Kristina hissed as the needle entered her skin. The flesh around the wound already tender with infection, now being poked with a sharp needle.
"Shit." She hissed into her other arm as Hershel delicately pulled the thread through her wound, stitching her up as she groaned softly.
"You're lucky they found you when they did." He said, breaking the silence. The room had emptied except for Hershel, herself and Rick, who was sitting at the other table watching them. She saw Hershel look at Rick with worried eyes, then back down at her. "A couple more days and this infection would have spread to your blood. You'da been dead in days." He explained. "And it wouldn't have been quick." He added.
Kristina grimaced as he started to tie off the threat, snipping the threat close to the knot as he turned around in his chair, grabbing gauze and tape off the table behind him.
"How long had you been with that group?" Rick asked as Hershel began to dress her wound. Kristina looked over at him and though for a couple minutes before sitting up when Hershel sat back in his chair.
"Only a couple weeks. I ran into them after getting separated from the group I was originally with. Bigger, we had supplies and weapons." She explained, inspecting the bandage on her arm as she spoke. "In the middle of ta night, biters, a herd of them came into our camp, tore everyone but a few of us to pieces." Kristina looked at Rick and then at the floor. "I took off. I didn't have time to grab anything except my backpack." She looked around and noticed her pack sitting on the floor next to the large metal door. "There ain't a thing in there 'cept clothes and a couple cartons of cigarettes." She sighed.
"Our group used to be bigger. We lost a couple people clearing out this place." He explained, looking around. "Friends, family, people we hardly knew but they're gone now. We're all that's left." He added, giving Kristina a look that sent shivers down her spine.
"I ain't gon' hurt ya. If that's what ya thinkin'. You brought me here an I'm forever thankful." Kristina whispered, "I woulda died out there." She added. "So thank you." She stood up and hobbled over to Rick, extending a hand to him. He stood up and took her hand in his and shook it firmly.
"You must be hungry. Let me see if Beth will cook you something'. He said, taking the keys off his belt and opening the door to where all the cells were.
A short time later, Daryl, a young blonde girl holding a bundle in her arms and Glenn came through the door, followed by Rick and the younger boy she had seen earlier. Rick came up next to Kristina and pointed at the young boy.
"That's Carl. He's my son." He explained. "And that's Beth and Judith." He added, gesturing towards the blonde girl. And suddenly it hit Kristina that the bundle Beth was holding in her arms… was a baby.
"You have a baby?" She asked, her heart felt like it had just been stabbed with a knife. She looked up at Rick and he nodded.
"Her mother died during childbirth." He explained and that was the last of it. He stood up and then walked over to Carl, placing one hand on his shoulder and pulled him close. The sight was heartwarming. It made her feel better that the baby had a family it could depend on. A family that would love it.
She was snapped out of her trance by someone sitting down across from her at the table, she blinked once and smiled at Daryl.
"Thank you… for you know, helping me earlier." She looked at him, he leaned back in his chair and nodded.
"You's a tough lil' bitch though." He said. She was partly taken aback by his words then realized it was his way of complimenting her.
"Thank you.." She said softly, a small smile curling the corners of her lips up as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Y'all probably don't have running water, do ya?" She asked hopefully. Daryl shook his head and bit at his lower lip. Kristina was hypnotized as she watched him.
"Naw, but I'll make a run down ta the creek soon. Bring ya back some water." He explained. "Let ya wash up. Ya look like shit." He added, smirking softly as he brought his thumb to his lips, biting the tip between his fingers. She rolled her eyes and rested her elbow on the metal table, pulling her hand underneath her chin.
After a hearty dinner of instant mashed potatoes and venison Daryl had brought back earlier that day, some canned peas and some canned peaches for dessert, Kristina was in the shower area, sitting on the floor and running a cloth across her body. She watched as her pale, creamy skin began to show through the grime on her flesh. The dirt, blood and sweat running down her legs as she squeezed the cloth, letting water just trickle down her skin.
She looked at her knee, swollen up to the size of a grapefruit. She winced as she ran the cloth over it and closed her eyes tight.
"I can see if my dad would wrap that up for you." A voice made Kristina jump just about a mile in the air as she found the owner of the voice, standing at the doorway. It was Maggie, Beth's sister and Hershel's other daughter. She leaned against the frame of the door, holding a clean towel and some soap and shampoo. "I thought you could use this." She said, holding out the items in her arms. Kristina nodded and brought her knees to her chest, whimpering softly as her knee throbbed in pain.
"Yer dad already looked at it. Said it was just a sprain and needed to heal on it's own. Gotta keep off of it for a few days." Kristina explained, taking the soap and shampoo from Maggie as she hung the towel on the side of the shower. "Thanks though. An thanks for this." She said, holding up the soap. Maggie nodded and smiled softly.
"It's nice seeing a new face. I'm glad they brought you back." She smiled sweetly, turning around and headed out the door before Kristina could really say anything else.
Kristina washed up, rinsing her hair with the last of the water, pouring it over her head, letting it wash the rest of the suds of her body before grabbing the towel, drying herself off and wrapping it around her body.
She hobbled over to where he pack lay on the floor in the middle of the shower room, her clothes stuffed inside. She grabbed for a clean pair of panties and struggled to put them on, finally leaning against the wall and whimpering loudly as she put her weight on her bad knee for only a second, slipping the panties over her feet and up her thighs, pulling the waist band out and snapping it against her skin, shivering in the cool air of the prison as she dropped her towel, grabbing a black bra out of her pack and pulling it on, hooking it and pulling it up her shoulders.
It felt so good to be clean. She couldn't remember the last time she had used soap, let alone shampoo. She pulled her hair in front of her face and inhaled deeply. The smell of apples filled her nostrils. She closed her eyes and smiled. Out of her pack she grabbed a pair of black jean shorts and a hunter green t-shirt. It was a couple sizes to big but she had grabbed it out of a department store, not really paying attention to the size when all the shit started.
She pulled the pack around her shoulders and limped towards the main room where all the cells were. She was greeted with soft smiles from everyone, their conversations ended as soon as she entered the room though. Rick's eyes met hers and he jogged over to her, taking her pack from her and leading her to the last cell.
"You can sleep here. It's got a bed and a blanket." He explained.
"An it's right next ta me. So don't go try anything stupid." Daryl said, poking his head in. Kristina looked up and shook her head, smirking softly. "I heard ya say somethin' about… cigarettes?" His eyes light up as Kristina nodded, pulling a carton out of the pack Rick had tossed onto the cot.
"Would you like one?" She asked, waving the carton in front of his face playfully. He nodded excitedly and grabbed her by the upper arm, pulling her slowly out of the cell and towards the door that led them outside.