The Ink Infection [Brief hold and Editing]

Chapter 8

My shaking hand hovered over my chest, my hand brushing over the hilt of the knife.

"Neil!" shouted Cody and Clove, running over to me.

Derek, Cody, and Clove gathered around me and inspected the wound. Pain started to spread from the knife. 

"We should pull it out," suggested Clove.

"And leave him to bleed to death?" asked Cody, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I mean, we could bandage it real quickly, so the bleeding stops," said Derek. 

They became quiet again as they were absorbed back in their thoughts.

"I'm fine. Really." I reassured them.

"When you have a knife stuck in your chest," muttered Derek under his breath.

"Derek's idea doesn't sound bad," contemplated Cody, eyeing me wearily. I smiled, trying to cheer him up.

Clove got up from the floor.

"I'll go get some bandages, you guys watch over him," she commanded, as she walked around the room looking for the first aid kit. She eventually found it in the corner of the room. A green neon light of a plus sign was directly above the kit. She grabbed it and ran back to me. She opened the box and produced a huge wad of bandages. She grabbed one end of the bandages and positioned her hand above the knife.

"Whenever you're ready," she said, looking at me.

I took a deep breath and nodded. Derek slowly grabbed the handle with his hand.

"Wait!" I said, scared. "I'll try pulling it out, you know?" I tried to reason with them.

Thankfully, they all nodded. Wow, at least that part was easy. I thought they wouldn't let me pull it out or something. 

"Sounds fair," said Derek, pulling his hand away. I sighed in relief and closed my hand around the hilt of the blade. I released the grip, and my hand fell to my sides. I couldn't do this. I can't do this. It might be better if I just went around with a knife in my chest. I knew that this had to get pulled out someday, but I was afraid of the pain. My sides were hurting, and my head ached when Itzy shoved me to the floor.

Lock in, Neil. I had to do this for my sake and my friends. My hands regained strength, and once again, I was in the position of pulling it out. I closed my eyes and breathed through my nose to calm myself down. With a grunt, I tried to pull it out. Pain flared in my chest, and I stopped pulling.

My chest heaved, and I waited for the pain to go away. The knife had barely even moved. I closed my eyes, moving my hands to my chest. I held the handle and felt someone's hand on mine. I opened my eyes and saw Derek. His brown eyes looked at mine. He gave a single nod, and I started to pull. Again, pain roared in my body, worse than last time. I grimaced, sweat trickling down my head. Derek helped me lift the blade out of my chest. I winced, trying to overcome the pain that swept over me. Thick blood began to come out of the wound in my chest. 

"Come on, a few more centimeters..." muttered Derek, straining to pull it out slowly.

I groaned loudly as the blade came out, with blood flowing down my sides. Clove quickly lowered the bandage and started to wrap it around me. I positioned myself so that I was leaning against my elbows, so that Clove could finish the job. After ten complete circles, she stopped, cutting the bandage and taping it tightly. 

"Now, we're done!" beamed Clove proudly.

"Thanks, guys." I said, "You guys really saved my life."

"It's the least we could do. We're friends!" replied Cody, laughing.