The Reincarnated

Chapter 30: The Better Evil

The pain intensified when the shock evaporated into recognition. My blood was already pooling over slowly. My first stunt attempt and I'm already dying. How incredibly stupid and cliché.

Kyle, who also noticed my distress, knelt down in front of me. He practically ripped my jacket off in a flash.

He lifted a part of my shirt matted with blood, and whispered his apology. "A bullet to the hip," Kyle said with regret. "It's not deep enough to be fatal but..."

"Take it out," I whispered. Gale had taught me well about bullet injuries and the insufferable pain was a lot better than risking fatal infection. "Please, do it."

The hesitance in Kyle's expression wasn't a question whether he was capable or not. I trusted him enough with my life to know this was a basic survival skill he'd mastered. He was more afraid about the pain it will cause.

And before I knew it, I felt the most excruciating agony in scorching hell for what felt like five seconds when he single handedly take the bullet out successfully. How I knew? Well, the only reason is because I felt every single pressure like ten times over. I cried out in pain and squeezed my hands until it dug through flesh, even after it was done.

Tearing a huge part of his shirt, he pressed the cloth to my right hip, and damn well it hurt!

While I was taking in deep breaths, he let Warren apply pressure into my wound to stop the bleeding.

I tried to get used to the searing pain but failed miserably. My wound throbbed feverishly and suddenly, my insides were aflame.

"You're the new Caster everybody's talking about," Warren said.

Managing a nod, I let Kyle feel my forehead. "Fever's starting," he said. "Warren, where's the nearest hospital in town?"

"A few kilometers east from where you came," Warren replied and Kyle cursed under his breath. "That's too far for us to take her by foot. Too risky. Where's Leopold when you need him?"

He looked at me once again and by that worrisome look on his eyes, I wanted to reassure him with a smile or a smartass quip. I couldn't. "Help me transfer her to a more open space."

They both carefully moved me outside our hiding spot where the soldiers were. A couple of minutes ago they wouldn't have hesitated to capture us, now they were just lying still on the ground. I didn't kill them though, the impact of their backs against the wall was just enough to immobilize them for an hour or two at most.

Kyle immediately tried to contact Gale with his phone as I prayed silently for the pain to go away.

"Gale, it's me Kyle." He didn't bother to put him on speaker this time. "We need help and fast. Cheshire has been shot and the hospital is a few kilometers away. I can't let her stay here. They already know where we are." Kyle explained what happened while I tried to divert my attention away from the intense burn on my hip with my own thoughts.

If the prisoner Gale was tracking was already on his way to New Jersey, that could mean Lancelot was already out of town, so what are they still doing here?

"Can I talk to him?" I held out my hand. Kyle gave me his phone.

"Gale?" I called out.

"Cheshire," Gale breathed into my ear. His voice was clear enough, and a couple of others were also shouting in the background, followed by pistol shots. If I could hear them clearly through the signal, they were getting closer. "I'm coming. I need you to get out of there, find somewhere safe." He was panting now, probably running to get free of whoever was chasing after him. "I'll find you."