Dead or Alive

Chapter 22

I opened my eyes, feeling a rather sharp pain in my shoulder. I noticed I was in a room on a very uncomfortable, lumpy bed. I looked over and saw Aaron asleep in a chair next to me. I tried to sit up, and hearing me move must've woken him up. He opened his eyes and he quickly rushed to my side.

"Thank God you're awake! We were all worried that you lost too much blood!" He said quickly.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You passed out in the middle of the road. You were losing a lot of blood. I ended up carrying you until we found this barn. It's not the best, but it's a shelter from the cold," Aaron said, holding my hand.

Suddenly, Hailey walked up to the other side of me, and removed my makeshift covers and examined my arm.

"You were lucky. The bullet made a tiny cut on a major vein on your arm. Even though it was a small cut in the vein, it was enough for you to lose a lot of blood. Thankfully I was able to stitch you up and fix the issue with your vein," Hailey said, removing my bandages, cleaning the wound, and applying new bandages.

"Thank you, Hailey. It really means a lot," I said.

Hailey didn't respond. She just gathered up the rest of the bandages and walked away. 

"I'm so glad you're alright," Aaron said, gently rubbing the top of my hand with his thumb.

"So am I," I said.

Scarlett walked up to me and handed me a bottle of water.

"We found this in here, we thought we should save it for you. Since you could've died and all," Scarlett said, handing me the water.

"Thank you so much, Scarlett. I really appreciate it," I said, taking the water.

"You don't have to thank me, silly! We're pretty much family now!" Scarlett said gaily.

I smiled and unscrewed the top of the water bottle and took a drink. I could feel the cold water rushing all the way down to my stomach, soothing my throat. Scarlett walked back over to Hailey and the others.

"Hailey doesn't talk much, does she?" I asked.

"No, she really doesn't. I guess since her cousin died... I can't blame her," Aaron said.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"A few hours. We expected you to not wake up until tomorrow," Aaron said, "I'm glad you woke up sooner though."

A cold wind came through the small slits between the boards of the barn, causing me to curl up and start shivering.

"It's freezing out there," I muttered.

"I'm sorry, Darling. This is the best we could find in such short notice," Aaron said, rubbing my back comfortingly.

I smiled and leaned into his chest, appreciating his warmth. 

"Are you hungry, Darling? Lyndsey managed to find some rabbits for tonight," Aaron whispered.

"Yeah, a little," I answered.

"Okay then. You hang tight, and I'll bring you some food," Aaron said.

Aaron stood up and walked over to the rest of the group who was sitting and eating. I noticed an old pot sitting above the small fire that was lit in the center of the barn. I followed the smoke upward with my eyes and saw a gaping hole in the top of the barn, allowing the smoke to escape the room. Aaron came back with two bowls in his hands.

"Here you go. Rabbit stew. Which is just rabbit cooked in hot water," Aaron chuckled, handing me a bowl.

I graciously took it and began eating. Normally, I would be against eating rabbit. But since it's the apocalypse, we have to eat whatever we can find. The rabbit was extremely tender and almost began melting in my mouth. It's nice having a warm meal to eat when it's freezing outside. I finished my stew and set the bowl beside me. A few seconds later, Aaron finished his ration as well.