"From a girl who hates me," Alex answers, sitting on the bed with his armful of supplies. Two injection of Med-X are given without prelude to Neil's bare thigh--he remembers shooting two directly into Neil's neck and shivers at the recall, he can't imagine doing that now to be honest. The tin of Fixer is opened to show only a couple of doses remaining. Alex pulls out one of the dissolvable strips and holds it to Neil's mouth, intending to put it inside once the kid opens his mouth.

"You got a good friend there," he adds, staring at the fruit. "She was about ready to jump off that boat and kick the tar out of me for roughing you up."