"the van ride wasn't long, but i fell asleep before we got to the ruined school. i remember the blur of scenery as we raced passed and then darkness enveloped me. the calm serenity of the van, with the soft swaying motion made me drowsy. i had closed my eyes for just a moment, then the next thing i knew, i was being gently lifted by someone strong. it didn't feel like when skie lifted me into the car, so i knew it was someone else. his chest was hard as my head lolled to the side, and against its warm comfort. i remember being held like this only once, and that was when we were all messing around after building the bunker for our 'zombie apocalypse'. that seemed like forever ago, but i still remembered the safety i felt . but it wasn't as comforting as it would have been had it been ashton, but i guess deriah would just have to do for now. a soft moan escaped my lips as my leg was jostled as he stepped through the doorway. "i'm sorry. but you can't walk on that leg. the bullet tore the muscle and it will take a little while to heal." his voice was soothing as if i were a child just awakening from a nightmare. but the nightmare hadn't ended yet. i still hadn't opened my eyes, so how he knew i was awake, i'll never know. lights passed by overhead, illuminating my eyelids in red as i was taken through the hallways of the school. then we went down at least three flights of stairs. they were taking me down to the basement of the school, if that's even where we were. this is where they herded students if there was a tornado that actually happened. i knew that even if i could run, if they were turned, i wouldn't be able to escape them all up the three flights of stairs and through the maze of rubble that was what was left of the school, especially with my leg as it is. i heard a soft voice speak to deriah, and i would recognize that voice from anywhere. it was stephanie, my best friend from forever ago. she told him it was ok to bring me to him and hearing her speak made me want to get up and hug her. but as i shifted to do so, deriah shifted so i wouldn't be able to. he whispered to me again "i told you, you can't walk. you can't even stand properly. you'll just hurt yourself more." i had finally opened my eyes to take in the school bunker, or at the very least, a very accurate set of the bunker. i was taken through a set of doors, and seeing him, i wanted to run into his arms, but being held securely in deriah's arms made that impossible. i was passed into ashton's awaiting arms, and i snuggled closer to his chest, finally happy and at peace. if they were going to kill me , at least i would be happy. i had seen him again. he didn't smell like the corpses, he smelled like dirt and him. it was a soothing combination, and i was just happy to be there with him. he laid me down on a chaise lounge, and propped my legs up at the end. he took a look at the hasty bandage, meant only to keep me from bleeding out on the way over. he called over elisa, and she rushed to him, first aid kit in hand. she went to work. cleaning the wound and the surrounding area burned like fire, but the burning soon stopped as she put numbing salve onto the surface of my skin. grabbing a pair of sterilized tweezers, she felt around in my leg for the torn up piece of shrapnel, the only remaining part of the bullet. she wiggled it back and forth, but instead of feeling pain, all i felt was a slight tingling. i knew i should be howling in pain, and just the thought of what she was doing almost made me do so. but i knew if i did that, she would mess up and i would be in more pain than i could ever imagine. she dropped the mangled bullet into a petri dish and sent it down a makeshift garbage chute that led to an incinerator. then, she pulled out a sterilized needle and some thread used in the medical profession, and quickly stitched up the small hole left in my leg. she covered it with a special ointment that would repair the muscle faster and placed a small bandage over the stitches to keep them sterile. after packing up, she rushed from the room to go aid others who needed her, and i closed my eyes."
