Unmasked

Chapter 8

Time Runs Short

By some absolute miracle coupled with Evey's sheer determination, she managed to get V's body back to the shadow gallery, though not as quickly as she would have liked.

Once in his room lifting him to his bed proved difficult, but that was not going to stop her. Eventually, Evey was able to heave his body onto the bed. She took one full breath before setting to work, she first ran to the bathroom where she knew the first aide things were kept. Thank God V knew to oversupply because there were plenty of things for her to use if she could just figure out how to use them.

She started by discarding the haphazard patch job she had done in the tunnel and set to work counting the bullet holes. She made note of which ones had exit wounds and which ones did not, wrapping what ones she could and preparing to remove the bullets from the ones that needed it. It is a common misconception that bullets need to be removed. Bullets, once they stop moving, are largely harmless. Many people walk around with bullets still lodged in certain parts of their body. Unfortunately, there was no way for Evey to know which bullets presented a risk of infection and which were pressed against blood vessels and keeping him from bleeding out. She was going in blind and she knew it. One wrong move and she could hit something very, very vital, but what else was she to do? V would not want to be taken to a hospital, nor was she even sure that he would be treated if she were somehow able to get him there. One thing she did know was that you should always have an even number. Bullet wounds either have an entrance wound and an exit wound or an entrance wound and a bullet to be removed. If there is ever an uneven number then you've missed one. Evey didn't much like the idea of leaving a chunk of metal inside of V's body and risking an infection in the next few days, so she kept careful count as she removed the bullets one by one.

When she was finished with his torso she realized there was still blood pooling on the bed. His leg. He seemed to have a wound in his upper thigh. Evey cursed in a very unladylike manner. She already knew that V would have objections to her invasion of his privacy on the upper half of his body, what would he have to say when he realized that she also removed his trousers? Cursing him and his stupid insecurities she grabbed a pair of scissors from the medical supplies and began cutting open the leg of his pants. The skin there was much the same and she saw two bullet holes, one with an exit wound one without.

"You owe me big-time for this V," she muttered though she knew he couldn't hear her.

Once all the bullets were removed and the wounds stitched or packed or wrapped as best as she could Evey sat back and simply stared at the man on the bed before her. She watched his chest rise and fall and again thanked the gods or the stars or fate or whoever smiled upon them for the fact that air was still entering his lungs. She wondered if it was too much to ask for it to continue; if it was too much to ask to keep him here with her. What would the price be? Evey decided then and there that she didn't care. Whatever the price, she would pay it. She would pay it a thousandfold to see that chest rise and fall for the rest of her days.

Evey stared at Guy Fawkes and he grinned back at her in mocking silence. She didn't dare remove the mask from his face. Though she had already seen all of him, that had been out of necessity. Removing his mask would be an entirely selfish act and one that was less forgivable than the others. She cursed his insecurities for the millionth time that night, wishing so badly to see his face. To see his eyelids flutter to be able to check that air was still passing between his lips. But she couldn't. And that fact finally drove the exhaustion right into her.

The sheets were changed, V's bloody clothes were discarded, and all the unused medical supplies were neatly laid out on the side table in case they were needed. Looking down at herself Evey realized that she too was covered in blood. V's blood. Finally, the emotions were pulled through her. She had almost lost him. She could still lose him, and though she had thought that all fear had been tortured out of her that thought scared her more than anything in the world.

And with that thought, the dam broke. Evey crumpled on the floor beside the bed. Tears spilling freely from her eyes. Sob's wracked her body in a way that they never had before, and she hopes they never would again.