The next 2 weeks were quiet and calm, but it eventually came to the day we needed to take off Russell's leg cast, we had already left it way longer than it should have been, and he was getting antsy with it being well passed its expiration date. When we went to turn on the saw, we were all disappointed to find that it was busted.
"What the fuck are we going to do?" Russell asked sadly.
"Could saw it with the bread knife?" I suggested, "Sharpen it with that knife sharpener."
Emmet shook his head, "that cast will bust our knives." We all stood around Russell, who sat on the floor still desperately trying to finesse the saw to work. "Plus if we slip we risk taking of Russ' leg…"
"Or at least a good chunk of it." I responded.
"We have to go get one." Reese said, "Unless you can fix the cords?" He asked to Emily.
She shook her head. "I used the last of my soldering wire on the radio…" she said. Russell looked up to us with puppy eyes.
"Guys…" he whined. We looked to each other.
"We can't risk the hospital right now, with all the dead and people probably have gone there for supplies, there's no telling what we may run into." Emily said
"I bet they'd have something feasible at the hardware store." I suggested with a shrug.
"That's a good idea, Teen." Emmett said, "One of those little bolt saws may get us where we need without too much risk."
"Could get more soldering wire for me." Emily said excitedly.
"Could see if they have stuff for the garden too, more seed packs and stuff." I added.
Emmett nodded with a pondering look. "Yeah… think that tears it, may be worth it." Emmett said.
"Okay. Let's suit up." Reese said.
"No, we only need three." Emmett responded.
"Em, we can't split with three people…" Emily said.
I looked at Reese's bruised face as he pleaded, "I've been stuck in here for two weeks y'all, lemme come out."
We looked to Emmett. Surprisingly Reese had been relatively easy to deal with these past weeks.
"Could use an extra set of eyes to avoid last times fiasco." I said, rubbing at the place in my chest where Vinny had pressed his knee into me. I had ended with a deep purple bruise on my chest that had yet to fade completely.
Emmett looked at me and I shrugged. He nodded, "alright." He said "Russ, you'll be okay alone?" He asked.
"Yeah." He stuck his hands up, Emmett and Reese gripped his hands and helped pull him up so he could hobble to the couch and sit down.
"Alright." Emmett said reluctantly. "Get dressed." He turned to his room, "tight, well fitted clothes, no frays, loose ends, nothing easy to grab," he looked back at Reese, "means tie up your hair too Reese." He specified, Reese scowled over it, but turned to his room to change.
We all turned to our rooms to change for our next journey out.
"I'll drive!" Reese called as we crested the stairs into the garage.
"No." Emmett shot without hesitation, "not after last time. Satine drives."
"What the fuck?" He countered.
"Your face already looks like a fucking plum, you drove us right into a deadly situation." Emily added. "Barely woke up in time to get us out."
"Not happening." Emmett finished.
"Then I call shotgun."
"No." Emmett said, "I sit up front."
"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Reese asked stepping up to Emmett, I once again noticed how muscular and tall he was compared to Reese. "Think 'cause you're some big fucking, hotshot, Marine bitch you get to call the shots?"
"No I think cause this is my fucking house I get to call the shots." Emmett started, puffing his chest.
"This ain't your house, and you aren't the fucking boss 'cause you're bigger than me." Reese countered.
"No, I'm the fucking boss because I'm the one fucking thing standing between you and those fucking monsters out there, and I'm not afraid to put you the fuck out."
Reese shoved Emmett by his chest, and Emmett responded by lunging at him. I caught Emmett arm before he swung.
"Emmett! Reese! Knock it off!" I screamed.
"Fuck off Satine." Reese screamed back as I stepped between him and Emmett.
"Don't fucking talk to her that way you ass hat!" Emily countered.
"Swear to god Reese, you are two fucking inches from being left out in the fucking dirt." Emmett responded.
"All I wanted was to sit in the front seat…" Reese started in a pout, a tactic he often used to get me to feel sorry for him, and make it seem like it wasn't his fault.
"I told you no." Emmett responded, "I don't want you in the front seat with her." Emmett opened the door and tossed his bag in. "Either you sit in the fucking back or you can go back down stairs and we will go without you."
Reese looked to me then to Emmett then Emily. His nostrils flared as much as his bruised nostrils could. "Fine, what the fuck ever." He pulled open the back car door and got in, crossed his arms and pouted.
