Survivalist Plot: We Wear Out All Our Prayers

[meat_mooks]

DAY 6

The break of the new day finds the crew members scattered. Clef and Maxine have made it to the radio tower; Cedric and Howard have woken up in an abandoned house and are making their way there to join them; and having been attacked, Diana has been separated from Karis and is somewhere in the town.

With their opponents growing more and more clever, the time to escape is now. They may be dead before they get another chance.

Comments

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

Howard nods but just rests his head against the steering wheel and shivers for a minute before getting out of the car. When he does get out of the car, he falls into Cedric rather than finding his feet.

"Sorry." He clings on to Cedric - it seems like his hands are the only parts of his body with any power. "I can walk."

But he doesn't make any motion to. "Just need to get out of the sun."

[theboywhodied]

"Right." Cedric's not sure he believes that, but there isn't time. He moves to walk Howard out of the sun, half-carrying him. He's prepared to do it properly as well.

"I've got you. We'll get you there." He hopes. That tower's close...almost. Please, he prays.

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

And at this point, Howard needs Cedric to make good on carrying him. His legs go out from under him and he slumps against Cedric, only partially conscious.

Thankfully the door to the first floor of the radio tower is unlocked, and the inside is cool and quiet and looks safe enough. Even the electricity is working here. The building appears to have air conditioning that no one bothered to turn off, and a room off to the side appears to be a worker's lounge, with a couch and a vending machine (the vending machine has since been emptied, unfortunately). There's even a water fountain, and if Cedric checks it, there's actual water.

The cabinets are filled with useful things, including a first aid kit, paper plates and cutlery. None of these seem to have been touched.

[theboywhodied]

"All right. Easy..."

Cedric carefully pulls Howard onto his back, hauling him the rest of the way to the radio tower. They enter easily enough, into a shockingly comfortable environment. He could almost smile. And hey---resources!

He brings Howard into a room on the side, gently laying him on the couch while he searches for supplies. "I'm here, don't worry. Right here," he whispers, just in case Howard can hear him.

The biggest delight is finding a water fountain, of course. He's tempted to take a long drink, but Howard needs tending first---and they don't know how much is there. He folds one of the paper plates into a makeshift cup, fills it, and rushes back to Howard's side, tipping his head.

"Here. Real water." The rest can be dealt with later.

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

Howard's lost track of what's going on, but he can feel Cedric moving his head and as soon as he feels cool water in his mouth, he snaps a little back to reality. He's on a couch, feeling like he's been hit by a truck. So much for pretending to be alright. He swallows the rest of the water on the plate and weakly mumbles for more.

Cedric would make an okay medic, he thinks. A good one, even, given enough time.

Focus.

He wonders how much water they have. If it's enough, maybe they can use it to rinse the burns and infected injuries. Maybe they can find antibiotics here. Maybe, maybe, maybe. He tries to sit up and slides back, deciding that while he probably could, he's not going to waste energy on that.

Even that little bit of water has helped a lot.

He can't keep lying to Cedric that he's okay, but it comes too naturally to him. He reaches and hand out and tugs at Cedric's hand. "Don't leave. I just need a few minutes."

He's worried that if he can't keep up, Cedric will abandon him.

[theboywhodied]

Cedric stays where he is for a few moments longer, squeezing Howard's hand tightly. He knows Howard's probably worried, and there's no way he'll leave his friend.

"I'd only leave for a few seconds, to bring you more water. And I think I saw a first aid kit too. That's all I'm going to get, I promise."

He kneels at Howard's side, watching. Cedric's body has a faint tremor in it, fear creeping its way further in.

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"Okay." He lets go of Cedric's hand and closes his eyes to rest a moment. The sickness is coming in waves, and while he feels a bit better now, if still completely spent, he's barely keeping down panic of what's going happen next.

He does decide on that 'sitting up' idea. If he's going to soldier through this, he needs to commit to it. By the time Cedric has the water and the med kit in hand, Howard's sitting up, looking a bit glazed but intent on using that medical kit.

"We're not dying here."

[theboywhodied]

Cedric does as asked, tucking the first aid kit in the crook of his arms and securing another cup of water for both of them. He hurries it back to Howard's side, helping him take another drink.

"No, no." He passes the kit over when Howard seems ready, quietly taking a drink. Cedric's never been so pleased to have real water before. It pleasantly lacks (much) taste.

"Alright, what've we got?"

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

Howard sets the kit beside him and pulls his shirt up and off. Getting a good look at the wound in his side, it's much worse than he thought it was. The plastic pocket is gummed up again with pus and crust, and spidery red vein lines are visible under his skin, darker near the hole and fading out across his chest. Taking the bandage off, the burn on his side is similarly ugly.

"Oh." A little whimper of defeat escapes his lips. He couldn't tell it was that awful. "That's not...that's not good."

He opens the medical kit with a wince. No generic antibiotics in there. Some disinfectant, although it looks much too late for that, but the worst they can do is try. He holds the disinfectant out to Cedric. "This'll fix it, though," he lies. "Help me get it on? It's going to hurt."

[theboywhodied]

Cedric sweeps his gaze over Howard's injuries, though he doesn't keep looking for long. He can hardly bear to. It's bad, so bad, even a non-medic can see that. But he has to listen, focus, and try---they don't stand a chance otherwise.

With that thought in mind, he accepts the disinfectant and prepares it. When it's ready, he gently grips Howard's shoulder. "Sorry---about this."

He dabs the first drops, steeling himself for dealing with Howard's pain. He keeps his head bowed. This is something Cedric has never handled too well.

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

Cedric doesn't need to apologize. Howard rests his head on the arm Cedric's using to restrain him and grits his teeth. It hurts, but it hurts no worse than what has already happened. And even though he's still sick, and can feel the chills coming back, once everything's patched up it does feel good to have fresh bandages. They use the water to wash some of the grime off, too.

"Let's see what's upstairs." Howard thinks he's got enough energy to face the stairs.