Frenchie pinches her mouth into a thin line. "No. Never have, never will. People will only slow me down, I have a mission and I can't let anyone or anything stop me."
Frenchie didn't mind the question, although she found it a bit annoying that people always asked like she was weird for not having one. Not everyone fit well in a group, Frenchie happened to be one of the people that didn't.
David’s eyes narrow. “Oh? What would that mission be?” He continues to pry. Who knows, maybe she was onto something? Maybe she was educated…? No. That was unlikely, he thought. Or at least, there was no way she was as smart as him (in his eyes).
Ryder continues to listen, a little bothered by Frenchie portraying people as an obstacle or something that would slow her down. As an inconvenience. After all, it was in times like this that humanity should stick together, taking care of one another and working to solve the Big Issue. But they weren’t. They weren’t because groups were full of backstabbers, distrust, greed, grief and much worse. Everyone had an ulterior motive, a reason to betray everyone else.
It didn’t need to be this way. It didn’t have to.
He looks back over to Gabriel.
Don’t worry buddy. David’s gonna make us a cure and you’ll be alright. I won’t leave ya. He assures Gabriel in his head.
(I’m sorry that David is literally so awful :’))(I love Frenchie, he does not.)
(Nah, don't worry, I love him as much as I hate him. And welcome back! I've been so bored without you!)
Frenchie shot him a pointed look. "None of your damn business. I don't even know you, what gives you the right to pry into my life?" She spat, her defenses all the way up. Who did this guy think he was? Her therapist? He had no right digging into her life when she knew nothing about him other than his name. She hadn't even told her friends about what she was going to do. Not when she had only figured it out when they had all started turning on each other.
(I’m flattered XD)(I missed you and Frenchie! Lol)
Although it was his question that was crossing a line, David still appears shocked when she snaps.
“Maybe I’m just worried this ‘mission’ will have a negative effect on me!” He snaps back. “I’m not sure why I asked,” He grumbles, “It’s not like anything that’s come out of your mouth has been honest thus far.” he turns around, messing with his things.
Ryder stands, walking back to Gabriel who was currently finishing the last organ in his meal. He (Ryder) rounds behind him, slipping the muzzle back over his face and securing it. He scoops the last gut or two back into the jar and wipes the blood and juice onto his own pants, using his tank to wipe around Gabriel’s face.
Once they reach the top of the stairs, Ophelia holds the door open as they walk in.
Inside was a small room, the walls painted a nice beigey brown color. In the corner of the room there were two mattresses stacked on top of each other laying on the floor. Laid over the mattresses was the poorly straightened out quilt that leaned heavily off of one side of the bed.
There was a small beaten up dresser near the window, torn dark curtains hung in front of the window. From out of the window you could see for miles on a normal day. But in the middle of the storm, all that could be seen was their backyard and the shed. Everything else had been hidden by the fog and the storm.
Cass leads Jax to the bed, gently letting go of him so he could lay down.
"I'll get the first aid kit here in a bit and we can check that would out. It sounds really serious" he says calmly. He was trying his best not to be irritated. Not at Jax but at the situation. Though it didn't show through. Cass was rather good at hiding his emotions for the sake of everyone else's feelings. Whether it was before or after the world went to shit.
-
Jesse opens the door slowly "Ghabiun" (ha-bean) She calls as she lowers her voice. Not making it softer but more firm than it already was.
She slips into the room rather quickly, closing/slamming the door behind her in a hurry so the dog wouldn't get out.
You can here the chain rattling from the other side of the door and a small click. Jesse had attached the chain to the dogs collar.
"Sitzen" she says firmly. The clacking of the nails against the floor stop and so does the growling. With that, Jesse wraps the chain around her hand and firmly holds onto it before she slides the door open.
On the other side of the door is a 110 pound dog that now standing, stood at about 3 feet tall. It had cropped ears and a big square face that matches its muscular, square like build. It has a brindle coat pattern of black and brown and its eyes were a deep orange color. It looked like a mix between a cane corso and a bull mastiff but Jesse had no idea what breed it actually was.
Ghabiun bares his teeth and lunges forward to go out of the room and towards the unfamiliar people with the intent to most definitely rip their faces off. But before the dog could cross the doorway it's pulled back by Jesse.
