Chapter 7: Bonding

(The Medical Ward - Floor 18 in the Tower, Harran, Turkey, The Middle East, Europe - 9:20...)

Once I arrived in the Medical Ward back at the Tower, Lena immediately checked me over and after she stitched my wound up, she wrapped some bandages around my head - which made me feel even more like a discount Brecken, much to my indifference. Since then, I rested up on one of the many beds whilst having the occasional chat with Lena and to my surprise, Bahir and some other doctors who probably wouldn't have even looked at me before.

Huh, maybe Lena's right? Maybe I have done enough for now, at least until the airdrops?

"Hey,"

"Hey yourself," I tiredly greeted Brecken as he approached. F*ck my life - the two of us wrapped in bandages, embarrassing.

"I heard you took quite a hit, you okay?" The Tower's leader asked with concern.

"I've dealt with worse," I shrugged. "Hurts like hell, though."

Hearing this, Brecken snorted with a look of understanding. "Welcome to my world, mate. Anyway, I thought I'd pay you a visit and say Thank You for helping us earlier."

"It's no problem," I murmured with surprise. "How are you going to take care of Yusuf?"

"I was going to lock him up," My acquaintance answered. "But the kids recommended that I should let Bahir get revenge on him first."

"Libby and Rahim?" I gawked.

"Yep," Brecken continued with a grin. "And I have to say, Rahim wasn't so bad interrogating Yusuf with you."

Whilst the two of us were chatting, a little flash of light in the form of Libby entered to check in on her patient. "Hey, Bahir. I thought I'd stop by for the annual check in. How are you holding up?"

"I'm better than how I felt an hour ago, thanks Doctor." Bahir responded in a much more pleasant manner.

"Good good, glad to hear." Libby replied cheerfully with my favourite smile. "Well since you're feeling great, can I get you anything?"

"No, I'm fine for now," The guy answered.

"Okay, no problem." My friend said happily, turning to leave him be. "Holler if you change your mind, alright?"

"Thank you,"

"You're welcome!" The girl gave a thumbs up in response as she trotted over to address the waiting Lena. Meanwhile with Brecken and myself...

"You've got a soft spot for her, haven't you?" My acquaintance asked, noticing that my eyes had lit up once I saw my friend. F*ck, he's nailed it!

"Yeah," I found myself admitting. "She's a good kid, and one thing I don't understand is how she's so happy all the time. How does she do it?"

Hearing this, Brecken's grin faded into a look of concern. "That's... more of a coping mechanism, Crane."

"W-Why?" I asked, equally worried. What other sh*tty things has life thrown at the kid?

"I'm not going to tell you all of it, because it's better if you hear it from Libby herself," The Tower's Boss began explaining. "But she's been through a lot before we got trapped in this concrete rat-cage. She..." A sad sigh. "She wasn't meant to come when she did, but something happened and she did so anyway,"

"Y-You mean she was," I stammered with shock. "S-She was born premature?"

"Yes," Brecken confirmed sadly. "26 weeks, and she had to be delivered by C-Section."

Holy sh*t...

"I-I don't know what to say," I murmured, feeling bad for the poor girl. "I can't imagine what that must have been like for her parents,"

"Same," My acquaintance agreed. "Look, would you be interested in keeping her company if she needs someone to talk to? Same goes for Rahim and whilst we've been trying to make an effort with them, we weren't able to as of recent."

Because of jobs here, I get it.

"Yeah," I replied, smiling. "Rahim's starting to grow on me and you already know that I like Libby so yeah, sure."

"Thanks, mate," Brecken said appreciatively, sneaking a quick glance at the ward's 24 hour clock. "Speaking of which, I got duty calls. I'll see you around, alright?"

"Looking forward to it," I said as he bade me farewell and left. Well, I'm by myself again. But at least, Libby's okay. I still can't help but wonder where the hell she was an hour ago too. Was she alright the—

God Crane, what the f*ck are you doing?!

"You okay there?"

"Oh, y-yeah," I answered a concerned Libby who walked over. "I'm fine, thanks. I could ask you the same thing too, because I was looking for you an hour ago,"

Hearing this, my friend gave me an understandably confused frown. "I was looking after some kids in the nursery we have on 20. You could have just radioed me instead of going to the ends of the earth to find me, you know."

F*ck, why didn't I think of that?! Mind, what the hell are you doing to me?

"Sorry," I apologised. "I'll be honest, I wasn't thinking straight earlier which is a first,"

"Don't worry about it," Libby replied, smiling as she decided to perch on the end of my bed. "Perhaps, it was just anxiety about the situation with Bahir and Yusuf? It happens to everyone,"

That's one of the reasons, without a doubt.

"Yeah, you're right," I agreed. "So, you guys have a nursery here?"

"Yep," My friend confirmed happily. "All of the children have special needs and I've been helping them out since we first came here. Just recently, I introduced a little girl to one of my favourite video games, Sonic the Hedgehog, and she absolutely adores the characters now,"

"Nice," I responded with intrigue. "That explains the key ring on your rucksack, doesn't it?"

Libby grinned upon hearing my words, presumably surprised that I noticed it quickly yesterday. "Yep. I've been a fan since I was 9. Are you a fan too?"

"Yeah, I played the classic games all the time when I was your age," I answered. 1999, one hell of a year. "That makes me feel f*cking old now, I'm not gonna lie,"

"You seem fine to me," My friend commented. "I mean, what year were you born?"

"1983,"

"There you go, you seem perfectly fine,"

"Thanks," I found myself chuckling, before a confused frown painted my face as I continued. "Am I correct in guessing that you were born in... 1998, something like that?"

"Close," Libby replied. "I was born in 1999, my brother was born four years after me and our two sisters were born when he was 7 and I was 11,"

"I see," I said, pushing concern back when I noticed that her smile was forced this time. I get what it's like to lose people you love, kid. I get it. "Why don't you tell me a bit more about yourself?"

My friend looked completely surprised when she heard my suggestion. "Y-You w-want t-to... get to know me?"

"Hell yes!" I found myself cheering before I noticed her reaction. The poor girl was holding back tears. Oh...! "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing, it's just," Libby stammered, smiling with embarrassment upon realising that she was close to breaking down. "The only other people in my life who truly see me for me are my parents. Nobody else made an effort, at least until..."

"The Outbreak?"

"Yeah,"

Holy f*ck...! Poor kid. Whilst I was taking this information, something hit me and I came to a realisation. "You have autism, don't you?"

The look of shock and terror was all I needed. "H-How did you—"

"Intuition, and you don't have to worry," I answered, reaching over and gently placing a hand on the back of her neck to calm her. "I know we met recently, but I see you for you, okay? Friends?"

"Sure," Libby confirmed gratefully.

Looking back, this was one of the choices that I consider the best - no questions asked. But little did I know that making decisions would prove to be much more difficult, considering what was coming our way...