Thankfully, the most recent horde had been eradicated and none seemed to follow them across the bridge. They trudged slowly along, going at a fairly slow pace due to Louis' injury. Francis was helping him along, Louis' arm over his shoulder, but it was still painfully slow. Finally, Doc asked Francis if he could piggyback Louis, if she took his pack, because otherwise they were never going to get anywhere. Francis reluctantly agreed. It wasn't because he couldn't carry Louis for a while, but he was concerned that Doc would have to carry the heaviest pack and with her injuries it would be too hard on her.
They made better time then. Luckily for them, they came across very few infected. They found many abandoned cars along their route and searched through them as they went, picking up some supplies and occasionally ammo. The next small town was miles away. Under normal circumstances that should only take them a few hours, even with their frequent stops to search vehicles. If the road were clear, they could have taken one of the vehicles and just driven there, Doc thought to herself as she trudged along under her heavy load. Oh well, the stock car wouldn't have helped them anyway, even if the others had decided to go with them. They would have still ended up on foot.
After nearly six hours, they finally found themselves on the outskirts of a little town. It seemed eerily abandoned, not a living thing in sight and no cars cluttering the street. They looked in vain for signs of a safe-room, but finding none decided to hole up in the first secure building they could manage to get into. They tried a bank, but couldn't manage to break in, even using their weapons. They came across a small sporting goods store and Doc was bound and determined to get in there. She hoped there might be ammo, maybe another bow for her and more importantly, some clothes, hopefully some underwear. She was so chafed from the salty, wet clothing that every step was a painful reminder. The heavy pack was digging in, too. She didn't know how the hell Francis could stand it, her back was screaming in protest by the time they hit the town. The others didn't look much better. Francis was exhausted from carrying a full grown man for miles. Zoey was exhausted too, she had Louis' pack and her own to lug around. Louis didn't even look that great, even though he had been carried most of the way.
Once they got into the store and barricaded the entrance, everyone dropped their burdens with a groan. The little store had bars over the windows and was secure, so they could relax a little bit. They threw their loads down and spread through the store, looking for items they could use. Francis went straight toward the area with guns and ammo, but was disappointed to find little. It seemed the owner either sold out or removed those items. Zoey and Louis went looking for survival gear, picking up a compass and new flashlight. Doc made a beeline for the clothing section. She was thrilled to find some underclothing, some men's thigh length thermal underwear and a sports bra. She was able to get another sweatshirt, t-shirts and shorts and some new socks to replace her shredded ones. She also found some hiking boots that fit her. She could finally ditch the too big military boots she'd been stuck with since their escape from the compound, her feet would be thankful for that. She picked some socks and shorts and tank tops up for Francis and found a lined flannel shirt that would fit him. She chuckled, he would really look like a true cracker now.
They found a small kitchen area, including a small bedroom in back. Francis dragged their pack into the little bedroom, he was determined to have a little privacy finally. He rooted through the pack and dug out their remaining food supplies, then searched through the kitchen and turned up a few more things. Doc returned with the clothing and changed into a dry t-shirt and shorts and went out to work on Louis' leg. She didn't like the way it was looking. It hadn't gone septic, but it wasn't really healing either. She searched through the kitchen and bathroom areas and turned up some hydrogen peroxide. She cleaned the leg with a diluted hydrogen peroxide solution, then repeated that several times. She packed it with antibiotic ointment and bandaged it, then gave him another antibiotic shot. She gave herself one too, while she was at it.
Francis had dinner ready by the time she was done. They had a variety of sports drinks and energy drinks to choose from and rehydrated chicken teriyaki with rice, chips and trail mix and even freeze-dried ice cream. It was a welcome little feast after a depressing day. After eating they quickly set the watch shifts and retired to their bedding.