She gripped the leather collar that was wrapped around its neck and pulls the dog close to her, "Beißen Sie nicht" she says quietly to the dog as it struggles to get away from her. It's head was turned halfway to her but its orange eyes were wide and locked onto Clovis.
"Well screw you too, gettin' pissy at me when you're the one asking probing questions." She growled, turning her attention towards Ryder and Gabriel to avoid tiring herself out with anger. Her temper was terrible and it had a tendency to wear her out.
She mainly observed Gabriel, still really weirded out and confused on what the hell he was doing here and why they were so okay with keeping a zombie around like a beloved pet. Or, more accurately, why Ryder kept him around like a beloved pet. David didn't seem to like anything that wasn't himself or his notebook so she couldn't really include him.
Jax nodded and laid down on the bed. It wasn't as warm as the living room, but it was better for his back. He pulled up his pant leg to reveal a nasty wound. It was red, swollen around the edges, and hot to the touch. He looked away, disgusted at how infected such a wound could get. Jax snuggled himself under the quilt. It trapped his heat well and felt like someone was hugging him. He liked it. “Alright. Sorry for being a nuisance.” He laid his head on the pillow, staring at the ceiling. Now that the thunder and lightning had dissipated, he was content with the rain. “Thank you.” He mumbled again.
Jax looked at the ceiling, wondering if he had caught the zombie virus. The wound resembled what a zombie looked like. He didn’t what to join the undead! What could I do? What could I do? His thoughts raced around his head and his actions reflected that. He started to fidget, toss, and run his fingers through his hair. Jax was screwed if it was zombie-related. Cass would have to take him out back and shoot him to release him from that nightmare. He didn’t want to be shot! Or killed for a matter of fact.
Cass kneels down next to the bed, looking over the wound and trying not to gag.
He swallows as his eyes skim the infected area. "It's alright. We're happy to help. Isn't that right Fia?" he asks, looking over to his daughter.
She nods her head before coming up beside Jax and Cassius. Her eyes widened "EW!" she exclaims rather loudly.
"Fia!" Cass says in a hushed whisper
"what?! It's gross! Look at his leg!" she says, looking up to Jax. "what happened??" Ophelia asks, her eyes going back to his leg and gagging.
Jax sat back up, closing his eyes, and pressed the side (Hard to describe ;-;) of his pointer finger to his eye. He felt out of it, forgetting about the wound for a split second. He blinked his eyes open. "I know. It's bad. I don't know how I put up with it so long." The sudden memory of the fishing line came back to him, and his body shivered. He didn't want to go through that again. It would pain him. Literally. "It's alright, Cass. I know it's gross, but it looks like your run-of-the-mill bacterial infection. Although, I am not a doctor." He looked at Fia. Such an inquisitive girl she was. "I cut my leg on a barbed wire fence when escaping zombies. It was—excruciating. I didn't have the supplies to do anything about it. All the other injuries from the event healed up." He tried to think, but his mind was elsewhere. It was trying to calculate where he was. "If this isn't the cause of fever and chills, then I don't know what is." Jax couldn't sit up any longer and laid back down. This fever was killing him mentally. “I suppose if we treated the infection, the fever and…” He trailed off, the fever consuming him. He had a look of discomfort. “I feel worse.” He said quietly. He looked awful.
Fia keeps her eyes away from the wound as Jax talked, not wanting to gag again. And she knew her dad would scold her if she said anything rude. He would never harshly scold her of course but she still knew he wouldn't like it.
Cass stands, looking at Jax now. "okay im going to go ahead and run downstairs and get everything im gonna need to fix you up. But i am going to tell you" he pauses, watching Fia randomly run out of the room with a small squeal. He watches as her hair bounces up and down with every step of hers.
