Hanna

Chapter Eight

CHAPTER EIGHT

       The 30 minute walk was draining. I had to pretty much carry Tom, who was twice the size of me, and carrying heavy weapons. But eventually, we arrived at an abandoned hospital. Finally.

“Let’s get inside.” I said. We stumbled through the door as it clanged shut.

    Once inside, I took Tom to the nearest room and sat him down on a table. I searched the cabinets for gauze and disinfectant to help stop the bleeding. I found what I needed as well as rubber gloves. I put the gloves on and walked back to the table.

“Sit still. This is going to hurt. A lot.” I said, lifting his armour. The wound was small, but deep. I opened a package of the disinfectant wipes and began to clean off the dried blood. A small yelp emerged from him as I wrapped the gauze tightly around his lower torso. I looked at him sympathetically. A wave of exhaustion swept over me, and my stomach grumbled. That’s when I realized that I hadn’t eaten yet today.

Tom must have noticed my state of weariness, because he said calmly, “Eat. Rest. We’ll camp here for the night.”

“But I thought you said hospitals were very dangerous at this point, as there could still be Zeds in the rooms.”

     “Yeah. But none of that matters right now. You’re weak and sleep-deprived. I’ll take watch. But right now, you need sleep. If anything happens, I’m a strong guy; I can handle it.” He sat down on the floor and leaned up against the wall.

“I guess you’re right.” Despite my anger at his remark, I decided he didn’t mean any harm. And I could use some sleep. I took the blanket from my bag and settled next to Tom. I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. It felt so good to finally sleep. All night, my body had been aching to rest, and now the time had finally come. But I wouldn’t be in this relaxed state for long. Tom spoke, softly, yet with a certain asperity to his tone.

“Look at you. You haven’t had a good night’s rest for a while. A small girl like you should get more sleep. I mean, if you ever want to be a skilled fighter, you need to be alert.” And that’s when I snapped. I shot up, my cheeks hot and my fury raging.

“A skilled fighter? Have I not proven ANYTHING to you yet?! I spent two months pretty much alone fighting things I only knew existed in fiction novels, watched my family die and shot my best friend! Not to mention I pretty much dragged you out here by myself and patched you up. Ever since you found me, I’ve been trying to prove to you that I’m worth something. But if this isn’t enough for you, then I don’t know what else to do. You still see me as that shy, dependent girl you went to school with. But the truth is, Tom, I’m not her anymore. That girl is long gone. So accept it, or find someone else.” I looked down to see him staring at me with disbelief. Of course. He thought I was insane. Then his mouth opened to speak.

 “Hanna. I’m sorry. If there’s anything I can do…” His words were shaky and scared. But I cut him off anyway.

“Don’t apologize. Right now, there’s nothing you can do to make up for treating me like a child. Just because I’m a little younger doesn’t mean I need your constant protection. I can cross the street on my own. You don’t need to be there to hold my hand.” He looked up at me, his face filled with confusion, sadness and something else I hadn’t seen in a long time. Instantly, I knew he was keeping something from me.

“What are you lying about, Tom Harkonnen?” I asked, my tone getting louder with anger. If there was one thing in this world that really set me off it would have to be my friends lying to me. Tom knew that very well.

 “Nothing!” He shouted, but I could tell he wasn’t telling the truth. “Hanna, you know I’d never lie to you. Why would you suspect me of lying? I’ve kept secrets, but only for the greater good.”

“Oh? So right now you’re lying to me for the greater good. Right.”

“I’m not lying, Hanna!”

“Yes you are! I can tell, Tom. You’re a terrible liar and I can read you like a book. I know the signs.”

“Very well,” I responded. “You really want to know what I’m hiding. Alright.” He sighed and began to talk.

 “So, in my Brotherhood training, I decided to explore our large compound. I was very good at stealth, so I learned quickly that the Brotherhood was committed to not only killing Zeds, but supposedly to kill ‘those who set these creatures on our world’. At the time, these words were merely regarded as small talk, less than unimportant. But my training began to mutate from killing Zeds to assassinating people who spawned a scientific project revolving around immortality. The experiment supposedly failed, thus unleashing these bestial creatures upon a small section of China. When the Chinese military arrived to apprehend the threat, they suffered severe defeats, and eventual isolation of the area. Now, some global terror operatives got their hands on the experiment, and decided they would use it against the United States as a threat. The threat was ignored by the dumbasses that control the government, and thus, here we are. That’s about all I know. I was going to be assigned to killing humans. Not Zeds.”

“And that’s why you ran away?” I asked in a small voice. Clearly I had misunderstood Tom. He meant well, and I was too wrapped up in my own selfish whining and crying that I couldn’t see the hard facts in front of me.

“Yes. I’m not a monster, Hanna. I couldn’t do that. So I ran away.”

“Tom, I’m so-” He cut me off.

“No. Don’t apologize. I’m the one who should say sorry. I’ve treated you unfairly and I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry, Hanna. I truly am. If there’s anything I can do to make it up to you, please, don’t hesitate to tell me.” He looked at me with hurt eyes. I could tell he meant every word he spoke.

“You don’t have to do anything. I know now that you were just trying to protect a friend.”

“Not a friend. My sister.” He smiled and took a step towards me.

“I was selfish. I’m so sorry. I was too caught up in my own problems that I forgot that you have them too. I just hope you can forgive me.” I could feel my emotions swelling inside me and my eyes filling with tears.

“I was never mad. I just want you to be safe. Because, you see, I’d be nothing without you. I love you like my sister, Hanna Priest.” I couldn’t help but rush to his arms and embrace him in a tight hug.

“And you like my brother.” I began to sob and he ran his hand gently through my hair, calming me down.

“Get some sleep. You need it.” His words were soft and soothing. I nodded and sat next to him on the floor. Nuzzling under the blanket, I resumed my previous position, resting my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me in closer. I closed my eyes and, for the first time in over two months, slept happily.