TORN FLESH

CHAPTER TWELVE: DESPERATE REFLECTIONS

MARGO was the first one to head towards the shower, Violet assisted her in climbing out of her wheelchair and watched as the girl leaned against the wall for support before gesturing for Violet to go ahead of her, "let's see how this thing works." she muttered bracing herself against the wall of the shower stall.

The smaller of the two pointed to a knob on the wall, "I'm pretty sure that turns it on." she stated, Margo gave a slight nod and gestured towards it, "go on Einstein, test that theory out." the blonde let out a laugh and reached forward to gently turn the knob towards the left.

When the water came rushing out and plopping down across her head she let out a giggle and backed out of the small stream, "I'll set your clothes out on the bench for when you're done." she spoke holding her hand out to take the articles from the girl.

Exiting the shower, Margo listened as Violet tossed her dirty clothes out onto the tile and once again turned the shower on. Finally, something normal.

Still bracing herself against the wall, Margo made her way down the line of showers before stopping at one three down from where Violet was, she could hear the girl giggling and splashing her feet in the water like a child running through a sprinkler.

It made her smile.

She wondered what it was like, to still be able to look at things and find joy in them the way Violet was still able to, she hoped that was never taken away from her.

Stepping into a shower of her own, Margo leaned her back against the wall of the small area and gripped the end of her shirt, she slowly pulled it up and let out a groan as the muscles tightened at the action, she needed to take things slow. She pulled at the shirt once more carefully leaning over so she didn't have to stretch her arms as much, the shirt slipped off her small frame with a small snap from the material.

Tossing it to the floor, she kicked it out of the shower and moved on to her leg, she wasn't sure what to do with it, how was she supposed to shower with it? Could she even wear jeans? Or would those be too constrictive?

She could deal with those questions later, for now, she wanted to sit in the shower and relax.

To be able to think for once without the screams haunting her.

Sitting down on the cold tile, Margo rested her hands on the belt loops of her jeans and let out a sigh before yanking them down, she clenched her teeth at the sensation and let her eyes flutter closed for a second before continuing, she hoped her leg healed soon, the pain was worse than anything she'd ever felt.

And she'd felt quite a bit.

She kicked her jeans off once they were low enough and let her head fall back against the tile, she hadn't thought taking a shower would be so straining, but here she was, having trouble catching her breath after only removing two articles of clothing. A few stalls down the row, she could hear Violet giggling and playing in the water as she washed herself with the set of soaps that had previously been left in the shower.

She smiled once again.

At least she felt safe enough to have some fun.

That was what mattered.

Removing her undergarments while she sat, Margo began to think, if they were safe, why would they leave? Maybe Margo would have to give up on Mitch, maybe he was dead. She could feel that look of his from the hospital burning into her, he was telling her, he was telling her to find him, he was telling her that he would find her.

Maybe they would have to find each other in a different life.

Because it seemed that their current life had been plagued with too many problems to make their goal realistic.

Standing up, Margo brushed the thought from her head and turned the water on, when she was met with cold water, she shuddered and took a step back before reaching her hand in to try and adjust to the cold temperature as she waited for it to heat up.

It only took a few minutes- to her surprise- and when it did heat up, she let out a sigh and ducked her head beneath the water a smile overtaking her features as the water washed down her back. She let her head fall and looked down to watch the water run over her legs, she watched as blood and the build-up of grime from dirt and other things tinted the water a dark red.

Closing her eyes, she tried to think of something else, something to think of other than all the blood. She thought of Mitch, she thought of the possibility of finding him, seeing him once again, she wondered at what cost it may come at, would it be Violet's life? Her safety? She didn't know. And she wasn't sure she wanted to risk it either.

She thought about these things while she washed herself the smell of the contents of the containers making her feel ancient as she hadn't smelt them in God knew how long, a few minutes passed and she heard Violets shower go silent, the sound of footsteps padding across tile could be heard and she found herself turning off her own shower.

"Violet?" she called out listening as the footsteps suddenly stopped, "hmm?" she called out turning to look for the older girl, "could you go through the bin and find me a pair of loose pants?" she questioned, Violet didn't respond and instead rushed away from the showers and back towards the entrance where the bin was.

Margo stared at the wall waiting for the girl to return, and when she did, she wasn't disappointed, Violet had retrieved her a short sleeve shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants with a sweater, she smiled to herself as the girl set them just outside the stall and seated herself on the bench to wait for her.