I got in the driver's seat, Emily behind me, and Emmett checked the door and outside. Then opened the door. Running back to his seat and climbed in.
"Clear." He said, as I drive out we closed the garage behind us and headed to the hardware store.
It was surprisingly clear out today, as if most of those things had wandered away with the lack of prey around. As I pulled up to the door I backed the vehicle to face the street, that way we could easily throw what we needed into the back and get out quickly if needed.
"Okay guys, eyes peeled, check your weapons." Emmett began, we all checked the guns at our sides, "in and out, quick and quiet."
"Yes sir." Emily and I said together. I pulled the keys from the ignition, stuffing them into my pocket. We all stepped out, slinging our bags over our shoulders, closing our doors quietly before stepping up to the door.
"It's locked…" Emmett said as he pushed. He took to his lock picking tool and worked the lock until it clicked open.
"I'm amazed it's not been completely rooted…" Emily said as we stepped inside, it was dark, with the only light flooding in from the windows, but the store itself was clear of bodies on the surface, and only a few things had been disturbed
"They must have locked up as soon as the town was over run…" Emmett said as he shined his light into the dark corners. "Satine, Emily, take left, Reese and I will go right. Scan, make sure it's safe."
We nodded, Emily and I pulled out our lights and did as he said, scanning the aisle on the left side of the store for any dangers, but as we neared the back it seemed clear. We surveyed the shelves, almost completely untouched besides for a few turned over pricing guns and boxes as if they were working the inventory when they had to leave.
As we walked slowly, our guns propped against our flashlights as we scanned we passed over a shelf full of seeds and plant bulbs.
"Look…" Emily started.
"What should we grab?" I asked as we shrugged our bags from our shoulders.
"Easy stuff, Lettuce, beans, cucumbers… all stuff that grows pretty quickly." she said, we both grabbed hand fulls of the seed packets and stuffed them into our bags, we also grabbed a few seed trays and Emily grabbed 2 small growing lamps from the bottom shelf to stuff into her bag.
As we finished arranging our bags a loud crash rang from the opposite side of the store, along with a scream made us both shoot to our feet. We took off in a sprint around the back of the store to find a tipped over shelving unit. Emmett sat atop a turned over zombie, his knife shoved deep into its skull.
Reese coward to the side of him, pressed against the wall.
"What the fuck!" Emily cried.
Emmett looked up to us and rolled his eyes. Digging the knife from its head and wiping the bloody blade against his jeans. "Jackass here poked at it before making sure it was dead." he stood and wiped his hands. "The thing lunged at him and he knocked over the shelf…"
"God Reese." I said, "Why the hell don't you think before you act?"
"It's got a bullet hole through its chest!" he defended, "I thought it was dead!"
"These things don't go down with a bullet to the chest." Emily began, "From every one we've taken out it seems you have to disconnect its brain function for it to stop moving…"
"How the hell am I supposed to know if it's fully dead or not?" Reese countered.
"You check." I responded, he looked at me surprised, my authoritative and irritated voice booming through the quiet shop. "You stop being a fucking dumbass and you check. Stop acting like there is no threats." my body became hot with frustration. "You could have gotten someone killed. You or Emmett." my teeth clenched, "You're always ignoring obvious dangers in life. We are in an apocalypse this is not the time to be the ignorant fuck you always are. You always think of yourself, always! You never think about what your actions mean to others, or how you risk other people's lives. For once, why can't you think of anyone else besides your fucking self!?"
There was a long pause between us all as I stared into his icy blue eyes, they almost looked as if they were welling with tears. He looked down to his feet for a moment, before looking up sorrowfully to Emmett.
"Sorry, Emmett." he said softly.
"Yeah…" Emmett said in response.
I took a deep breath, "Now let's find a fucking saw and go home."
"Why don't you go with Emmett…?" Emily said softly, patting my shoulder, "Reese and I will finish up with the garden supplies."
"Yeah…" Reese added quietly. "Good plan…" Reese turned quickly and followed Emily back to the side of the store where the gardening supplies were
Emmett nodded, reaching his hand out to me he caught mine and pulled me toward him. He hugged me tightly to him.
"Hey…" He cooed softly, "Calm down, okay? I'm alright."
