Precedent

Chapter Twenty

Sabrina, having her weapon already, hurries into the fight without hesitation. I, however, have to stop and grab a blaster from the ground.

I stand up just in time to shoot a R.A.C.O. that would have, had I been on the ground, crushed my skull with its fist. The shot knocks off its right arm. Its left swings at me. It tries to knock me off my feet with a kick. I blast its other arm off and barely jump in time to avoid falling to the ground.

Just as I prepare to shoot it, someone comes up behind it. They must yank its wires out, because it slumps over.

I give a polite nod to my helper before turning my full attention to the next closest R.A.C.O.

I pull the trigger on the blaster. This time, my aim is straight and true. The R.A.C.O. powers down. I grin.

Suddenly I hear my name being called shrilly across the room.

"Olivia!" It's Ryan. Some people turn to look in his direction. I don't look; I take off running, dodging R.A.C.O. fire on the way.

I drop to my knees when I get close and I slide across the floor. I stop skidding right next to him. He is kneeling down beside Danny. I almost puke. It's clear that Danny's arm is...gone. After the elbow... there's just nothing. There's nothing but a bloody hole in his shirt.

"R.A.C.O. ripped it right off," Danny says quietly, trying to knot the remains of Danny's sleeve around what remains. Danny isn't screaming-we always try not to-but anyone could tell he's in excruciating pain.

Ryan's fingers are trembling. He can't clot the blood. I take the cloth from him.

"Go join the fight," I order, sounding like my mother. "I can bandage him." Ryan nods numbly, stands up, and stumbles away. This is the first time he hasn't had something to say. He's completely shell shocked.

I don't blame him.

"Danny, hold still," I order. He's rocking back and forth, which makes my job a lot more difficult. "It'll be okay."

The blood is making my hands slippery. I decide to block the artery. Using my left hand, I press down hard where I know the axillary artery is. The steady stream of blood slows to a trickle. Thank God I paid attention in Health class. Who knew that in between all the outdated crap about nutrition and weird comments about the changing body there'd be something useful?

I am able to knot the shirt. Before I can do anything else, I have to duck. I barely miss R.A.C.O. fire over my head.

"We have to get you out of here," I realize. He doesn't say anything. I didn't expect a response though.

I help support him.

"Danny, you have to help me," I tell him. He grimaces as he stands up. Very slowly we begin to hobble across the battlefield.

I watch Danny closely, paying attention to other maladies that could be inflicting him. I notice he has a limp. Painfully I am reminded of A-M and his past self. Technically, A-M is a past self too; it's just there isn't a future self.

Danny and I make it to the edge of the fight. I see Sabrina and Ryan out of the corner of my eye. They're doing well. They don't seem to have sustained any serious injuries.

I push them from the front of my consciousness. All that matters right now is getting Danny somewhere safe.

Now that I'm not pressing down on his artery, the blood is gushing again. My fingers have become slick with my friend's blood. I force myself not to look; it's hard though. It's hard not to look at the source of all the blood that now coats my hand and wrist.