags wherever they can fit." She said, they slowly began picking out medicines from the shelves, Emmett would hand handfuls to Emily and she'd set them in the counter then I'd put them neatly into the bags wherever they could fit, like a post-apocalyptic Tetris.
After a few minutes the twins were turned from me, discussing the use of a bottle, I leaned against the counter and waited for them.
Suddenly a hand grabbed at my neck, and pulled me back, I screamed as I hit the floor, a man's body engulfing me.
"SATINE!" I heard Emmett cry.
"Stay back!" I heard another voice scream along with the click of a revolvers hammer.
"Woah, woah, woah." I heard Emily soothe, "We don't want any trouble, we are just here for supplies."
"In our fucking store." A man's voice screamed.
I struggled beneath a heavy man's weight, a knee crushed at my abdomen, and his arms held mine down.
"Hey get off her!" Emmett screamed.
"Don't move!" The man yelled back.
"Man get off her! You're hurting her!" Emmett responded.
"Give us whatever you found in there!" The man said back. I forced my eyes up, above me was a skinny man, fresh blood stained his white shirt. He looked down on me, trembling with the 6 shooter aimed at the twins. On top of me was a heavy, solid man, with a bald head and tattoos littering his arms and neck. I heard another voice scream.
"What's with all the ruckus?" a pause as another man, still soaked with blood ran from behind a shelf. "Oh fuck."
"Get off me!" I cried, kicking my legs as hard as I could. I finally pulled my knee up, catching the man in his manhood. He grimaced and collapsed and I pulled myself from under him, scurrying to stand up, pulling the gun from my side.
"Guys stop fucking around!" The third man pleaded, "We just need pain meds" he said, catching my eyes in a begging manner, "please our friend is hurt!" I looked back at the twins, both with guns raised.
"Hey we just want our supplies and to leave, you let us walk out, take whatever's left in here and no one gets hurt." Emmett said.
"Fuck no!" The skinny man said, "You took our stuff!"
"It's not yours, the pharmacy was locked down" Emily countered.
The skinny man stepped forward, aiming his gun.
"Woah, woah, woah!" I cried, stepping in front of him between the twins "I'm a trauma nurse!!!" I lied, the man paused and looked at me. "You said your friend was hurt?" I said holstering my gun and showing my hands to them, "what's wrong? I can help!" The men looked at each other.
"You don't look like a nurse." The fat one said.
"Do we have much Choice Vin?" The man in the back asked, he stepped forward, "Bobby, put the gun down." The skinny man looked back at him, then to me, as if mulling over the options, he then released the hammer of his revolver, pulling it down to his side, then he straightened up and looked at me wearily.
"We have someone hurt as well, we need supplies to take care of him but there's plenty more in here." I looked into the middle man's eyes, pleading for any mercy he could spare. He nodded.
"Our friend was shot… we've only been able to slow the bleeding but it's not stopping." He said, his eyes growing sad.
"Okay, take me to him." I ordered.
"Ben are you sure?" The skinny guy asked.
"What other choice do we have Bobby, Paul is bleeding out back there and we have no medical experience."
Bobby looked back at me wearily then nodded. "Fine, but no funny business!" He ordered, "Guns stay down." I nodded. Looking back to the twins, they looked at me for confirmation and I nodded, they both slowly lowered their guns.
"Okay, I fix your friend, you let us take our supplies and go." I extended my hand to the man, he hesitated, but then gripped my hand in his shaking.
"Deal." He said.
"I need supplies though" I said turning back to the twins as they watched. I turned on my heel, pulling myself over the counter. As I looked I found a field first aid kit, almost everything we would need for a crude operation. "I need an antiseptic…" I said loudly, rummaging through a cabinets. Emmett knelt down to me.
"What the fuck are you doing?" He whispered.
"Saving our asses." I responded as I threw things to the floor.
"What if you can't help this guy, they will know you're lying and kill us!"
