"Alright," Jack said, finding that picking the girl up was a lot easier than getting the shit off of her, "Let's get you some help, yeah?"
He understood that she couldn't hear him, but it was something he did to just clear the silence that threatened to consume him every day. He was terrified of quiet times. Quiet meant something's wrong, and when something's wrong, it meant the Jiorg was on its way. So he continued to talk as he made his way out of the wreckage and into the desert wasteland, heading west immediately. His bunker was about a mile away in that direction, and it was the only place he'd be able to get her patched up.
Natalie stayed unconscious for the entire trip to the bunker, although she occasionally moved a bit. At the very least, this showed that she was still fighting to stay alive. Her breathing was uneven, and even in her unconscious state, she seemed to be in a lot of pain. She wasn't difficult to carry, especially for someone like Jack who could easily lift far more than she weighed.
She seemed to be slowly stirring by the time Jack had reached the bunker, but she didn't open her eyes yet. She was very slowly starting to grip onto consciousness.
"Daw, shit…" he grumbled, looking down at the 60 foot ladder that lead to the bunker deep into the ground. "Now how the hell is this supposed to work?"
Jack's eyebrows furrowed heavily as he tried to think of a way to get her down the ladder without injuring her any further. A harder question to answer than one might think. He didn't even notice her stirring in his arms.
"H… H-Hello?" Natalie managed to open her hazel eyes and looked up at Jack. Who is this guy? Where am I, anyway? She hissed through her teeth in pain when she tried to move a bit. Okay, so I'm hurt. Cool. Good to know, I guess, but how badly? She glanced down and saw the gash on her thigh. Yeah, that's probably going to prevent me from walking for a bit…
(Does Jack live with anyone or is it just him?)
(Just him, all alone)
"Hiya," he said without even thinking, seeming to barely acknowledge the fact that she woke up. Only one idea crossed through his mind.
Shit, this is gonna be difficult.
"How would you like me to relocate your shoulder?" he asked her, still staring at the hole in the ground.
(Aight)
Natalie glanced at her shoulder. "Huh… it is dislocated, isn't it? I don't know much about medical stuff, so I don't think I can help you there." She glanced down at the hole as well. "I'm assuming we're supposed to get down there somehow?"
"I have an idea, but it's gonna hurt." He set her down as gently as he could, and place one gloved hand on her shoulder, and another on her bicep.
"Just take a deep breath, aright?" he said reassuringly, his grip getting slightly tighter.
Natalie nodded and obeyed, as little as she liked listening to strangers. She braced herself, knowing this would likely hurt a lot.
"You can go whenever you're ready…"
He jerked, snapping the arm back into the shoulder so fast her pain receptors had to scramble to keep up with it. She didn't even have time to scream before he picked her up again and shifted her around so that he was essentially giving her a piggy back ride.
"Hold on tight," he said, already walking towards the hole. "I'll take it as fast as I can."
Natalie nodded weakly, holding on as tight as she could as her consciousness started fading again. Not now… at least stay awake until you get down there… They soon reached the bottom, and Natalie was trying to forcibly keep herself conscious.
It almost looked like a normal 1 story house….if all of the walls, ceiling, and floors were made of dull gray concrete, A loveseat was nuzzled into the far right corner of what could be called a "living room", with an old TV and VCR player sitting about 5 feet in front of it on a hastily stacked pile of bricks. They passed through the living room into the kitchen, with was dominated by a island the size of Jack. He set her down on the surface and pressed a hidden butting on the side.
"This'll fix you up, alright?" he said simply as a single robot arm slowly lowered from the ceiling.
(I'd rather just skip the medical process, since I have zero knowledge on any of it.)
(Alright lol)
Once the robot arm had risen back into the ceiling, Natalie was stitched, bandaged, and had a sling for the arm that had been dislocated. She sat up and pulled her jacket back on, not liking her bare arms being visible. She wasn't quite sure what she was supposed to do at this point. Should she stay? Probably. She couldn't walk and her ship was destroyed. But she didn't like being cooped up. She swung her legs over the side of the counter, hopping down. She gripped the edge of the island tightly to keep herself up as her legs immediately collapsed beneath her.
(Also, this isn't relevant to anything right now, but I forgot to mention that Natalie secretly likes cuddles lol)
Jack glanced over his shoulder from where he was standing in front of the stove, shifting a pan back and forth to not burn the two eggs he was cooking.
"Crutches are in that closet over there," he said, gesturing over at a closet with his free hand.
He turned back to the stove, exposing the horrible scar on the back of his head.
"Yeah, don't worry, I'll just walk on over there and get them." Natalie replied, the sarcasm evident in her voice. She made her way over to the closet, using the island for support, and got the crutches out. They were obviously set for a far taller person than herself, since they were as tall as she was. How do I adjust these stupid things…?
He didn't bother responding, opting instead to sprinkle a bit of salt into the pan.
"Only pair I got," he said when he caught her inspecting them out of the corner of his eye. "Everything in here was tailor made of me and me alone. Can't really do much about it."
He jerked his head back slightly when the oil in the pan popped, still unsatisfied with how cooked the eggs were.
Natalie sat down and started looking for a way to adjust the crutches. She eventually found it and brought them down as many notches as she could. Now, they were still slightly too tall, but were at least closer to the height she needed for them to be usable.
"Hungry?" he asked as he turned off the stove and flipped the eggs one last time. "I made two for a reason."
Jack reached over and opened a cabinet, sliding out two small plastic plates and setting them on the counter.
"Er… alright." Natalie leaned the crutches against the island and sat back down. She could learn how to use them later, but she had no time right now. She quietly thanked Jack for the food and started eating. I guess of all the people I'd have to be stuck with while injured, this guy's not the worst… "I don't think I ever caught your name?"
"'Cause I didn't tell you," he said simply, wiggling off a piece of the yoke and chewing on it silently. He had no clue who this girl was, or why she decided to crash land on Earth, but he wasn't revealing anything he didn't have to until he felt like he could trust her.
Guess he's not telling me, then. Natalie shrugged and went back to her food. "I'm Natalie. Not that knowing that does any good to you, but there it is. There's no one out looking for me or anything, trust me." She crossed her ankles.
"Thanks," he said, taking another bite before setting his fork down and pulling the gun out of his holster. Jack studied it for a moment before setting it on the counter behind him, just in case she got any ideas.
"You just can't be too cautious," he explained. His voice wasn't necessarily unfriendly, just guarded.
"I know. I respect that. I just don't mind giving you my name because I've got nothing to lose. No family, no ship, hell, I can't even walk right now. No one would care if I died, so if you killed me… well, why the hell not? Considering you've helped me and all, though, I figure you're not gonna shoot me just yet." She took a sip of water, watching Jack curiously.
"I'm not a murderer," he said firmly, eating the last bit of egg and setting the plate in the sink.
Ah, what the hell, what is she gonna do with my name?
"Jack," he finally conceded, hopping up onto the counter next to his gun and studying the girl's appearance.
Natalie nodded and got up onto the crutches, taking a few moments to figure out how to use them before bringing her plate to the sink as well. "Nice to meet ya, although I wish it could've been in more ideal circumstances. She shifted the crutches a bit so they wouldn't hurt her arms as much. "Is there any way to make these shorter?"