Francis took his vest and shirt off and stretched his aching back, as shooting pains spread to his rear, carrying Louis around was literally a pain in his ass. Doc came up behind him, pushing her thumbs firmly into his lower back, massaging the cramping muscles. He groaned as she stretched out the knotting muscles. She patted the bed, motioning him to lie down. Once he did, she continued the massage on his lower back, then moved up his spine, gradually releasing the tension, until she got to his gargantuan shoulders, kneading them with her strong fingers. She was good at it, he felt much more relaxed and the pain was gone. She kissed him on the back of his neck and then lay down next to him. He turned toward her, trying to return the favor, he massaged her shoulders, moving lower until he got to her lower back. He just started to rub and she groaned in pain.
"Sorry, major back spasm", she said between gritted teeth. After taking some pain meds, the spasm finally subsided. He massaged it gently, for the first time he noticed that there was some sort of scarring barely visible on her lower back and asked about it.
"Broke it, a long time ago. Riding accident, the horse kind. That's from some of the surgery. And that's why my lower back is such a mess. It's my weakest point, I've rehabbed it pretty well, but it's never going to be 100%", she told him as she struggled to find a comfortable position. When it acted up, even laying flat was painful.
He shook his head, "You should have said somethin'. You can't carry that pack, it must have been agonizing."
She shrugged her shoulders, "It's uncomfortable carrying weight, but it doesn't get truly agonizing until afterwards when everything starts stiffening up. As long as I keep going, I'm OK. It's when I stop that I start to really feel it. For stuff where I have to use my back a lot, I've learned to just keep going until I can't take it anymore, because I won't be able to do it again once I stop."
"Anyway, it's ok. So where were we?" she turned over and drew him down for a kiss. It had been a while since they'd had any kind of time alone together and they didn't want to waste one second of it. In spite of their exhaustion,neither one wanted to stop. Finally, they were forced to, because Doc's shift had come up, and Zoey was knocking at the door. She kissed him and wriggled away to get dressed, "Go to sleep…I'll be back and we can finish then. Love you." She leaned over and gave him a long kiss as she left. He grinned sleepily at her, she was seriously going to kill him, but it was so totally worth it. He was snoring by the time she hit the door.
Her shift passed uneventfully, she spent most of the time going through files on the iPad, trying to memorize some of the files, in case she ever lost it or it got damaged. She was actually kind of shocked she still had the little device and that it still functioned. It was a little beat up, but so far had been working perfectly. She woke Louis for the next shift and went back to the bedroom. She slipped back into bed, curling against Francis, who was snoring loudly, deeply asleep. She didn't wake him, he just looked too comfortable and almost happy, his face relaxed and innocent looking. He shifted and wrapped his enormous arm over her, mumbling in his sleep. She settled into him, she was so used to sleeping with his arm around her or spooned up against him that she wasn't sure if she could ever manage to sleep alone again. It took her a while to fall back to sleep, images of the files flashing through her brain. She sighed, trying to stuff them to the back of her mind. Photographic memories were damned handy, but sometimes a real bitch to control. Eventually she fell asleep, even though the images were still flashing away.
She woke up with a roaring howl, bolt upright in the bed. Her heart was hammering, it felt like it was going to leap out of her throat, and she was soaked in sweat. Francis was missing and she felt a moment of panic. The door slammed open as he burst through it, concern etched across his face.
"What the hell?! What's wrong?!, he asked as he whirled around looking for a threat.
"Nothing…nothing…it's ok", she managed to say as she gasped for breath. "Bad dream, sorry." Shaking her head, she wished she could shake the images out of it.
He sat next to her. "Since when do you have bad dreams? You usually sleep like the dead, I've never seen anything like this before."
She shrugged as she tried to will her heart to beat slower. "It's probably because I was memorizing stuff last night, sometimes it makes a lot of memories and images start popping."
He wrapped an arm around her, hugging her to his side. "So what was it about?"
She shook her head, trying to push it all deep down. "Just stuff with Bill, the generator room, tanks, the warehouse. After Bill died, I felt helpless and actually scared, to the point where I couldn't even think straight, I felt like a trapped animal. I ran up the stairs in the warehouse, with a horde and a tank only steps behind me. I ended up jumping through the window on the third floor, rather than be torn to shreds. I thought I was jumping to my death. Thought I was either going to die if I hit the ground or drown for sure, with my wrecked shoulder, if I actually managed to make it to the water. Anyway, that's never happened to me before, the completely helpless feeling, the raw fear. The images bring it all back. Have you ever had that happen to you?" Just thinking about it made her heart start hammering again. He noticed that she began to breath rapidly again, her stress level looked like it was going through the roof. He held her close, gently rubbing her arm as he tried to calm her.
