Land A Stranded Novel
Page 25
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They had been at the Vet’s clinic for six days, and everyone was getting anxious to leave. They were all thinking about home and how close they were. When Quinn snapped at Alex for the third time over changing his bandages, she had had enough. She called everyone out to the porch and helped Quinn down the stairs to the lawn. He was doing well getting around but stairs were still a problem. Once they were all gathered around she began.
“Okay, we’re all getting pissy about not being on the road so this is what I think. Tomorrow will have been a week since Quinn was shot and he’s healing really fast, faster than I thought he would. So Quinn, if you can walk from here to the clinic without falling down or stopping, we leave in the morning. If you can’t do it, we stay for a few more days. There’s no point in leaving too soon only to have you re-injure your leg. A few more days of healing might make all the difference in a fight on the road, so give it your best shot. But seriously, Quinn, if it’s too much, stop. Don’t push yourself too hard or we’ll be here even longer.”
Quinn looked around at all his friends who were giving him encouraging smiles and nodded. He kept his crutch with him as he walked towards the clinic but tried not to use it. He was almost there when he knew he wouldn’t make it. He took another step but had to stop and lean on his crutch. He hung his head in misery as he heard his friends walk up behind him.
Alex came around in front of him and she had the biggest grin on her face, which confused him. She slipped under his arm to give him support and squeezed him tight.
“Holy crap! That was amazing! I can’t believe how far you got. Great job, Quinn!” She beamed at him happily.
“What are you talking about? You said I had to make it the whole way,” he said to her in confusion as she helped lower him into a deck chair in front of the clinic.
“Well yeah, but I didn’t even really think you’d make it halfway. You’ve been such a jerk today, I mean, we all have, that I was trying to make a point.
“Dude, you were shot, twice! It hasn’t even been a week. We need to stop being so cranky and deal with it. But after seeing how far you came, well, in my professional doctor’s opinion, I say…we leave in two days!”
Everyone cheered and Quinn started to laugh. He looked at Alex and said while laughing. “You are so mean.”
The next two days were filled with busy activities. They stripped the house of all useful supplies, and more importantly, the clinic of its precious medical supplies. They pulled everything out of all the vehicles and repacked it all, leaving out some extra things they didn’t feel were priorities. Josh and Cooper were determined to fit the ATV they had got working in the back of the van. They had all been practicing every day with the assault rifles after finding out there were no other properties around that would hear them and they were all getting better at controlling the weapon. The semiautomatic setting was the best option as it let off three round bursts and didn’t speed through the ammunition clips so fast.
They boiled pot after pot of water and took baths and washed their clothes. Quinn kept exercising and stretching his leg in small bursts to avoid overtiring it. Alex and Dara baked cookies and buns and filled Tupperware with the baked goods. They still had two more cases of yeast packages and plenty of powdered eggs and milk. They didn’t know what would happen at the border but they wanted to be prepared for bribes or a fight. It was amazing what a bag of buns would do to a person’s attitude after weeks of a steady diet of canned food.
After topping up their water tanks and bottles, they were ready to go and Alex couldn’t sleep. They were leaving in the morning, and they had had another huge meal with cherry pie for dessert made from a can of pie filling she had found when cleaning out the pantries. She was anxious to get over the border. There really wasn’t all that much different about the two countries but something about being in her own country soothed her. After tossing and turning for an hour, she gave up and went downstairs. She wandered around the main floor for a while and finally went out onto the front porch.
Quinn was sitting in a chair with his rifle propped up beside him. “Hey, Alex, what are you doing up?” he asked when she sat in the chair beside him.
“Can’t sleep, too keyed up about leaving, I guess. What about you, isn’t Josh supposed to be on watch tonight?”
“Yeah, but I convinced him to let me do it. I’ve had so much sleep the past week that I’d just lay there staring at the ceiling.” He reached over and took her hand. “I’m glad you’re up. There’s been something I wanted to say to you. What you did for me, taking the bullets out of my leg, was amazing. I just wanted to say thank you. You mean so much to me. I don’t know if I could have made it this far without you,” he said, staring at her intensely.
“Hey, of course you would. Someone would have manned up and carved your leg up for you,” she joked.
“No, that’s not what I mean, getting this far from California, and making our way home. You kept me going. I love Josh like a brother and Dara and Cooper are good friends but all I’ve focused on is keeping you safe and getting you home. When those bikers had us, what they said they were going to do to you, it almost drove me mad. The thought of you being hurt like that killed me.” When Alex didn’t say anything, he asked her, “You must know how I feel about you after all these years, Alex.”
Alex’s mind was a spiralling mess of confusion and panic. First Cooper and now Quinn. She had to stay off this porch; it was a dangerous place to be. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She could feel Quinn looking at her, waiting for a response. She opened her eyes and looked into his.
“When I saw you covered in blood in the back of that truck, my heart stopped and I saw flashbacks of us together over the years. I love you, Quinn. I have loved you for years and if I lost you, a piece of me would die. But I don’t know if I’m ready to make us more. Everything is so crazy and messed up. All the things we’ve gone through and we still aren’t even home. I’m just not ready for more right now.”
“Is it Cooper? Do you like him? I’ve seen the way he looks at you and I understand because I look at you the same way,” he said.
“I…I don’t know!” she laughed in frustration. “The world as we know it is over and I’m supposed to pick which boy to go to prom with?! I can’t, Quinn! Yes, Cooper has feelings for me and I might have some for him but I Do Not Know! This isn’t something I can do right now. Please be my friend and love me like I love you but just leave it for now. We can work it out when we get home, okay?” she pleaded.
He sat back and smiled reassuringly at her. He gave her hand a squeeze and said, “It’s okay, Alex, I just wanted to tell you how I felt and you’re right. This isn’t the time for it and I love you too. You should try and get some sleep. We’re out of here first thing in the morning.”
She stood up and leaned down to kiss him on the cheek but he turned his head and their lips met softly. Her whole body lit up and she pulled back in surprise with her eyes wide. He gave her a smug little grin. “I just thought you should know. Good night, Alex.”
She stumbled back towards the front door and mumbled a “good night” to him. All she could think was “now I’m never going to fall asleep.”