I Survived A Horror Story *unedited version*

Chapter 20

(You all are about to learn how to perform a cauterization! Don't attempt at home ~ I'm sure you won't but y'know just in case)

Around fifteen minutes later, while Michelle's knife was warming up, I was holding a frying pan to the head of Jet, who sat perfectly still – face pale and sweating profusely.

"Saryl-"

"It won't hurt." I said (lied).

"Really?" He muttered, swallowing.

"No. But it'll be over in like, a single second. You won't even know what hit you."

"I will. It's a frying pa-" At which point Michelle stepped in from behind me and (surprise!) smacked Jet over the head with a second (also surprise!) frying pan. Jet promptly passed out.

I sighed. "Thank you Michelle. I don't think I could've done that."

Michelle smirked and shrugged. "Always wanted to try that someday."

"Don't you think it was a little unfair to hit him while he was in the middle of talking?" Seica murmured, staring at the still body of Jet.

"Nah, that way he was distracted. It was the best possible way to hit him, get Saryl to engage conversation, and then bam, he's out and seeing stars before he knows it." Michelle said.

"You planned this?" Melissa asked.

"Duh." Michelle and I said in unison.

"I still don't think what you did was morally right." Alen finally spoke, "But whatever."

"It was- it is. Would you rather he be awake while Michelle performs the cauterization? It's our only form of 'anesthesia.'" I said. Alen set his jaw, but remained quiet.

Michelle twisted a knife in the fire "coals" again, waiting for the moment where it just begins to glow red. "It's almost ready." She said, "Clean and nearly red. In the meantime, do you think Danielle keeps any alcohol in this house- you know, in case he wakes up?"

"No, no, no." I said, "I thought about that too but..."

"But what? If he wakes up he's going to need it."

"He's underage!"

"He's seventeen, almost eighteen, and big enough to be in his twenties. I'm pretty sure he can hold it." Michelle said, rolling her eyes, "And soldiers do it all the time when they get injured. It actually helps- in fact it's recommended. Plus we need to clean the wound too."

I bit my lip in thought, internally debating. "Okay, I'll go check the kitchen. And- speaking of him waking up- then we'll need a stick or something for him to bite down on." Michelle nodded in agreement.

"Okay! I can find that!" Melissa said, and we both split up, promising to meet in the next two minutes (because the knife was almost done).

To my utter surprise, Danielle did have alcohol, and I found it almost immediately. So fast in fact, it was a little suspicious, or just my extremely good luck. I returned with the bottle to find Michelle pulling the knife out from the fire, and Melissa already in the room with an object for Jet to bite down on. I opened the bottle and poured the alcohol on the wounds to clean it as best as I could. Then came the moment I was dreading, but it was a move that could save Jet's life. "Okay Michelle, gently press the hot blade onto this wound, holding it long enough to seal it, but not so long that you're burning into his healthy body tissue."

"I know." She said.

"And try applying it in short bursts so you don't overdo it, and also check the bleeding as you go. When you don't see any blood flowing, it means we've done a good job."

"I know."

"Yeah okay sorry." I murmured, fluttering nervously around Jet and Michelle. Michelle focused on the first injury and then pressed the knife lightly onto the wound. It was fairly quick (after all puncture wounds will seal up much more easily than long gashes and cuts, which are trickier) and she repeated the process on the next two stab wounds. Three more left. But of course, that was when Jet had to wake up.