Before It Dies | Tratie

xv. to suture a soul

double update omg aren't you proud of me?

     The truth is, I spent an awful lot of time with the cabin of Apollo before becoming head counsellor of Cabin 4. I had always found it fascinating the way they dealt with their patients and fed medicine by the spoon to make them happier. Children of Apollo were the kindest of them all when it came to nursing someone back to health and I always tried to do whatever I could to help. This included growing poppies for opium and sometimes even cannabis to soothe the pain. We were really good at keeping people happy, even if it involved growing our own drugs. most of the young doctors couldn't have access to the drugs regular people have so we had to do it ourselves.

     Over the years of helping out in the cabin, growing emergency supplies, I had learned a lot of first aid. Maybe I would have even been a doctor if my ability to act, not fight, in stressful situations wasn't so slow. At the sight of the gash on Travis's leg, I immediately froze at the sight of the bloody wound.

     Conner rushed to his side and a chain of swears flew out of his mouth. He was breathing hard, looking over Travis from the clammy skin to the way sweat trickled down his neck. When he reached at the jeans in an attempt to pull them away from the wound, I finally reacted.

     "Stop!" I cried, running towards Conner and making sure he didn't touch the leg. "You could rip it even further."

     August carried Peggy to our side and he took out a first aid kit, though there were barely any useful materials for a wound this large. No number of bandages would cover this up.

     "Conner," I said under my breath, "I need you to take off your shirt."

     Two blue eyes widened in confusion. "What?"

     I glared at Travis, who had the nerve to be jealous of his fucking brother when he was bleeding out. Then I looked at his brother expectantly and he darted his eyes between us two. "What for?"

     My heart pounded rapidly in my chest and squeezed my eyes shut. In situations like these, doctors often had to take a breath to regain control of their breathing and to think clearly. I had to act fast, calmly, and make sure that the patient wasn't panicked either. Yet they had to know the truth.

     I took Travis's cold hand in mine and squeezed it. "I'm going to strip off a piece of Conner's shirt to tie a tourniquet around your leg, just above the wound to stop the blood flow there."

     Conner's shirt was already off by the time I looked at him.

     I took my dagger and ripped off a strip of fabric from the hem, then lifted his leg. Using a stick on the ground, I threaded it through the cloth and twisted the stick, tightening the tourniquet until the bleeding stopped, then secured it in place. There was still a ball of fabric in my hand and I swallowed heavily, meeting his eyes.

     Travis looked very afraid and I clenched my teeth together, regretful of what I was going to do next. This had to happen. I wasn't going to let him die when I had a chance of saving him. 

     "Conner, stuff this in his mouth," I ordered throwing him back the shirt and opening the first aid kit as quickly as I could. There were several disinfectants and gauze pads that I took out and ripped open. Travis looked at me in horror as I made sure to keep eye contact.

     "August, is it possible for you to grow a cactus right now? One with a curved spike that can act closely to a needle?" I asked.

     He was way ahead of me, holding down the foot of the wounded leg to stop it from thrashing. I thanked him, relieved of his first aid knowledge as well.