He turns back to Jax "im not a doctor by any means" he warns
(im sorry its so short and dry)
(That’s alright. No need to apologize)
Jax nodded. He was hot to the touch, another spike of the fever well into the 100s. “As long as you can at least treat the wound, I’m fine with that. You’re not going to find a trained doctor in the apocalypse.” Some of his words were drawn out as if he was struggling to talk. He put his arm over his eyes, blocking out any lighting that entered the room. His leg laid straight on the bed, pant leg rolled up, and ready for treatment. He wondered why Fia had squealed. Did he scare her, or at least did his ailment scare her? He couldn’t have known. It was a disgusting wound, yes, but he couldn’t have kept it like this any longer. Jax had to tell Cass and in turn, he’d disgusted the two with his infected wound that looked like it was rotting. In reality, it needed to be drained, cleaned out, and sutured up with a bandage wrapped around it. Jax hardly knew if he could instruct Cass on how to treat it, his mom had been a nurse for years. He’d seen patients with staph infections. He tried his bed to remember the steps. They were simple, but he had his doubts when iodine came into the picture. He’s not going to have that. Jax decided to let Cass take this into his own hands and not torture the guy with medical knowledge. Please apply iodine before draining anything he begged in his mind.
(Fun fact: I’m actually drawing this from a personal experience. I had a staph infection and I had to go get the icky stuff drained out from under my skin.)
(oh gosh! What happened?? (if you don't mind me asking)
"well you know…you never know" he shrugs "well don't go anywhere" he jokes, heading out of the room.
He makes his way downstairs, keeping an eye out for wherever his daughter was.
His eyes catch sight of her near the fireplace as she poked the coals with the fire iron. He walks up to her "hey Fia i told you not to touch that" he scolds, bending down and taking it from her. Though it was more he put his hand on the iron and she let go. He puts it back into the tall wired container that held all of the fire irons.
She looks up to him "sorry" she says, looking over to the kitchen.
"its okay baby. The reason i don't want you touching that is so you don't get hurt. Okay?" he says calmly.
She nods and runs to the kitchen, getting distracted once again.
He follows her into the kitchen and grabs the first aid kit. Which was simply a cardboard box that had been taped together with medical supplies inside of it.
"Let's go ahead and go upstairs for now okay? When im done fixing up Jax we can go outside and check on the crops together" he offers.
Fia turns around "really!! Will it stop storming?" she asks excitedly as she runs towards the staircase. "It should here soon." he nods to her
They make there way up the stairs and into the room, Fia going into their own room and Cass slipping into the room Jax was in.
"hey. Sorry i took a little longer. Fia was downstairs" he says, setting the box down on the hardwood floor and kneeling down to see his leg.
He grimaces but he keeps himself composed as he gets out everything he would need. Sadly, Cass did not have any access to Iodine.
"Well screw you too, gettin' pissy at me when you're the one asking probing questions." She growled, turning her attention towards Ryder and Gabriel to avoid tiring herself out with anger. Her temper was terrible and it had a tendency to wear her out.
She mainly observed Gabriel, still really weirded out and confused on what the hell he was doing here and why they were so okay with keeping a zombie around like a beloved pet. Or, more accurately, why Ryder kept him around like a beloved pet. David didn't seem to like anything that wasn't himself or his notebook so she couldn't really include him.
David completely ignore’s Frenchie’s comment, angry as well and also avoiding working himself up. He turns completely around so his back is facing them, taking out his compact computer again, booting it up and opening his notebook, flipping through to find an exact page.
Gabriel again starts to mindlessly gnaw at Ryder’s arm through the muzzle, receiving a soft smile from Ryder as he ruffles his messy black hair.
Even if he was a zombie, he was still Ryder’s friend. Best friend at that. Besides, the whole zombie thing was a virus, right? David had said before that people who hadn’t previously been dead and had just been bitten actually could still be in there somewhere.
He turns to look back to Frenchie and David, catching Frenchie observing Gabriel. Many questions came to mind to ask, but he wasn’t really keen on prying specifically on sensitive subjects. And the apocalypse made most subjects sensitive.
“Don’t worry, he’s harmless.” He says, sitting down now, not specifying which guy he was referring to- David or Gabriel.
Jesse opens the door slowly "Ghabiun" (ha-bean) She calls as she lowers her voice. Not making it softer but more firm than it already was.
She slips into the room rather quickly, closing/slamming the door behind her in a hurry so the dog wouldn't get out.
You can here the chain rattling from the other side of the door and a small click. Jesse had attached the chain to the dogs collar.
"Sitzen" she says firmly. The clacking of the nails against the floor stop and so does the growling. With that, Jesse wraps the chain around her hand and firmly holds onto it before she slides the door open.
