Chapter 12

My eyes fluttered open. I look around a smile as I see myself in a meadow of tall grass and wild flowers, surrounded my large, old oak trees. There is a light fog and the sky is cloudy, making the day seem perfect. As I look on in content, I feel a hand slide into mine.

The hand is soft and warm and fits perfectly in mind. I look up and smile at the person. Their face is blurry and I can't make out their features or what they even look like. I frown. I want to see who it is.

Suddenly, there is a ripping pain in my shoulders and I fall to the ground in pain, my hand still in the blurry person's. My vision goes dark as I succumb to the pain….

My eyes flutter open. The light in the room makes me flinch as I try to cover my eyes. However, there is a strong feeling of pain when I try to move my arm and I yelp in pain and surprise. I hear footsteps bounding towards me as I see the door get slammed open.

TJ looked at me and the biggest smile I'd ever seen appeared. "Hey stranger." I said with a smile. Internally, I frowned. It's been a while since I genuinely smiled and yet, I just did. How odd.

"You scared the shit out of me. You were so badly wounded that we weren't sure if you would…." She trails off and I see her eyes become watery."I should get going." I say and try to move the blanket but my arm flares up in pain and a wince and groan.

"Shit." I mutter."You shouldn't move just yet. Your body is still trying to catch up with you and heal. You have a torn tendon and multiple strained and torn muscles." She said. My heart skips a beat. Shit.

These types of injuries could affect my ability to move forever. These types of injuries rarely go away at all. I grit my teeth and clench my jaw. "Sorry." TJ muttered. I look at her, confused. "For what?" I ask.

Her jaw clenches. "Its my fault your like this. If I'd fought them harder then maybe Grace and I wouldn't have been captured and you wouldn't have been injured." She said, not meeting my eyes.

"Whats done is done. I can't turn back time and even if I could, I wouldn't. Despite my injuries, I don't regret saving you." I said, staring straight at her. She still wouldn't meet my eyes and I could practically feel the guilt radiating off of her. I sigh.

"So TJ, where are we and who patched me up? I know it wasn't any of you because these bandages actually look good. Sorry to say this but you guys are total shit at bandaging someone up." I say, trying to lighten the mood.

She laughs and says, "Well damn. That's cold. Your right though, it wasn't any of us. After you left, a horde of infected attacked the house and we all just barely escaped with out lives. Mike suggested we join a group and now here we are. The leader is fair, the people are nice, and they have an actual doctor with them. The doc patched you up."

I nod. "Can you bring the doctor in here so we can chat for a moment?" I ask. She nods and a few minutes later, a guy walks in with a smile on his face. "I see you are awake. That's good. Your friend told me you wanted talk?" He asked.

I nod. "Do you have anyway I can move around? I can deal with the pain, I just need to get moving." I asked. After a moment of hesitation, he nodded. He reached into a trunk in the corner of the room and grabbed something and came over to me.

"These are copper infused shoulder sleeves. They'll help relieve pain and make the jaunt that goes to your shoulder every time you walk, lessen and the pain won't be as bad. However, it will still hurt like hell." He said.

He reached into his pocket and grabbed a pill bottle handing it to me. "These are extra strength Tylenol. They will also help relieve the pain. Take two every six hours. Be sure to ration them though. Pills are becoming harder and harder to find. These will last you two months so be careful." He said.

I nod. "Thanks doc." I said. He nods and exits. About ten minutes later, TJ walks back in and I sigh in relief. "Hey TJ, I need your help. Doc gave me these copper infused shoulder sleeves but I can't get my jacket or shirt off because it hurts like hell. Can you help me get them off?" I ask.

Her face turns dark red but she nods. My face turns red as well when I realize she is gonna see me in just a bra. I gulp. "C-Can you help me sit up? Its gonna hurt like hell." I ask, still flustered. She nods and gently helps me into a sitting position.

I shout in pain causing her to jump slightly. "Sorry." I say, my voice strained. "No, I'm sorry. I should have pulled you up slower and more gently." She said. I shake my head, knowing it wouldn't have matter how she did it, the result still would have been the same.

Pain. She gently pulled off my jacket and I winced slightly as a jolt of pain ran through my shoulders. She then set in front of me on the bed and began to slowly unbutton my shirt, her face red.

When she got the final button, she winced as she looked at the bandages around my stomach where I had been stabbed all the way through by a wood stake. "I think he thought I was a vampire. I can't blame him, I do have pale skin and am picky with my food." I said with a smile as I tried to lighten the mood again.

She laughed and shook her head. "Your an idiot." She said with a smile. "Ya, I agree. At least I'm hot though." I said with a wink, joking. She laughed but her faced turned red again.

When she calmed down, she completely removed my white button down and look at my shoulders, that feeling of guilt returning. I moved my head carefully and saw that I had stitches up and down my shoulder.

I winced though I wasn't surprised. The doc probably had to stitch up skin that had ripped and had to see if he could do anything about my tendons and muscles. "I'll be fine." I said, my voice soft and gentle, hoping I could get her to stop feeling guilty for the choices I'd made.

She gulped and nodded but I could tell she was still guilty. I sighed. "Alright, I'll try to be careful but this will probably hurt." She said, getting ready to put the first sleeve on. I wanted to shout in pain but didn't want to make her feel guiltier so I bit down on my lip instead, feeling the taste of iron in my mouth almost immediately.

When the sleeve was on, I gave a sigh of relief as the pain faded. "Shit." She said. She touched my lower lip gently with her thumb and pulled it away. I winced slightly when I saw my blood on her thumb.

"I'll clean your lip once I get the other shoulder." She said, slightly upset. I nodded, feeling guilty somehow. "Hold still." She said as she put the sleeve on. I bit down on my lip again, feeling that iron, copper taste in my mouth.

It's almost like having a penny in your mouth except its warmer. "There, its done. Now stop biting your lip." She commanded. "How do you plan on cleaning it?" I asked, having an idea. She smirked. "I'll show you." She reached into her jacket and pulled out a flask.

I smiled when I realized we had the same idea. "Its whiskey. It will clean your wound and you get a drink of alcohol." I laugh. We had literally the same idea. "Ready?" She asked positioning the flask right in front of my lips.

I nodded and curled my lip in so when she poured it in my mouth, it would hit my lip first. As she poured whiskey into my mouth, I drowned out the pain of the alcohol hitting my lip by drinking it. She stopped pouring and I swallowed the last of it.

I smirked. "Going to get me drunk and not even drink any yourself?" I ask, my eyebrow raised. She smiled. "Well, alright, if you insist then I suppose it would be rude of me not to." She replied, with an eye roll.

She took a gulp and set the flask down as she tried to swallow it all. I laughed. "Having some trouble there?" I asked mockingly. She glared at me with a playful glare. I could tell she was trying to ignore the burning in her throat from the alcohol.

Finally after struggling, she swallowed it all. I smirked. "Aw, congratulations. You finally did it." I said, laughing. She was about to retort when there was a loud noise.