"All we can do is try." I responded, "It's our best option, now shut up and help me look." I ordered, my eyes squinting fiercely at him. He nodded and went to another shelf.
"Nothing." He said
I sighed.
"There's a liquor store in the other side of the store…" Ben said.
The twins and I pulled ourselves back over the counter and stood with the men.
"Vodka or everclear, some white liquor, not flavored, the highest percent you can find. It will burn but it will work…" I said shrugging.
"Vinny, Bobby, you heard her. Go!" Ben ordered, they nodded and raced off. "C'mon, I'll show you to him." He said.
"Okay…" I responded. We picked up our bags and followed the man through the store.
"I'm Benny." He said, reaching his hand across to shake again.
"Satine." I responded, "This is Emmett and Emily." I said.
"You're not really a trauma nurse are you?" He asked matter-of-factly.
"Easy to tell?"
"You just don't seem like it…" he sighed, "do you know anything medical?"
"I was studying to be a doctor, did a two year internship at the hospital here. In all of the departments."
"Think you can really help Paul?" He asked.
"Depends on how bad it is… I'm going to try."
"I appreciate you trying…" He said sadly. After a minute we reached the back of the store, where a makeshift living situation had been made in the employee break room, mattresses, clothing, empty food cans with full trash cans. Benny pushed through the heavy fire doors into the break room. A man laid in the corner on a mattress covered in a blanket I could see the bullet wound on the top of his right arm. He shook slightly, as if cold.
"Pauly…" Benny said as we reached him, kneeling to take his left hand. "This lady is a nurse, she's going to try and get the bullet out…" Paul grinned weakly, nodding his head as best he could.
Vinny and Bobby walked in soon after, holding bottles of grain alcohol, 96%.
"Do you have towels?" I asked.
"We can get some." Benny responded looking to them, they set the bottles down and nodded turning to leave again.
"Okay…" I sighed looking around. I took a bottle and cracked it open, then poured it on a clear space of floor.
"Wait I thought you needed that for him!?" Benny asked alarmed.
"We also need a sterile place to put him." I said.
The men walked back in with handfuls of towels. I grabbed one and wiped up the alcohol then placed more on the floor.
"I need him here." I said pointing to the towel bed. Vinny and Benny nodded and helped Paul up, or more hoisted him up and set him on the floor. "The first aid kit, Emmett." He nodded handing me the red box. I ripped open the packaging and pulled it open, pulling out the supplies and setting them on another clean towel. A long metal tweezer was wrapped in a plastic foil, along with a pair of medical scissors, I began to unwrap the items I needed.
"Give it to me straight doc. Can you save my arm?" He chuckled softly.
"I'm sure gonna try." I said as I laid out the stuff I unwrapped. "Em, the alcohol." I said pointing, both of the twins turned, Emily grabbed the half empty one from the floor near me and Emmett went to the two full bottles by the door.
"Think it'll leave a cool scar?" He asked, he voice sounded weak and scared.
"I think it may." I answered, "But I may be able to suture it well enough that it doesn't." I smiled down at him, he was a shorter, average built man with a handsome chiseled face, and his eyes seemed dull and fearful. "Want a drink?" I asked holding up the half empty bottle.
"Got anything stronger?"
The three men chuckled softly at him, he was obviously a joker.
"Unfortunately the bar is all out." I countered, he nodded, then took the bottle in his left hand, doing a slight crunch sit up, and chugged a good few gulps, shivered at the presumably disgusting taste then sighed.
"Kay doc, fix me up." He said.
I took the bottle from him and poured the remainder of the bottle over my arms to sterilize myself as best I could. Then I opened the next bottle. "I'll need someone to hold his arms." I said, as I pulled on the thin gloves provided in the first aid kit. Vinny and Benny came to his sides ready to hold him.
"Do you need help?" Emmett asked. I nodded.
"Take this towel, when I need you too gently dab away any blood or alcohol that's blocking my view. I need someone to hold a flashlight." Emily quickly clicked on her strobe flashlight. And shined it over the work area.
