#township

•

Pairing: Kristi Miller x Fem!Reader

Summary: Not long before Kristi's arrival to the Township, someone else gets stuck there. Only thing is, for them, it's not the first time.

Words: 1.3k

Warnings: cursing, violence, monsters, flesh and blood lol.

Part 1 Part 2

Rounding the corner, the woman opened a door to reveal a makeshift infirmary , for lack of better words. There were two beds surrounded by what little medical equipment they had. 

She motioned for you to sit on one of them as she looked for something in the cabinets with her back turned to you and you got rid of your backpack and holster and started to unbutton your shirt, once white but now soaked in blood and with an ugly tear. 

“I’m Kristi, by the way” she said, smiling back at you over her shoulder. 

When you didn’t offer her an answer, she turned to grab whatever she was searching for and made her way back to you, sitting on a nearby stool just close enough to work on your wound. 

“Can I?” she asked pointing at your exposed shoulder. 

You just nodded and she started pouring some liquid you recognized as a saline solution the moment the sting found its way to your wound, making you wince slightly. 

“Sorry” she muttered, flashing that sympathetic smile of hers. 

“It’s okay” you rasped out as she started to delicately clean the blood off you. 

The silence that accompanied her next movements fell over both of you like a comfortable raincheck, dulling your pain as you watched her work. 

“Y/N” you said softly, unable to hide the tiredness in your voice but seeing the confusion on her face, you added: “Name’s Y/N”. 

She smiled, genuinely this time. 

“Well Y/N, this will need some stitches so if you could just wait, I’ll be back in a second” and without waiting for an answer she got up and left you there, half of you wondering if this was even real. 

More than ten years had passed and now you were back here. Stuck again. And these creatures could talk? And on top of all that, they found some kind of stone talisman that could protect the buildings? Fuck, that would’ve been really useful last time you were here. 

Kristi seemed to be taking her time so you let your curiosity win you over and that’s how you found yourself wandering the room, checking every detail, all the ways this space had changed. From the cabinets, now holding bandages instead of old books, to the way the worn up beds hung in the center of the room. 

When Kristi got back, she was met with your back turned to her, your shirt hanging loosely around your frame, your arms crossed. 

She cleared her throat, making you turn slowly, your eyes focused on the small tray she was holding in one hand, a spare change of clothes in the other. 

She didn’t spare you a second glance before sitting back in the stool, waiting for you to make your way back to bed. 

“This will hurt like a bitch” she said once you sat in front of her, leaning your right side towards her. 

“Yeah, probably” you said as she grabbed the needle, already getting closer to your shoulder. 

You watched her face, her nose scrunched up and her brows furrowed in concentration as she neatly stitched the flesh back together until she stretched a bit further to tend to the wounds running down your back. 

“Where did you learn all this?” you found yourself asking her. 

“I was a third-year medical student before getting here” she said through a sad smile, returning to your shoulder to start dressing the wound. 

“Not the best residence you could imagine, huh? After all this I’d say you should be able to just skip it” you joked. 

She looked at you with a questioning look but laughed anyway. It sounded nice. 

“What about you?” she asked. 

“What about me?” you deflected with a smile. 

She shook her head, still smiling. 

“Let me guess” she started, looking thoughtful. “Military?” 

You laughed at that. 

She shot you a questioning look, but didn’t say anything. 

“Firefighter” you said, slowly moving to help her secure some straps of the bandages into a sling so your arm would be immobilized. 

“Adds up” she said getting up and retrieving the pads she used to clean your wounds and everything she used to patch you up and put it all in the tray before walking toward the door. “There’s a bathroom right down the hall, you can get yourself washed up and I brought a change of clothes for you, then you can rest a bit”. 

You took a moment to process everything that was happening, how one minute you were on your way back to Vermont and the next you were back here, in a place you felt like you knew too well and at the same time nothing at all. 

You shook your head, trying to clear your thoughts and did as Kristi told you, maybe a nice shower would help you feel more at ease. 

That was a stupid thought and you knew it from the moment you stepped back into the infirmary, your short hair still damp since you didn’t bother too much with it. You could feel the fabric of the shirt shifting unpleasantly around your ribs. 

Kristi seemed comfortable reading a book, leaning against a couch near one of the beds. You made your way to her and leaned yourself back on the bed, facing her. 

“This is not my first time here” you said, making her snap her head to watch your face. 

You could see every small change in her expression, from the way her eyes narrowed slightly to the little crease between her brows before she tried to mask it with an arched brow. 

“What do you mea” she started but you were not having it. Not right now. 

“You know what I mean, how long how you’ve been here?” you interrupted her, not waiting for a response. “Who are the others? Where did this Boyd find the stones?” you were looking directly into her eyes. 

She sighed, clearly tired. 

“Three months. The ones you’re gonna meet when the sun’s out. In the woods” she answered one by one, then added. “What do you mean it’s not your first time here?” 

Now it was your turn to exhale, pinching the bridge of your nose between your fingers. 

“I was stuck here a few years ago, barely made it out and I don’t even know how I did it” you said, her gaze never leaving you but too shocked to say anything. 

You paced around, trying to still your uneven breathing. 

“How old were you?” her voice was small, “Were you alone?” 

You turned to watch her, her eyes reflecting genuine curiosity instead of disbelief. 

“I was 9 when I first got here, 13 when I left” you started, your own voice trembling, “Most of the time, yeah. I met some people, watched most of them die”. 

“God, I’m sorry” she said, you just looked at her, averting your eyes just a moment later. 

You hopped onto the bed, trying to find a comfortable position before looking at Kristi. 

“We should try to rest a bit, sun won’t be up for another couple of hours” you said. 

Kristi just nodded, stretching a bit to reach for the small lamp beside her. 

“Thank you, for patching me up” you said. 

maddox was quick to point out the bird that had landed on the pavement across from them. "that is a eastern bluebird." maybe his companion wasn't interested in another of his fun facts but too bad so sad! learning was fun! "it's new york's official state bird. and it's the first one i've seen in.. months." he considered the bird's appearance as a good omen. maybe it was the universe sending them a sign. or, maybe, the government had just gotten their shit together enough they were able to start sending drones out again.

Rocky Fork Township, Boone County, Missouri