Beth's skull was starting to heal but she knew it wasn't healing properly. She hadn't found any more antibiotics in the three cars she searched and she was down to her last few in the cabin. The bottle of painkillers was all she'd have to rely on in a few days and part of her was relieved. If infection were to set in maybe she'd feel it this time.

When she made it back to the cabin she was exhausted and threw her half lifeless body down on the couch. Her trusty old backpack was full to the brim with her finds. She popped the top of a fancy water drink and gulped it down in record speed. Rationing wasn't on her mind right now; she had forgotten to drink anything on her travels. Her left shoulder and arm hung to her side and made her feel lopsided, she wondered if she'd always feel this was or if she would be lucky enough to regain function one day. It was a nice dream but there were no physiotherapists in the new world. Just survivors and them, the dead, who were hungry for your flesh and they didn't care if you could feel all your extremities or not. Still, Beth wished for someone, someone to help her heal and someone to hold when she was scared. That dream seemed as big as the last. She was terribly alone and though she wasn't as frightened anymore she craved the touch of a loved one.

…

"Maggie!" she uttered in her sleep. Loud enough to wake her from her slumber Beth sat up on the couch and tried to remember her dream. Who was Maggie? She searched her mind for an answer but all she could find was a feeling, a feeling that whoever Maggie was, she was part of her. Maybe she was delirious after another night on the couch without proper treatment for her wounds. Maybe a fever had set in. No, Beth thought, she knew this was a real feeling and wasn't about to dismiss it so fast. There was someone else in her dream too. A man, a slender man with her "Maggie"; they were both terribly dirty but tough looking. The man was of Asian descent and she searched her brain once again for a name or a feeling of who he was. Nothing came to mind so Beth got to her feet and headed to the kitchenette for sustenance. Maybe a good breakfast would help her piece all of this together.

An expired protein bar was enough to fill Beth's shrunken stomach. An old jar of instant coffee from the hunters stash washed it down as she sat and focused on what she dreamt about. Frustrated she sat back and quizzed herself. "Do I have any siblings, are my parents alive, where is 'home'?" She knew she had a family because she knew she used to visit Atlanta with them. But she couldn't visualize the people in that memory. Maybe there was a grey haired man, maybe her father, maybe there was a teenaged boy, maybe her brother… wait, there was an older girl, and it had to be her sister. It was Maggie; Maggie is Beth's older sister. She pieced that information together and tears welled up in her eyes. She has a sister, or at least she had a sister at one point.

The rest of the day was filled with her regular chores; she had changed into her new wardrobe from the supply run the day before and washed her old dirty clothes. The scarf was now tied around Beth's neck and was holding her paralyzed arm snuggling to her body. Beth made a clothes line out by the creek, she didn't want to draw any extra attention to herself in this small shack but she knew they'd dry faster out there in the hot Georgia sun. Popping the last of the antibiotics Beth washed it down with cold coffee from her breakfast. She was wishing she'd found a toothbrush on her journey. No one was around but the smell of coffee breath reminded her of her creepy high school math teacher. Maybe she'd be able to take that car for a spin in the next few days and find some actual food and a few toiletries.

The hair surrounding her wound was a bit knotted and Beth went about detangling it carefully. She thought it was healing a bit better now. Thank goodness for the mystery antibiotics. The wound on her neck was scabbed over and she was thankful for it even if it itched like hell. She wasn't out of the woods just yet; proper medical attention was required for a full recovery.