"Okay anything else." Benny asked. I shook my head.
"Not yet." I said "What's your name?" I asked him, trying to keep him talking to me, as shock could easily take over him.
"I'm Pauly." He answered, "Pauly Mandino. What's yours doc?"
"I'm Satine." I responded.
"Dr. Satine." He laughed.
"And what do you do Pauly? I asked as I prepared the bottle of alcohol.
"I was a teacher." He responded quietly.
"Yeah? What'd you teach?" I began to pour the alcohol over his open wound.
"2nd graders." He said with a loving tone.
"Bet they are a load of fun. Did you have a favorite subject?" I said, he grimaced as I rubbed the alcohol into his wound. He cried out slightly. "Pauly, c'mon, I need you to keep talking to me." I pushed gently.
"History!" He said through gritted teeth.
"This is gonna be a crazy history lesson when we get this world back, isn't it?" I said. I took the pair of medical scissors and used them to pull open the wound.
"Yeah it is!" He said trying to keep his calm.
"Emmett, towel, and pour more alcohol first."
He did as told, cleaning the area again for me, I took the tweezer and began to dig into the wound, Pauly began to flail, the pain becoming even worse as I dug.
"Emmett …" I ordered. He again cleaned the area. As I dug the end of the tweezer hit a hard piece. "Em, bring the light closer." She did as told kneeling with the light. "Pauly tell me about your life." I said softly as I fished for the bullet, having lost its location. "Where are you from? Did you travel? Tell me anything."
"I'm from Brooklyn." He said clenching his teeth, "Benny…" he looked up to Benny whose eyes wept slightly, "Benny is my husband."
"Yeah? When did you guys get married? Emmett."
"Last year." Pauly answered.
"Congratulations." I said softly, "did you have a big wedding"
"No… just our friends around." He answered. I finally locked the tweezer onto the bullet, I tugged gently, pulling the bullet piece out. I surveyed the piece.
"Emmett, does this look intact?" I asked.
He looked at it, "hollow-point." He said as he studied it, "looks intact."
Benny broke a smile of relief. Relieved sighs escaped from the others.
"Look at that Pauly, recovered and intact." I said, flashing it in front of his eyes, he smiled weakly.
"Thanks doc." He said relieved.
"Now's the painful part." I joked as I readied a needle to suture his wound.
"You're killin' me doc." He joked with a chuckle.
"C'mon, you survived being shot, gonna let a little needle be the end?" I responded, everyone let out quiet snickers. "Emmett." I held the wound open, He cleaned the area then dried it well with the towel. "I need someone else to put on gloves and hold the wound tight so I can suture."
Bobby stepped up "I'll do it." He said quickly pulling the gloves from the first aid kit.
"Okay Bobby, I need you to put your fingers like this." I put my fingers horizontally on the sides of the wound and pulled it taught, he followed me and pulled the wound closed. "Perfect, keep it just like that. Emmet I need you to cut the sutures as I do them." I said handing him the scissors.
I carefully sutured the wound, pausing for Emmett to snip the end of the wire as I went. After 10 sutures I sat back, satisfied with my work.
Everyone else relaxed back slightly, watching me for confirmation. I grabbed a new towel and the alcohol and began to wipe the blood from his arm and chest.
"All done Pauly." I said as I wiped blood from the area.
"You're a lifesaver doc." He sighed in relief. Benny pulled me into a hug.
"Thank you so much" he cried. Vinny patted my back and Bobby smiled at me, all expressing their thanks.
"Let me finish dressing it" I said as I patted Benny's back in the hug. He released me and nodded. I finished by tapping a piece of gauze over the wound, covering it to catch any blood that may leak. "I'd go to the pharmacy and grab pain meds, hydro, or oxy if you can find it, and a shoulder sling to keep his arm up and stable." The men nodded.
"And the stitches?" Vinny asked.
