Saltlands (Population) by Elizabeth Stephens

Author:Elizabeth Stephens
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Elizabeth Stephens
Published: 2016-05-19T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

There’s light streaming in through the window when I wake. Muted light, but I can tell that it’s day. Everything is quiet and I know that I’m home. I sigh. Someone else sighs in response. I open my eyes. Ashlyn is in the bed with me. I can see her knees, but not much else.

“Sorry. Did I wake you?” She says and I sigh again, whole body tingling.

“I’m not convinced I’m not still dreaming,” I croak. That sound alone tells me I’m not hallucinating. I hadn’t thought I’d live to experience this moment. But I’d hoped.

“If this was a dream, it wouldn’t be very good.”

I breathe into the pillows. They smell like honeysuckle and vanilla and are as soft as ever beneath my bare body. I’m naked again, except that I’m wearing underwear this time that actually fits and can feel the fabric of a pad lining my panties rather than bits of bloodied towels. “Why’s that?”

Ashlyn doesn’t say anything for some time, but I see the bloody gauze pads she throws into the wastepaper basket. “You’re hurt real bad.”

I don’t deny it. “How’s it looking?”

“Good. Well, it would be better if Kane could give you his blood, but Sandra said he’s not ready.”

“Of course he isn’t.” I pause. “How is he?”

Another wad of gauze floats over the edge of the bed. She reaches to the side table then and pulls off a bottle of antibiotic ointment. “Sandra says he still has two more days until he restores his red blood cell count to normal. His wounds won’t heal until then either.”

“Christ,” I murmur.

Ashlyn pauses, then adds, “He would heal faster if he took human blood, but he won’t.”

“He won’t?”

“He wants to wait until he gets his own blood back. Otherwise, it’ll take longer for him to be able to give blood to you.”

I clench my right fingers around my wounded palm, able to move them more freely than I last could. I can feel the hard ridges of stitching against my hand and imagine that from above, I probably look like a jigsaw puzzle. “Has Kane seen me yet?”

“No. He’s been trying but Sandra and Maggie said no. Sandra said if he saw you he’d try to give you blood and it wouldn’t do any good and he’d only lose more of his own blood in the process.” Ashlyn rubs my back with her little fingers in small, circular motions. They’re soothing and I close my eyes, surrendering to the sensation. It’s the most comfortable I’ve felt in days, and again I’m rocked by the fact that Mikey and I emerged from that cave only a few weeks ago. “They posted Mikey outside to make sure he doesn’t come in.”

“Mikey’s outside?” And I’m confused by the hope I hear in my voice, because I’m supposed to hate him.

“Yeah. But he’s not allowed to see you.”

“Sandra says?”

“Kane says.”

“Fuck.”

Ashlyn giggles at that. “Potty mouth.” For a moment, I entirely forgot she was eleven.

Smiling against the sheets, I ask, “How did you get so close to Sandra?”

Ashlyn doesn’t answer at first.

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