The Wendigo's Hunger

chapter 5 Fractured Escape

Mikey struggled through the dense woods, Katie's weight heavy on his shoulder. Her leg was bleeding profusely, and each step he took seemed to echo with the weight of their dire situation. Ahead, he spotted the flickering light of the campfire and Lucy sitting on a nearby log.

"HELP!" he yelled, his voice raw with desperation.

Lucy's head snapped up at the sound. Her eyes widened in terror as she took in the sight of Mikey and Katie. Her face went pale, the horror of their predicament clear as she scrambled to her feet, panic etched into every line.

Lucy ran to her backpack, her hands shaking as she fumbled to pull out the first aid kit. "What happened? Where is everyone?" she asked urgently, her voice trembling with panic.

Mikey, struggling to catch his breath, replied, "I don't know. We were attacked by this... thing," his voice cracking with the shock of the ordeal.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" Lucy shouted back, her eyes wide with fear.

Without waiting for a reply, Lucy turned to Katie, who was sweating heavily and tears streaming down her face. Lucy hurriedly pulled Katie's jeans back, revealing a horrifying wound that went straight through her leg. The gash was deep, showing signs of severe infection, as if it had been exposed for days.

Lucy's face went pale as she saw the extent of the injury. The reality of their situation was hitting her hard, the urgency of the moment making her hands tremble even more as she worked to address the wound.

"We have to call 911! And get her somewhere now!" Lucy yelled, her voice cracking with desperation as she started working on Katie's wound.

Mikey's face was etched with grim determination as he replied, "She won't make it to the cars... barely made it here."

The weight of Mikey's words hit Lucy like a physical blow. She looked at Katie, whose face was contorted with pain and fear. The grim reality of their situation settled heavily over them. Katie's eyes met Lucy's, and in that silent exchange, the urgency and hopelessness of their situation became painfully clear.

As Lucy worked frantically to stabilize Katie's wound, her hands moved with a mix of urgency and practiced precision. Despite the chaos and fear, she found a moment of calm focus amidst the panic. With every movement, she silently thanked her mother, whose relentless encouragement had driven her to take every possible course in first aid and medicine.

Her mother had always dreamed of Lucy becoming a doctor, and now, amidst the dire circumstances, those lessons and training were coming to the forefront. Each skill she had learned in the countless hours of study and practice was being called upon to help her friend.

As Lucy applied pressure to the wound, her mind drifted back to her mother's expectations and the way she had pushed her to excel. Those memories, once a source of frustration, now felt like a lifeline, a source of strength in a moment when every second counted. The training had prepared her for this, even if she had hoped never to use it under such grim conditions.

Lucy is determined to make sure katie survives this.

"Mikey, you need to go find the others," Lucy said, her focus unwavering as she worked to tend to Katie's wound. Her voice was firm but laced with urgency.

"No!" Mikey shouted back, his face a mask of fear and resolve. "I'm not going back out there."

Lucy glanced up briefly, her eyes meeting his with a mixture of frustration and desperation. "If we don't find them now, they might be in worse shape than Katie. We need to know if they're safe or if they need help."

Mikey's face contorted with conflict, the terror of the unknown and the horror of the creature they had encountered warring with his sense of responsibility. "I can't... I can't go back out there alone," he said, his voice trembling.