Noah thrashed and yelled, but there were four of them and only one of him. He managed to get one strong kick to one man's face, drawing forth a gush of blood from his nose, but they dragged him outside and pinned him on the frozen ground, one man holding down his arms and two holding his legs. The bandit with the bloody nose wielded a metal bat, and as he turned it in his hands, Noah saw that part of it was caked with congealed blood and dirt. It glinted dimly in the grey sun.

Hold him down.

Get the fuck away from me!

He shrugged. It's survival of the fittest, son. And you ain't fit. Hold his leg – don't let him kick. Yeah, that's good.

He hoisted the bat above his head and brought it down with a wet-sounding crack. Noah screamed through clenched teeth and tears streamed out his eyes as pain washed over him, though he couldn't tell from where. Breathing hard, he barely noticed that the men had let go of him – it was a blow meant to cripple, not kill. He was unable to move, and he saw tiny black dots swirl in front of his eyes. He felt his stomach roll and he was dangerously close to passing out as the pain seemed to drain into his thigh. The man raised the bat again, and Noah closed his eyes and waited.

A gunshot cut through the air, and then another. Angry shouts from the men. More shots. A scream – Tina's? The dull thunk of a blunt weapon connecting with flesh and the splintering of bone. Noah tried to open his eyes to see what was happening, but the dots in his vision swelled and he felt nauseous and dizzy and shell-shocked, and then his head lolled on the ground and all of his senses faded.

When he awoke, he was warm. His eyes stayed shut, but he could feel the heat of a fire gently holding him, and he sighed and drifted back to sleep.

The next time he woke, he was in pain. He'd moved in his sleep and the grating of broken bones beneath bruised flesh made him cry out and snap back into reality. A hand was suddenly on his forehead, a face leaning in close and telling him he was okay.

Tina?

Hey.

God, what happened?

Your leg is broken.

Oh, Jesus. Noah felt his heart sink. In this world, injury meant a slow and agonizing death.

We have to set it.

What? No.

Noah, we have to. You'll die if we don't.

Is there any water?

Yeah, here.

Tina handed him her bottle and helped him sit a little ways up to drink. He looked around. They were indoors, in the living room of another vacated house. How did we get here? he asked.

We tied you to a board.

We?

Finn came back.

What? I thought—

He made Summer stay here while he came back to help us. We're about half a mile off the road – they won't be able to find us here. There's no food, but it's better than… Her voice trailed off.

He smiled. Told you it'd be okay.

He's awake? Finn walked in from the other room. Hey, how's your leg?

Hurts like hell.

I bet. I hate to say this, but we're probably gonna have to set it today, before the muscle starts to die.

Noah nodded wordlessly, feeling sick. Eventually, he asked what had happened after he'd slipped into unconsciousness.

Finn sat cross-legged on the floor beside Noah, handing him a cushion from some old ratty piece of furniture to prop his head up. Well, I'd been camping out in the woods outside the house for about three hours, trying to figure out if there were too many guys to take on, and then they came dragging you out. Not all of them were there, though, so they were easier to beat. He shrugged. Tina tore open a window to get out of the basement. After we got back here, I had to spend like two hours getting the glass out of her hands.

Noah stared incredulously at Tina. You shouldn't have done that.

She looked down, toying with the dirty band of frayed cloth wrapped around her palms, and didn't answer.

What about Kurt? he asked her. By the look on Finn's face, Tina had already told him that Kurt had been in the cellar with them. Tina's face fell.

He's gone, Noah. They shot him. He was trying to help.

Noah simply gave a silent nod. It had been too late for Kurt anyway.

Finally, he looked back to Finn. What made you come back for us?

I'm not sure.

That's comforting.

No, uh… that's not what I meant. It's just… Summer wouldn't stop crying. And she… she kept telling me that leaving you behind was wrong, and cowardly, and… I dunno. I don't think I'd be able to take care of her without help.

Where is Summer?

Asleep.

We should do it before she wakes up.

Do what?

My leg. She shouldn't have to see that.

Finn took a deep breath and nodded. Okay. We don't have anything to numb you.

Noah swallowed, his stomach doing flips. I know.

Okay. Tina, can you…?

At Finn's gesture, Tina scooted over to sit behind Noah with his head against her legs as Finn knelt at his feet. They worked to pull off his pants so that they could see where the skin bulged over the pressing bone. Give me your belt, Noah said, his voice shaking.

Finn handed him the worn leather strip. Are you ready?

Just do it fast.

He clenched the belt between his teeth. Tina grabbed both of his hands, his knuckles turning white as he gripped her fingers. He was breathing rapidly through his nose, anticipating. He groaned a little in pain as Finn poked and prodded the flesh turned black and blue, trying to figure out which direction would be the best way to realign the broken femur. Finally, he seemed to have the answer, and he gripped Noah's leg at the ankle and just above the knee.

This is gonna hurt.

As Finn pulled the leg downwards, it took every ounce of physical strength Tina had to hold Noah down, since his crushing grip on her hands was so tight that her fingertips were turning purple. His screams were muffled only slightly by the belt in his teeth.

A/N: This is starting to have effects on my guilt guaging system. Please leave a review?