"He pisses me off…" I responded as I wrapped my arms around him. "He just doesn't think. You could have been hurt or..."
He interrupted with a quiet "shoosh", then squeezed me tighter.
"I know. I know he doesn't think." he pushed himself from me and cupped my cheeks in his hand, "But I do… we do. You, me, Em, Russ…" He paused long enough to kiss my lips gently. "We look out for each other here… even for people like him. We risk ourselves to save others from their own stupidity. I would do it for anyone, I would do it for you, and Emily and Russell… even Reese if it meant none of you would perish like this…" we looked down at the lifeless corpse below us, "This is a new world… we have to stick together and support and love each other… we are all we have."
I looked into his bright green eyes, saw a hint if compassion for even those like Reese and nodded. I pulled him in, hugging him tight to me.
"Okay Emmett." I said softly, "then let's get through this together."
As we parted he smiled, kissed my forehead and laced his fingers into mine as we headed into the aisle to look for something to cut off Russell's cast.
"Look, this may do" Emmett pulled a rotary tool kit from a stack of other boxes and surveyed it. "It has different heads so it may have one that will cut the cast without hurting Russell."
"May As well take it and find out." I responded.
"K let's try it and let's go." He shoved the box into his bag and hoisted it over his shoulder "Em, Reese. Pack up it's time to go."
I heard them shuffle around as they finished packing their bags and met us in the front of the store.
"Ready?" I asked. Everyone nodded, but as we turned to the door we froze. A woman stood there on the other side, her eyes looking frantically at us. Her shirt was soaked with blood, I could see a large gash taken from her lower arm as she held it to her chest. Emmett put his arm across me pushing me back slowly, Reese did the same to Emily. The woman used her free arm to push through the door. She looked at us.
"Please…" she began, holding up her free arm as she poked her head in, "please help me…"
"Are you bit?" Emmett asked.
"Please… I just… I just need help…"
Emmett finally raised his gun to her, "I said are you bit?" She looked down at her arm and tears fell from her eyes.
"Please just…" she stepped toward us as she locked eyes with me, but Emmett blocked her from me. As I looked into her sorrowful hazel eyes, it seemed like she was seeking sympathy. "I need help." She finally looked down the barrel of Emmett's pistol. Almost begging for it.
"What do you mean…?" Emily interjected, "What do you need help with?"
"My whole family is dead…" she whimpered, "they got my baby boy…" she looked back up to Emmett's raised gun, "I… I can't do it myself…" she said. She finally reached behind her and pulled a gun from her waist band. We all pulled ours, ready to fire. But she dropped the gun to the floor, tapping it with her foot so it'd slide away from her and then looked back up to Emmett. "Take it as payment… put me out of my misery… please."
We lowered our guns looking at each other worried.
"Ma'am… are you sure…?" Emmett asked.
"I have nothing else to live for." She said, letting her bloodied arm fall to her side, "just kill me…"
Emmett looked her over then to Emily who shrugged. "Emmett…" she started, "Don't…"
"Em… Remember what happened to Gerard…" Emmett responded.
"Please…" the woman begged again, tears streaming from her quickly fading eyes, "don't let me come back… I don't want someone to see me be one of them…"
Emmett sighed softly, nodding as he did, "Go back to the truck…" he said.
"Wait, Emmett…" I began.
"Go… I can handle this." He leaned down and picked up her gun. Setting it in my hand then handing me his bag. Then he pushed me toward the door, Emily caught my arm and pulled me through the door. As we stepped out Emily and Reese went to the other side of the truck, I tried to hold myself back, but eventually I turned around. Emmett had taken her hands in his and they bowed their heads together. He was talking to her as if they were praying. When they looked up, she formed a cross on her chest. Then knelt in front of him. The silenced *pop* of the gun made me flinched. I watched her slump back and crumple over herself. Emmett stared for a long time at her lifeless body.
When he looked up he caught my eyes, he quickly turned and used the back of his hand to wipe his face before turning to walk out of the door. He met me with a forced smile and grabbed my hand as he pulled me away from the door. He sighed gently.
"Let's go home."
I nodded slowly.
At home Emmett escaped to the room, locking the door behind him.
"Hey…" Emily said, patting my shoulder as we unpacked our bags, "Don't worry about him, okay? He deals with his remorse silently, he likes to have a few minutes alone before he talks to anyone."