On the other side of the door is a 110 pound dog that now standing, stood at about 3 feet tall. It had cropped ears and a big square face that matches its muscular, square like build. It has a brindle coat pattern of black and brown and its eyes were a deep orange color. It looked like a mix between a cane corso and a bull mastiff but Jesse had no idea what breed it actually was.
Ghabiun bares his teeth and lunges forward to go out of the room and towards the unfamiliar people with the intent to most definitely rip their faces off. But before the dog could cross the doorway it's pulled back by Jesse.
She gripped the leather collar that was wrapped around its neck and pulls the dog close to her, "Beißen Sie nicht" she says quietly to the dog as it struggles to get away from her. It's head was turned halfway to her but its orange eyes were wide and locked onto Clovis.
Clovis turns to looks at the dog once he’s finished wiping off Onyx’s hands, not moving quickly. He looks from the dog to Jesse, then back to the dog.
Where the heck did she find him?
At least she has a leash.
He looks back to Jesse, not showing that he wasn’t a fan on his face, but instead staying neutral. “W-would it help for you to let him smell us?” He asks, just not wanting the dog to stay suspicious of them.
Onyx stays frozen, eyes wide and staring past Jesse. He could hear the dog, smell it even. He could feel the RV shift in the slightest when it walked. He draws his brows together when Clovis speaks up, irritated that he was talking over the soft breaths of the animal.
Would she let me come with her? Can I touch it? Would she let me feed it? Will it bite me? I think it would like me. It doesn’t like dad, does it?
She raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "Which one? The one that'll kill me or the zombie?" She snorted with a roll of her eyes. "What makes this one zombie so different, huh? There's thousands out there and yet you choose to make this one your constant companion? What's up with that? I'm sure you have a reason and it's not like I've got anything better to do than listen."
Ryder gives a short, breathy chuckle. “I can’t say anything about that one,” he jokes, nodding towards David, “I’ve only been with him for a few weeks. But Gabriel won’t get to you with his muzzle and gloves.” Gabriel leans into him as he speaks, flopping down beside him and trying to eat away at his back now.
“I grew up with Vamp here, just because he’s sick doesn’t mean I’m leaving him.” He says, his voice quieter now, since he didn’t like to mention it around David. “Besides, David says there is still a chance for a cure for people who were bitten. As long as they weren’t already dead.” He glances over his shoulder to Gabriel, “Isn’t that right?” He looks back to Frenchie. “Call me stupid, but if there’s a chance he’d be okay then I’m not throwing away that chance for him.” Although his words were more serious, he ends his sentence with a soft chuckle, taking the conversation very lightly.
David stares at his screen, overhearing their conversation but not acknowledging it. He draws his brow together, glaring into the dim light of the computer as he filled in information.
(I had a hangnail and it got infected. Terrible experience. 10/10 would not recommend.)
Jax lay in the silence thinking about how everything had flown by in a blur. Knocking on Cass’ door, getting his arm sutured, getting a fever, bonding with Cass and telling him things about his life, and Fia being absolutely awed by him. Now he lay in Cass’ spare bedroom with an infected leg. Jax didn’t care if Cass wasn’t a doctor. He had managed to suture up his arm. He trusted Cass. It was weird. He never trusted anyone. Well, he trusted Cass enough not to kill him. Jax removed his arm from over his eyes, blinking to adjust to the light. There was little of it, but it still hurt him. He heard heavy footsteps march up the stairs and figured it was Cass. He sat himself up, interested to see how Cass was going to fix this.
Jax watched as Cass entered to room with a box. He was curious as to what could possibly be in that box and if was actually going to survive Cass’ lack of medical knowledge. It should be fine. You haven’t died from an arm infection He looked at Cass when he kneeled next to Jax. “That’s alright. It just gave me more time to prepare myself.” Seeing Cass grimace, he knew it was bad. He might as well join the ranks of the undead like the many folk stories, but rather than becoming a vampire or ethereal angel, he’d be a corpse that was falling apart. “I know it's awful. I should have treated it, but I had nothing to treat it with.” He took a deep breath, preparing for the pain to follow.
Jesse looks from the dog, to Clovis, then to Onyx as she shrugs, nodding her head. She stands so she can get a better footing just in case Ghabiun tried anything.
