The Sharpest Lives

chapter 11

AN: Updated 12/23/20

"Got that bench open inside if you're still in need of a place to sleep," Dale said down from up top when she got back over to the RV. He had soft eyes, wanting to comfort her in some way.

"I'll take watch?" Ace asked instead.

Dale nodded and stood up, climbing down the ladder to join her. He handed her his rifle, suspecting that it would be best if she had some alone time. Still, he sent her a smile and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Ace was glad he got that and put her backpack on her shoulders before climbing up to the top of the RV. There was a lawn chair set up at the edge, so Ace made her way over there, sliding her pack off before she sat.

When she returned to the group, Dale immediately rushed over to ask for her help with T-Dog. In all the madness of Sophia, Ace had forgotten that she had witnessed T-Dog slicing his arm open. She felt horribly, knowing she should have been there right away.

She did what she could to tend to his wound, Dale watching over her shoulder the whole time. T-Dog was seething in pain, his forehead starting to grow warm. Ace stitched up his arm, cleaning it with water and antibiotic cream. They were extremely low on medical supplies, leaving Ace unsatisfied for what she could do for him. She gave him a heavy dosage of pain killers to get through the night. In the morning, they would try to find some antibiotics in the cars.

Ace sighed, looking at the sky where a few stars had started to show themselves. She let herself get lost in the sight for a while, her thoughts running around in a million different directions. Left, right, up, down, wherever... at the end of each road was nothing good, just pain and loss and guilt.

Letting out a sigh, she moved to reach down to her backpack, digging through it to find all the pill bottles Jenner gave her.

Ace got all the bottles set on the ground in front of her. She recognized a few of them. They weren't anything strong, but enough to help with the pain. Although, one of them was something she used to take during her treatment. They make you get constantly sick when you try to eat anything, not able to keep it down. They give you killer headaches, bone deep pain, and other stuff that Ace can't deal with right now.

She put that one aside, she can't take those now. Not when she needs to focus on finding Sophia.

After opening each of the other bottles and taking some from each, swallowing dry, Ace angrily stuffed everything back in her bag. How the hell was she supposed to do this? Jenner said to find a hospital. But then what? Sit there for weeks and do chemo? Give herself surgery? How could she ever find her sister if that was the case?

She figured she could last a few months longer without anything, but was clueless as to when she would be unable to function. They had caught her cancer early the first time, so she was almost immediately drugged up. She had no clue what it would feel like to let the tumor kill her, or how long it would take.

Rubbing her temples, she put her bag down below her, her head feeling like it might explode.

She's never been a person to give up, she just had to focus on the matter at hand. One day at a time. But Ace feels that after she finds Sophia, it will just be a matter of time before she needs to have a bullet for her last meal.

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Ace couldn't be more thankful that she actually slept soundlessly through the night. The drugs she took last night did end up relieving a lot of her pain. After Dale took over for watch, she crashed. Not one nightmare or one agonizing thought about Sophia that would normally keep her up all night. And now that she's rested she can focus.