HOURGLASS

Chapter Seven

"Oh shit," Mike muttered as he stared in shock at the young woman beneath him. She slowly blinked, and seemed to look straight through him. The hero was nothing more than a teenager, a child. Her caramel hair was tangled and somewhat spread in a halo framing her face, whose skin was becoming too pale to be brushed off as a lack of being outside. Paige looked down, too, and gasped. Mike quickly came to his senses and yanked off his suit jacket, pressing it on the still-bleeding shoulder and hip wounds.

The pain from the pressure seemed to make her slightly more aware, her eyes widening a bit more and her pupils dilated, beginning to hide her pine green irises. She let out a barely audible moan and tried to get up, only to be gently pushed back down by Mike.

"You need to stay down, Charlie." Mike said with a firm tone, turning his attention to the destroyed leg. At the sound of her voice, the young woman seemed to focus on him a bit more, her glassy eyes finding Mike's face. "The leg is dying. It's gotta be taken off." Paige whipped her head up at him in distress and the little spider-like drone beeped in alarm.

"Sir, you have to put a tourniquet on her leg." Costa said. "I estimate she has lost 1.8 pints of blood."

Mike cussed again, yanking off his tie and looping it above the mangled remnants of the leg. He sent an apologetic glance at Charlie before he pulled the tourniquet as tight as he could.

Charlie jerked up, gritting bloodstained teeth with a sharp hiss as her features pinched into a grimace. Paige quickly pressed on her chest, trying to avoid hurting her, until Charlie let her push her down. Mike gave the ends of his tie a final tug before putting his head down.

"That should stop the majority of the blood loss. Jonathan, can you try and find a sharp object?" Mike asked, and the man flipped his phone's flashlight on and began to search for something that could be used as a knife. Mike then turned his attention to the blood soaked suit jacket being pressed against her shoulder. "Drone-thing, what's the damage on the hip and shoulder wounds?"

"The hip wound has fortunately missed her organs, and the bleeding is slowing. The shoulder wound has missed major arteries and organs, however there is a significant amount of blood loss, the cause of which I cannot find." Costa answered with a hint of uncertainty in her artificial tone. Paige glanced back down at her face, gently laying what she hoped would be perceived as a comforting and soothing hand on her cheek.

Charlie's glassy eyes focused on the soft features of the woman above her, her cracked lips forming a small smile of gratitude. She turned her head slightly, and to Paige's horror, a streak of red ran from her mouth down her cheek. "Costa." Paige muttered, not taking her eyes off the crimson fluid. The drone hummed, then drifted down towards Mike.

"I am receiving a signal from Spider-Man." Costa announced. A moment later, she piped back up. "Audio connection established. He is with the first responders." Mike sagged slightly with relief.

The sounds of a large crowd could be heard muffled in the background. Sirens wailed their instantly recognizable tunes. "Can you hear us? This is Chief Phillips from the 1st Battalion. We are trying to-"

"Oh, thank GOD!" Mike exclaimed. "Listen, Charlie's leg is going to need to be partially amputated or she will bleed out. Hell, I can't believe she's still alive and that the building hasn't collapsed yet. The leg is starting to die but I don't have anything to-"

"Sir, I need to know if you are in immediate danger. And don't do anything to that leg." The man, Phillips, stated in a calm manner. Paige got Mike's attention and he noticed the red river steadily leaking out of the corner of Charlie's mouth. He carefully repositioned her head so the blood could escape.