Open Wounds

Cole sat up in bed, her pulse beating wildly as her gray eyes look around the pitch-black room. Sweat leaking down her forehead. Travelling down the curve of her neck and soaking into the collar of her gown. She lifts her right arm, trying to locate the bedside lamp when the noise comes again.

Bang!

She jolts in her spot, and immediately recognizes the noise as a gunshot. This time there was no mistaking it.

Dread poured over her body, flooding down to the tips of her fingers and toes. She trembled uncontrollably, her gray eyes watering as she could not think of what to do.

Cole stayed put for the duration of the silence that followed. Until a multitude of footfalls echo past her bedroom. She finally slipped from bed. Sliding off the side of the mattress and onto the cool tiled floor. Cole shifted her gaze toward the bedroom window. Observing the ray of pale moonlight that filled a spot on the floor. Then to the right of it. She could faintly see the pile of luggage in the corner of the room. Cole crept behind them and hid as the loud beats of her pulse filled her ears.

Time passes in the dark.

What felt like an hour, became another, and another.

Until she hears the bedroom door swing open. Cole clutches her dress while hearing someone enter. Then shields her eyes as the bright lights turn on. They trigger a painful ache in her head as her eyes slowly adapt to the exposure.

“Cole?" A voice echoes behind the sudden ringing tone in her ears.

The ringing fades and the pain in her head subsides. Cole listened as a single pair of footfalls tread toward the bathroom, then to the opposite corner that was occupied by a gray sectional. Before they tread toward the pile of cases.

Cole scooted closer to them, trying to make herself as small as possible when her shoulder bumped into one of the cases.

It falls over, making a loud noise. The rattle of loose items inside sounded metallic. Cole stares at it, panicking more as the footfalls tread around the pile of cases. Without waiting, Cole snatches a smaller case and sprung up from the hiding spot. Stopping when she sees it's just Vincent with a tray of food.

Her eyelids fluttered slowly as she was confused.

"Doc…ter…" Cole says in disbelief.

Vincent grins in amusement, glancing to the petite aluminum case in her grip. "Were you going to hit me with that?"

"I-I might." Cole breathes nervously, glancing to the entrance while gathering her thoughts. "What's going on? W-Why were there loud noises? And why are you smiling?" Cole questions, while her cheeks begin to burn with embarrassment.

"Ahem", Vincent chews his lip before speaking. "That would be the others…" He explains. "We have about a hundred in our group. Mostly military types with nothing else to do. It's noisy from time to time."

Cole blinks a few times, saying in a confident tone. "Doctor. Those were gunshots just now."

"Yes…" Vincent answers in a calm tone. Not a spec of fear in his green eyes. "Everything's alright Cole…" Doctor Lance assures. "If there were something serious, I would not be in here bringing you breakfast." He tells her, glancing down at the tray as he says: "Nothing fancy, just hot stew and biscuits… Tuck will be in soon to take your linens. So… be careful with that, you might give him a heart attack." Vincent teases, glancing at the case that's still in her grip.

Cole watched as he set the tray aside and moved toward the bed. She slowly starts to lower the case, returning it back to the pile. Freezing again when the bedroom lights flicker. "Doctor?" Cole shivers, looking up at the flickering lights.

"It's just the generator", Vincent answers as he starts to make her bed. "Though it's just a temporary source until we finish the solar. Right now, the generator is powering all thirty bedrooms, including the garage and basement."

"T-Thirty…" Cole repeats to herself, secretly surprised by the largeness of the house.

"Now", Vincent sighs out, adding final touches to the bed. A few pillows and a powder-blue bear plushy with a black bowtie. "Let's get some food in you." He says and brings the tray to the bed. "I have no idea what Isla feeds you, so if you don't like anything just leave it. Also, and I should've asked this before, do you have any allergies?"

"Uh… Shellfish". Cole answers, approaching the bed with cautious steps. "Um…" Cole hesitates, looking at the tray. "Isla gives me small portions…”

"Well… Isla was stingy". Vincent says with a wink.

A smile tugs on the corner of her mouth, but Cole quickly brushed it away with a swipe of her hand. "Thank you doctor…" She says softly, feeling her pulse calm at last.

"Pleasure to be of service, your grace". Vincent bows playfully and departs from the bedroom.

Meanwhile, Cole is left alone with her thoughts as she finally returns to bed. A mix of emotions swirl within while she ponders in silence. Idly twirling the spoon in the stew as she thought about the crimson stains she noticed. Small spots of dried blood that stained the corner of his pant leg… Cole wanted to ask him about it, but it was clear he was not going to tell her what was going on.

She ponders in silence. Unsure of her own feelings toward the doctor. She swirled around the stew with the spoon a bit more. Mentally obsessing on the bloody specs on his jeans, and the calm look on his face as he looked her in the eyes.

