Going on a school trip abroad can be described with many juxtaposing thoughts, but should never be linked to fatalities or injury. Juniper Pearl Foxx always had a sheltered, mundane life, when a terrible tragedy occurred and left her stuck in the Am...
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Pulling the screaming Elian back from the bank so she didn't slip in, I tried to understand how things had gone so wrong in a matter of minutes. We were all horrified, and Abi-Mae and Matias emptied their guts into the bushes as they saw Elian's arm – or lack of it. Elian was hysterical, screaming for Mason and clutching at the remainder of her arm as we pulled her back into the forest. Birds evacuated the area as they heard our crying and screeching, flapping off into the distance. We were leaving a trail of blood behind us, destined to attract wild animals, but I tried not to worry about that then. Before the river escaped from our view, I took one last pointless look behind me, hoping to see Mason laughing freely on the bank, but instead there was silence as the river rushed on and the red dissipated into the blue. Soon, all trace of him would be gone.
Gone. He was gone.
I stumbled after the others, feeling numb as my hands shook uncontrollably. Dead. He was dead. Tears clouded my vision and sobs ripped from my chest, as I joined the others who were crying at the unfairness and horror of it all. Elian was waiting on the floor, a puddle of blood steadily flowing from her as Chip and James were besides her, frantically trying to pressurise the blood flow.
It wasn't working.
There was too much, staining the inky ground. She was going to bleed out.
"Elian... oh Elian..." I cried as I collapsed to the ground beside her, holding her remaining hand.
She must have been in unspeakable pain.
"M-Mason..." She sobbed heart wrenchingly, her dark eyes wide with terror, causing more tears to overflow from my eyes.
Her other half had been taken from her, as well as her arm.
"It's ok sweetie, just rest. We're going to help you... you will be fine." I cooed, as her body shook violently.
James was currently tying his t-shirt around what was left of her arm, his hands and chest painted in her blood.
"Abi and I will go and see if we can find help along the river." Matias urgently told us, before taking off in a sprint with Abi-Mae's ghostly face besides him.
I prayed they would find someone in time; otherwise we would lose one more person, which I wasn't willing to do.
"A tourniquet... a tourniquet. We need to make a tourniquet to stop the blood flow!" Chip murmured frantically, scrambling around to the bags on the floor to look for an appropriate instrument.
"What about my belt!" James offered after a moment, as we couldn't find anything else stretchy enough.
"It will have to do!" Chip murmured, practically ripping the belt out of his hands and bringing it to Elian who was sobbing.
"This is gonna hurt..." He murmured, before tightly wrapping it around her arm, just above the stub.
Elian screamed as Chip pulled the belt tighter and tighter, effectively cutting off the blood supply. Paisley and I tried to calm Elian to the best of our ability, but of course, it was mainly futile. She was hysterical, just as you would expect someone who watched their boyfriend being eaten by crocodiles and then had their arm ripped off to be.
"That's as tight as it will go..." Chip murmured mournfully whilst James continued to apply pressure.
"There's nothing else we can do... we just have to hope Matias and Abi-Mae find help, and quickly." James murmured, looking as depressed as I felt.
It was growing colder, darker just as you would expect, but Elian's river of blood glowed violently against the green and brown of the forest floor. The smell was so strong and thick like being in an abattoir, but worse. Her skin was taking on the colour of a corpse as she started to calm, becoming numb to her surroundings. Around her the blood flowed like a pool of red gravy – there was so much, dark crimson with a burning metallic scent. Her pulse was becoming more thready, weaker as she closed her eyes.
"No - Elian look at me, don't go to sleep!" I pleaded.
A cold sweat was forming on her forehead as her breath came out in harsh pants. Liam was trying to crawl over to us to help from his sledge, but Paisley stopped him, as there was nothing to be done and laid with him as they cried together. There was nothing anyone could do. For the next hour, we sat with Elian, trying to comfort her, as she got weaker. Her breathing was coming out in little pants, and her skin was clammy with a blue tinge. She was going into shock. James held the remaining mangled flesh of her arm up to help with circulation, and we placed the spare clothes on her to keep her warm, but we were fighting a battle none of us could win. Elian herself seemed to be at peace, sensing what was to come.
When the exhausted Matias and Abi-Mae found their way back to us, Elian had already gone as we mourned her death. There was no help that way down the river.
