I knew she was inside the tent. After spending so many years in the Marines, there was no way she could have gotten past me without me noticing.
“Hello?” I said and lightly shook the tent with my hand.
Nothing.
Chills crept up my spine, and my skin broke out in goosebumps. Something was wrong. I unzipped the tent and crawled half way inside to find her lying on her side with her knees pulled up to her chest, white as a ghost and drenched in sweat. Her eyes were open, staring blankly at me, and she was so still, for a moment, I wondered if I was too late.
“Fuck,” I cursed under my breath. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m going to get you some help.”
She blinked, once. I breathed a sigh of relief and took that as her acknowledgment of my words.
I dialed Splint and told him what was going on. “Should I carry her back to the cabin or wait here with her?”
“If you can carry her back to the cabin, that would be best. I’m on my way now. If you’re not at the cabin when I get there, I’ll call and come to you.”
“Thanks. And, Splint, please hurry.”
“Will do, Prez.”
I carefully scooped her into my arms and started walking back to the cabin. She groaned when I first moved her, but remained silent until we reached the cabin. I, on the other hand, couldn’t stop murmuring soothing words to her.
I took her to the same bedroom she was in before and gently placed her on top of the covers. She immediately curled into the fetal position and whimpered. I wanted to help her, but I wasn’t sure what I could do for her before Splint arrived.
Luckily, it wasn’t an issue as Splint walked through the door less than two minutes later. He took one look at her and cursed. “How many doses of the antibiotics did she get?”
“Just the one, brother. She took off before I had even had a chance to talk to her. I still have all the injections and the pills,” I told him.
“All right. I’m going to get an IV started. She needs fluids and antibiotics immediately. Then, I’ll take a look at her wound, which I’m sure is infected. It probably needs to be drained and flushed. In all honesty, Prez, if she doesn’t show signs of improvement in the next few hours, we’re going to need to get her to the hospital,” Splint said, all the while gathering his supplies.
“I have no problem taking her to the hospital. She was the one who insisted on no doctors.”
He quirked a brow, “Did she say why?”
I shook my head, “No, she didn’t. She kind of freaked out at the mention of a doctor.”
Splint nodded and quietly worked on the mystery woman. I sat silently while he tended to her. My mind flooded with questions I wouldn’t get the answers to any time soon.
My thoughts were interrupted when Splint cleared his throat. “I’ve done all I can do for now. I need to stay with her and monitor her closely for the next few hours.”
When I looked up, a wave of the most revolting smell hit me. “The fuck is that smell?”
Splint nodded to the wad of medical supplies he had in his gloved hands. “The pus I drained from her leg. It wasn’t as bad as I was expecting.”
“You don’t considerthatbad?” I asked in disbelief.
Splint snorted. “Guess I’m not as sensitive as your delicate ass.”
“Oh, fuck off, man. That’s rank, and you know it.”
“Didn’t say it wasn’t. Why don’t you try to get some sleep while I sit with her? Looks like you could use it.”
“You’re probably right. Sleeping on the ground in a tiny tent isn’t as easy as it once was,” I chuckled. “But I’m not sure I could fall asleep even if I wanted to. Something about this whole situation isn’t sitting right with me.”
“Have you asked Spazz to check her out?”
“No, I don’t have anything to give him. I don’t even know her name,” I said. Sighing, I pushed to my feet, “I’m going to check out the bunker and see if I can find anything that might be helpful.” With that, I quietly closed the door on Splint and the woman I decided to refer to as Locks until I found out her name.
A search of the bunker turned up absolutely nothing. There was not one single thing that hadn’t already been in the bunker. Next, I headed to her campsite to pack it up as well as search through her belongings. To my surprise, there wasn’t anything that didn’t come from the bunker at the campsite other than a dirty t-shirt and a pair of worn out tennis shoes.