Trial 017 - 2019 Wattys Sci-Fi Winner

Chapter 12

15.01.2723

Tanvir was still alive.

He lay on the ground, eyelids fluttering weakly. His breath was tenuous, coming in wheezing gasps, his face pale from blood loss. A piece of shrapnel had pierced his side, as long as my hand and slightly wider than a pen. It was jagged, but it looked like it was holding in most of Tanvir's blood. I looked away from the wound, focusing my attention on one of our first aid kits.

It had seemed an eternity ago when we'd first woken up, but only a day had passed. The sky above was beginning to lighten with the first hours of morning, a clear day with few clouds and a chilly morning wind. The crash must have scared away the local animals because the jungle was uncharacteristically quiet, a dead silence that seemed to haunt the area.

"You're going to be okay," I told Tanvir, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. Calvin was sitting cross-legged on the ground, holding one of Tanvir's hands in both of his own.

After the crash, the three of us had hauled Tanvir away, doing our best not to disturb the wound until we were far enough that the smoke plume from the crash wasn't in our immediate vicinity. The Krakoshans would soon arrive on the scene, and we had to be far enough away to treat Tanvir's injuries while remaining hidden. Bekah had left immediately after we chose our clearing, hoping to salvage more supplies from the ship before the Krakoshans descended on it.

I reached over, my hands hovering above the wound.

"Need to clean the wound," I muttered to myself. "Where's the bandages?"

Digging through the kit, I snatched up a square sealed packet. Holding it up to the light, I picked at the tab, ripping it open. Cloth wipes. I pulled it out shakily, holding it up to Tanvir.

"Sorry, Tanvir," I said apologetically, "but I'm going to have to rip your shirt."

His lips moved, as if he were trying to speak, but barely any sound escaped. I felt panic well up in my chest, but I stamped it down ruthlessly and took hold of the shirt on either side of the wound, tearing it apart to reveal more surface area. I had to admit, it was pretty bad. The shirt had darkened considerably from soaking up so much blood, and the skin all around looked as if it had been dyed a dark red to match the red flora of this alien planet.

"Oh, Zeus," I groaned. "This looks bad."

Tanvir wheezed, a sound that was part laughter and part pain. He squeezed Calvin's hands, coughing up more blood. I winced, digging back through the first aid kit for anything useful. Pulling out a syringe, I peered inside, noting some kind of compressed white substance. Expanding medical foam. Perfect. Pulling out a thick roll of bandages and some bandaging tape, I turned back to Tanvir.

"Alright," I said. "First things first. I don't have water."

I glanced down at the cloth wipe, then at Tanvir's bloodied abdomen, hoping it would be enough.

"Still gotta clean the wound though," I muttered.

Snatching up the syringe in one hand, I pressed the cloth to Tanvir's side, wiping away the blood that was slowly leaking out. When the wound was about clean, I took the syringe in my free hand, keeping my other hand on the shrapnel.

"On three, okay?" I asked.

Without waiting for a response, I counted aloud, then slid the piece of metal out, working quickly now that his blood was flowing freely. Tanvir screamed, a chilling sound that sent shivers down my spine, but I didn't waste time. I uncapped the syringe, maneuvered the tip into the wound while doing my best to avoid agitating it further, and pushed the plunger down securely while keeping the syringe steady. Immediately, the white substance flooded the wound, expanding as it soaked up the blood until it filled the area completely. That should stop the bleeding, provided Tanvir rested properly and didn't move too much.