The Purge

Pt 18

After a day of travel, the group of four came to a stop outside an overgrown clearing surrounded by trees. Several weather-worn caravans overgrown with weeds were scattered across the clearing.

Exiting the car with the others, Sam took a steadying breath and twisted at the rings on his fingers. His eyes flickered over to Alissa and the patch of dark crimson soaking the cloth above her left shoulder. 

Alissa's face was a sickening white and her eyes struggled to focus on anything. She started to sway slightly before stumbling backwards into the arms of a taken aback Lucas.

"She's losing blood!" Lucas called, panic evident in his tone.

"No shit Sherlock," Sam muttered under his breath, rushing to their side. "Ava I thought you stitched it up. Why the fuck is it still bleeding?"

"I'm fine," Alissa mumbled, trying to regain her footing. Instead, she fell back into Lucas' arms.

Ava was now at their side, attempting to peel back the sleeve of Alissa's jumper. "It's not going to budge, we need to cut it. There should be some scissors in the boot. Sam, grab them and the med kit."

Sam obliged and ran to the car and returned with the med kit and scissors. Ava pulled them out of his hands and began to hack at the sleeves of Alissa's jumper. Once the sleeve was cut, she pulled back the rest of the cloth, revealing a nasty gunshot wound.

Alissa's eyes began to flutter closed but Ava quickly shook her, preventing her from falling asleep. "Lucas, whatever you do, keep her awake," she instructed.

Lucas nodded dutifully and began talking to Alissa in a hushed tone in an attempt to keep her awake. 

Ava studied the wound. Ripped stitches were evident around the open wound and a yellowish gloop was around the wound. "It's infected," Ava said quietly, looking up to meet Sam's eyes.

"How the fuck did that happen? I thought you treated her!" Sam's eyes glowered dangerously.

"I tried my best, ok?" Ava avoided Sam's gaze. "I'm sorry"

Sam ran his hand through his hair. "Fine, whatever, just clean it and stitch it back up." 

Ava nodded and got back to work. Alissa hissed and withered away from the pain but Lucas' reassurances were helping her get through it. 

Once the hurried procedure was finished, Ava gave Alissa a bottle of water and some iron rich food. Alissa ate slowly, her eyes threatening to close at any moment. After a while, she finished the food and looked up at the trio surrounding her.

"Alright, let's get going," Lucas said, being careful not to touch Alissa's shoulder as he helped her up. "Where are we going?" He asked, looking at Sam.

"Just follow me and don't say anything. I'll do the talking, ok?" He responded, his eyes steely.

Something in his tone made the others uneasy. They nodded hesitantly and followed Sam across the clearing to the caravan furthest away on the tree line. 

Sam took a deep breath before knocking several times in a distinct pattern. 

"Dude, what's going on?" Lucas said. 

Sam shushed him harshly as the sound of bolts sliding came from inside the caravan. The door to the caravan opened, wafting unpleasant smells into the squad's faces. At the door stood a burly man covered in tattoos. His face donned a bored look as he took a drag of his blunt. As he blew out he finally registered the people in front of him and his face turned into a scowl of disapproval.

When he spoke, it was a hoarse sound. "Whadda you want?"

"Help." Sam said, looking up at the person at the door.