East Bound || Twdg Season 5

Two | Running Low, Running Out

Clementine had seen injuries before. She's seen Lee's missing arm, the stub stained with crimson. She'd seen Carver's face smashed in so far back he couldn't turn. She's seen bullet after bullet after a bullet lodged into people's bodies. She had to stitch her arm together with no painkillers within miles. And yet, her injury now made her nauseous to behold.

The sight of mangled flesh and bone met Clementine's gaze. Blood seeped out from the wound. When it was first amputated, it was done with an old ax by a child. The cut was anything but clean, hesitant hashes marked up and down her knee and thigh. They weren't deep, thankfully, as AJ stopped in time only for the blade to barely pierce the skin. Faint scars were still visible though, each mark telling a million tales.

Cotton padding surrounded the bone. Its purpose was to insulate warmth and to create an even surface to wrap, and Ruby prayed it would keep infection out as well. Clementine writhed and squirmed as pain pestered the wound. She refused to look at it. It felt like poison to her eyes to do so, but it felt impossible not to, the stomach-churning smell of iron and alcohol enticing her eyes.

"We're almost done, sweetheart," Ruby's kind words lulled the girl.

"Good, because this is--" Clementine paused to grimace, "--painful. Really painful."

Her thick hands maneuvered a wrap of bandages around the cotton insulation. Pressure built up around the exposed bone and muscle. With a tuck of the bandage, the new wrap was finished around the relatively new wound. Clementine let out a quick sigh of relief. She stood, her crutches threatening to give out under her if she didn't catch her footing fast enough.

Ruby's bright eyes glanced at the crutches. They were stained with dirt and splashes of what can only be assumed to be blood in a world like theirs. "Have you ever thought about freshening up your crutches?"

Clementines' eyes floated up to Ruby's heavily accented voice. "Hm, I haven't, really."

"I can do that for you if you'd like!"

Ruby's smile was genuine. It pushed her cheeks up against her eyes. Clementine couldn't help but grin as well. "If you want to, it's your choice."

"Great! I can get AJ to help, too."

Clementine's lips formed a brighter smile, the thought of AJ helping with the crutches filling her mind. She imagined small doodles of nonsense on the wood, things like a scribble-of-a-gun or a goofily proportioned signature from the artist himself.

"I'd like that," Clementine gave a contempt smile.

Ruby's lips pulled into her face to portray somewhat of a half-smile. She stood to her feet, dusting off her knees. "I'm- going to check on the others. Rest up while you can."

"You two. Thank you again."

"No need to thank me."

And with that, she shut the door. Clementine rested on the sunken-in mattress, her head spinning from the sight of her injury. She's gotten soft, she thinks, if she's so queazy at an injury this far into her life. With an unpleasant sigh, she landed back on the bed, a layer of dust billowing into the air, running from the impact. Her chest rose and fell with each heavy breath. She could feel her heartbeat in her throat. Her heartbeat, that subtle thump that was often too loud in her ears, was both a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing to still beat in the chest of a normal human, but a curse to the human herself. Her heart was nothing but prey to the mindless monstrosities that roamed the Earth. A blessing and a curse, she repeated.

There came a curt knock at her door. Clementine felt the violent beating of her heart cool as a familiar voice rang from outside:

"Clem? You up?" Violet said from the other end.