Russell Adler x Reader

Thirty-Four

The helicopter crash in Vietnam had not been the worst thing you had to endure over the years.

But it had been the beginning of long hours of fear and suffering.

It had marked your downfall.

Adler had blurred the lines after that crash.

And you had let him do it.

You still remembered the headache.

This godforsaken headache.

It hammered against your skull like a machine gun, mixed with acid that poured over your brain and made it feel like hot liquid seeped out if your ears.

As you managed to raise your head, groaning, a thick strand of blood dripped from your forehead, over your nose and to your lips where it spread the taste of iron and raw meat.

Luckily, it had only been a light concussion, strong enough to cause nausea and a moment of feeling disoriented but not life threatening.

Your eyes wandered around.

It was still dark.

The jungle looked like a carpet of leaves and shadows.

A small fire was burning. The engine of the helicopter had caught fire.

"Adler...", you mumbled and twisted your eyes, trying to push back the pain that made them throb.

It had been a miracle that you had survived that crash and had landed on the floor of the jungle with nothing but minor injuries and a bunch of scratches.

You sat up straight to look around.

"Adler...", you called out for him, a bit louder. "Are you- am I alone..? Adler!"

In the distance, someone groaned.

Struck by surprise and fear, you grabbed the knife on your leg and pulled it out.

But as your fingers wrapped around the handle a sharp pain stabbed into the palm of your hand.

"Blyat!", you cursed and let the blade fall to look at your hand.

It was smeared with blood and dirt. The night made it hard to see, but you were able to feel the injury whenever you moved your fingers.

The cut was deep and had probably damaged some nerves. Even years after the war you've had trouble to feel something in it.

Luckily, the wound had not affected the ability to use it. It was just numb most of the times.

Again, someone groaned.

Your head snapped up.

Someone was hanging out of a tree from ropes and the remains of a net. The tension in his body was basically nonexistent and the way he was hanging, head down and legs tangled, it seemed like he would pass out soon.

Carefully, you dared to get closer, knife in hand.

"Adler?", you asked, looking up.

He groaned, not conscious enough to form proper words.

The flames flickered.

Something dripped out of the trees.

Confused, you backed away. The warm liquid had fallen right onto your face.

Your fingers tried to feel what it was but your own blood and dirt made it hard to tell.

"Adler...", you looked up again. "Can you hear me?"

His eyes moved under heavy eyelids. He was barely breathing.

Your eyes wandered over the ropes he was trapped in.

On was tightly wrapped around his neck.

Thanks to the net and other ropes, he had not fallen deep enough, otherwise he would be the hanged man now.

You cut that one first, to prevent that he would get choked to death in case the other ropes would give in first.

With both hands you checked how heavy he was and if you'd be able to catch his weight when he fell.

But he wasn't just a big man. He was also well build. The extra gear he was wearing didn't make it any easier.

"Gavno...", you cursed and immediately bit your tongue after.

But Adler wasn't in the condition to clearly understand or hear anything you've said.

With the knife between your teeth, you started gathering anything that looked soft, from huge leaves to moss and parachutes that had fallen out of the helicopter.

As a small pillow was assembled, you started to work on the ropes.

"Adler, if you can hear me, try to keep your head up.", you said into his ear, loud and clear. "Don't fall on your head first. It will break your neck."

He groaned, slightly moving in his prison. As he did so, his face turned and revealed the left side.

Frightened, you junked back and stumbled over a piece of metal.

Your heart was beating like crazy and for a moment you felt like you were about to piss yourself.

The entire half of his face was drenched in blood. The bleeding was so heavy that it dripped to the floor as if it was raining.

Deep and long cuts adored the knife wound he had suffered through the previous fight.

It had already looked bad, but now he looked beaten and tortured.

For a moment, you remained frozen in shock.

"Adler!", you gasped. "I never wanted that..."

He didn't respond.

His eyes were still slightly opened, but they had stopped moving.

His breathing slowed down.

He was drifting away.

"Shit!", you jumped up and started to cut the ropes as quickly as possible.

As two snapped, his weight pulled him down.

But he didn't fall yet. At least he wouldn't fall too deep now.

You cut another rope. The constant movements made your fingers go sore. Blisters appeared and a bit of blood ran as well.

He sunk further.

The last rope snapped on its own, torn by the mix of his weight and gravity.

With a groan, Adler fell onto the pillow you had assembled for him.

He didn't move.

"Adler?", you asked and started to clean his face. "Adler, I know you can't hear me, but I want you to know I'm here. I'll stay by your side. No matter what it takes."

One night and two days passed before someone from the American side had found you two.

In the meantime, you had found fresh water and gathered food that you fed to him.

You talked to Adler whenever he needed it, made him laugh and cared for his wounds as if you were the one he was supposed to marry after war.

He had needed weeks to recover. The wounds on his face had turned into scars, but the emotional damage never faded.

On the bright side, him and you were inseparably after that.

Years later you had found out that the team had been send by Perseus to kill Adler. He hadn't known that you were with him.

It had all been a huge mistake.