@junieses [ x ]
Perhaps she was being stupid. No, she likely was, but it wasn’t like Lily could help it.
She finished fastening the fabric around the makeshift splint, careful not to restrict blood flow to the stranger’s finger. She had found the other while searching for supplies, and though she had been told otherwise from the very start of this disaster, Lily couldn’t leave someone so vulnerable behind. She herself had only been surviving this long by the kindness of untainted souls, though they had expired as a result of this.
A tremor ran through Lily. Would she, too, have to run after helping this other person out?
“There, just try not to move it and it’ll get better on its own,” was all Lily said following a period of silence between them. The splint was hardly anything to be proud of; it was made from leftover wood and torn clothing, but it was good enough for what little there was left in the world. Lily was only a nurse by training, but almost a doctor by experience with how much she had been used among other survivors. She had her share of losses—ones she didn’t want to think about, and it made her swallow the lump in her throat—and triumphs, however little they were.
The burn of hunger in her stomach brought Lily back to the present. She remembered why she had been out in the first place before stumbling across the other girl.
“I, uh,” Lily started after packing her things into her trusty little bag. Her shelter was a dilapidated house, one of the best things she’d had in a while. She had two options: she could trust this stranger, or she could leave them. The former could leave Lily for dead. The latter would leave the guilt pooling within her. She felt no danger from the other, but she didn’t know. She didn’t know. “I’m gonna go… Look for supplies and food and stuff. Are you okay staying here or do you want to come with?”
Sunmi was pale. There wasn’t much blood loss. A bullet from the bandits had only grazed her shoulder, after all. Dread radiated off of her as she stared down at the splint. Like an idiot, she had tried to punch one of them. Her--some tiny little thing--against a man with a jaw like a rock. It wasn’t a surprise she broke a finger, having relied so much on guns. And that was exactly her problem now: how was she supposed to grip a gun, or nock an arrow? And it had to be her middle finger, too, so the pain spread across all her fingers instead of just one side or another.
She had to fight back the urge to snort at the other’s suggestion. It wasn’t so much that she thought the other was stupid--I mean why would she? She didn’t know the girl. It was just that her suggestion for ‘treatment’ was so unrealistic. If only she could guarantee she wouldn’t be faced with situations where she wouldn’t even have enough thought to spare to reminding herself not to move it.
As soon as the other offered, she nodded vigorously. She hated relying on others, but what choice did she have? “Yeah no, I’ll help. It’s fine,” she answered quickly, scrambling up to her feet. She looked at the gun in her left hand, grimacing. She wouldn’t even be able to practice shooting with her non-dominant hand; they couldn’t risk the noise, not knowing what was around them. “Lead the way. I’m not familiar with this area at all.”
