987 (Complex Series, #3)

Chapter Nineteen

I run to Brinn’s side. Everyone circles around her. Tears rush down Brinn’s red face.

I crouch next to her, “Are you okay?” Even though I know that she is not okay, I ask it anyway.

Brinn shakes her head, “No…my ankle…”

I address everyone else, “Let’s check in our bags. There might be something in there.”

I’ m probably the only person who has any kind of experience with bones being broken. In the Unknown, a Fields or Cons occasionally broke something. They were taken to the Nurses. The Nurses normally wrapped it tightly in a stiff cloth and told the person to put no pressure on the bone whatsoever.

How can Brinn keep pressure off her ankle when we are supposed to be walking to the village?

I slide my bag off my back and set it down on the dusty ground. I unzipped the top. None of us have any idea what’s inside.

My bag is packed tightly with objects, no empty space. I’m afraid that if I take everything out, I might not be able to fit it all back in.

I pull out the first object. It’s a clear, plastic air-tight container filled with crackers. I take out the container below it. It’s filled with crackers too.

There might be water in here.  My tongue feels like it’s been filled with dirt. I begin hurriedly pulling out more and more containers. There are about ten containers of crackers, each holding about what seems to be a hundred crackers. One thousand crackers. How long will that last us?

There are small containers filled with pills. Each container holds a different color. Tiny lettering is stenciled across each container. I squint at the container I’m holding in my hands. It reads: Vitamin and Mineral Supplement. Take once a day.

Are we supposed to be taking these? Are we only supposed to take them if we need them? How do we know when we need them?

I read the next label: Pain Relief. Take if feeling extreme pain. Take one pill every six hours, for two weeks maximum.

I call out, “I found a pain relief pill.”

Canton scoots towards me to see, “Good, good.”

He takes the small box from my hand and carefully pries it open. He gingerly plucks a small, dull yellow pill out with his fingertips. He hands it to Brinn, “Swallow this. It should help with your pain.”

Brinn obediently takes it and slips it between her lips.

My mind flashes back to when I was in the Complex with Jonathan. I was having difficulty walking down the halls without pain. He gave me a shot that was supposed to help with the pain.

It was dull yellow. Is this a creation of Ellen’s?

Brinn starts to relax, “It’s feeling better already. I think I’ll be able to stand on it if you want me to…”

I hurriedly shake my head, “No, don’t. Don’t put any weight on it. We have to find something to wrap it with.”

Brinn meekly nods. I think it still aches more than she’s letting on.

I continue going through my bag. I’m sure everyone else must be as thirsty as I am. My heart speeds up when I pull out a small bottle. My eye catches the word ‘water’ on the label.  I hurriedly read it and my heart sinks. It says: Water Filtration System. The river water may not be safe to drink. Fill up bottle with water through top opening. Once water has gone through the filter system, pour water into the separate cups, using the bottom opening.