I nodded slowly, "Okay…"
"Can we try to get this cast off?" Russ pouted as he hobbled to the counter. I nodded as I pulled the rotary tool kit from Emmett's bag.
I plugged it into the outlet and selected a hard, saw like attachment. Russ and I sat on the floor, along with Emily and Reese nervously sitting beside us. I took the tool to the hard plaster cast, trying to mimic what I had learned removing casts during my time working in the hospital. I had to admit the safety saws we used on casts at the hospital were a lot easier to use than the rotary tool. I propped my arm on my crossed knee to keep my hand from dipping down and possibly cutting Russ' leg. The rotary tool worked slowly, but it worked, it took 15 agonizing minutes to slowly grind a line from Russ' upper leg down to his foot. Once we were through, Reese and I grabbed each side of the cast and pulled it open just enough for Russell to slip his leg from it.
I suddenly remembered why I hated doing cast work at the hospital, the smell that a broken limb exudes when it's finally broken out of its cast is sickening. We all recoiled at the smell, Emily physically gagged and Reese plugged his nose. Russell used his shirt to cover his nose.
"Fuck that's nasty." Russ said.
"You're legs been in a cast for months now." Emily said, "We should have taken it out sooner."
"I'm sure you guys couldn't risk it still being too early though." I said, "If you took it off too soon your bone would be too weak. We all peered at his deteriorated muscle, he had small sores littering his leg from where the cast rubbed, he scratched around his skin, sighing in euphoric relief.
"Lord, almighty that feels good." He groaned.
"Hey, don't scratch too much." I ordered, "go shower, scrub with antibacterial soap, hit any open sores with alcohol, and then if you have a really good, skin healing, non-scented lotion or like Vaseline then cover your leg in it and wear some sweats to let it soak in." I said as I examined the dry irritated skin, "do that for a few days and the irritation should be gone."
"What about the muscle atrophy?" Emily asked.
"Oh, Emmett is gonna help me work out to get my leg back into shape." He answered before I could suggest it.
"Good, think you'll be good then." I smiled. "Any pain?"
He squeezed his arms around his leg, flexed his knee, ankle, toes and shook his head "nope, feels good. Really stiff, but good." Emily and Reese were standing up.
"You'll probably walk funny for a while, just so you know."
"Yeah I'll be fine eventually, thanks doctor Satine." He put his hands up, Emily and Reese pulled him to a stand, "Gonna go shower." He said, before hobbling slowly to their room. He seemed to struggle but he was giddy with excitement to finally have his leg free. It was clear to see his muscles had suffered from his extended stay in the cast, almost 14 weeks since he had gotten it put on right before the outbreak. His casted leg was nearly half the size of the other.
I turned on my heel to the bedroom, rapped gently on the door and waited. Emmett pulled the door open and I slipped in.
"You okay?" I asked as I began to strip my clothes off. He nodded and smiled, wrapping his hands around my waist. He kissed my lips gently, holding me there an unusually long time.
"I'm okay." He grinned a sad smile then pushed himself away from me, stripping his shirt from himself, he unclipped the harness of his gun holster as his jeans slipped down, he raked his fingers through his messy hair as he flexed his shoulders. "Want to shower?" he asked.
"Yeah."
In the shower he eagerly scrubbed off the blood from his hands, and the splatters from his arms, there was even specs on his face this time that I rubbed off with my finger. He kissed me gently again, pulling me into a tight squeeze. He massaged his fingers into the muscles in my back, and leaned into my body and pressed his cheek to mine, sighing softly.
He left the shower without a word, dried himself off and fell into bed, curling into a fetal like position. I dried my hair with my towel and pulled on a pair of shorts and a sports bra. I climbed into bed beside him and he shifted, reaching across me he pulled my arm around his chest, squeezing my hand tightly. I curled up behind him, pressing my face into the back of his neck and kissing his neck gently. He shivered, then sniffled as if he was crying. His body felt tense and rigid, he shook as he sobbed.
"Satine..." he began softly through a strained voice. "I love you."
I paused, taking in his words before I raised up slightly and caught his cheek in my hand, pulling his face to look at me. I pressed my lips to his, a salty taste swapped between our lips. He sniffled quietly. "I love you too." I responded. He smiled in a relieved way and laid his head back down, snuggling closer to me as we drifted off.