Movement had her reaching out, eyes flashing open. She grabbed the wrist that was reaching for her head.
“I thought you were sleeping,” Lily said.
“I—I guess I dozed off.”
“I put a pot of water on to boil. When I searched the housethe other day I found an old first aid kit. The previous owners cleared out most of the personal items, but I found some old clothes and towels. They’re a bit musty, but they’ll do.”
“Great. Go at it.” She motioned to her bloody leg.
“You should change. And shower.”
Kara perked up. “You have a working shower?”
“The water isn’t hot—there doesn’t seem to be a functional hot water heater. And there’s no soap. But Matt said the factory you were in was flooded, and if that water was standing around for months there’s a lot of bacteria and dirt. Don’t touch the wound, but rinse off. I could only find men’s clothing, but there are some shirts long enough to, um, cover you.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“But hurry, please? She could look at the cameras at any time. Your partner said he’ll figure out what to do, but...”
“Trust Matt. He won’t let anything happen to your son.”
Lily helped Kara up, then Kara limped down the hall to the bathroom. The floor of the old house creaked and groaned.
The bathroom was small, with a pedestal sink, cracked toilet, and tiny shower. Fine for her, but she doubted Matt would be able to easily turn in it.
A towel, washcloth, and T-shirt were folded on the toilet seat. Kara stripped, grimacing as she untied Matt’s shirt. Blood rolled down her leg as the wound reopened.
She put her shoes to the side, but the clothes not only reeked of body odor and disgusting flood water, but were damp and dirty. She pushed them all into a corner, except put her panties in the sink and soaked them in water. She wasn’t overly modest, but she didn’t want to walk around sans underwear.
The water was cool but not icy cold. Still, she winced as it ran over her sunburned body. As she got used to the temperature, she stood under the weak spray and let the water flow over her. It hurt and felt good at the same time. She looked down and saw brown and red water swirling down the drain as the grimeand blood rolled off her body. When the water started to run clear she’d shift, and it would flow dark again.
With a groan, she reached over and grabbed the washcloth. It was thin and rough, but she wiped down her body, avoiding her injured leg. When she looked at the rag, it was dark with grime.
She could have stood under the trickle of water for an hour, but she rinsed as quickly as possible. The last thing she wanted was to be caught naked by whoever had taken them.
She dried herself off with the towel and more dirt and blood came off. She folded the towel over the shower door because they might need it again, then she pulled on the T-shirt. Lily was right—it fell nearly to her knees. It smelled musty, but not disgusting, and definitely not like her ruined clothes. She squeezed water out of her underwear as best she could, considered letting them air dry, then pulled them on. They might have to get out quickly. She dreaded putting on her gross shoes, but carried them out with her. She would need them if they left the house.
Her leg ached as she limped back to the living room, blood dripping to the floor.
“Kitchen,” Lily called to her.
Kara stepped into the kitchen. It had the basics, including a lopsided table in the middle and three chairs. She sat on one.
“Put your leg on the other chair,” Lily said as she carried a pot of steaming water from the stove to the table where she had also set up a first aid station—two towels, a first aid kit that looked like it was older than Kara, and another bottle of water. “Drink. You need fluids.”
She didn’t have to tell Kara twice.
Lily sat down and looked at the gash. Though it was bleeding again, it wasn’t as bad as before, Kara surmised.
“I don’t have gloves, but I washed my hands.”
“I think I’m more likely to get an infection from the factory than from you, so I’ll take my chances.”
“I need to wash the wound with the hot water and I see someforeign matter in there—probably from when you were walking through the field. This is going to hurt.”
“Is there any tequila around? Whiskey? Bourbon? I’d be a cheap drunk since I haven’t eaten in a couple days.”
Lily shook her head and didn’t smile.
