In This World

°Could be Worse°

     ⚠Gore Warning. If you cant handle needles, do not read⚠

     Warm sunlight beams through the dirty window into the bedroom.  My eyes open slowly and I grumble.  Turning away from the light, I attempt to go back to bed, only to interrupted again by the door opening.  "Good morning, Katherine." Monroe's tired voice greets.  I open my eyes and catch a glimpse of the shirtless guy standing in the doorway. 

     I feel my face heat up and I look away.  "Hi there." I greet, sitting up.  "Did you ..... keep watch all night?" I ask, yawning in the middle of the sentence.  Monroe looks at the floor with a guilty face.  "Actually I might have fallen asleep a little after you did." He chuckles.  I nod, pulling my messy hair into a bun and slip my shoes and socks on.  "I don't blame you, it was a rough day." I finally respond.

     "... I-I made breakfast. It's not five star quality, but it's okay." Monroe looks down at himself and giggles awkwardly.  "Umm... I'm gonna...." He shuffles out of the bedroom and finds the shirt he had on yesterday.  I walk into the kitchen area and sit at the small table, rubbing my eyes.  "Its chicken noodle soup. It was the first thing I could find." Monroe stirs the pot and sets it on a pot holder on the table. He returns to the cabinet to get two bowls and spoons.

     "It looks good." I smile, taking in the aroma of the soup.  Monroe sits across from me and pours a bowl for each of us.  Sasha pads her tail on the floor and pants,  begging for a taste. I set the leftover soup on the floor in front of her and smile.  "Go ahead, help yourself." I offer.  She laps at the soup gratefully and wags her tail roughly against the floor. Monroe chuckles, bringing a steaming spoon up to his mouth.

     I look out the window toward the horizon, watching grass dance lazily in the morning breeze. Monroe and I eat quietly for a few minutes, enjoying the peace between us. I watch smoke rise into the once blue sky outside, most likely coming from Savannah.  I sigh, remembering the world we're stuck in. "We're still alive.  That's what matters." I remind myself, lifting another spoonful of chicken into my mouth. "That's right." Monroe responds, standing up from the table and setting his bowl in the sink. 

     "Are we going to move on today?" I ask, closing the blinds so that I don't look at the sight outside. "I was thinking that we stay here until its absolutely necessary that we leave." He says, pulling on his nike tennis shoes. "You know." He shrugs. "So we can save gas.  It won't last forever." I nod in understanding and finish my soup.  Setting it in the sink with Monroe's bowl, I turn on the sink.  Nothing. "Damnit." I grumble and turn the handle back. "That would be too easy." Monroe chuckles, walking outside to begin setting things up. 

     I pick up the empty pot from Sasha's side and set it beside the sink. "Wanna go outside?" I question, patting my thigh to get her attention. She hops about and her ears perk up.  Opening the camper door, I let her run into the tall grass outside.  I hear Monroe curse and follow the frustrated sound around to the truck bed. Monroe had pulled the generator out of the truck bed and set it beside the RV.

     "What happened?" I ask, watching him shaking his hand violently and cursing.  "I fucking cut my arm on my knife when I was trying to slice wire. Ugh! Dumbass." He scolds himself, looking at the cut. "Can you go get-" I don't wait for him to finish before I run back into the camper to retrieve the backpack with medical supplies in it. "Sit!" I demand, running back around to the bed of the truck.  "Wha-" "Sit down and shut your mouth." He does as I command and I plop the backpack down beside him. 

     Pulling out peroxide and gauze wrap,  I glance up at him. He stares down at me as I prepare to clean the wound. "Alright. This is gonna hurt like hell." I warn him. Opening the bottle, I pour a little onto the open cut. "Gaaghh Fuck!" He wails, flinging his arm away from me. "Calm down, you wuss." I grunt. "Give me your arm." Hesitently, Monroe slowly shifts his arm toward me. "Be gentLEEE FUCK." He yells as I pour more into the wound. "Ha sorry..."

     I examine the cut carefully and look up at Monroe reluctantly. "It's deep." "I know that." He grunts.  ".... It needs stitches." I inform him.  He sighs and looks across the pasture. "How long will it take?" He questions. "I'll try to go fast." I say, attempting to comfort him. Pulling out a needle and thread,  I frown.  "Umm..... Remember when I said this will hurt like hell?" I ask, guiding thread through the eye of the needle. "Well..... This is worse." I say, tying a small knot.

     "Count to three.  I need to prepare myself." He says, closing his eyes tight. "Okay..." I hold the needle close to his arm.

"One." I whisper, watching as he breathes out slowly and shakily.

"Two." I inch the needle closer to the wound. Monroe squints his eyes harder.

"Two and a half..." He tries to say. "Two and- fuuuuck." I push the needle through the skin gently. "Don't. Move." I demand, pulling the needle through. Blood seeps through where the needle broke skin. I look away,  gathering my thoughts. He grunts, holding in the pain. I feel his arm tense up.  "Relax your arm. It'll hurt less." I say, watching as more runs down. I shush Monroe, peircing the meat of his arm further downward. "Ahhh... Shit." He whimpers, patting his free hand on his lap.

     "Shhh... Only a few more." I comfort, pushing the needle through his arm again. It makes an awful squishing sound and the thread is coated in red. "I'm sorry." I apologize, pulling the needle out and and tying off the end. "Is it over?" Monroe asks in a shaky voice.  "Yeah... I just need to wrap the wound." I look him in the eyes, trying to calm his nerves. I clean of excess blood with a rag and wrap the stitches in gauze.

    I pull out ibuprofen and hand him the perscribed amount along with a bottle of water. "Thanks." He smiles through the soreness, drinking half the bottle. "How are you supposed to stay alive if you hurt yourself just trying to set up a generator?" I laugh, putting extra supplies back in the backpack.  "Carefully." He smiles.