The harder she thought about it, the more she felt wary of the doctor.

Cole stopped her idle stirring with the spoon when she remembered Rue's voice. Speaking to her in a moment when she had distrust of everyone. Including Isla…

--

"Know who your protectors are, baby dove". Rue once told her. "There are two three types of people these days. The ones that fight for their own, the ones who fight in the dark, and the ones who will burn the world down…"

"And… which one am I?" Cole wondered, unexpectedly bringing out a giggle from the nurse.

--

Cole's mind returns to the present, as a slight pain twisted in her gut.

A rumbling and animalistic growl echoed while she held onto her stomach. Grimacing as the rumbling was like a diesel motor trapped in her abdomen. Cole never felt such an extreme feeling of hunger.

"Whoa..."

Cole lifts her gaze, her face heats up in embarrassment when she sees the young boy enter the room. "That came from you?" Went the boy, Tuck, who found her passed out in the bathroom earlier.

A flush of heat burned in her face as she tilted her head down. Allowing her long cedar brown hair to hide her face.

With a smile, Tuck entered with a basket of linens. "I just came to drop these off and collect your dirty ones". He says, entering the bathroom. "If there's anything you want, puzzles, books, a machete or a blowtorch. I can smuggle you some". Tuck offers.

Right away Cole knew he was being funny, causing a smile to grow on her lips. She started eating while he collected from the hamper. The stew was already cold, but Cole found it flavorful and not too hard to swallow.

"Hey, I wanted to ask." Tuck leaves the bathroom and stops in front of the bed with a basket full of dirty linens. Curiosity in his brown eyes as he looks at the patient. "Where are you from? You don't look like you're from Chicago."

"San Diego", Cole reveals as she tries a bite of the food. "I don't remember much of the place though…"

"When did you move to Chicago?"

"After I got sick, Saint Hallman burned down, and they flew me to safety. I got transported by helicopter to Sir Peters Hospital". Cole answers, then takes a sip of her water while Tuck presses for more.

"And… you spent years in the hospital?"

"Yes."

"No family?"

Cole froze, the unexpected question struck open an old wound she thought was protected. Buried deep at the bottom of her soul. Under a great sea of flowing willpower lies the one thing that can make her crumble and fall apart.

"N-No…" Cole forces her voice out and gently sets the glass of water back on the tray. Displeased it did not come out clearer, without the quaking that comes before tears. "I had no family in Chicago". Cole manages to say plainly while pretending to be interested in the food. She mindlessly shoves another mouthful of stew. Determined to bury her grief in a metaphorical vault of apathy.

"What did you do for fun?" Tuck decides to ask instead.

Fun?

Cole stops her chewing to think about it. Welcoming the distracting thought, she glanced up at the curious boy. answers softly saying: "I had books… Isla would tell me, just cause society is crumbled and schools were turned into shelters, doesn't mean I get to be lazy."

"So, wait", Tuck set aside the basket and sat on the edge of the bed. "You mean to tell me, the only thing you had for 'fun' was homework?"

"Yes…" Cole answers slowly, confused by Tuck's surprise.

"No way, I'm not letting you go on like that." Tuck decides and stands up from the bed with determination in his eyes. "I'll be back. Don't fall asleep again." He says on his way out of the bedroom.

Later in the evening, Tuck returned with a bunch of items. They were all new to Cole. DVD's, puzzles, card games, and a handful of drawing supplies. "There's more fun things to do around here, but, since you're not allowed outside, I can bring them in here."

"I want to try them all", she smiles while her fingers sift through all the items.

A smile grows on Tuck's face, watching the patient get excited about these things.

"Come on", Cole tugs his arm gently when she picks one. "Show me how to play."

Tuck was about to sit down when a voice called over the radio. "Tuck we need you in the garage, over".

Cole's gaze falls to his hip where a radio was strapped.

"Sorry, Cole…" Tuck's smile fades as he lifts the radio to his mouth to answer. "On my way." Glancing once more to Cole before picking up the laundry. "I gotta go back to work now, but hey" Tuck pulls out something from his pocket. "Try this thing. There's music, maybe you'll find something good."

Cole gave a small smile, watching his back as he left the room.

Alone again, Cole glanced to the window before allowing herself to relax. She ended up listening to music until she fell asleep. Waking again when the sunlight beamed through all the bedroom windows.

She sat up carefully, groaning as the pain was starting to return. Cole took a moment to rub her tired eyes. After, her gaze lands on a kneeling figure.

"Tuck…?" Cole exhales in a croaky voice. "What are you doing?"

"I thought it'd be nice to start the day with this". Tuck says, while Cole's focus went elsewhere. Glancing around, she tries to find the source of a tiny beeping noise. Until her gaze lands on her wrist.

