The Infection

Chapter 20

Ben hasn't left Cassie's side for a single second. She had to go into emergency surgery and he was there to give her as much blood as she needed to survive, while Sharon took the bullet from her chest. They didn't have any anesthetics, so Ben had to endure the sound of Cassie screaming in pain, until she passed out from it. 

After the surgery was a success, he sat by her bedside and held her hand. He hasn't let go for hours. He kept telling her how much he loved her and that he was so happy she was alive. He told her he refused to let something like that happen to her again. 

Of course, she was asleep when he said all this, but he knew she could hear him. For hours, he refused to leave her, even if it meant to eat. Mark eventually brought him in some food and took a seat next to him. 

"What happened?" He asked. Taking a deep breath, Ben shook his head. "I've no idea," he told him, without taking his eyes off of Cassie. "Everything was going so well. Her plan worked, it was all going perfectly, but then...then suddenly Tom's gun goes off and I see her fall to the ground."

"Tom did this?" Mark asked in shock. "Why would he shoot her?" Ben shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "I was trying to help the kids Gary brought along. They were being attacked by the infected and I couldn't just leave them to die. I don't know why Tom did this. I'm starting to think he meant to shoot me."

He ran his thumb over Cassie's hand, as he held it tight. "Bloody hell, I thought I lost her. I never knew...I never knew how much I loved her until that moment. When you and Sharon both said she was dead, I just couldn't find a single reason to keep living. I would have killed myself if she died. I would have blown my fucking brains out just to be with her again."

He squeezed her hand as tears ran down his cheeks. Mark put a hand on Ben's shoulder. "She's alive," he told him. "She's here and she's breathing. Enjoy it as much as you can." Ben nodded and sniffled, then felt Mark get up from his seat. 

Without saying another word, he left Ben and Cassie alone once again. Ben put his other hand with his in Cassie's. He held on and just did not take his eyes off of her. He couldn't. He was memorizing everything about her, everything he may have missed or anything he would have never seen again.

He suddenly felt her hand twitch and he sat up straight, leaning himself on to the bed. He watched as her eyes barely opened, but then close again. "Cassie," he gently whispered. "Cassie, it's me."

Her eyes opened to a squint and slowly looked over to him. "B...Be...Ben," she hoarsely said. He smiled widely and said, "It's me, love. I'm right here." He took one of his hands and rested it on her cheek. 

He gave her a friendly smile when her eyes fully opened. "Ben," she said again, but almost in a sigh of relief. "Ben. Ben." She kept saying his name, so he moved himself to sit next to her on the bed and explained, "I'm right here, my love. Here, see?"

Very carefully, he took her hand and put it on his cheek. She smiled when she felt him. "Ben," she sighed in relief. He smiled back at her and said, "There's my girl. How are you feeling?" Her fingers moved slowly and weakly against his skin as she tried to caress his cheek. 

"Awful," she told him. "It hurts." She slowly moved her head down to look at the source of her pain. She saw her chest bandaged and groaned. This couldn't be happening again. "I'm going to go get Sharon," he told her. "I'll be right back, okay?"

She shook her head. "Don't," she said. "Stay." He sighed and looked to the skimpy infirmary door. When he looked back to her, he said, "Let me at least tell someone to get her. I will be back, I swear it." 

He placed a kiss on her forehead, then got up and rushed to the door. The moment he walked out, he ran into somebody. "So sorry--...Tony." Tony was standing there, short of breath, looking worn and bloody and dirty. 

"Is everyone back?" Ben asked. Tony nodded and said, "Yeah, we're all accounted for, including as many of the kids as we could save. There are a lot and some need Sharon. Is she in here?" Ben shook his head. "No, but if you see her can you tell her to check on Cassie? She's in a lot of pain." 

Tony nodded and said, "Sure. Did you ever see who shot her by the way?" Ben looked at him curiously. "You...You mean he never said anything about it?" Now Tony looked confused. "No," he told him. "Who should have said something about it?"

Ben scoffed and shook his head. "That fucking bastard," he grumbled, before storming out to where the crowd of people were cheering on the survivors coming home. He pushed through everyone to make his way to the front. 

He could see Tom smiling and waving at everyone, as if things were absolutely normal. The moment he saw Ben, he ignored the fact that he was being charged at and asked, "How's Cass?"

His answer was a broken nose. 

Ben had hit him so hard, he went flying to the ground. Everyone gasped and a few men even tried to jump in to stop Ben from attacking Tom even further, but Ben just shoved them off and hit Tom repeatedly in the face. 

Once his face was all bloodied up and he was half unconscious, Ben lifted him up by his shirt, then snarled, "She died for four minutes." He shoved him back on to the ground, then walked away, as people tried calling for help. 

Tony, Rob, Chris, Richard, and Adrien were all standing behind the crowd. "He shot her?" Chris asked. Ben's answer was a nod and he continued back to the infirmary. When he walked in, he saw Sharon checking over Cassie. 

"How is she?" He asked, as he quickly made his way back over to her. Sharon nodded and said, "She's a miracle. I still don't understand how she came back when she did. But she'll be fine. Also, I hate to do this, but I have several random kids here that need to be treated, some may even need to stay here."

Ben understood what she was talking about. "She needs to be out of here?" He asked. She sadly nodded. "Just grab me the gurney," he told her, "I'll take her home. I hope you make house calls?" Sharon giggled, as she told him, "I just might. Oh, and another thing, she really shouldn't have woken up this early after the surgery, so make sure she gets plenty of sleep."

She was about to walk away, but then he suddenly said, "Thank you, Sharon." She turned to him, gave him a quaint nod, then left. Cassie looked like she was in less pain than before he left. "I'm going to get you home," he told her, as he sat down on her bed and brushed back her hair. 

"Home, home?" She asked. He quirked up a small smile and shook his head. "No, I'm afraid that home is long gone. I'm getting you back to our home. Well, yours, but my home is where you are." That got a smile from her. 

A few moments later, Chris came in with a gurney. Ben very carefully lifted Cassie and set her on it. She winced and groaned in pain, but Ben quickly pushed her outside to get to her place. As soon as the chilled weather hit her, she was in more pain than before. 

She didn't have a shirt on, only the bandage covering her chest, and had her military pants that didn't do any justice in keeping her warm. He practically ran as he pushed her. Once they got to her shack that was falling apart like everyone else's, he picked her up again and set her on the bed. 

He quickly put layers of blankets over her because she was literally shivering. They didn't really have a supply of hot foods, but he knew she had cans of soup stashed away somewhere. He looked all over and eventually found them under the floorboards where she kept things for emergencies; like a few guns, bullets, and tons of canned foods. 

After lighting the stove with a match, he poured the soup into an old pot and let it cook. The next time he checked on Cassie, she was asleep with a pained look on her face. He couldn't stand seeing her like this. 

Once the soup was done, he poured it into a wooden bowl (which she made) and got one of her many wooden spoons (which she also made) and set it next to her bed. He ran his thumb over her cheek and said, "Cassie. Wake up, darling, it's time to eat."

She slowly woke up and he started feeding her once she was fully conscious. Thankfully, she ate the entire bowl and he could already tell she was feeling warm again. 

Unfortunately, a few hours later when he was sleeping next to her with his hand resting on her stomach, he woke up because he felt her shivering so bad. He turned on the lights and saw her drenched in sweat, shaking uncontrollably from being so cold, and in even worse pain than she's been in this entire time.