"if you want to, you can pet him." She says more to Onyx than Clovis. But if Clovis wanted to, he wasn't going to bite him. Not if Jesse had a good hold on him.
She still didn't like Clovis, so she couldn't care less if the dog bit him. Though the kid she didn't have a problem with. So for his sake, she kept a tight hold on the collar.
Jesse had found him about 6 months before the virus broke out and she's been with him ever since. She had found him with a band of men who raised. sold, and traded dogs for illegal dog fights. Jesse had business with one of them but the trade went wrong and she ended up doing some more than questionable things that ended in the dog chasing her out and farther. The owner was dead and she thought why not
So she ended up (for lack of a better word) keeping the dog where she and some friends lived and eventually earned his trust after having to be stitched up multiple times. It wasn't easy and it took a little too long, but to her it was worth it.
When the virus did break out, they still had their differences still but they stuck together, as Jesse made sure he was fed and safe from anyone, or anything else who wanted him. Whether it be for protection, or for food, she didn't let him out of her sight.
Cass sets out a few rags, gauze, alcohol and a few other smaller things as he hums to himself. Trying to make sure he got everything.
He looks back up to Jax, then to his leg as he wets the rag with water "If it makes you feel any better, I've seen worse." he says calmly, gently running the cold cloth over the wound, trying his best not to cause Jax any more pain but also to get any dirt, mud, or blood that was causing irritation to the skin.
"I served for a good bit of my days before this. I can say I've probably had a few of these myself." he says, setting the rag down and getting a smaller rag that he had wetted downstairs with warmer water over the stove.
He holds it to the wound for a few seconds before setting that down as well. Once he sees the wound clearly without any of the elements of the earth hiding it. He grabs a small blade and looks to Jax. "I don't have anything to help with the pain. And i apologize. So you might want to brace yourself" he says, not fully knowing what he was doing but knowing enough to help.
Clovis looks back to the dog and slowly offers his hand to it for it to smell. “Hey, bud. Don’t mind us, will you?” He quietly/softly says, doing his best to show the dog he wasn’t a threat.
Onyx for the first time since they got into the RV takes a step forward, stepping softly so nothing should poke through his feet. He puts a hand on Clovis’ shoulder as he steps, and kneels down a little with a hand out.
Will it let me pet it?? Can I feel it?!
“What’s it’s name?” He asks.
Jax smiles at Cass. “Thanks for the reassurance.” He knew this was going to be hell, so his best bet to take the pain. Maybe get a stick to bite on. The cold rag running over the wound was painful enough that you could see a shiver run up his body. The skin was so sensitive, that even with a light touch it felt like pins and needles. “A few infected wounds?” He question Cass. “That must have been…torture.” Jax was already seeing double and the worst of it hadn’t even started. He put his hand to his head and laid back down. At least he laid in a comfy bed. If he passed out, it wouldn’t be that bad this time. He wouldn’t have to got to shed. He eyed the small blade and most pass out then and there. He wasn’t afraid of sharp objects, but thinking about the pain that came with it nauseated him.
Jax took a small breath. “I understand. I’ll try my best, but hey, if I pass out you don’t have to take me outside.” He closed his eyes, ready for any sharp jabs. Although, he wasn’t sure how much pain there would be. The would hurt, yes, but any pockets of grossness shouldn’t be painful because of pressurization. What Jax worried about the most was sutures. He couldn’t do it again. Hell no! Not again. Jax looked paler than usual.
(haha ive never written a dog so bare with me)
Jesse loosens her grip just a little on the leash so the dog could pull forward.
Ghabiun lets out a low growl before pulling his nose forward to Clovis' hand. Jesse pulls back on the leash just enough to let him know he wasn't allowed to bite and that he was only allowed to smell it.
It's wet nose runs against Clovis' rough hands, his callouses causing him to pull back just a little, his front paws raising from the floor and down again, shaking the RV before he leans back to Clovis. His tail starts to wag, and as it does his whole lower half swings back and forth, rocking the vehicle just a little.
"His name is Ghabiun" Jesse says proudly. "It's Arabic" she says, becoming a little less tense now that her dog wasn't showing as much aggression.
