Chapter Seventeen
Scarred
The infirmary was quiet when Anna entered. Her eyes immediately fell on the bed being used by a young man. A woman was sat by his side, holding his hand and stroking his face affectionately. A large bandage was wrapped around his chest, and the pinkish tone of blood underneath didn't go unnoticed with Anna. It took her a moment to realise that she had stopped walking and was staring blankly at the young couple. It was only when she felt someone push her forward and saw that it had been Daryl that she hobbled further into the room. An older gentleman with a friendly face and kind eyes came forward to stand in front of her.
He stared at her intensely as if he was trying to sum up whether or not she was a threat to them all or not. It wasn't long before a small smile etched across his face and a tip of the head had her moving towards one of the spare beds.
"I'm Hershel," the older man said when she got to the bed, her leg causing her more pain that she was comfortable with.
"Anna."
Hershel nodded and glanced towards Rick and Daryl who were stood blocking her exit. Daryl held his crossbow close to him and Rick stood with his hands on his hips.
"She found Sophia and Carl," Rick explained. "In the woods. A walker took her down and she fell on her leg."
"Ah," Hershel said, moving towards Anna. He saw her flinch but didn't draw attention to it. "Let's get you up on that bed. Can you get up on your own?"
"I'll try," Anna said, quietly. Her movements were slow and painful; her entire leg throbbed and sent shockwaves throughout her body even when she had remained still. It didn't help with the fact that her head ached from what happened earlier in the day. Her body was exhausted, and all she wanted to do was leave and get as far away from the prison and Woodbury as possible. If she had to lie about the extent of her injuries and tell them that she was fine and didn't need any medical help then she would. She sat back on the bed, shuffling backwards and pulling her injured leg onto the hard cushion. She rolled up her pant leg.
The bruised skin caught her eye, and it was only then that she realised that her kneecap was swollen. Hershel moved forward and inspected it. He was silent as he hovered a hand over it, aware that it would be sore to touch. He glanced up at Anna who stared back at him with no emotion on her face.
"Is it sore?" He asked.
She shrugged. "I've had worse pain."
The comment made him stare at her for a moment, and he nodded. "I'm going to have to touch it. The bruising would suggest that you have a fractured patella from the force of your fall. All your weight landed on your patella and it's fractured."
She closed her eyes briefly as if trying to digest the information. Hershel threw a look over towards Daryl and Rick who remained silent.
"There's not much we can do about it, other than having you rest for a few days until it's better. It's important that you don't overuse your knee," Hershel explained. "We can give you pain relief but it's quite limited or we can search for a leg brace for you."
"Thanks," Anna said.
"No worries," Hershel said. He drew his eyes down to her thin t-shirt and saw that, covered by her arm; a large blood-red stain had appeared and seeped through the fabric. He couldn't remember if it had been there when he had first seen her but he was intrigued.
Anna seemed to have picked up his curiosity and glanced down at the blood mark.
"May I have a look?" Hershel prompted.
Anna nodded, and swung her legs around the bed and stood rather unsteadily. Hershel called for someone to support her and Rick came forward, taking her arm like he had on their journey back, and supported her. She pulled her top over her head, feeling the itchiness of the rash on her back.
The thorns had pierced her skin and not only had the poison from the spines made contact with her skin, but it had gone under the skin and had spread so that it covered the majority of her stomach and on closer inspection was crawling towards her chest and back.
"Have you scratched it?" Hershel inquired, to which Anna shrugged.
"I can't remember," she answered. He nodded and moved towards the cabinet and pulled on adhesive gloves.
"Is it sore?" Hershel asked, touching the delicate skin of her hip. Anna nodded.
"It looks like you've come into contact with poison ivy," Hershel said, his gloved fingers gliding across the bumpy eruptions. "When you came into contact with the thorns, it released something called urushiol. We can only expect blisters to surface within a few hours or a few days. We'll give you some ointment and see if it helps."
Daryl felt the anger run through his veins as he saw the scars adorn her back, like a tapestry pattern. He could see that some scars were larger and deeper than others, but even the smallest ones were still noticeable against the candlelit room. The silvery lines were angry, and he felt his own scars begin to tingle. The marking of a belt buckle, the noticeable shape, was imprinted into her shoulder as if it had been melted into it but most of it was hidden by the sports bra that she wore. He looked away, catching Rick's eye and he understood that Rick had seen them as well. The scars adorned the whole of her back, and could even be seen going below her heavy trousers, as well as marking the backs of her arms.
Hershel stood and moved away from them, leaving her in the company of Rick and Daryl. They remained quiet not because they had nothing to say but rather because they had so many questions for her. What was she doing in the woods in the first place? Why was she alone? The uncomfortable silence was lessened when Hershel came back carrying a tube of ointment.