He grimaced, thinking about some of his own nightmare images. The charger on the bridge, and on the gravel ship, the image of her giving him that look and jumping down after Bill. Now he would have another one as he imagined her jumping out of a third floor window. "Yeah", he sighed "But eventually it goes away. It just takes a long time. C'mon, get dressed, breakfast is almost ready. I gotta go finish up." He got up and pulled her to her feet.
"Yeah, ok. Just let me wash up first and get some dry clothes on". She headed for the small bathroom. They had discovered last night that the place had working water, hot water, and most of the kitchen appliances and lights worked, so it must have a gas generator of some kind still running. She quickly bathed and washed her hair, using the only bar of soap she could find. Ivory, yuck. She hated Ivory soap, always gave her a rash. Beggars can't be choosers, she reminded herself in resignation as she soaped up.
She joined the others for breakfast and they quietly ate and had some coffee. Doc half expected the smell of cigarettes to immediately follow, she'd been conditioned by Bill, she thought ruefully. She sighed, wishing she could rewind the clock. After breakfast, they discussed their plans for the day. They unanimously decided to take at least one day to rest up before striking out on the next leg of the trip. Doc and Francis would go out and search around the town to see if they could turn up any useful supplies, weapons or ammo. Louis would have to stay at the store and Zoey could stay with him, in case he needed any help. One of the main reasons Doc had for going out scavenging was to try to find medical supplies in a last ditch effort to save Louis' leg. It wasn't improving, and this might be their last shot at doing something for him.
They geared up and headed out, moving quietly through the empty streets. They were looking for med supplies, ammo and food. They came across a hardware store, which Francis easily broke into, kicking the door in. They found some shotgun shells in a cupboard, but not much of anything else on their list. They moved further down the street, locating a small library, town hall and police station. They went over to the police station, the door was metal and sturdy, but Francis simply shot the hinges off and pushed the door aside. They were able to pick up some more ammo and a couple of side arms and clips. They scored a bottle of scotch from one of the desks and some ramen noodles and coffee from the break room. They broke open a snack machine and stuffed the contents in a bag. Back on the streets, they came to a small clinic. A large window had already been broken, they just hopped through it. The place had been ransacked, maybe by people looking for drugs, because they hadn't bothered with basic medical supplies. Doc found almost everything she was looking for. Grabbing a garbage bag, she stuffed it full of supplies. They left the clinic and walked to the other end of town, finding a small grocery store on the way. It too had been ransacked, nearly everything edible had been taken out of it. They managed to find a few overlooked items, including a whole case of baked beans. Francis shouldered the case. She looked at him, eyebrow arched, "You must want to sleep solo, Mister. That stuff could kill us in an enclosed area." He just shrugged and gave her his lop-sided grin. With a resigned sigh she followed him back out into the street.
Just up the street she spotted what she was looking for and headed that way. Francis snorted when he figured out her destination.
"Seriously? Isn't it a bit early for that?" he groused as he lugged the case and the bag of snacks.
"Don't know about you, but there is no such thing as too early for me. Not since the world turned to shit, anyway. I wasn't planning on drinking now anyway, just thought we could bring some with us." She shoved open the broken door and entered the bar. It too had been heavily ransacked. She found a couple of bottles of flavored liqueurs, but that was it. She noticed a back room to the bar and poked her head into it. From the stench she had detected, she knew what to expect, but even then it was a shock. Eight people dead and decaying inside, it looked like they had all been shot dead, the interior of the room was pocked with bullet holes. She noted some of the people had been wearing motorcycle gear, which gave her another idea. Motioning to Francis, she went out the back door of the bar.
