Hurters and Healers

16

I woke up when Alex came into my room the next morning.

"Morning, sunshine," he said before he fell into his chair.

"Hey, how'd it go last night?" I asked.

"It went pretty well. The officer's name is Matt and apparently his daughter was taken from him under false accusations and he never got the chance to take them to court. He told me that most of the officers that were already on the streets and known locally stayed where they were but most of the officers coming into the compounds were volunteers that were put on a wait list until they were needed," Alex told me.

"He told you a lot."

"Yeah, it surprised me too, but the more people we have on our side, the better. He said he's not the only officer against what's happening. He couldn't believe what he was seeing the first week he was at the compounds."

A nurse came in with my food and checked my stitches. She told me they looked ready to be taken out but she had to check with Dr. Robertson first.

"Once your stitches are out you get to leave this place soon, right?" Alex asked.

"I still have a concussion. It's not very bad so I'd say I have at most a week left here."

"Good, I kinda hate it here."

"Me too."

I ate my breakfast while Alex filled me in on everything at the compound and how Gracie and Connor are.

"How are you doing your training if you're always here with me?" I asked.

"The guys are covering for me. They scan in my ID so that it looks like I'm there and if anyone tries to find me they think of an excuse."

"What do you think will happen?" I asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you think will happen to everyone in the compound when we rebel?"

He thought for a minute before he responded.

"I think most people will be able to adjust. The people that weren't in the compound for long, but the people who have spent years there, I think they'll have a harder time. Hopefully everyone does great after the compound and has a normal life, but I know there will be people who will always be effected by everything they went through, not just at the compound. I think you'll end up being a doctor like you want to be, and you'll do great. Gracie is still young enough to figure out what she wants to do," he said.

"What about you?"

"I think I'll figure it out when the time comes, but I know one thing already. I want to stay in contact with you, no matter what."

"I'm sure that'll happen," I told him.

"What do you think will happen?" he asked me.

"I think Gracie, Connor, and me are all going to be forced to live with our dad again. We'll end up going to the fancy private school that Tony graduated from and constantly be in the spotlight because we're the leader's kids that were in the compounds. I hope the people in the compounds all end up successful, but I'll miss the family we have there."

"I will too."

We sat around for about ten more minutes until the doctor came in. He told me that I could have my stitches taken out and I had to have some tests done to see how well my concussion had been healing.

"You're close to being released," he had told me.

The nurse from the day before came in to take my stitches out and Dr. Robertson took Alex out of the room to talk about what he had learned form the officer the night before. We made small talk to distract me while she took the stitches out. It didn't hurt but it definitely helped to have a distraction.