Fortune | A NINJAGO AU

Chapter 8: Blood and the Blame

Skylor's POV

Nya lies in the middle of the room, curled into herself and heaving with heavy, panicked breaths. Bloody fingers clutch tightly to one arm hard enough to turn her trembling knuckles white. Blood drips from her arm and collects in a puddle of red on the floor.

I can't move. Can barely even breathe. I just stare at the bloody mess in wide-eyed shock, a jumble of emotions moving through me.

No, no, no. This isn't happening. Nya is fine. She was fine. She had to be.

Kai wraps his arms around her, eyes swirling with panic and grief and confusion. He's choking back tears. "It's gonna be okay. You're going to be okay, you hear me? I can't- I can't lose you."

Jay and Cole kneel beside the two, while Zane stands behind them, holding a phone to his ear. Everyone else is bunched up near the sides of the room, staring in shock.

"Kai, buddy, calm down. Panicking won't help. Deep breaths." Cole pats Kai on the shoulder comfortingly.

"A girl's freaking DYING, dirtclod! Deep breaths won't help either!" Jay shrieks from beside him, scooching away to avoid the puddle of blood.

"I agree with Cole. We do not want to agitate Nya any further," Zane puts in, pocketing the phone. "And I do not believe anything of importance was hit by the bullet. The wound can be classified as a flesh wound."

"Anything of importance?! That's an arm! I think arms are important!" Jay shoots back immediately. "And a flesh wound sounds bad."

"Shut up," Nya grunts weakly, flicking her eyes open to glare at them. She might be bleeding profusely and in immense pain, but she still gives a pretty good death glare. She sucks in a breath through gritted teeth. "You're giving me a headache."

"What hurts?" Kai bends down so that his ear hovers above her mouth.

"Everything, dumbass."

Kai scowls. "If you weren't bleeding, I'd slap you so hard right about now."

"Lucky me," Nya attempts a weak smile, and it hits me. She knows her brother would worry even more if she acted weakly, so she's pretending. It's admirable in a bittersweet way.

"Okay, I'm going to try to pull out the bullet. That's what they do in movies, right?"

Zane immediately grabs Kai's wrist, stopping it from grasping the bullet. The look on his face is stern. "That is not something you should do if you would like your sister to survive."

"Well, what would you recommend doing?!" Kai shoots him a glare.

"Preventing any further blood loss until proper medical attention can be given is of critical importance," Zane informs him, staring him down with icy blue eyes. "No critical areas have been struck by the bullet, so your sister has a high chance of survival. The biggest risks are that of blood loss or infection. Will you accept my advice?"

"Yes. I like living," Nya nods with a huff.

Kai seems torn, not exactly enthusiastic about accepting unwanted help. But he nods, giving Nya's hand a comforting squeeze. "What do you need me to do?"

"Apply pressure to the wound," Zane instructs Kai, pressing on the skin around the bullet as an example, which Kai quickly follows. "Does anyone have a dressing of some sort?"

"Like a salad dressing?" Jay laughs nervously, fidgeting with his hands. "Cole at all of that."

"You think that's funny?" Kai glares at Jay, their voice rising angrily.

"Bad jokes are just how I cope!" Jay screeches, panic showing through all his features.

"Hey, calm down, bud," Cole pats Jay on the back, causing Jay to stumble forward, coughing. Cole doesn't seem to notice (or maybe just doesn't care). "How about you sacrifice some of your turtleneck as a peace treaty?"