Trying to Survive (Part 3) by C.J. Crowley

it.”
       Brian rolled his eyes. “Fuckin white guys and your guitar solos. Shit sounds like cats fighting in an alley to me.”
       “What!? A black guy is probably the best guitar player of all time… You never heard of Hendrix?”
       “He was an alien.”
       “Maybe it was all the acid?”
       We started cracking up and I turned to Jenny, expecting to see her laughing along with us. Instead, a heavy frown had formed, her jaw slightly dropped and she was just staring at Brian. He noticed and said “What?”
       “Why are you sweating so badly?”
       “Because it’s hot as balls…”
       “No, it’s not.”
       It isn’t… not yet anyway.
       “Hey, you might not be able to tell because I’m such a badass, but this shit is pretty painful. Maybe it’s makin me sweat a little… And you just got done putting more alcohol on it. That didn’t exactly help.”
       His explanations didn’t seem to comfort her. As I observed her wide array of doom-laced expressions over the next few moments, I began to realize that I’ve never seen her look so worried before – even after everything we’ve been through.
       “Doesn’t it take some time for the antibiotics to really start working?” I asked.
       “Yeah.”
       “Would Neosporin help? I’m sure this place has some.”
       “It could help a little.”
       “I’m on it.” I said as quickly headed over to the small shelf with Advil and the like.
       Walt came out from the back with Clara and noticed my shirt. “Where the hell did that come from?”
       “There’re a few racks of shirts by the front counter. Why don’t you and Clara go pick some out? Figured it would be nice if weren’t all covered in old blood stains.”
       Walt scoffed “Yeah” and kept walking. I tried to smile at Clara as she passed by, but she completely ignored me.
       After I located several small tubes of Neosporin, I noticed one of those products that was basically a super-dose of vitamin C to help strengthen the immune system for colds. I knew it was probably a waste, but I took them back over to Jenny anyway.
       When Jenny noticed the other bottle, she completely ignored the Neosporin, snatched it away and started reading it. “Great idea, James... Vitamin C can kill off a lot of things antibiotics can’t. This really might help.”
       Brian casually remarked “Why are you so worried? I feel fine. Like I said – I’m just in a good amount of pain.”
       “I could be wrong, but I believe you’re showing signs of an infection. That shredder had recently eaten someone…”
       “Even if it does get a little infected, I’ll probably be fine after a few days.”
       Jenny demanded he take another pill and several of the vitamin C supplements before she walked away to look for anything else that might help.
       Since I didn’t want to focus on the negative, I changed the subject. “How did they react after Jenny explained everything?”
       Brian shrugged and it made him wince. “Same way all of you did when we first met… He looked like he was just told 90% of the population has either turned or been killed.”
       When I looked over at Allen and Veronica, her confusion rang loud and clear. She was shaking her head and quietly arguing with him while her hands flailed about in frustration, suggesting that she didn’t believe what Jenny told them.
       “I’m going to go talk to them for a few minutes.”
       “I’m fine man, go ahead.” He smiled. “I’d ask you to grab me some of that Jack Daniels, but Jenny would shit a chicken.”
       After a good laugh, I said “Yeah, no doubt about that… I’d sneak you some, but she might beat my ass.”
       Jenny’s sharp and commanding voice shot across the small store. “No! It weakens the immune system!”
       We kept laughing as I made my way over to Allen and Veronica. As soon as she noticed me approaching, she stopped in the middle of