Those Among Us (Camp Nanowrimo 2014: July)

Chapter Four: The Second Session

I had to climb down the ladder slowly to avoid putting too much pressure on my leg. “Are you going to be able to make it, Lily?” Sarah’s small voice asked, the sadness and pain returning to it. 

“Yeah,” I gasped. “I’m almost there anyway.”

“Don’t push yourself,” she said. “Once you get down there, I’ll help you get to the medicinal wing. You just have to relax and try and stay awake.”

I hit the bottom of the ladder, and met Keira standing in the open doorway. Her face was initially one of shock, but it turned to one of urgency as she saw my leg, which was bleeding heavily. She shouted down the hallway, but I couldn’t hear the words she said. I could feel that everything was starting to slip away, but I didn’t want it to. Candice wasn’t going to die for nothing, and neither was I. I had to fight through this. Still, even with my mental push, my body wasn’t about to let me win the battle for consciousness, and within seconds, everything was gone.

I woke again much like how I did in the hospital, except there was no white. Instead, it was the comforting colour of the brown dirt that the walls were coated in. I was lying on a small cot, and I looked dow at my leg to see no shortage of bandages wrapped around my thigh, where the bullet had struck me. I could also see Sarah sitting next to me.

“Are you doing all right?” I asked her weakly. She turned suddenly, and looked to be both shocked and excited to hear my voice.

“As best as I can be,” she responded. “How are you feeling?”

“Well, I can’t feel any pain,” I said. 

“Good,” she said.

“Did they tell you anything about what happened to my leg, other than it got shot?” I asked.

“There was a punctured artery,” she said. “The bullet was pretty deep, and they decided that it would be best to leave it in there. So they stitched it closed and that’s pretty much it.”

“Did they ask about Candice?”

“Yeah, but Keira seemed to know as soon as she saw your state. She fells awful about putting you out on a run so early in your time here.”

“It wasn’t her fault. I’m still alive, and Candice is dead.”

“But you survived them for the second time in your life. Not many people, if any, can say that they’ve done it. I can tell you that Derrick is not going to be happy when he finds out that he really isn’t as strong as he thinks he is.”

I had nearly forgotten the boy who had nearly assaulted me in the meeting room earlier that day. “What time is it?” I asked.

“About ten thirty at night,” Sarah answered. “Your surgery lasted a lot longer than they thought it would.” She paused. “Do you have something wrong with your left wrist?”

“Yeah, I injured it a while ago,” I answered. “Why?”

“Keira was yelling at them to not touch your left hand,” she said. “Something about it would cause you pain.”

“Seems that everyone is learning that the hard way,” I said, half to myself, and half to Sarah.

“Why do you say that?”

“When Keira and I first met, she grabbed my wrist, and then Derrick did too, but he was much more violent with his movements than Keira was.”

“Yeah, Derrick has a reputation of being violent. He’s still a great person to have around to go on runs with if you get him though.”