I felt like screaming.

This man, this er and his whole entourage had arrived somehow at our settlement at the perfect moment. Had they contributed to my mother’s breakdown? I hope not, or I would break their bones, all. My gaze went back to my own hands that, unsurprisingly, were trembling. Stimpaks did help, but I knew that they weren’t miraculous, at least, not in the small dose that I had received. My body still felt shaken up.

I stood there, looking at the man with the fedora hat, and the people who were behind him, most of which I couldn’t recognize at all. I had never been good with remembering faces.

He cleared his throat, and opened his mouth to say something. I couldn’t understand , though. The infirmary was filled with people that drowned even more the voice of the man, not to mention that my ears still refused to work correctly.

“Ouch! What was that for?” I asked, angry at whoever had slapped my head. Turning around, I felt surprised at seeing Mr. Donovan.

“Aren’t you going to answer?” He just said calmly, his voice booming through my ears as they always had. What could I say to him, though? What did something related to me matter to him?

“What was the question?” Suddenly, everyone quieted down, and I felt a little of relief from the pain still buzzing in my ears. Mr. Donovan looked at me, annoyed, prepared to slap my head upside again, but another strong voice came into the tent.

“Stop hitting the girl, Walter. She is already injured and we don’t need you to injure her more.” I just saw Mr. Donovan grumbling something, before stepping aside, leaving space for Mrs. Donovan. I could only smirk at him when she got closer, fussing at however I looked like.

She spoke in a softer voice, the one she reserved for hurt people, like me in that moment. However, as predictable as it may sound, I couldn’t hear her anymore. Guiding me to the bed next to my mother’s, she forced me to sit down on it, and, with hand gestures, she commanded me to stay there.

After a while, she came back, bringing a medical kit. Wetting a rag with alcohol, she started cleaning my head. I hissed, feeling the sting of the liquid in my wounds. She seemed to be speaking to me, but I could just hear strings of unintelligible words. Deciding that I was making her lose time, I spoke out.

“I-I can’t hear you.” That made her stop in her tracks. She faced me again and said something along the lines of… killing? I didn’t understand, so I shook my head, feeling more exasperated by the second about my inability to comprehend any sound.

Her face now taut, she took out a small flashlight, turning my head with her left hand. After checking my ear, she turned my head to other side. Panic rose in my stomach when I was able to see her expression that told me that something was not right.

“Is there something wrong?” I asked, but she didn’t answer. Instead, she stood up and left the room. I could feel the gazes of the rest of the crowd we had gained, and the feeling of screaming at them to stop glaring at me became stronger.

Mrs. Donovan came back before I could tear at them. Different from what I thought, she had brought a notebook and a pencil. She scribbled something in it and showed it to me. For how long have you been without hearing?

“U-um, I don’t know. I don’t remember how much time I stayed at the Salvage.”

“You were at the Salvage!” I could barely hear her scream. Her scrunched up face made me flinch, knowing I had just earned a big scolding. She just seemed she was about to explode, but stopped herself, seemingly realizing something. Writing furiously, her expression still filled with anger, she showed me the next message. What the hell were you doing there?

“I-I,” I faltered, not knowing what to answer, remembering Mom’s words about not letting anyone know about us. “I just went out to explore.” Her face was becoming redder by the second. The ‘Don’t hurt the injured girl’ words were being forgotten, if one were to judge at her face. I couldn’t blame her, though. Most of the people at the settlement didn’t know about my escapades.

She scribbled again, and I felt amusement creeping up my mind. If I wasn’t the one being questioned, I would have found this situation funnier.

Does your mother know about this?

I shook my head. “No.” She does know about my regular escapades, but not about this particular one. “And she must not know.” Mrs. Donovan was about to start writing on the notebook, but I cut her off. “Please, I don’t want to bring her more stress than what she already has had today.” The old woman looked at my mother compassionately before looking back at me, her gaze softened slightly.

Alright, but you must promise to not do this again.

I froze, not having an answer. I definitely could not stay here forever. Mr. Donovan didn’t want me in the security team, condemning me to be forever chained to this place. However, I hated lying. I didn’t want to add more to the pile of lies my mother and I had created.

Getting impatient, tapping her foot on the floor. She looked at me steely, as if guessing I didn’t want to promise such thing.

“I’ll be more careful.” I saw a girl I didn’t recognize, probably a Minuteman, at the corner of my eyes, smirking, as if they didn’t believe my words. Mrs. Donovan wanted to argue, but I cut her off again, trying to change the subject. “Please, tell me. Am I okay?” Her expression changed to a pained one. She took a moment to write in the notebook.

After reading her message, I felt my brain shut down. She kept writing more , but I had stopped paying attention. I stood up, ignoring everyone surrounding me, and ran, fleeing the walls that were now suffocating me.

I ran to the river that passed by the limits of our settlement. I didn’t stop, not for a moment. Wasn’t it funny? Too much running, but my feet wouldn’t stay put. They itched to move, to get to a place that felt safe.

Arriving there, I didn’t really knew what to do. I wanted to sit down, but at the same time, I wanted to run, not worry about anything else. My heart beat fast against my ribcage, as if wanting to be free. Ultimately, I decided to sit down, my toes barely grazing the water. They would have my head on a platter if I ever grazed their water with my dirty feet.

It had been… what? A mistake? I had run to danger, not caring about my own safety. It had been stupid, despite the exhilaration I felt at the hands of pain.

But I liked it. I loved it. Why?

 “U-um, hi!”

My head turned around before I could even think about it, and there she was. The same girl that had tried to touch me moments ago when I encountered her group. I had no desire to deal with her kind, especially if they had contributed to my mother’s breakdown. I just nodded slightly, hoping that she would take the hint and leave me alone.

That wasn’t meant to be, as she sat down, notebook in one hand and a pen in the other.

‘Are you okay?’ It was amusing to hear her squeaky voice ringing against my ears.

“Yes, I’m wonderful,” I answered dryly.

‘Oh-um. That was not an expected response, but I am glad to hear that.’ Was she serious? ‘Mrs. Donovan sent me to look out for you. She said you might do something stupid if you were let alone.’

I snorted, feeling increasing amusement at the girl who was yelling what she had written in the notebook.

“Well, I’m here, doing something completely not stupid. Go tell her that.”

‘But she told me to bring you. She has something else to say to you. And it seems your health is not optimal.’

Knowing better than to keep Mrs. Donovan waiting, else, she would come personally to take me by my ears, I stood up after a moment of thought. My feet still ached with the desire of running. I walked, though, next to the weird Minutegirl (hey, I had to name her something!) who had tried to scream into my almost deaf ear.

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So, who is the weird girl? I think you can guess easily.

I hope you like this chapter. Thanks for all the comments. Comments are an awesome way to let me know what do you think of my story. I hope I can get the next chapter out faster! Thanks for reading.

BigDinosaur