"That's to monitor your vitals." Tuck explains when he catches her trying to take off the tech wristlet.

Cole stops, looking at it harder for a moment. "It says I'm dehydrated…"

"That means it works." Tuck flashes a grin, then resumes his task. "I'm sure the doctor will be up here soon… He can monitor remotely if you have it on. It's waterproof and the battery can last up to 720 hours."

Cole's gray eyes sparkle in awe as the tech starts talking. "Wednesday, April 27." Came the robotic voice. "You have slept 12.3 hours and you have a body temperature of 103."

"Come on. Stop playing with it and come down here." Tuck urges with a wave of his hand.

"Okay", Cole slips from the couch, taking a blanket with her as she nears him. Her gray eyes fill with awe and wonder as she sets her gaze on some kind of grand puzzle that Tuck was setting up. "What's all this?" Cole observes.

"They're called dominoes", Tuck says as he sets up the final piece.

“Why a-are they all over the floor?" Cole wonders.

"You'll see, come here." Tuck urges her toward one side of the room. "That one, just tip over and watch."

When she does, Cole gasped in awe as all the other domino pieces made a colorful pattern. Stretching in swirls all over the floor. Until it showed vibrant sunflower.

"It's amazing…" Cole smiles, staring at the beautiful design that stretches over the white floor tiles.

Half a second later, its beauty was destroyed by a pair of boots. The sudden intrusion ruined the design as the doctor entered. A gasp came from the patient as he slipped on the pieces. Landing with a loud thud, Vincent let out a groan, slowly sitting up with an annoyed look on his face. "Tuck… I know this was you." He grumbles out.

“Way to go dude. You killed a flower." Went Tuck.

The heat of Vincent's glare fades away when he starts to realize what they were doing. "What is all this?" Vincent scans the room with his eyes. Suspicion in his green eyes. "Tuck, where'd you get all these?" He says, looking at the collection of items piled nearby.

"The nursery?" Tuck replies, grabbing a bucket as he starts to gather the pieces.

"There's no fucking nursery." Vincent reveals, getting up from the floor. "You left the grounds, didn't you.”

"I took the South trail, and no, I wasn't followed, and I left no tracks." Tuck responds, gathering more pieces into the bucket.

Cole knelt to help when Vincent stopped her. "No. Don't touch those. I don't want you compromising your health anymore." He says, carefully seizing her by the wrist. "Come on."

"They're sterile, Vin." Tuck confirms while Vincent was already leading her to the bathroom sink.

"Not taking any chances", went Vincent as he poured some kind of disinfectant on the patient's hands. "What else did you touch, Cole?" He questions, going to one of the cabinets to get a clean towel and a small brush.

"Just a… a music… thing." She describes it vaguely.

"A music thing?" Vincent repeats, pouring more disinfectant before he uses the brush on her fingers. Cole was confused when he started brushing her fingertips, then she realized he was just being thorough.

He stops suddenly, after a minute of brushing. A wrinkle between his blonde brows makes her wary of his private thoughts. Weariness showing on his face. Cole visibly stiffened, thinking he was going to shout at her.

Instead, his voice was low and warm to the ear.

"Cole…" Vincent starts to speak, taking a deep breath with the help of his mask. He places the things aside and speaks in a serious tone to his patient. "I don't want to come up here and find you with barely a thread of life because you were… bored.”

An icy feeling poured over Cole's head as she lowered her gaze and endured the lecture. Doctor Lance did not appear angry, but Cole had it in her mind that he was upset. Even Doctor Isla had her days when she could not bear the burden.

Cole kept her gaze down for most of the lecture, until a warm hand pulled hers, and he brought it to the center of his chest. "Cole?" He repeats her name, making sure he had her attention. "I'm not mad…" He says when she’s quiet for too long, a swirl of emotion in his green eyes. "Do you hear me…? I'm not mad." He repeats gently, using his free hand to move the strands of her long hair behind her shoulders.

"You have to be smart." Vincent goes on. "Don't throw away years of progress for a minute of fun… Everything that comes up here has to be sterilized for your safety. Only two of us are allowed to prepare your meals or wash your clothes and bed sheets. Anyone that enters your room that's not me, Tuck, or Eris, do not go near them. To some, your survival means nothing. I know you haven't seen the world to know it. People have different methods of dealing with the sick. Some of those methods result in… i-in mortalities. Like what happened at Sir Peters Hospital."

"Do you understand?" Doctor Lance finishes, an eager look on his face as he waits for his patient to respond.

Cole gave only a slight nod before allowing her gaze to fall again. "Yes, Doctor." She replies almost robotically in her soft voice.

"Good." Vincent sighs in relief, releasing her hand as he turns on the faucet. "Rinse your hands and… I'll get my kit.”