Red Stains

Chapter Five

Day 33

I open my eyes slowly, wincing at the light. My body aches and I can feel an intense pressure on my head, like it's wrapped up. I groan as I try to move but a shooting pain through my back makes me stop. I reach my hand up and feel my head, realizing it is bandaged up tight. Suddenly, I realize where I'm at, and I remember everything. I'm in the RV, back at camp, but how did I get here? Oh god, where's Glenn?

"Glenn?" I croak. I wince, my throat is so dry.

"Glenn!" I try again, clearing my throat a little.

I hear voices outside and then the RV door opens and closes and footsteps walk towards me. The door to the little back bedroom opens and me and Glenn make eye contact.

"Elizabeth?" He says, shock covering his face. "Oh my god!" He laughs, and turns and runs out of the RV.

"Hey...!" I croak after him, but he's already gone.

"Rick, Shane, she's awake!" I hear Glenn yell, and then more footsteps shake the RV.

Glenn, Shane and Rick all come in quickly. "Welcome back to the world of the living, kid." Shane says, smiling wide and laughing. Glenn's face is bright and excited like a kid in a candy shop.

I groan as I try again to move, to sit up. "Ah careful, you dislocated your shoulder, probably still pretty sore. We had to uh.. pop it back in place." Shane says, helping me sit up and placing pillows behind my back.

"How long was I out?" I ask, taking a bottle of water and gulping it down graciously. "Did everyone make it? What happened? Rick, tell me our plan worked." I look to Rick now and he nods, smiling. "Scared the crap out of us, but we got you in the truck and got the hell out of there. I'm here because of you, Elizabeth." He grins widely and Shane pats him on the back.

"Okay, well how long was I out?" I repeat.

All three men look at each other but stay silent. "Guys? What, two days?" Glenn shakes his head.

"You were out for 5 days, Elizabeth... we didn't think you were going to make it..." The young Asian boy sits down on the bed slowly, placing his hand on my knee. "You had me really really worried there for a minute." He says gravely, and I nod, soaking it in.

"What happened?" I whisper.

"Well, when you cleared the fence, you fell straight down and hit your head hard. When you did, you cut it open pretty bad. More like cracked it open.... You also dislocated your shoulder. We got you into the van as quick as we could, then got everyone else and got you back here. Andrea and Jacqui held you in the back and used three shirts to keep you from bleeding out. Thankfully, Carol was a nurse at a nursing home for a very long time, and stitched up the wound on your head. It's been kept clean and has been healing pretty well but is still very gnarly..." Rick trails off and motions to Glenn. "He was coming to clean your dressings actually if you'd like to see..." he trails off, and I nod slowly.

Glenn begins to unwrap my head slowly. Shane grabs a small mirror and hands it to me, his face hard like a stone. He hadn't said much, but I knew he was probably very worried. I was like family to him, him to me too.

I hold the mirror up as Glenn finishes and I turn my head slightly to see the damage. Along the side of my skull, a huge jagged stitched up cut sticks out, pink and puffy. The cut is running horizontal, about 6 inches long. My hair is brown from blood on that side of my head, matted up. I groan. "God... I really did a number on myself.... I'm so sorry..." I say, looking to the three men. Glenn pats my shoulder and Rick sighs, shaking his head. "Nothin to be sorry about." He says with a kind smile.