PARADOX ↦ ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

43

"It's just a gunshot wound. Nothing that I can't fix."

"I'm not arguing with you on that."

Narti turned her attention to her new patient, the man running a fever as he bled from his leg.

She held the damp cloth against it, wiping away the dried and crusted blood around the wound before she got a good look at the shot.

Hunk watched for a moment as he kept his arms crossed. He wasn't as faint to the sight of blood as he used to be. Sure, he tended to get sicker than the others faster, especially when it came to being overworked or seeing disturbing thoughts he never would have to witness. That was the world he had been prone to for the past years. The world he had been forced to live in, but he always had the others with him. Now he had her.

Narti was careful as the wounded man tried to calm down, the bullet in his leg deep.

Rifles tended to do that to people, injure in ways they never could really heal. She had to help and do what she could of course. This man's life depended on it.

Hunk watched as she removed what she could, not wanting to remove something and have uncovered a large wound. That would cause him to bleed out. He stayed silent to let her work, and when she finally finished bandaging the wound, he called for a couple other people in the area to bring the man back to his home for rest.

He was lifted onto the stretcher and carried to his home, the man just needing to stay off his leg and take time to relax.

Hunk watched the man get carried through the Altea camp, his gaze going with them until they turned the corner.

"How did he get shot?"

Narti turned her attention to Hunk as she washed off her hands with water, removing the blood stuck to them. "Hmm?" She questioned, unable to hear him a moments ago.

"I was just wondering how he got shot." Hunk repeated in his soft and kind voice, turning to look at her while he leaned on the doorway.

Narti nodded, wiping her hands dry with the cloth hanging over the side of the table. "He was searching for supplies when he was ambushed by a group of people. He was with his friends, haven't heard from them. Not sure if they're still out there or not."

"Was it Galra forces? They could still be alive." Hunk asked, walking over to her and taking a seat on the medical table opposite to the one she had been working on previously.

"No." She shook her head. "He told us that they were less like soldiers. More just people trying to survive."

Hunk raised a brow. "So there's more people out here? Possibly?"

Narti nodded. "There's a high chance. But with winter coming, that could be bad. More people will be desperate for supplies. And they'll be scarcer than ever. We have been especially low since both camps are basically trash. Altea's crops have been reduced to nothing after the fires. Maybe we can get some loot when we head back to galra. They could have wheat left over. It would be useful."

Hunk nodded, knowing winter had always been a risky time for them all. With the snow, came cold. Nothing grew in the cold. It led to a lot of hunting, loss of strength and weight. Rover had always helped find hibernating animals to wake from their slumber.

Narti noticed Hunk's long prolonged silence as she turned back to him, walking over and smiling softly.

She reached one of her hands up, tracing them through his hair to brush it from his eyes.

"You need a haircut." She stated with a smile, trying to get him to look up at her.

He brought his hand up to hers as she placed hers over his cheek. Resting it against, he looked up into her eyes. "Yeah. Maybe you could do it someday. I don't think I could ever do it without freaking out. But then again it could be nice to keep it long in the winter. Might help with the warmth."

Narti didn't let her smile fade as she looked down at him. "If you let it grow out anymore, you won't be able to see at all."

"Who needs eyes?" He joked as he pulled her hand toward him, tilting his head to gently place a kiss against her palm. "I always have you to help."

She rolled her own eyes, shifting her weight on her hips before she raised a brow, noticing his softness and sensing something was wrong. He was maybe a couple feet shorter than her as he sat on the medical cot, but she stood standing in front of him. "You alright?"

He gave her a small shrug.

"Talk to me. If you can't talk to me, then you can talk to Shiro, Lance, Pidge, someone."

"Lance is busy with Keith, Shiro is busy with trying to figure out what the hell will happen at Galra, and Pidge has enough to worry about." Hunk told her, his eyes slightly glassy as he sat there.

She kept her mouth shut as she felt her expression become gentle, caring. "Hunk..."

"I just, I don't want you to come to Galra. You could get hurt. You and Elia are the last medics we've had. We need you both to be here to help those who need it." Hunk tried to make it sound like others needed her more than he did. It was hard to think that way sometimes.
He leans forward, gently resting his forehead against her stomach as he breathes in and
out. He could feel her arm around his neck and the other gently tracing against his back. It soothed him. She knew he was worried.

"I don't want you getting hurt again. You do so much for everyone." He said softly, trying to focus. "I can't lose you."

Narti was silent. She felt so attached. Never has she felt like someone needed her. She was just the one to help the team. She never thought of how she touches people for who they are.

"I have to go." She told him, her own eyes down on him as she felt his arm around her waist loosely, resting on her hip. "I can't just sit here while you guys all risk your lives..."

"People die so frequently nowadays Narti..." He said softly. "That man who you just saved, we just talked about how his friends died and he was the only one left. That was what? hours ago? No one is doing anything..."

"There's nothing we could have done. You know this."

He knew she was right. He just didn't want to think that. "I'm just scared to lose you."

Narti stayed silent, brushing her hand through his hair as he rested against her. He needed these moments. Moments like these kept him going.

If only they had lasted longer.