Gabby Heals, Gabby Kills

I was going to talk about my mom today, but something happened about an hour ago that makes me want to tell you about Gabrielle.

Gabby is a nurse, as you may remember, and between her and mom, one of them is almost always on duty, though the demands on their time have dropped since Evans got here. So it worked out that Gabrielle was out helping on the wall, learning some of the craft of building from my brother. She is especially excited to get work done on it, since the frantic pace and constant zombie attacks keep her pretty busy. The finished product will protect the compound, and greatly reduce the workload that our medical folks have.

So she's out there, swinging a hammer, getting used to the feel of nails being driven into wood, when somebody falls over the side of the wall, landing outside. You should note, at this point, that there are almost always a few loose zombies around. It is impractical to pick off every one, and the ones that leave us alone are free to roam as long as they stay away from us.

This guy falls over the edge and Gabby hears this big POP, and she knows that his femur is broken. She can see the bone jutting through his skin, even through his pants, and she knows that it is vital that he get help ASAP. Without thinking of her own safety, she tosses her hammer over the wall, climbs the edge, and jumps down. She managed to get the the guy and provide some rather creative first aid, but the smell of blood and all that movement made a few of our stray undead a bit frisky.

Gabby is working on the guy, focused on keeping him stable and safe, and several zombies go toward the two of them. Gab hears people yelling and turns, finally seeing the threat. So this woman, who is just over five feet tall and maybe a hundred and ten pounds, grabs the hammer and starts viciously beating her attackers. The whole time, she's screaming at them, and after a short time, all the zombies close to her are fully dead, and the ones not so close are edging away.

My brother relayed this whole story to me, and I thought it was at once heartwarming, hilarious, and slightly scary. I mean, it IS funny--this tiny woman is so furious that she scares mindless, walking corpses. And given her relaxed and calm demeanor, her great sense of humor, I was kind of shocked that she could be so ruthless and brutal. I have a hard time imagining her angry.

The man she jumped down to save is alive, though he will be out of commission for a long time. Gabby herself is back at the wall, hammer in hand. I think she washed off the blood.