Tainted

Chapter 4

Something shook my shoulder and my eyes flickered open. Something was covering my mouth and without thinking, my head flew backwards and crunched into something with a sickening thud. The hand vanished and my fist shot out, catching onto some fabric. The room was enveloped in a warm glow as my other hand burst into flames. My eyes widened as I looked at the person pressed up against the wall.

"Shit Rocky, I'm so sorry."

"It's ok but please can you let me go?" Rocky's voice was muffled by the hand cradling his nose. My fist opened and Rocky slid down the wall. He glanced at his finger tips; they were dripping blood. His nose was crooked and a big blue bruise was forming round his eye.

"Shit that looks bad. Will any shops be open yet?" My arm shot out and I pulled on my new top.

"Yeah the pharmacy should be open, it's down the road and round the corner. You can't miss it." I threw my hoodie over my head and felt around for some Amnios in the pocket. As I stood, I handed Rocky some tissues. He gratefully accepted them and dabbed gingerly against his nose.

I pulled up my hood and crept out of the shack. As I headed down the road, I tilted my head up to the sky. The sun was just coming up. My legs moved faster as I wouldn't be able to stay if Rocky's family woke up. Pictures of my family floated through my mind. 'I'll see you soon, hopefully.' I thought to myself as I turned the corner. Like Rocky had said, the pharmacy was almost impossible to miss. The famous green and white cross stuck out like a sore thumb in the dull coloured street. Although the building was quite small, I prayed that it had the medical supplies that we needed.

Carefully, I pushed open the door and stepped inside. The bright lights blinded me and instinctively, I squeezed them shut. Slowly, I opened my eyes and squinted at the shelves. I picked up a packet of pain killers and grabbed some anesthetic. I headed towards the counter but doubled back and began searching for some cotton wool. I eventually found some and carried it, along with the other supplies to the counter. The woman waiting picked up the medical supplies and inspected them.

"What do you need these for?" She gestured to the supplies I wanted.

"My friend has a broken nose, I think, and I need this for him." Why lie? It would just complicate things.

"Is it bad?"

"I don't know, I guess it is. His nose looks crooked." Awkwardly, I shoved my hands into my pockets and pulled out some coins.

"Really? You think that's going to be enough for these?" The woman chuckled and I stood there, confused.

"What do you mean? I bought some pain killers from a stall and they were really cheap. This shouldn't be worth that much."

"This is a pharmacy, the stuff we sell is the best value and isn't easy to get hold of. You got lucky if you got pain killers cheap but you won't here. You can either pay up or go and try somewhere else." Sighing I fished out more Amnios from my pockets and stacked them onto the counter. "That's much better." The woman smiled and swept the coins into a draw beneath the counter. She hesitated before taking out several and slipping them into her pocket. I eyes her suspiciously and she caught me looking. Slowly, she reached out and grabbed something. She tossed it to me and I caught it. "You can have those for free if you keep quiet." She nodded at the package. I glanced at the label. Wipes. These may be useful. Reluctantly, I nodded my head and turned on my heel.

The sun had risen a bit further by the time I left the pharmacy. Gripping the supplies, I dashed back to Rocky's house. I didn't have long before his family would wake and then I'd be too late. I slipped through the door and entered the room we slept in. Rocky was squatting on the floor, a crimson tissue pressed to his face. I dropped the stuff on the floor and crouched in front of him.