Kas' eyes widened as he listened to the story, his face paling. "H-Huh? He had to watch his sister die like that and he's… still able to smile? And he's always so worried about how everyone else is feeling…" His eyes stung with tears and he stared down at the ground. "I-I mean… with injuries like that, I'm sure there wasn't much you could do anyway. We don't have the supplies or the experience for surgery or anything…"
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"No, maybe not, but… still. I didn't even try," Tohru sighed, "But um… losing someone doesn't change the way you care for others. I doubt he's moved on entirely, but every time he frets over you, I'm sure that's because he doesn't want to lose you too."
Tohru shook his head.
"You'd think this apocalypse would harden our hearts, but I swear, it's made some of us softer."
"Y… Yeah…" Kas sighed and rubbed at his eyes a bit. "I feel like I'm getting weaker and weaker by the day. I mean, I can hardly walk on my own right now. My leg really hurts…" He closed his eyes, turning his face to the ceiling. "And now I'm 'talking about my feelings'? It's weird."
"Tough image aside, you seriously need to rest that knee. If you don't take it slowly, it might dislocate again, and we'll be back at square one," Tohru warned, "One of the guys in the group I was traveling with dislocated his shoulder like three times because he refused to give it a break after the first- forget the fact we had a literal doctor with us who told him to cut it out."
But with that, Tohru gave a sigh.
"Yeah, feelings are rough… But talking about them supposedly helps. It's definitely not a sign of weakness, I know that much."
"I can't just keep resting, though… I don't have that luxury." Kas sighed softly, looking down at his knee. It was pretty swollen still, and it hurt a lot. "We have to keep moving, and I can't always expect people to carry me out something. I need to be able to deal with it myself."
"I think we're staying here a few days, maybe," Tohru said, "You're not the only one who's hurt. And it's pretty safe here, which is why we picked this hospital to crash at."
He stopped for a moment.
"Wait, this is a hospital. We can probably find you crutches. That's probably the best thing for you right now, because you seriously need to rest that leg as much as possible, even if we do end up having to travel."
Kas sighed dramatically and leaned back against the wall. "I dunno how to use crutches, though… what if they're painful?" He asked. "What if I get them stuck on something or use them wrong and I fall and hurt myself worse? They might not even have them for my size. I'm not all that tall."
"They should be adjustable. And the alternative is that you almost certainly hurt yourself again. I would at least give them a try while we're here," Tohru insisted, "It shouldn't be that hard, and if it is, you have time."
"Alright, alright… I guess we should go find some, then…" Kas reluctantly stood up and started limping over to the door so that he could try and find wherever the crutches were. "Where do you think they'll be?"
"Orthopedic area, probably," Tohru guessed, "Here, lean on me, though. You really do need to keep the weight off that leg. I'm dead serious about it dislocating again."
He scanned the sign near the entrance of the floor.
"Looks like it's this floor, on the opposite side."
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine…" Kas leaned against Tohru as they walked, sighing softly again. "I guess they make crutches for kids too? I guess that would make sense… how long has this hospital been abandoned?"
"Yeah, of course they do," Tohru replied, thinking a bit, "Well… I'm not really sure. Probably almost two years at this point. About as long as this apocalypse has been going. It looks like one of those cases where zombies just kind of took the place over at the beginning. Most of the bodies here are pretty decayed at this point, and it doesn't smell as foul as the places with fresh corpses."
"Mm… yeah. Makes sense." Kas looked around warily, limping as he went along. "Are we almost to the… ortho… whatever wing you said the crutches are probably in…?" He asked weakly. "There's so many stairs in this place…"
"Yeah, looks like there's a few x-ray rooms right here, so we just gotta actually find the crutches now," Tohru answered, "You can sit and wait for me if you need a moment."
"Alright…" Kas sat down on a nearby chair to take a breather, panting a little to catch his breath. This is so stupid… I hate not being able to walk… hopefully he can find the crutches so I can at least move around…
Tohru found a supply room down the hall, and went to open it, but it was locked. He jiggled the doorknob a bit and stopped to think before proceeding. He took a screwdriver and some hairpins from his bag, hoping he might be able to pick the lock. Last thing he wanted was to have to kick down this door, especially since it might be reinforced.
After a few minutes of desperate attempts to pick the lock, it finally turned and clicked, and he was able to get inside.
Two corpses laid near one of the shelves, and Tohru did his best not to gag at the sight and smell of them. He went on his way, perusing the area for crutches that Kas might be able to use.
There were some pairs in the back, and he grabbed two, not sure which size would be best for the kid.
Kas was nodding off by the time Tohru returned, looking a bit pale and dizzy. He couldn't really focus on anything other than the pain in his leg, which was only getting worse as he sat there with it extended forward. There wasn't really a comfortable position for it to be in.
"Hey, Kas, you alright there?" Tohru asked, sitting down next to the kid and resting the crutches on the ground.
"Is there something else up, or is it just the pain bothering you? You look really pale."
"Mm…?" Kas looked up at Tohru, his vision hazy. "Hurts a lot… kinda dizzy… and I feel kinda sick…" He mumbled quietly. My mouth is really dry… and I'm starving. But we don't have a lot of food or water here.
"Hey, Tohru sent me to check on you," Lis replied, not really thinking out how she worded it.
He'd sent her to check on everyone technically. Not just Levi.
"Sleep well?"
"Yeah, actually. Better than I have since this thing started." Levi said, curling his legs up to hug his knees. "Tohru is a surprisingly good pillow. How is he?"
"And how are you?" He added, hurriedly.
Tohru nodded. "Here, take some water, and maybe this medicine will take the edge off. Then I can adjust these for you, and we'll be on our way."
He leaned down and rummaged through his bag, fishing out the water bottle and a bottle of pills.
"Great, great. He's up, seems to be alright. He looks not as horribly tired," Lis replied, "I'm doing pretty well, too. I don't think I have as much trouble sleeping as the rest of you guys, though."
"Okay…" Kas accepted the water bottle and pills and swallowed them, panting a little when they were down. "Mmmmm… did you find the crutches…?" He asked, wincing a bit as he moved his leg.
"Yeah, I wasn't sure which size you would need since you're kind of in between, so I grabbed two pairs. I should know how to adjust them. I've had to help someone adjust a pair before, so…"
He slid them forward so Kas could see.
"Okay…" Kas examined the two pairs of crutches, still pretty dazed. "I really don't know the different, honestly… feel free to just like… I dunno… pick whichever one you think is better. I don't know what I'm doing, so…"
"Yeah, I hate to make you stand up, but I need to get a better idea of your height. So I will move the adult pair down to the lowest notch, see what that does, and we can try that, maybe?" Tohru suggested, "I can't say I know that much myself."