After treating Kate, we talked on the way back, though it was difficult for her to speak. The arrowhead was still lodged in her stomach. I hadn't removed it because doing so in the middle of the woods was far too dangerous.
It wasn't just the risk of blood loss. There were also concerns about limited medical supplies, infection, and unwanted attention. The safest option was to take her back to the prison and treat her there.
From the information I gathered from her, I learned that everything was the same as in the original story except for one thing: they met David earlier.
She didn't explain the details, but apparently they had all escaped the New Frontier way from David and were hiding in an abandoned house that happened to have a basement full of supplies. Then the Saviors showed up, accusing them of stealing those supplies.
Somehow, they managed to escape the Saviors by car. However, even after traveling for more than a week, the Saviors still tracked them down. During the pursuit, she became separated from her family, and that was how she ended up with us.
Chasing someone for over a week just for a few supplies didn't make sense. In that amount of time, they could have scavenged far more than they had supposedly lost.
Either she wasn't telling me the whole truth, or the Saviors wanted something else from her.
I thought about it for a moment, but nothing came to mind.
Well, what the heck. The truth would come out eventually. I could always wait.
So, for now, I decided to be patient.
"What the hell is this bow made out of?"
Beth tried to pull back the string of my bow as hard as she could, but it didn't budge.
A few moments later, Carl became interested as well. Wanting to show off in front of his crush, he confidently proclaimed, "Let me show you how to do it."
He pulled on the string as hard as he could, but nothing happened. As the seconds passed, he grew more frustrated and embarrassed.
"You're doing it wrong. Let me try again."
Beth snatched the bow from his hands and tried once more. This time, she put even more effort into it, but the string still refused to move.
Eventually, the two of them grabbed the bow together and tried pulling the string at the same time.
Watching them fool around, I couldn't help but wonder if they had forgotten where we were. Yet after thinking about it for a moment, I realized I couldn't really blame them.
Only a short while ago, both of them had been tense and frightened. Now they were smiling and laughing as they struggled with the bowstring.
Humans are surprisingly simple creatures.
"They remind me of my two children, Gabriel and Mariana. They used to fool around just like this. I hope they're safe with Javier."
Kate spoke in a whisper from my back, the worry in her voice impossible to miss.
"You mentioned supplies. Do you have any medical supplies with you?"
If she did, they would be useful not only for her but for everyone at the prison.
Unfortunately, her answer came quickly.
"No, I have nothing on me. We only managed to gather a few supplies. The rest were left behind at that house, and it's probably been looted by now. Whatever we had left was in the car. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry. The people I'm staying with need medical supplies more than anything. If we don't find some soon, they won't survive much longer."
Kate was quiet for a moment before pulling out a folded piece of paper.
I took it from her and looked it over.
It contained a set of coordinates.
"I found this in the basement with the supplies. I thought it might be important, so I took it. Maybe there's something useful at that location."
Pulling the paper away, I asked a question that had been bothering me for a while.
"Did you kill that man with his face blown off?"
"What?" she asked, sounding surprised. Then she quickly added, "No, I haven't killed anyone. But I did hear a shotgun blast echoing through the forest."
Interesting.
As I was about to ask more questions, Beth spoke up.
"He was one of our people. Two days ago, he went out scavenging for food but never came back. We tried to look for him, but we couldn't find him."
"Then why didn't you tell me this earlier?" I asked.
This was important information. She should have told me sooner.
"I wanted to, but everything happened so fast that I didn't get the chance."
I looked at her for a moment before turning my attention back to the question at hand.
Who killed that guy?
After thinking about it for a while, I gave up. It had nothing to do with me, so I didn't care much. People dying had become so common that everyone was used to it by now. But whoever killed him could still be nearby.
Finally, the prison came into view.
Carl immediately took off running toward it.
"Hey, Carl, don't run!" Beth shouted after him, but he didn't listen.
"Beth, can I have my bow back?"
She handed it to me without question.
"You must be really strong to use that bow so easily. What's your secret?"
She looked at me curiously, patiently waiting for an answer. There was a hint of admiration in her voice that hadn't been there when we first left the prison.
"I train a lot. That's why," I answered casually, not wanting to say much more.
"You know, for a guy who's so interesting, you always give the most boring answers."
I glanced at her but said nothing.
"When I asked why you were so strong, you said training. When I asked how you knew so much about medicine, you said reading. Now I'm asking how you can use that bow so easily, and you're giving me the same answer again: training."
She shook her head.
"Do you ever do anything fun besides training?"
The question was teasing, but there was genuine curiosity behind it.
"Fun like what"
"You know, going out with friends, playing games, maybe singing, dancing... anything exciting other than training or reading."
Well, it had been a long time since I had done any of those things.
Between managing the community and constantly trying to get stronger, all of my time was occupied, leaving little room for what most people would consider fun.
"I'd rather survive than have fun."
That was my answer.
Beth looked at me and shook her head.
"Well, then you're not really living your life... you're just surviving. What's the fun in that?"
I fell silent; I didn't have a response. There was nothing I could say, so I said nothing at all.
At the prison gate, I saw a small crowd gathering, which surprised me. On closer look, I realized Maggie and the others had returned with TNT. So, they actually found it. Lucky.
"Carl, don't touch that. That's explosive. Stay away!" Daryl warned Carl, who was staring at the crate of TNT.
"I'm just looking. It won't explode," Carl replied, backing away as Daryl carried the TNT inside the prison.
As we approached, Carol and Maggie noticed us.
"Carl told me what happened. Are you both alright?" Maggie asked, looking over her sister carefully for any injuries. Finding nothing, her gaze shifted to me. "And who is this lady?"
"We found her in the woods. She's injured and in need of urgent treatment," I answered. My response seemed to upset her, but she didn't say anything.
"Let me help you. You must be tired from carrying her," Carol said from behind Maggie as she gently took Kate from me.
"I'm sorry to bother you guys," Kate said weakly, clearly in pain. She could tell Maggie wasn't happy about her being here.
"There's no problem. I'll take you to the infirmary," Carol said casually with a small smile.
I looked into the distance after hearing a noise, then noticed a Humvee approaching us. At first, I couldn't help but smile, but that quickly turned into concern when I saw the condition of the people inside it.
A moment later, the others finally heard the sound and looked over.
A Humvee pushed through the treeline.
Dust poured out behind it, thick and trailing, swallowing the road it came from. It didn't slow down at first. Just kept coming straight toward the prison like it already knew exactly where it was going.
Now everyone had their weapons up.
"Everybody, lower your weapons. I know them."
My voice cut through the tension, even after lowering their weapons, no one relaxed. Eyes stayed locked on the vehicle.
The Humvee kept rolling forward.
Closer.
Only when it reached the open stretch near the gate did it finally begin to slow heavy brakes grinding, suspension dipping as it came under control.
Daryl didn't lower his gun.
Maggie didn't either.