The Great War, Carl Grimes

𝟬𝟭𝟴 remember those walls i built?

Melanie sat still, not moving and not talking as Denise patched her up. She wrapped gauze around Melanie's abdomen to help hold the ribs in place. She had also warned Melanie not to do any strenuous activities for a couple of weeks until the bones healed. Denise explained to Margot that the bones would heal on their own, which Melanie already knew. It wasn't the first time she had cracked a rib. Melanie had tried to exit her mind enough to listen and it had worked but everything was so blurry and muffled that she could barely think straight or listen.

Denise started on Melanie's face. She cleaned up the cut on her cheek and the split lip. The cleaning process burned but Melanie liked the pain. The pain reminded her that she was still alive, that she was real, and that she wasn't in that basement anymore. Melanie started to come back to reality the longer she sat in the infirmary. The longer her body and her mind recognized that she was in Alexandria, the easier it was to escape her mind and join the real world again.

As Denise finished up, Melanie finally looked up. She locked eyes with Denise and in a numb, monotone voice said, "Thank you."

Margot's eyes widened at Melanie finally speaking. Margot wanted to say something but she kept her mouth shut, not wanting to spook her sister back into her own mind again. Denise smiled at Melanie, "Of course." Denise handed her a cooling gel, gauze, and a pain medication. "This will help with the pain in your abdomen and your back. Just put it on twice a day when you change your bandages. The ribs will heal on their own —"

"Within a few weeks," Melanie finished for Denise. Denise nodded, looking surprised that Melanie knew that. "It's not my first cracked rib. It's not even my second."

Denise didn't react. She just nodded and handed over the items. Margot took them and helped Melanie off of the gurney she had been put on. Melanie winced at the pain but it was good. The pain helped keep her out of her head. It helped keep her out of that room in the house she had built in her head. It helped bring her back to reality, so Melanie cherished the pain no matter how bad it hurt.

   Melanie didn't say anything as Margot led her back to their home. Margot had said something about Melanie taking a shower while Margot heated up some soup but Melanie was half-listening. She was physically and emotionally exhausted, and experiencing so much physical and emotional pain. Melanie was hungry but all she really wanted was to shower and go to sleep. As Melanie wandered off upstairs, she heard Margot making soup in the kitchen. Melanie went straight to the bathroom and peeled off her sweaty clothes. Melanie unwrapped the gauze that Denise had just put on her and set it aside. Melanie stared down at the counter before slowly looking up at herself.

   As Melanie stared at her naked, bruised body, tears came to her eyes. Her face looked awful, a gigantic bruise took up most of the left side of her face while her left eye had started to darken. Her lip was split and a little bit swollen. Melanie gently ran her hands over the area, wincing at the tenderness. Melanie then looked down at her abdomen. Melanie's breath hitched in her throat upon seeing the gigantic bruise that went all the way around her abdomen and back. The cracked rib was the most bruised and swollen area on her body. Melanie's hand shook as she ran her hand over the area, wincing at the touch. Melanie pulled out the pain medication and opened up the bottle. She popped two into her mouth before leaning down by the sink and drinking water from the tap, swallowing the pills.

   Melanie quickly looked away from herself and turned on the shower. She let the water heat up, avoiding her body in the mirror before stepping into the shower. The water stung on her bruised and battered body but once again, Melanie cherished the pain. Melanie wished she could walk through life without needing pain to keep her grounded. She wished she could go back to that day in the gas station and make sure she had her knife out. She wished that she would've tried to fight back harder. Melanie wished a lot of things but it was too late for that. She had been kidnapped, abused, tortured, and treated like she wasn't even a person. Melanie had clawed her way back all on her own to someone who constantly had their guard up.