Ghabiun looks over to Onyx and tries to step towards him to smell him as well but Jesse pulls back on the leash, waiting for Clovis' say so before letting the animal near his son. Just because she didn't like him, didn't mean she would disrespect him.
Cass shakes his head "oh more than that honestly. I've seen more than my fair share of amputations in my time" he pauses "sorry. That's a bit much" Cass says, biting his tongue. He felt bad for Jax and the fact that he had to do all of this but he wasn't about to leave this wound here to get worse.
Cassius was received the wound wasn't as bad as Jax made it sound to be. He worried he would have to amputate. Something he never liked dealing with. Whether he was doing it or he was watching.
He clears his throat. "uhm…i can knock you out if you'd like?" Cass asks Jax hesitantly. "it wouldn't feel great obviously but im sure it'd feel better than this" he offers preparing himself for whatever Jax's reply would be
Clovis gives a tight smile, having recognized the language before she’d said anything. It was one he was already familiar with. He itches the side of the dog’s neck once it’s sniffed him a good bit.
Onyx takes a handful of Clovis’ shirt while the dog rocks the RV a little bit, holding himself steady with Clovis’ weight. He shivers with excitement, pressing his heels into the floor and listening to the dog growl at Clovis then continue on to smell him.
“Do you speak Arabic fluently?” Clovis asks, looking to Jesse, then back to the dog when he heads towards Onyx. He goes to say he was fine to sniff Onyx too, but before he can say anything Onyx had already felt the shift in the RV and the breath on his skin. He takes an unsteady step forward and offers his hand, only an inch of two from the dogs nose.
Jax looked at Cass with worry in his eyes. “Amputation? That sounds awful..” His voice got quiet. He wondered how much Cass had seen and experienced. He seemed like a military veteran, but at his age? Jax couldn’t believe so. Then again, they’ve been in an apocalypse. He looked down at his leg. It looked better without all the debris, but it was still puffy and gross. He weighed how much this may hurt if he stayed awake. It would be excruciating in some areas, and others would-be manageable. He looked over at Cass when he offers a form of anesthesia. “I—“ He paused, going over his options. He figured being uncomfortable was better than screaming. “I-I think it might be best.” He tried to focus on Cass, his vision was already wonky, his mind terrorizing him. “Maybe use pressure points?” Jax suggested. He didn’t mind Cass’ other way, but he wanted to avoid more injuries this poor man would have to take care of. “I don’t want you to tend to more injuries.” He felt like he already put too much stress on Cass. He knew it was his instinct to help someone who wondered around like a helpless baby deer, but he still felt bad. He closed his eyes, bracing for any type of impact if Cass chose that route.
Jesse looks to Clovis, blinking before nodding "English, German, Arabic" she says plainly "You?" she asks him, her eyes now on Ghabiun
The dog freezes for a second before looking back at Jesse, then to Onyx before sniffing his hand. He leans forward a little more to sniff the rest of his arm. Ghabiun was breathing rather hard right now as he was excited. The dog licks Onyx's hand a few times before letting out a rather loud, big sneeze of excitement. He hadn't met any new people in a long while. Jesse was surprised with how well he was behaving and she was quite proud of him and it showed on her face.
-
Cass raises his brows, having forgotten about pressure points all together. "right" he says quietly.
He didn't know much about pressure points but what he did know what this.
One: only strikes to the head would knock someone out. The rest will only cause immense amount of pain.
Two: If done wrong, using a pressure point can still cause severe damage.
And three…. he had no idea how to use a pressure point other than punching someone in the side of the jaw.
Cass wondered if Jax knew that though. He was curious as to a lot of things involving Jax's knowledge to certain things.
That was all Cass knew about pressure points and even then he didn't know if they were all correct.
"the side of the jaw would work best and most likely cause the least amount of injury to anything internally. Though i am not educated on anything else so if you have any better ideas, tell me know so we can get this over with." he says calmly, slight nervousness in his voice.
Cassius was trained in a lot of things including violence but not in something like pressure points.
He was taught to disarm, gather intel, and kill. And how to do it right.
"I dont mind tending to injuries. It's you im worried about. If you dont want to, i can just try to hurry and get this over with. Maybe you'll pass out from the pain again" he jokes
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