"Clean the area twice daily with the alcohol let it breath for a few minutes, and recover with gauze for the first few days, a large Band-Aid for another week and a half, then let it breathe for another week. I'd say after three weeks you can snip the stitches out with the suture scissors." I said, "Keep away from activity, try and stay safe."
The men nodded, exchanging thankful smiles.
"Thank you, Satine." Benny said, "Thank you so much."
"No problem." I said with a smile. I stood and pulled off the gloves, wiping the remaining blood from my arms. Benny helped Pauly sit up and helped him back to his mattress.
"We have to go now." I said, "I have another patient back home that we need to get back to." They all nodded, gave their goodbyes and remaining "thank yous". We picked up our bags and left the men, the door locking behind us as we left.
We threw our bags into the car and slid into our seats. I took a deep breath, trying to settle my nerves.
Emmett suddenly reached for me, catching my cheeks in his hands as he leaned over the center console. He pressed his lips to mine kissing me longingly.
"That was so fucking sexy." He said. I laughed. "Have I told you how much I adore you!?"
I giggled and shook my head from his hand "No, You haven't." I responded as I pulled my seatbelt over my chest "but you can tell me again." He let out an amused snort.
"Where'd you learn to do that!?" Emily broke.
"I worked in the trauma bay learning nursing, I helped in the OR a lot. A lot of it is just copying what the surgeon does. We'd stitch cuts and gashes and stuff and take out small items impaled in people so it's kinda a more intense version of that."
"God that was amazing!" Emmett breathed, "You're so sexy when you take charge!"
Emily and I giggled. I could feel myself blushing.
"Let's go home." I said, they nodded in agreement, I turned the car on and we started on the way home.
A few minutes into our drive home we came across a man running. A small hoard of 4 following close behind him.
"Satine… stop." Emmett urged.
"No!" Emily broke, "do not stop, we can't risk getting stuck here."
"Emily, he's in trouble…" Emmett said, "We can't…"
"We do not need to be friendly with anyone, he is on his own."
"Emily! If we leave him we are no better than them." Emmett said with steely eyes.
She sighed.
"Emmett we are risking our lives." She said.
"Satine stop." He ordered. I nodded and pulled to the curb of the road. The man yelled to us.
"HELP! Please!"
Emmett unbuckled himself and stepped out, I followed as I pulled the key from the ignition with Emily following close behind.
The man closed in on us, Emmett pulled his gun from his holster, and motioned for the man to run to the side. Which he did, but the rabbits continued in a line with us in front. One by one Emmett picked them off with incredible accuracy.
The man fell to our feet, huffing heavily, his shirt was bloodied and he looked beaten and worn out.
"I need help…" He wheezed
I dropped down as I noticed a large gash in his arm and shoulder.
"Emmett… I need medical supplies."
Emmett nodded. And rushed back to the car pulling out one of the first aid kits we had taken from the store.
"We need to get out of the open. Emily said. I nodded and looked around
"That house." I said, a house that seemed to be untouched by the world yet, sat just across from where we parked the SUV. Emily nodded and grabbed the man by his arm, helping me hoist him up. Emmett went first, gun raised as we entered the unlocked house, he broke from us to go upstairs, while Emily and I surveyed the downstairs. Once we were sure it was clear Emmett came back down with a towel in hand.
The man wreathed on the floor, gripping at his arm desperately.
"Emmett, check the kitchen for alcohol or something."
He nodded and turned to it but yelled back when he found nothing. "Not a drop Satine."
I sighed as I looked around. "Okay, get some hot water if it's still on and bring me that towel wet. He did as told and I took the hot towel to the man, he seemed to be in his late 30s.
"What's wrong man, what happened?" Emmett began.
"It… one bit me!" He cried in a wheeze.
I froze "bit…?" He nodded. I shook my head. "We need to leave…" I said to Emmett and Emily.
"What?" Emily asked, "You're the ones who said we needed to help."
"He's been bit Em…" I responded, the man looked back and forth between the three of us, his eyes wide in terror.