Carefully crouching down, the blonde scooped up the clothes that Violet had set out for her and cradled them in her arms as she removed her towel and tossed it over the side of the stall to hang while she dressed, "the water was warm." she looked up from the shower floor at the statement and held back a smile, "I haven't had warm water in a while." the girl stated her voice low.

Margo chuckled, "I haven't had a shower in a while." no reply followed, although it didn't surprise her, they were in a new environment and were still trying to adjust and become comfortable within it, letting out an imperceptible sigh, she finished pulling her clothes on before stepping out of the shower.

Violet straightened in her spot letting her eyes run down to the girl's leg before she stood and went to retrieve the wheelchair, Margo held her hand out and shook her head, "I don't need that silly thing, Violet frowned, "this is why you're still hurt, you kept acting like you were fine and didn't need help." she paused, "you're using the wheelchair, you're not supposed to be walking on it."

She let out a sigh, leave it to Violet to be stubborn, just like her.

"Who's going to push me? I'm almost positive you can't." she narrowed her eyes at the older girl as she reached for the wheelchair and pulled it along with her, "can too." she retorted turning it to face Margo as she settled herself behind it, "come on." she spoke gesturing to the seat.

She let out a groan and took a few steps forward before turning around and planting herself in the seat. She hated feeling this weak, this vulnerable, she liked being the strong one, this- being weak- was new to her, although she'd been in the hospital twice now, she hadn't felt as weak then, it was being wheeled around like a child that did it for her.

Violet leaned against the wheelchair pressing all of her weight into the device before she finally got it moving and let out a sigh, pushing her across the tile, they quickly approached the door where she found it rather difficult to keep it open and push Margo through.

She found herself peeking her head around the corner of the door where Marcus stood staring at a paper that had been taped to the wall prior, "Marcus?" she called watching as his head shot in her direction and a small smile crossed his lips, "yes?" he spoke standing up from where he'd been leaning against the wall.

"Can you help me wheel her out? I can't keep the door open and push her." he softly nodded his head and closed the small distance between himself and the door to the room before he slipped inside. "You get the door." he spoke positioning himself behind the wheelchair, Margo leaned forward just the slightest, she didn't like being as close as she was to him, she hardly knew him.

His presence sent shivers down her spine, she didn't like how enthusiastic he was about everything, but it wasn't his enthusiasm that set her off, she couldn't place her finger on what exactly it was, but there was just something about him that she didn't like.

Something that told her to keep an eye on him, and put as much distance as possible between him. She didn't want him near Violet, not when she wasn't sure what was wrong about him, Marcus wheeled her out of the room and out into the hall stopping where he'd been standing moments before.

Stepping away from the wheelchair to allow Violet access to it once again, he removed his radio from his belt and held down the button as he brought it to his mouth, "the showers can be turned off now." he spoke releasing the button with a small snap, "copy that, lock up will you?" he smiled and quickly worked to remove the set of keys from his pocket, "got it." he mumbled settling the device back among the other things attached to his belt.

The two girls watched as he returned to the door of the room and slid the key into the lock before turning it until he heard a click, within seconds, he'd stuffed the keys into his pocket and had returned to their side, "we're gonna return the keys and then see about getting you two situated somewhere." Margo softly nodded unsure of how else to reply, she didn't want to be rude, but she didn't want to display her relief either.

"You can go ahead and turn her around, unless you'd like me to push her instead?" Marcus offered watching as Violet curtly shook her head and pushed forward with all her weight to turn the wheelchair around, letting out a sigh, she released the handles and gestured to it, "can you turn it around?" she asked, he chuckled and took a step forward once again grabbing onto the handles.

Within the span of only a few seconds, he'd turned the wheelchair around and stepped away from it smiling as Violet returned to her post behind it and began pushing Margo forward once more, "you're strong for a kid your age." he offered the sound of his boots clicking against the tile as they walked.

Violet shrugged her shoulders, "practice." she muttered, she wasn't in the mood for conversation, she preferred the silence, it made better for thinking, for planning, and right now, she needed both.

She needed to think about her plan, there was something funny about Marcus, and not in a good sense, and she was determined to discover what it was.

Even if it took her longer than she wanted.

As she pushed Margo down the hall, she stole a few glances in Marcus' direction, just enough to catch a few key details, he carried a 357 Magnum Revolver, better known as a Colt Python, he carried his radio- which both girls had already seen- and it seemed, he had a knife hidden along the inside length of his boot, it wasn't hard to see the print it left in the fabric.

She wasn't sure why he needed so much protection in a community he claimed was so safe.

But she was going to find out why, with or without Margo's help.

TORN FLESH

CHAPTER TWELVE: DESPERATE REFLECTIONS