Cresswell: The Lunar Chronicles

Chapter Eighty Six

The field medic who had accompanied them looked at Carswell on the way back to the palace, reporting to Cress he was bleeding internally, had 5 broken ribs, a collapsed lung, sprained wrist, and a concussion.

Cress couldn't stop crying, afraid it would take them to long to get back and have his injuries properly treated. She was barely aware of Cinder making her report back to the palace, letting whoever know they'd managed to capture 3 of the mutant soldiers.

The shuttle was able to get back to the palace in only a few hours, and while the limited medical facility wasn't able to actually take steps towards treating Carswell the medic was able to keep him stable. The moment they arrived he was whisked away to the medical facilities.

"Come on, go back to your room and shower and change you clothes and then we'll get something to eat—they won't let you into the operating room anyway." Wolf said, lightly tugging on Cress's arm when she moved to follow.

"Operating—?"

"For his lung."

Cress swallowed, her throat tightening. She hesitated.

"Come on." Wolf repeated.

Cress let him pull her away though she doubted she could eat a single bite. Tears continued to well in her eyes until they were trailing down her face. Wolf wrapped an arm around her shoulder, rubbing her arm up and down.

"Stars above the whole palace is buzzing—what happened?" Scarlet asked as she darted down the corridor and came to a halt.

"Thorne got hurt. We're getting something to eat. Cinder's in the conference room."

Scarlet's eyes shifted to Cress for a split second before she nodded and continued down the corridor.

Wolf kept walking, keeping his arm around Cress. He seemed to know exactly where to go and how to get back to her and Thorne's room.

Cress numbly took a shower, trying to move as fast as her shaking limbs would allow. She dressed in her black sweats and blue sweatshirt.

Wolf was outside her room, having managed to get two bowls of steaming hot soup and cheese sandwiches for each of them. He handed her her bowl and then walked with her back to the infirmary's waiting room.

"It's gonna get cold." Wolf murmured, nudging her bowl.

Cress mutely nodded. The soup was good, but she hardly noticed. Worry plagued her mind and she wished there was a way she could have gotten a minute-by-minute update from the doctors.

It seemed like hours she'd sat there with Wolf, who was surprisingly still, and she must have fallen asleep at one point as the next thing she remembered was jerking her head off of Wolf's shoulder in a start.

"Mrs. Thorne?"

Cress glanced around, only the smallest bit disoriented. She shot up at seeing one of the doctors standing in the doorway.

"He's stable—we put a couple small incisions in his chest and were able to drain the fluid from his lung so it can re-expand. I also prescribed him a minor dose of an intravenous antibiotic to help fight any infection that may set in."

Cress nodded, managing to track at least a little bit with what he said. "So is that good? I mean is he—"

"He's stable, but not awake, and I am very optimistic that he'll make a full recovery. It will just take time."

The air in Cress's lungs escaped in a relieved sigh and tears immediately sprung to her eyes.

"If you want, you can go in and see him but like I said he's not awake."