He followed Anna's eye and noticed that she was looking over towards Glenn and Maggie. His eyes automatically fell on his daughter and the man she loved, and his heart ached.
"It's been a long day," he said, trying to fill the silence. Anna turned to him and narrowed her eyes at him.
"What's happened?" Anna inquired.
"Glenn…" Hershel began, but the horrible realisation of their situation hit him and he found that he was unable to continue.
Rick had released Anna from his grip as she rested against the bed. He stepped forward and placed a reassuring hand upon the shoulder of the older man.
"We went on a supply run and he was shot," Rick said. "It's serious."
"I'm very sorry," Anna replied.
"It doesn't look good and even though I don't like thinking about it, there's nowhere to go to escape from it," Hershel added. "My daughter, Maggie… she loves him. He's a good man."
"The good guys always fall first," Anna whispered.
"I still have faith in this world, like everyone else. But sometimes, I feel like that nobody is answering my prayers."
"Sometimes just believing in something that we can't see gives us the strength to carry on. It's the knowing that you've done everything that you can and still having faith that makes us believe that something is there," Anna said. "I've never been much of a believer of fate but to think that I've gotten this far has made me reconsider."
Rick watched her intensely, noticing the quiver in her chin and thought of it as a crack in her armour. Daryl was still stood away from them but he had seen it too.
Hershel nodded sadly. "Your leg needs to be lifted during the night. The rash should go in a few days. I'll check in tomorrow morning." And with that, Hershel turned to leave. It had been the first time he admitted that he was losing faith in the world that he was knew. It pained him to think that for many years he had put his faith into something that when the time came for it when he needed salvation and help, there was no one to turn to and no one was answering his calls.
Anna hobbled over to her bag, and pulled out a t-shirt. Her hands skimmed the vials of blood and she took a deep breath.
"What would you suggest?"
Hershel's voice filled her ears and she turned back. The sadness in his eyes spoke a thousand words.
"Have you done everything possible?" asked Anna.
"Yes," Hershel nodded sadly.
"Then don't give up."
"Even when the odds are against you?" Hershel asked.
Anna nodded. "That's when you fight harder."
Hershel found some comfort in his words and he offered a small grateful smile. He turned around and moved towards Maggie and Glenn, and allowed her words to replay in his mind.
Anna pulled on the spare white tee self-consciously, aware that Rick and Daryl were still standing where they had been. She opened the tube of ointment and dabbed it on and winced. Rick moved forward towards her, his eyes on her open bag. Anna noticed his interest in her backpack.
"Take a look," Anna said.
"You sure?" Rick asked.
"You've been good to me," Anna shrugged. "I have nothing to hide."
He pulled the backpack open even further and took a look inside. Daryl had come forward to take a look. The journal was the first thing they noticed, then the vials of blood. Daryl took the vials out, whilst Rick thumbed through the journal. Numbers, words and drawn images welcomed him.
"Be careful with those," Anna said to Daryl. He glanced at her then down at the vials and nodded.
"Who are you?" Rick requested.
"My name is Anna Carlisle," Anna began. "I am a Biomedical Scientist for the United States Army. I was stationed at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention before and after the first initial outbreak."
The two men stared at her in disbelief.
"Ya lyin'," Daryl said.
"My badge is in the front pocket of my backpack."
Rick pulled out the badge that adorned her information and picture. He glanced at Daryl.
"Did you know Edwin Jenner?" Rick asked.
"Yes, I do," Anna replied. "He's a colleague of mine."
"Was," Daryl put in.
"Excuse me?" Anna responded, brows furrowing in confusion.
"He blew himself up, along with a few of our group," answered Rick.
"What?" Anna countered.
"Ya deaf?" Daryl asked.
"No… you must be mistaken," Anna said, defiantly. "Edwin Jenner is alive!"
"Alive in spirit, I guess. But he's probably all over Atlanta with the force of the explosion," Daryl joked.
Anna narrowed her eyes at Daryl until Rick took over.
"He's telling the truth," Rick said. "He was going to blow the place up… and he was going to take us with him. He convinced him to let us go, to give us a chance to beat this world. When did you last see him?"
Anna shook her head, trying to remember. "A few weeks ago. I left my post to go to Washington."
Hershel had re-joined them, and looked at Anna with inquisitive eyes. "How come?" he asked.
Anna tipped her head towards the vials in Daryl's hands. "The vials of blood, I hope, are the answer to all our questions."
"What?" The three men asked at the same time.
"If I'm right…" Anna started. "I have the cure."
