Wings Of Honor: Heart of Ice

Chapter 16: Medevac

"Marvin! Kinkajou needs help!" I met Grace's voice.
I ran over, sliding to a stop alongside her. Already a hundred diffrent things were wrong.
"If she gonna be okay?" Moon asked frantically. You rescued all those dragons from the fire. Can you save her?
I'll do what I can.
I dug out the medic pack from the duffle, laying all my resources out. I ran my hands along the small RainWing, feeling way too many odd bumps through her skin.
Ugh. This is bad. This is really bad.
Grace gasped.
"What is it?" Moon pleaded.
I took a gulp of my metallic tasting spit. "Kinkajou's unconscious, likely in a coma. She took that blow to her spine. I don't know if it's fractured, but I'm feeling things where there's not supposed to be. She suffered internal damage. I..." I took another look at the ghostly white dragonet. "I don't know how long she has."
Grace burst out.
"I can't-"
"No. You can't.
And that's what broke my heart again. I closed my eyes, feeling the cold air roll over me. I heard Winter talking to Halestorm behind us.
"What am I saying? Winter, what am I saying?"
"We'll fix it, but right now we have to fly," Winter said.
Then Qibli ran up and met us.
"I can try to carry her."
He slid his claws under her as I stepped back. He hoisted her onto his back, but struggled as Kinkajou's tail dropped to his right and nearly toppled him. Moon got thwacked by her wing, when Qibli tried to adjust her, but then her head lolled over onto her right, exaggerated by her long neck. I winced. I could hear the churning of her bones.
"Stop Stop STOP!" Grace suddenly said, rocking the ground with a stomp. "I'm the biggest. Let me carry her."
Moon and Qibli both looked at eachother, then promptly and silently moved her onto Grace, already laying down so they would have to lift less. I tied her down with my length of duct tape rope, she wasn't going anywhere Grace wasn't. I nodded, and Grace stood up. I admired my handiwork for a moment, then moved back to the dragon formally known as Pyrite.
Winter had tried to take a step towards us, but Hailstorm wouldn't let go of him. "Are you real?" the tall IceWing asked. "Is any of this real?"
"Hailstorm, snap into it," Winter barked in response. "We need to help my friends and get out of here."
"Friends?" Hailstorm echoed. He squinted over at the tangle of dragons
on the edge of the dying fire. "But Winter, I think there's NightWings over there."
I saw Winter's guilt come slamming back through him, along with a second wave of guilt that came from remembering how much Moon had done to help him. I could tell that much.
"She's on our side. She's helping me rescue you. Hailstorm, move." He finally got his claws free and ran over to join us
He reached Grace's side in time to catch Kinkajou as her tail slipped sideways off under the ropes.
Kinkajou was a small dragonet by most metrics, but not that much smaller than Qibli, who was already wiry and narrow-shouldered. I couldn't even imagine how the SandWing could've even taken off with her on top of him, let alone keep up a double-time pace. And Winter couldn't do it either; he was broader than Qibli, but not any bigger. Grace was our best bet.
I kept alongside her, checking over her while the dragons got their own shit together. Kinkajou still had a pulse, though faint. Winter confirmed it.
I noticed he still had the pouch Halestorm/Pyrite was wearing in his claws. But even he wasn't about to risk messing with it. He slid it into one of Grace's pouches, then regrouped.
Grace sighed. "Someone has to carry Marvin. Kinkajou's too heavy for me to carry both of them."
Qibli and Winter both started for me, I took a step back in alarm.
"I'll do it." Moon suddenly said. "You take care of your brother." She looked to Winter.
I swiftly walked over to her, hoisting myself around onto her neck the many times I've done this before. She flinched under me, but there was nothing I could do right now.
Grace unfolded her wings and beat them down hard. She lifted up into the sky, stalling from the new weight, then regained herself and slowly began to climb. As she did, another torrential rain storm began raining down on us. I was drenched within seconds.
Winter ran back over to Hailstorm. "Fly!" he shouted. "Follow me!"
"Maybe I should wait here for Queen Scarlet," Hailstorm said uncertainly. "She could probably explain what's happening to my head."
"No!" Winter shouted. He shook his wings furiously, which did not dry him off one bit. "She is the enemy! Come on!"
He launched himself into the air, we followed. And to all of our relief, Hailstorm only hesitated a moment before trailing us.
The rain smashed down on us, harder and harder. I thought the flood was returning, I haven't seen this much rain. We would need to build Noah's Ark all over again. Maybe this is what the prophecy was walking about, as lightning flashed overhead. I managed to catch a glimpse of the large and slow flapping shape that was Grace. Qibli wasn't too far behind, neither were we. But from my last bearing, we were flying west, out of the mountains and towards the Kingdom of Sand.