"So!?"
"Haven't you seen any of those old shows!?" I asked, "That's how they turn! That's how the people in the airport turned when I was there…"
"Satine, we don't know if that's what it is!" Emily responded.
I shook my head "but…"
"Satine is right, that's the only way we've seen it happen…" Emmett responded.
"Please, please just make it stop hurting…" the man begged, tears streaming from his face.
"He hasn't turned yet…" Emily said. "Can't we do something?"
I shook my head. "All I can do is clean it…" I said, "but I don't know if it will do anything…"
"Please…" the man begged again.
I raked my hand over my head, Emmett paced slightly.
"Okay…" I said, "Get a chair and rope." I ordered. "We will tie your legs and your torso down, I'll clean your arm and bandage it. Then wait… if you don't turn we will let you go, if you do turn…"
"Just put me down." He said with a nod. I nodded in agreement. He willingly sat in the chair while the twins tied him. Once he was secured I worked at his arm. He cried out as I scrubbed the blood away to see the wound.
"You have to hold still." I said to him, "I can't work with you squirming."
"I'm sorry miss." He said in a weep. Emmett paced nervously in front of me, his gun ready in one hand, but he worried his chin in the other.
"Emmett you need to hold still as well." I said as I began to pull a needle through his wound. "You're making me nervous."
"I'm sorry Satine…" he said dropping to a squat to watch me, Emily rolled her eyes from her spot leaned against the wall.
I looked up to the man, his terrified brown eyes still weeping tears. "What's your name?" I asked as I worked.
"Gerard…" He said softly.
"Hey Gerard." I responded, "My name is Satine… the pacer is Emmett, and miss cool and composed is Emily." He laughed a halfhearted chuckle, but I could tell he was weak and slowly losing his cool.
"Thank you all." He said softly.
"Tell us about you Gerard, what do you do for a living?" I asked.
"I was… an electrical engineer." He responded.
"You're gonna have a lot of work to do when all this gets settled down, gotta get this whole town back up."
He laughed again, "You're so optimistic." He said.
"C'mon Gerard, keep telling us about you."
"I'm 35…" He began, tears refreshing in his eyes, "Married with 3 beautiful children…"
"What are their names?" I asked.
"Elizabeth was my wife… then Melany we had her at 16, then Joshua, and Will…" he sighed and began to sob. "I didn't tell them I loved them before I left." He cried, "I didn't tell my wife how much I loved her. And now she's gone." He hung his head and cried, "And my kids… I'll never be able to tell them how proud I am of them…"
"Hey, hey…" Emmett began, "this stuff is gonna end, things are gonna get better."
Gerard shook his head, "I shot my own wife…" he said, "I don't know where my kids are. He used his barely free hand to reach into his pocket. He pulled a black leather wallet which was warn and tattered, then he tossed it to the floor. "My kids… I was looking for them… they were at a friend's… and I couldn't find them." He shook his head again.
"Don't worry Gerard, once you're patched up we can look for them." I said with a smile as I finished the last stitch.
Emmett had pulled open the man's wallet, a plastic photo holder unfolded. He looked intently at the pictures. I rubbed away the remainder of blood before rolling a pack of gauze onto his arm, tapping it with the medics tape.
"Can you show me the pictures?" He asked sadly.
"I'm sorry Gerard." Emmett said as he flipped the photos for Gerard to see.
"I hope they forgive me. For everything I ever did wrong."
"I'm sorry Gerard." I said softly, "I'm sure they forgive you…"
He suddenly smiled only slightly, nodding and pausing before he threw his head back and wept uncontrollably. I stood and stepped back from him, Emmett flipped the pictures to me, three young children with bright red hair occupied the pictures. They all looked alike, the last photo seemed to be them with an older woman who looked just like them, they appeared to range in age from maybe 15, 7 and maybe 2 or 3.
