Nobody's Hero (CC Love Story)

Revelation

        I press down hard on the deep, blood-filled wound in Emily's shoulder. She was withering in pain beneath me but there is nothing I can do but try and save her.  That meant putting her through pain.  Taking a deep breath, I reach to the rag beside me on the dry cracked earth and wrap my fingers around my knife. 

        Without warning to my friend, I began carefully but quickly slicing away the searing inflamed flesh surrounding the deep wound the Zealot had caused. 

        Emily began screaming and fought with herself to stay still, her slick black dye was running down her face with sweat allowing her dirty blonde hair to show through.  I try to be quicker but sweat keeps getting in my eyes.  I wipe a dirty, dusty hand over my face and press on with relieving Emily's wound of seared skin. 

        "Are you ok?"  Flame was by my side and instinctively held Emily down for me.

        I nod not looking up from my patient. 

        "A new wave is hitting our forces.  What news is that, a warning meant to save our lives from F.E.A.R.s religion?"  She's agitated.  War did that to her. 

        "We're luckier than most, out of the depths we've crawled to light.  Any news is good news right now even hopeless warnings."  I let my hard hazel eyes rest on hers for a moment before turning back to Emily beneath me and tossing my knife back on the grey, torn rag beside me. 

        "I need water and cloth now!" I shout out at other rebels around me under the canopy of scavenged shelter some rebels had sewn together for me and other rebels working with the injured.

        "Hold on for me Emily, never give in when the fire rises," I soothe her as tears stream down her face.  "I said I need water!" 

        "Here," 

        "About time!" I shout at Echo who wrung out the cloth and calmly wiped Emily's gleaming forehead, pushing the hair from her green eyes. 

        "Flame, get back out there and help," she ordered her sister, "I'll help here." 

        Flame nodded reluctantly and pulled her mask back over her face, disappearing into the wasteland of war. 

        "It's brutal out there."  Echo began expertly cleaning Emily's wound.

        "Well...can't turn back now."  I give her a sorry look and head over to another injured rebel.

        Echo taught me everything I know and now I'm one of the only rebels to help the injured and sick, one of only four. 

        I knelt down next to Zero, one of our youngest rebels, his shock white hair hung limp around his face and closed eyes.  I place an ear to his mouth.  He wasn't breathing.  I shook his shoulders roughly but he was cold to the touch. 

        "Zero!" I shook him again but there was nothing I could do.  F.E.A.R. had taken him and he was gone.  Pushing away the memories from two years ago, I pull off the Wild One mask on his small face and avoiding the excrement from Zero's empty bowels, began pulling his body out from under the canopy.  I drag him over to the others that now lay dead behind our 'medical' canopy in a neat row.  I added Zero's body to the row, he was the smallest of them all. 

        It has been four days since we went, once again, to war with F.E.A.R.  I hate the wars, there were too many, and survival is low and getting lower the more we fight.  Too many people died. 

        "Please tell me, it's nearly over," I sit next to Echo who had stabilized Emily, now sleeping quietly next to us.

        "I wish I could. Honestly, I don't know."  She shook her head of black hair and adjusted the scythe on her back.