Ship Wrecked

Chapter 11: Found

His eyes were closed and he could feel her breath on his neck. He had many visits from the group to check on Jae. Today was the day that Eila was going to stitch up Jae. She was gathering her supplies so it took her the whole day to gather up string, little twigs, and stone. She gave Matthew the stone so he could make a needle of some sort. Jae was still unconscious. The wounds on her face began to heel into scabs. "Okay. You hold her tight and not move her. The needle will be extremely hot so if it touches her cheek or anything else, it will burn marks. I am praying that she won't wake up," Eila replied as she cradled Jae's head. Thomas held her body and neck, trying to calm his shaking nerves. Eila breathed and began her work.

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Jules felt the tension in the air. Sarah sat cross legged on her hammock braiding Noel's hair and humming a little tune to herself. Matthew was out looking for food and hunting. It's not safe out there to be alone Jules thought. Emrys was pacing in the cell thinking of how to escape these weird, powerful people. "Thanks Sarah. What kind of braid did ya do?" Noel felt her hair as she felt the designs of the braid down her head. "I kind of did this braid that sticks out so you can make it bigger if you want. I guess I could call it a dutch braid," Sarah shrugged her shoulders. "I hope everything is alright in the hut. Does Eila know what she is doing?" Noel shrugged, "She didn't want to have the pressure of people watching her."

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Thomas had sweat dripping off his face. Eila was almost done with the forehead cut. She had to use a torch to keep heating up the stone. "Done. Now for the nose," Eila gulped down her saliva as she reheated the needle. A moan arose between the two. Jae fluttered open her eyes. She glanced around the hut. "Thomas... Eila... What's going on," her voice was weak and fragile. She saw Eila with a stone needle above her face. "What are you doing?" Eila gulped.

"You weren't supposed to wake up until the operation was over."

"What operation?"

"When you were attacked, um... the grenold cut your face and the right side of your forehead was pretty deep and your nose was cut open. I am going to stitch up your nose. Hold on. Let me grab a cloth."

Eila stood up, walked to a table, and grabbed a cloth. "Jae, you okay? How do you feel," Thomas replied. Jae shrugged while looking down, "Why are you holding me?" Thomas bit the inside of his cheek, "Well, Eila didn't know if you broke anything so she was afraid of laying you down. I carried you out of the forest so I requested that I just hold you and not move you." Jae smiled that created a twinge of pink in her cheeks. Eila rushed back with a piece of fabric. "Open wide. This is going to hurt." Jae opened her mouth. Eila shoved the fabric into her mouth and breathed in and out. "Here we go."

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Jules' back ached and she felt weak to the bone. Emrys had made a path from pacing so much. He hardly ate anything so she ate his food. "Emrys, will you please stop pacing? It is driving me nuts," Jules replied as she heard the soft ground being pounded into the Earth. "Why should I? There is nothing else to do anymore. I have lost everything! My beloved wife, my beautiful children, and the town I live in. I am also-" Emrys replied, but was cut off by a scream. "What the he-" Emrys said, but another screamed filled the camp. "It's coming from the hut! Is it Jae?" Jules scrambled to her feet. "Hey, Noel! What's going on?" Noel passed by them and skidded to a halt. "Jae must be awake! She must be feeling the stitches!" Jules gasped. Emrys shook the bars, "Let us out!" Noel started to run again but only to stop a few feet away from their cage, "I'll talk with the group! Hold on!"

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"Jae, I need you to hold still," Eila replied to Jae. Jae was squeezing Thomas's shirt and was sweating. Her teeth were clenched as the rag held limply against her mouth. Thomas was holding her neck and breathing fast. "It's alright Jae. Just breathe," He whispered to her. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. Eila glanced up at Thomas. "Jae I know you're strong. You're the strongest out of all of us. Come on. Just hold on," Thomas replied as Eila began reheating the needle. Eila looked at Jae with worried eyes. "Eila! What's going on in there?" Voices yelled through the flap that separated them. "Jae's awake! She'll be fine!" Eila sighed as she refocused on Jae's nose again. "Okay Jae, it's almost done." Jae opened her eyes and tears had begun to make streams down her face. Eila shoved the needle into Jae's nose. She pulled it out with the thread coming along behind it. She did it again to the other side. Jae screamed inside her mouth while her knuckles decided to turn white. Eila moved fast. Her fingers moved effortlessly with the stone needle and string. In and out. In and out...