In spite of the grim circumstances, she couldn't help but smile. Arranged neatly in the back alley were four motorcycles.
Francis dropped the stuff he was carrying and went over to check them out. They all seemed completely intact, loaded with gear and food. He checked the gas tanks, finding them all full. They had really hit the jackpot this time.
They decided to drop off the supplies they had found back at the sporting goods store, then come back for the bikes. They made two trips, quietly wheeling the motorcycles back to the sporting goods store. They brought them inside the store to work on them. Zoey and Louis came out to check out their new transportation, looking on as Doc and Francis inspected them and tried them out.
Francis sat on the bike he had chosen, it was similar to one he used to own, a Harley Fatboy with ape hangers. He felt right at home on it. He glanced over at Doc, he already knew which one she was going to go for, and it wasn't one of the other cruisers.
She carefully checked out the bright red Ducati, wishing she could take it for a little joy ride right now. This was a bike that would have given the Buell a run for its money, on the short stretch and maybe in the mountains. She adjusted the gas shock to lower it a bit and threw a leg over, it would be fun to see what it could do. She turned to Francis with a big grin, "This thing will run circles around that heavy beast."
Francis shrugged and grunted. "Maybe so, but after a few hours of riding, you're gonna be begging to switch with me. That crotch rocket is gonna chap your ass but good."
"Only if I hang around with you slowpokes, maybe I'll just gun it and wait somewhere for you to catch up." She pretended to crouch behind the windshield in a racing position.
"Better not, or I'll chuck that European piece of crap off the nearest cliff and make you ride bitch with me. We only really need two cruisers, and don't you forget it." He cast a mischievous grin her way.
"Don't even think about it, I'm already in love with this thing. Anyway, I've never ridden bitch in my life and I'm not about to start now. If the Duc goes down, you'll be the passenger, not me." She gave him a grin of her own.
Francis just snorted a laugh. The image of him riding as a passenger behind her was just too funny. It was an idle threat anyway, she wasn't anywhere near tall enough to handle the ape hangers on his new bike.
Doc left Francis to work on the bikes and see whether they needed anything. They didn't need to pop the ignitions because they had recovered the keys from the bodies inside the bar. The next item on the agenda was to work on Louis' leg.
She got the medical supplies in order and gave Louis a heavy dose of pain killers. They got him on a table in the kitchen, in the best lighting, and Doc got the suture material out. She injected lidocaine all around the wounds and began carefully cleaning them, scraping out dead material and stitching together the muscle. She stitched the skin together as best she could, but much of the skin had died or shrunk to the point it wouldn't cover the wound. After a moment of consideration, she had Louis shift over on his side, and giving him some more lidocaine, she took some small strips of skin off the back of his hip. Carefully laying them over the wounds, she stretched them out and stitched them in place. She covered it with antibiotic ointment, and also dressed the areas on the hip were she harvested the donor skin, then bandaged everything back up. They helped him back to his spot on the couch to rest. Doc hoped that this would be enough, because she was really running out of tools and expertise to help him.
Doc went back to the little bedroom, planning on taking a nap. The nightmare hadn't made for the best night's sleep and she still felt exhausted. She changed into t-shirt and shorts and dropped onto the bed. She stared at the ceiling, feeling afraid to actually close her eyes, in case those images returned. Francis came in a little while later, he washed up and stripped his dirty clothes off as he settled in next to her. He trailed his fingers along her body, "Like a little company?"
She arched an eyebrow at him, looking him up and down, "There's nothing "little" about you, buddy." She kissed him as he helped her out of her clothes. After they satisfied themselves, she finally fell deeply asleep, his chest pillowing her as she listened to his heart beating solidly beneath her. Francis wasn't very sleepy, but he stayed there, he didn't want to disturb her. He watched her sleep, hoping the nightmares stayed buried deep. Jesus, she jumped out of the third story of a building on the off chance she could make it into the river? He really was going to have nightmares about that, now that he knew how close to death she'd come. It was sheer luck she hadn't died back there with Bill. He just hoped her luck held, he thought hazily, as he drifted off to sleep.