Rachel lied in the bed while her mother had left to tend to Samantha.  She knew why she’d been told to rest.  It wasn’t because she was tired, or because that she needed to get her eyes shut for a few moments.  She knew that Eve didn’t want her around when she was treating Samantha.  Although she really wanted to be in there for Samantha the entire time, she minded what her mother had said and just lied on the bed, trying not to make a sound.

The events occurring were having a bad effect on poor Rachel, but she was starting to come to terms with Samantha’s condition after Eve had been working on her for a few minutes.  She had been thinking about what was said to her, that what happened wasn’t her fault.  She still blamed herself, but she felt like she could have prevented the situation had she only opened up more to Samantha.  As much as she tried to get the thoughts out of her head, they would not leave her alone.  Hearing her mother muttering to Samantha and the occasional sound of running water kept bringing the memory back to her. 

Lying there, tears began to form in her and she pushed herself up.  He sniffled as she took a deep breath and looked towards the bathroom.  She could not see inside from her current position, but she could hear Eve talking to Samantha.  She then got up and walked over towards the window of the bedroom.   Placing her hand against it, she peered outside and looked at the world outside.

Just outside the window, Rachel could see the trees by each house blowing in the wind.  Across the street were two girls, walking into the house.  Rachel watched as they walked in, holding each other’s arms as they went.  She took a deep breath as a tear started running down her cheek.  “It must be nice to have someone to walk around with…They obviously didn’t ignore each other and get them hurt…”

She turned her head and looked towards the doorway that led to the bathroom.  Walking over that way, she stopped close to the doorway, but did not actually stand in the doorway, a little afraid of looking in at Samantha.  She stood against the wall, and softly knocked on it.  As she did so, she softly spoke, calling to Eve.

“Mom? ”

Samantha had just awoken by the time Rachel had knocked against the wall.  Eve slowly set the cup of water to the side when she saw the girl waking up.  She had a lot she wanted to find out from her, and she was about to greet her when she heard Rachel softly speaking from behind her.  The voice was a little muffled, most likely traveling through a wall as it came from Rachel’s mouth to her ears. 

“R-rachel?” whimpered Samantha, recognizing the familiar voice that was nearby.  As she said so, though, Eve placed her hand on Samantha’s forehead, pushing her hair back.  “Shh…it’s okay, Samantha.  You’re going to be fine.”  She then called back to Rachel, asking her what she needed. 

“I think I’m gonna go for a walk.  Is that okay?”

“Yes, Rachel.  You go and get some fresh air.  I’ll have Samantha as good as new by the time you get back.”

Rachel then walked by the doorway and made her way to the other side of the bedroom.  She slowly walked through the hallway and the kitchen, thinking about what she had seen outside and about Samantha.  She had never really had any close friends, aside from Eve.  While she loved being around her mother, it was not the same as having a friend her own age.  She wanted to be able to walk around the neighborhood with Samantha as the two people he saw had done.

She made her way to the door and saw her shoes to the side.  She sat down for a moment, extending her legs out on the floor.  Goosebumps appeared all over the side of her leg as they touched the cold floor, but it only took a moment for her to get used to it.  Turning to the side, she grabbed her socks and began slipping them on.  The Goosebumps were disappearing as the socks covered up her feet and started warming her up.

Slipping her boots on, she picked herself up and turned to the door.  Slowly turning the knob, she opened it up, letting the wind inside.  She quickly disappeared through the doorway, making her way outside.

~Meanwhile~

Samantha was lying in the bathtub, staring up at Eve’s face.  Her mind was slowly processing the information and observations she was taking in about her situation and environment.  She’d definitely heard Rachel’s voice, and the strange lady above her had responded to her.  She heard what she said, but had not realized what, exactly what it was. 

The woman was looking down at her.  As she looked up at the woman, Samantha got a sense of familiarity about her.  She could not quite put her finger on it, but she seemed familiar to her, as if she had seen her somewhere before.  She blinked and stared into the woman’s eyes.  As she stared, images started playing in her head. 

As she thought, she heard a door closing from off in the distance.  As the sound rang in her head, it created an echo.  Everything that had happened started to bounce around and replay in her head.  The knocking, muffled voices, and the door’s sound.  Rushing into her head, it finally hit her.  ‘I think I’m gonna go for a walk’ is what Rachel had said earlier and this lady had told her to do so.

“N-NO!  RACHEL!”

Samantha’s body sprung forward as she realized that Rachel had just left the house.  Emotions and feelings were flying through her head.  She didn’t want Rachel to leave, especially after how emotional and caring she’d been earlier.  She wanted to immediately jump out of the bathroom and go find her.  As she came up,  Eve’s soft hand pushed against her chest and brought her head back down into the towel it had previously been resting against.

Eve was glad she had been taught to have quick reflexes during one of her classes in college.  When Samantha sprung up, she barely had enough time to move her hand and get her back down.  Samantha was in no condition to be walking around and she needed to rest.  Her wounds weren’t just going to go away and walking around could make them worse.

“Hey, you can’t just get up in your condition!  You need rest.”

Samantha had felt the pressure Eve put on her, but didn’t listen to what she said.  Rachel was leaving the house, and her entire body filled with fear and sadness.  She grabbed at Eve’s arm and tried to push it up.  As she did so, her stomach tightened and felt a shock of pain flowing through her.  She grunted in pain before continuing her conversation with the woman.

“But…she…she’s leaving!  I have to protect her!  I can’t let anything happen to Rachel!”

Eve immediately took in the words that came from Samantha and got a strange feeling in her gut.  The girl was concerned about Rachel being outside on her own, and that seemed strange to Eve.  They’d known each other for a whole what?  Day?  She’d heard about people getting attached quickly, but being afraid of someone walking outside for a minute seemed a little strange.  Putting the thought past her for a moment, she tried to calm the girl down.

“Listen, Samantha,” said Eve.  “I’m Rachel’s mother, Eve.  I’ve been around Rachel for her entire life.  I promise you that she will be just fine, walking down the street.  You don’t need to worry about anything but yourself right now.  You’re got a cut-up stomach and need to rest.  I also have some questions for you, pertaining to the wounds you’ve got.”

Samantha’s mind completely stopped thinking about Rachel.  Hearing that this woman, who was Rachel’s mother, wanted to ask her some questions had intrigued her mind to the point where everything else went blank.  She stopped moving around and stared up at Eve.  She thought about many things and an idea hit her.  She tried to smile and nodded.

“Alright…Eve.  What kind of…questions?”