Zombie Crossing

Chapter 5

Curt POV

I walked Cameron to the back of the school where the dormitories, offices, and labs were. My mind was still boggled with what I had just witnessed. That poor kid had been through a lot, then again we all have. I decided silently to take him to visit the doc first to make sure he is in good condition. We walked in complete silence the only noise being the sound of the building creaking in the wind. I guided him wordlessly straight then turned left into a room, just a couple doors down from Rei's office. I knocked sharply then entered without a reply. Kristy jolted out of her chair and seeing it was me did a brief salute before releasing a built-up breath.

" Jeez Curt, you almost scared me to death."

She said walking in my direction peeking a Cameron, who was now nervously standing behind me. She gave me a quizzical face before slowly continuing to approach him.

"You don't need to hide sweetheart."  

She said using the voice she had used for her feral animal patients when she had worked as a veterinary technician. Carefully approaching till she was about 2 feet away then kneeled and sat on her legs peeking at the nervous boy behind me. I then scooted over putting him in the open.

" Don't be scared of me."

She cooed and opened her arms wide giving a warm smile of assurance to him. I saw a look of apprehension in his eyes before he gave in slowly, a sign of defeat marred his features. He slowly approached her before tumbling into her arms a ball of tears and shaking. I could tell Kristy had dealt with children like him as she held him close hushing quietly to soothe him. She again gave me a questioning look before picking him up and depositing him on the mat she had put on a large desk for a makeshift examination table. She then busied herself with pulling out bandages, a thermometer, a stethoscope and a blood pressure cuff. She asked him if it was okay to check him to which he replied with a whimper before sitting up and rubbing his nose. He smiled softly in approval while she checked his eyes and placed the thermometer under his arm; then quickly wrote the results on a pad of paper to her right. Then she attached the blood pressure cuff to his arm while looking for any visible signs of injury on him. She pumped it a couple times then wrote the number down before releasing the air and patting him on the shoulder. With a smile, she leaned over and whispered in his ear with a gentle tone. He slowly shook his head no but then sighed and pulled off the vest part of his robe then his shirt underneath. We both gasped collectively at the scars that covered his chest and a few from his back that peaked over his shoulder. 

Kristy then closed her mouth and embraced him again rubbing his back in soothing circles.

"Did they do this to you?"

I asked with a solemn tone. A hint of anger lacing into my voice. The boy looked at us and nodded slowly not keeping consistent eye contact. Kristy let him go and gave him his shirt back, which he quickly put back on. She then told him to stay put and motioned for me to come outside with her. I nodded and followed her outside the room and closed the door behind me.

"He's not in good shape. For one he is very undernourished and it looks like he might be anemic from the paleness of his skin and the state of his nails. Which...would be problematic."

She said in a hushed tone glancing at the door sadly.

"But, it's not too bad. If it was more serious he would have already died but a small amount of red meat per week should fix his anemic problem.

She then looked me dead in the eyes with a conflicted look.

"Curt, you know I'm not a psychiatrist. I can't prescribe anything to fix his fear or the past."

She finished with a sigh and ran her fingers through her dirty blonde hair. I knew he had problems but medical ones as well? He would be a pain to take care of but I had to keep him we couldn't just let the z's or the greenies have him. I put my hand on her shoulder and cleared my throat.

" We're  going to take care of him."

I said with a slight grin trying to cheer her up. She smiled and nodded before opening the door and going back inside. I followed behind her and saw he hadn't moved an inch.

"So Cameron."

I said with a slight ease in my voice trying to get him to open up.

"What do you feel about staying here with Kristy. You would be safe from the cult, and we could teach you to survive and any other skill you want." 

I said with caution in my voice watching for any kind of reaction out of him. After a couple of seconds, he lifted his head and gave a brief nod his body releasing a small amount of built-up tension. I knew he was relieved, we were allowing him to stay and not return to outside those walls, to the horrific outside world. I did a final nod in Krista and Cam's direction and exited the room heading to find Rei and alert her of my decision. 

Thanks for reading. I know it was a short chapter but will hopefully finish the next chapter soon. Till then keep on reading.