SILENCE remained until they arrived home. None of the four were in a position to discuss anything on that trip. Their bodies and spirits had been exhausted, but when they saw the car pull into the garage, they felt they could finally rest.
Everyone entered, Floyd Kenagan remained near the door, looking through the crack in the glass that surrounded it towards the street, while the others crossed the hall. There was no one around to see them or identify the visitors, for everything was deserted.
"Excuse me," Kenan said as he crossed the room, standing in the center.
Gregory Evans showed them around and Tommy took Katherine and made her sit on the couch, fiddling with the cloths that covered her injured arm. Neither of them had the courage to go to the hospital at the crazy time the city was in.
Going out onto the streets again was his last option.
— Let's see how this is all going... — he said.
— No, love, leave it for later, let's see yours first!
— My wife is traveling, we have plenty of space to accommodate them... — Greg said, trying hard to be a good host to the important guests who visited his home, after all, it wasn't every day that the President of the United States came to his house.
"Please," Kenan said politely, but keeping his distance enough to avoid seeing anything, "take care of their injuries first. They are certainly urgent... Don't worry about ceremony, Greg, what they went through with us today goes beyond any limits that social protocols might require. I am already relieved just to be safe."
Greg nodded and went to get the first aid kit.
Kenan looked at the wall covered in medals, including two Freedom Stars, America's highest award.
He is indeed an American hero...
KATHERINE'S ARM had been pierced by a metal wound, it wasn't looking good at all, although it was more reasonable than the serious wound Tommy had in his side. He cleaned it as best he could and used some medicine that was there, but nothing would replace a trip to the nearest hospital.
Katherine noticed that he had a suffering expression and was sweating heavily. When she saw him trying to adjust the bandages on his arm, she said:
— Honey, I'm fine, tomorrow we'll take better care of you at the hospital, if things get better outside. Let's see how you are soon.
In a trivial situation, Tommy would never agree without her insisting. At first he would resist and reject her attempts to take care of him, as he always did when he came home with an injury. But that didn't happen. To her, it meant that he really couldn't stand the injury anymore.
"Let's see how this is going," she said, taking him to the guest room and laying him down on the bed.
He tore off his filthy shirt and looked at the severity of the cut in his side. It was still bleeding, though not as much as it had been when he had passed out in the tunnels.
— How is your pain? — she asked.
— A marvel, — he replied mockingly.
—Seriously, I need to know! — she said angrily.
— It hurts on the side, very badly.
— Do you feel any pain inside?
— No, it's more to the side...
— That makes me feel relieved, given the lighter bleeding and the pain you say, I don't think it reached any organs. — Katherine said, sighing in relief after the weak diagnosis.
— How do you know? — he asked curiously.
— Judging by the height of the wound, it would probably have reached the intestine. Besides being very problematic, it would cause you some of the worst pain possible! — she replied, caressing the wound with gauze and spraying antiseptics.
— We can handle it... — he said, writhing in pain as he received care from his wife.