Grief

Chapter 8

"You brought friends," Irene says looking at the girl on the ground who shares the same face as Sozec.

Sozec runs to Irene leaving Vincent and Zeala confused.

"You have to save my sister. Save her, please," Sozec pleads to Irene.

Irene glances at Zeala who lies on the bed of peonies looking to the woman for help.

"I cannot heal a physical wound, Sozec. I've told you this," Irene states.

"Can you please? Just this one time? I won't ask for anything else I promise. You healed my fever so I know you can heal her wound," Sozec says frantically.

"The Void was created by you, for you, You know better than anyone how to heal her but you must be quick," Irene says before vanishing into the air.

The one time I need her most, she's unable to help. What do I do?

Sozec examines his sister who slowly falls between consciousness and unconsciousness as time continues. "Sozec where are we?" Vincent asks applying pressure to the wound on Zeala's shoulder. "We can talk about it later," Sozec says dropping to his knees to prevent the blood from flowing out.

"She needs to be stitched. Applying pressure can only do so much," Vincent says after assessing the situation.

Sozec holds his hand out allowing for a small needle and thread to appear in his hand. Suddenly Sozec recalls the news of his father. Just two days ago his father had died and here he was watching life slip away from his sister. She had given him the hope that he needed and just as easily that could be taken away.

"Can you save my sister?" Sozec asks Vincent pushing the needle and thread in his hands.

"Sozec I've never-" Vincent begins. Vincent can't bring himself to finish his sentence as Sozec's eyes waver at the uncertainty of the situation.

Vincent wants to tell him that it'll all be alright, that Zeala will be alright but he cannot bring himself to not when Sozec had already lost his father.

"I need something to clamp the flesh and something hard to bite on," Vincent says.

Sozec thinks of a hard metal clamp causing it to appear in front of Vincent and imagines a hard block of wood similar to the one he'd seen when visiting the infirmary during the war. Sozec carefully puts the block of wood in Zeala's mouth. Her body shakes slightly as he places the piece.

"It's okay, Zeala," Sozec says stroking her hair as she continues to shake. "I need to remove her clothes, here," Vincent says motioning to her shoulder and clavicle.

Sozec retrieves a towel and a pair of scissors from The Void lying them in front of Vincent.

Sozec places his hands under her head and upper body moving her upward while Vincent removes the corset from her replacing it with the towel. Vincent begins cutting the cloth around the wound. He grimaces as he sees that the wound cuts further than he'd imagined from the edge of her right clavicle to the top of her right breast.

Vincent's hands begin to shake. The damage is more than he'd imagined and he was no doctor. It doesn't matter how many times he'd seen the result of similar procedures from his time following behind Sozec to battle, he'd never performed the procedure himself.

"Let me help," Sozec says taking the clamp Vincent had placed on the ground again. Vincent watches as Sozec pulls the flesh around the girl's clavicle and carefully places the small clamp.

Vincent lets out his breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "I've got it from here," Vincent says picking up the needle and thread. Sozec nods giving him his approval.