Levels

Some things change, others don't

They were already back at the ship, but time was still running out. Dayl was laying on the cold hard floor clutched together like a hedgehog. Thick red blood was pouring out of his wound, inflicted by the shotgun bullet that passed right through him two inches below his rips. His heartrate was slowing down and his breathing felt heavy and got slower every second. His whole clothes drenched in the red liquid. Waves of pain rushed through his body, numbing every other sense in his dazed mind.

Allessa was rushing through the ship to the supply room, tearing every drawer apart until she found the medical kit. Equipped with large pressure bandages and alcohol, she dashed through the door to Dayls fractured body. She opened the bottle and pureed it as quickly as possible over the bullet holes, pushed the bandages on the injuries on both sides and fixing them with a broad cloth. The only good thing was, that the bullet had gone straight through.

Dayl released a boisterous haul, as the alcohol increased the pain dwelling through his body.

Tears already streaming on her face, Allessa looked down at the still flowing blood, staining the white fabric.

Every last bit of energy was drained from Dayls body. The only movement he was still capable of, was the convulsion triggered by the multiple waves of pain floating his muscles. His body was sweating from the effort of struggling to stay alive.

Salty tears were dripping on his forehead, but he barely recognized Allessa leaning over him with bloodshot eyes crying all over her face.

For the fact, that Allessa couldn't drag his body to their bed, he was still laying near the start panel were he had dropped the moment they arrived.

Allessa wrapped her hands around one of his and pressed it to her chest. Still sobbing as she had to watch Dayl suffer from pain.

Her hand was nearly trembling as bad as his and her heart pounding against her chest while she asked herself if Dayl could feel it.

Her voice was muffled and her voice sounded hopeless, constantly broken by one of her sobs.

"I'm so sorry Dayl, if I hadn't been so selfish, all of this wouldn't have happened, I never wanted for you to get hurt, I never wanted you to suffer like this, all I ever wanted was to protect you from the pain of losing someone dear to you. I'm so sorry..."

Dayls face twitched, slowly turning towards Allessa. His mind seemed to come back to him, yet reality felt like a shore far away at the horizon, while he was still drifting in the sea. His vision was still fuzzy, but after few seconds, he could make out Allessas tear streaming face and even though her eyes and cheeks were completely red from crying, she still looked unbelievably beautiful to him.

"Stop, Allessa. It wasn't your fault at all, you did the right thing. I'm going to be all right. We just have to keep pulling through this."

Dayl opened his eyes more widely and gave her a forced smiley. His eyes closed again and he gave in to the exhaustion. His heart still beating. He fell asleep.

Allessa was still crying and was now lying directly next to Dayl, his hand still tightly clutched in hers, her head resting on his shoulder. The tears in her face stopped and she too, couldn't resist the weakness of her body anymore and fell asleep.

After a few hours of sleep, both of them woke on the cold hard metal floor. Dayls body was still aching from pain but with Allessas help, he managed to get to his feet again, his arm resting on her shoulder for support. Step by step, they managed to drag Dayl to bed were he instantly crashed out again, falling into a deep dreamless sleep.

Allessa was up already and once again standing in the shower letting hot water heal the pain in every muscle of her body. She looked at herself. Her whole skin bruised from bottom to top, her feet sore from running and her ankles wounded. Suddenly she caught herself thinking about Dayl again, she was worried about him. The thought of her wanting to be alone, so she wouldn't get hurt in the end, had vanished from her mind completely and for the first time, she was more than glad to have someone by her side.

She couldn't even imagen what it would be like to go through all the struggle all by herself. Even though she didn't know Dayl for very long, she trusted him blindly. Everything they had already been through in the last couple of days, had weld them together.

She left the shower and as she looked at Dayl still lying peacefully in bed, a feeling of happiness came over her. She put on her underwear and a t-shirt she found in one of the drawers. She tiptoed to the bed, careful not to wake Dayl and silently lay down by his side. They had still 18 hours left and so she decided to rest and besides it was not like there was anything else to do anyway.

She could hear his slow breaths, his eyes shut tightly. For a moment she hesitated, but then without further thinking lay her head on his chest. She closed her eyes and with the pacifying rhythm of his beating heart, she fell asleep again.