As I looked Gerard suddenly made a gurgling noise, his body slowly going limp. I looked to Emmett, our fears becoming true. All together Gerard's body went lifeless. He didn't talk, or move, or even breathe.
"Gerard…" I said softly, "Hey Ger…" suddenly his head shot up, his eyes glazed over and his mouth gaping open. He growled at us as we stepped back.
"Fuck…" Emmett began.
"Jesus Christ…" Emily added in unison.
Emmett pinched his nose in his fingers as we watched Gerard's now infected body squirm and struggle to get to us.
"Oh Gerard…" I started, suddenly Emmett pulled his gun, pointed it at Gerard and paused, his arm shaking. "Em…" I started.
A long silence played over us as we stared on. He then dropped his arm and shook his head, "I can't…" he said shaking, "he was… he was just talking to us… I can't…"
"Emmett…" I started. "He asked us to…"
"Em, we can't let him just sit here…" Emily added. I placed my hand on his shoulder and he sighed with a nod. He then rose his hand again, we turned our heads as we heard the low pop of the silenced gun. As we looked back Gerard's head slumped over as his body went limp.
All at once Emmett seemed to crumple, he knelt down and put his head in his hands, shuddering.
Emily and I shared a concerned glance.
"I think… we should just go home…" Emily said. I nodded. I placed my hand on Emmett's shoulder, he looked up to me and sighed softly. He stood and took ahold of my hand as he did. We draped the towel over Gerard's body, grabbed the unused medical supplies and then walked back to the car to head back home.
Once we pulled into the garage and locked down the outside we went downstairs and Emmett escaped to his room.
"Dude… what happened…" Russell asked as we watched Emmett disappear.
"We found someone who was bit… we tried to help him but he turned… Emmett… shot him…" Emily said softly. I worried my finger at the wallet Gerard had thrown at us. I handed it to Russell and he looked through the pictures.
"Looks like Melany Brickberry…" he said as he surveyed.
"You know them?" I asked, he nodded, "they went to the summer camp we went to, she's like 18 now? Probably almost 19?"
"Oh yeah…" Emily began, "how could I forget…" she said as she looked through the pictures again. "That was Gerard Brickberry…" she sighed.
"He said he couldn't find them…" I said with a grimace.
"Hope they made it…" I said softly
"Me too…" Emily and Russell said together.
A long pause played over us before I turned to the room. "I'm gonna go wash up then I'll come help put the supplies away. Emily nodded to me as she turned to her room.
"Me too."
As I stepped into the room it was dark, I heard the shower running. I began to strip off my bloodied clothing as I walked to the bathroom. I knocked gently on the door frame.
"Yeah…?" I heard Emmett's voice call out.
"Can I join you?" I asked.
"Yeah…" I pulled the dark curtain over slightly to step in. Emmett was sat on the small bench in the shower, his head hung in his hands, leaned against his knees. Specs of blood still littered his arms.
"Em…" I said softly.
"Teen…" he looked up at me and sighed. Then shook his head and looked back down. I took my washcloth and used it to wipe the blood from my arms, then rung it out, knelt down in front of him and began to rub the blood specs from his arms. He looked down into my eyes, I couldn't tell if it was tears on his face or water. He grabbed my cheeks in his hands and pulled my face too his, kissing me longingly and sadly.
"This will all get better…" he said as we parted, more for himself than for me.
"It will." I assured as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. He pulled me close to him, burying his face into my chest and wept gently. After a long moment he let me go, sniffled and then stood. He smiled down on me.
"Have I ever told you how much I adore you?" He said softly as he offered me his hand to stand.
I shook my head as I raised to my feet "No, you haven't..." I said giggling gently "but you can tell me again." his smirk widened as he let out a quiet chuckle.
"Thank you Satine." He said, he leaned down and kissed me again before taking his washcloth and scrubbing himself down. As we finished showering, we dried and then we fell naked into the bed. Both of us were too tired, mentally and physically, for anything more, and we drifted quickly into a deep sleep, curled up with each other.