“So where from here?” Rachel asked as she pushed an empty plate towards the middle of the table. “North for a little, then turn west.” I answered around a mouthful of food. “I still think avoiding Nashville is a very good idea.” Rachel nodded then leaned across the table and stole some of the food off my plate. “How are your hands?” “They’re hurting pretty bad. I need you to inject them again.” Rachel reached across the table and I put my right hand in hers. She examined the palm first, then turned it over to check the back. Releasing it she examined my left the same way. “All things considered they don’t look too bad. No external sign of infection, but you’re not out of the woods yet.” She stood up and circled the table, coming up behind me and bending to check my ear. “That medic actually did a good job of sewing your ear. He wasn’t kidding about it being almost ripped off. There’s only about half an inch of skin that is intact. I can see some redness so we need to get some antibiotic ointment on it and you need another shot.”
