Once the old woman had disappeared from view, Finn helped Noah back onto his crutches and the three of them continued on their way. All day, they found no food, and their water had run out, so by the time the sun began to set they were close to collapsing. Summer stumbled and fell and Finn picked her up and carried her for another half hour before Noah finally said, Finn, we have to stop.
Finn sighed. Fine. I guess we'll have to hold out until tomorrow.
They looked up at the surrounding buildings in the waning light and tried to decide which would be best to sleep in. Let's go in there, Finn said, hefting Summer onto his other hip and heading towards a hotel with several letters from its sign missing. Inside, it was almost completely dark. Finn fumbled his way through the shadows until he found one of the couches in the lobby and laid Summer down. He set the supply bags on the floor beside her and told her to try to get some sleep.
Are you going somewhere? Noah asked, shifting his weight back and forth from one arm to the other to ease off his sore foot.
I'm gonna go see what I can find in the kitchen. Even if there's no food, there's bound to be some tools that we could use.
You have to go now?
Finn nodded. I'll be fine. Just give me the matches and I'll be back soon.
Okay, Noah acquiesced and handed him the box of matches from his pocket.
Stay with her, Finn said, gesturing to Summer, who was already in a deep sleep. Noah nodded and hobbled over to the couch, sitting with a grunt next to her feet. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
Finn pulled a match out of the box and struck it so that a soft orange glow suddenly filled the surrounding darkness. The lobby was luckily small enough so that Finn could see the elevators from where he stood, and beside it on the wall was a list of locations within the building and directions. As the match sputtered out, Finn walked in the direction of the elevators until he found the wall and then lit another match so that he could read the sign. He followed the dusty arrow pointing to the ballroom, feeling his way along the corridors and wishing he had a flashlight. Eventually, he found the large double doors to the massive dance hall and pushed through them, striking another match once they'd swung shut behind him. The tiny flame lit only a small fraction of the room, but he could see a few tables tipped over, the plates and glasses that had been sitting on them shattered on the floor. He silently sent a prayer of thanks towards the ceiling that there were no corpses that he could see, and began to walk towards the smaller door on the other side of the hall, his hand shielding the still-burning match. Behind the door, Finn only caught a glimpse of several metal surfaces before the match died; he tossed it aside and lit another. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he'd found the kitchen. Shivering in the dusty air, he made his way over to a thick metal door with a large handle and pulled it open, hoping that it was the food storage. As the light from the dying match filtered into the small room, Finn's eyes widened and the breath left his lungs in a whoosh of air.
Oh, my God.
Noah. Noah, wake up. Noah!
Noah snorted awake, his eyes flying open in the darkness.
Come with me.
Finn, come on, it's the middle of the night. I'm trying to sleep, and you should do the same.
Noah! Finn snapped.
What!
Come with me now. You'll thank me.
Noah sighed and heaved himself up onto his crutches, following Finn through the maze of dark hallways until they came to the kitchen door. Finn pushed through and held it open for Noah, striking another match so that Noah could move around the counters and stoves without falling. On the other side of the kitchen, Finn yanked open the large metal door and gestured inside, holding the match up so Noah could see. Look, he said.
The shelves inside were stocked completely full. There were cans upon cans of fruit, vegetables, sauces, and soups. Huge blocks of cheeses were stacked on top of one another and there were large hunks of meat preserved in plastic. Boxes of cereals and other dried goods lined the top shelves.
The match died and the food disappeared.
Holy… Noah started.
There's two more rooms exactly like this, Finn said.
You're kidding.
Nope.
Oh my God.
And then Finn laughed, clapping Noah on the shoulder and smiling wider than he'd smiled in a very long time.
In the morning, after they'd contented themselves with the food from the storage rooms, Finn took the bandages off of Noah's amputated leg to examine it.
I don't think this is healing, he said solemnly. The skin's not growing back fast enough.
Noah sighed. Figures. Nothing heals as fast any more. At least it's not bleeding.
I think we need to cauterize it. You probably wouldn't survive another infection.
Noah's lips tightened. Fine. Do what you need to do.
What does that mean? Summer asked from where she sat next to Noah, watching Finn study the remaining stump.
It means that we have to—
Finn cut Noah off, quickly saying, It just means that we help him heal.
The two men exchanged a glance, and then Finn stood up. Summer, why don't you go see if you can find somewhere we can take a bath.
Okay. Summer hopped off the couch and headed for the stairwell.
Once she was out of earshot, Noah sighed. You know, she can handle more than you give her credit for.
I know she can. Doesn't mean I want her to.
We're not always gonna be around to protect her—
Don't.
—and she should be prepared for that.
You're not the parent here. Don't tell me what I should or shouldn't do where Summer's concerned.
And before Noah could respond, Finn yanked him up onto his crutches and began to stride towards the kitchen. Noah sighed and limped after him.
In the kitchen, Finn turned on one of the gas burners and lit it with a match, and Noah heaved himself up so he could sit on the counter, leaning his crutches beside him. Finn pulled a large knife out of a drawer and held the blade in the flame, waiting until the edges began to glow a soft red.
Okay. You ready?
Noah swallowed and gripped the edges of the counter. Do it.
Finn exhaled slowly, grasping the hot knife tightly in his hand. Sorry about this, he said.
Just do it.
Noah held his breath, his whole body tensing. When the flat of the searing hot blade pressed against the raw flesh of his amputated leg, he gritted his teeth and tried not to release a scream. There was an awful, sizzling hiss, and foul-smelling smoke rose up from where the metal was burning into his exposed muscles. Finn's face was stone hard as he concentrated on holding what remained of Noah's leg in place and sealing off the vulnerable blood vessels, nerves and tendons. Tears streamed from Noah's eyes as he poured all his energy into not crying out in pain.
Almost done, Finn said. Just hold on a little longer.
Eventually, the knife was taken away and placed to the side and Finn began to carefully wrap the bandages back around Noah's leg. Noah let out a shuddering breath, clenching his jaw against the still-present pain, and tried to focus on keeping his breathing even.
You okay? Finn asked, tying the bandage.
Yeah, Noah clenched out, wiping his face with a shaking hand. Yeah, I'm good. Let's go find Summer.
A/N: *sigh* Poor Noah. Please review!