Chapter Eight
“Shit, Aya, what are we going to do?” Nolan panicked. “We can’t just let him die here!”
“We need to stop the bleeding,” Aya croaked, Nolan able to see her trembling even though his eyes had still not fully readjusted to the darkness.
“I should have know that....” Nolan’s voice cracked. He hated seeing Ryden, the man who was like a father to him, in such terrible shape.
“With what?” he asked, hoping Aya knew what to do. He was too worked up to think straight.
“Rope, a belt?” Aya suggested, her hands feeling around for Ryden’s injury, freezing when they landed in a puddle of blood, still expanding and being eerily lit by the light from Maria’s experimental bomb earlier.
Nolan could make out the shimmer of tears in the corners of her eyes, her empty eyes moving back and forth, but still seeing nothing. She felt around a little more, finding Ryden’s hands clasped over his wound, her eyes going wide.
“I think we’ll need more than a belt,” she almost whimpered, not waning to loose her brother in law after her husband, whom she knew could be dead somewhere.
“Rn-kett,” Ryden hissed.
“What?” Nolan leaned in closer to hear better, his ears still not having recovered from the sound of the explosion that had gotten them in their current situation.
Luckily, his hearing and sight was almost back to normal, making it easier to understand the man.
“Tourn-kett, tourniquet....” Ryden huffed, speaking taking a lot of energy.
“What’s that?” Nolan asked Aya, biting down on his lip nervously, getting the coppery taste of blood in his mouth.
“He wants us to stop the flow of blood with a tourniquet, so we’ll need a sturdy stick or something, and cloth,” Aya said. “Is he very pale?” she asked, her forehead wrinkling in concern.
“Y-yeah....” Nolan nodded, forgetting she could not see it.
“Maria! Do you have any long sturdy objects?” Nolan yelled, hoping she would answer.
“No-“ Maria called, waving at him with her uninjured arm, which Nolan was now able to roughly make out. She was at least twenty meters away from them.
“I do,” Keith spoke up, Nolan barely able to make out his friend’s voice.
“What?”
“I have a baton I stole from a guard earlier,” Keith answered, trying to ignore the ringing in his ears that would not go away. “I feel sick,” he added.
“A what?” Nolan yelled, making Keith flinch.
“You’re noisy!” Keith complained, raising is voice a little in annoyance--just enough for Nolan to be able to understand him.
“I have a baton!” he finished, forcing himself to sit up and he began fumbling with his boots. He had stuck the baton in the side of his boot for safekeeping, but in a place he could reach it if he had to. Pulling it out, he handed it to Maria.
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Falling Up
Mystery / Thriller*sequel to Ashes* Sharon has remembered her name, but is still no closer than she was to finding out what happened to her friends, Joshua and Markl, who think they finally have a lead on what Alice wanted them to get for her... but Alice has other t...
