𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲'𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐭 → 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖂𝖆𝖑𝖐𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝕯𝖊𝖆𝖉

P R O M I S E S

SEVEN

P R O M I S E S

__________

THE NEXT FEW days after that were pretty long. Or at least, they were for me. 

Despite her promise, Mom couldn't keep me out of target practice. The Governor insisted I needed to learn how to defend myself, but he did make an exception for me and told me that I wouldn't be put on the front lines. After my rather disgusting fit the other day, he realized his mistake in wanting to make me a soldier.

Instead, he and my mom arranged for Kat to give me my weapons/self defense training, just in case I ever found myself in trouble. In the meantime, they arranged for me to shadow Dr Stevens and learn the medical stuff. Most people probably would assume that my disorder would make it incredibly hard for me to see the nasty stuff like blood and broken bones, but that kind of thing wasn't really a problem for me. 

So for three straight days, I was up by six for breakfast with everyone else, then it was time for training. I would spend five hours with Kat, learning how to shoot with a BB gun (mother's idea) and I was able to handle that. Kat also started showing me counters to being grappled and taught me the weak points of the human body, some of which I knew from the days of wrestling Reese in our old backyard. 

After the five hours with Kat, I would head straight to the infirmary, where I was taught basic things like finding pulses, CPR, infection treatment, and stitching. That was the most important thing that Stevens wanted me to know, for the most part, because that's what I would be doing more often as a doctor in my future. She also started showing me how to use different instruments, like the stethoscope and syringe. She especially wanted to teach me where to stick a syringe. 

All of that training wiped me out, day after day. I made a habit out of falling asleep pretty much as soon as I hit my pillow, but as exhausted as I was, that didn't stop the nightmares. I would wake every night, trembling, crying, etc. It grew more exhausting each night.

One day though, I got home from my lessons with Dr Stevens. She had let me go early because she felt I had earned it. Plus she didn't love having to constantly repeat herself day after day, and probably wanted a little break from me. 

When I got home, I was shocked to find my mom, Kat, and the Governor all talking in our living room. Mom didn't look very happy, and as soon as I opened the door, a hush fell over the room. 

“Um… Hi.” I greeted them awkwardly, clicking the door shut behind me. 

Kat grew a little fearful as the Governor glanced over at me from his chair. His new eye patch made him look even more intimidating than usual, so I couldn't blame her.