Final Hours

Chapter Sixteen

Eric's shoulder hit the fence and he slid down to the ground. Chris rushed over to him and dropped to his knee beside him. I finally stopped standing frozen in shock and ran over to him as well. Chris moved Eric's arm which had been clamped tightly around his side revealing a large red spot that upon touching his white shirt grew even larger than it was before. Eric groaned leaning his head back as I lifted up his shirt pulling it away from his side. His "bandage" had slipped down and revealed a wound that had grown in size.
"How the hell did this happen?" I asked frantically as I pulled the makeshift bandage back up, tying it tighter then it was the first time.
"I don't know..." Chris whispered looking up at me. I turned my attention back to Eric, he was breathing heavier and he could barely keep his eyes open. I placed a hand on his cheek, I could tell he was in pain. His eyes were shut tight and he regularly lost his breath.
"You're gonna be ok..." I started, he had barely opened his eyes, the bandage that had been reapplied was already bleeding through again.
      "Come on we're gonna have to carry him." I finished looking up at Chris. I lifted Eric's arm around my shoulder and Chris followed my actions. We lifted him up to where his feet just barely dragged against the floor. I stumbled forward trying to hold up his weight. We walked slowly and carefully through the house leading back out to the front door. I struggled with the car door and finally flung it open, Chris helped me lay Eric across the back seats of the car. "I'll stay back here with him." I said climbing into the backseat and dropping onto my knees and onto the floorboards of the back seat.
"Heh...I'm-," he stopped to let out a grunt before continuing his sentence, "I'm fine." Eric mumbled, he gave me one of his infamous sly smiles.
"If you were so fine would you be bleeding out onto the car seats." I said struggling to hold down the bandages. I pulled my hands back and they were soaked in red droplets, the bandage wasn't doing anything anymore. "Damn it." I mumbled sliding off my backpack and grabbing a flannel I had taken from my closet. "It's becoming a recurring pattern that you ruin my clothes." I laughed sarcastically, mildly annoyed at the same time. He responded with a breathy noise that emulated a laugh.
I balled the flannel up and held it tightly against the wound, he flinched at the pressure and laid his head back against the seat.

     It had been nearly two hours and Eric's state was depleting fast. He was losing more blood then I could keep inside him and he was falling in and out of consciousness sometimes being out for upwards of twenty minutes.
"How much longer?" I asked, pulling the nearly completely soaked flannel back and looking at his wound. My hands and clothing were covered in sticky, metallic smelling red liquid. And the interior of the car was past the point of no return, you'd think the seats were supposed to be red.
"About twenty more minutes." Chris responded speeding the car up a little.
    "We're gonna get you home, and I'm gonna get you stitched up." I said with a smile, Eric's eyes were shut tight and I didn't expect a response because he was most likely out of it again.

     Chris pulled the car in front of the house fast and flung himself out of the car seat to come help me carry him inside. Chris slid his hands under his arms and pulled Eric out of the car seat. I climbed out and slid my shoulder under one of his arms, we walked him up the stairs and basically drug him through the front door. Lana was the only person in the living room and she saw me who was covered in blood and Eric whose head was hanging down in front of him.
"Oh my god!" She let out loudly but not quite a scream as she froze in her place.
"Towels! Lots of them cover the couch!" I yelled as we carried him into the living room. She nodded and ran into the other room, as she came back she flung towels out on the couch just as Chris helped me lay him down. "Ok...I need a needle and thread, and ice." I said kneeling down beside him. Chris nodded and went into the kitchen for a bowl of ice while Lana ran to grab a needle and thread. Chris rushed and set the bowl down with some towels too, and Lana ran back into the room nearly falling on me. I thanked them and put my Girl Scouts knowledge to work, "a little air would be helpful." I said turning to face both of them who were nearly breathing down my neck.
Chris nodded and led Lana out of the room, I lifted Eric's shirt up, but since it wasn't even worth saving I just slid it over his head and used it to dry up the little blood that was left. I checked to make sure he was unconscious and began stitching him up. I regularly used ice just in case to numb the area. After about fifteen minutes I'd fully sewn him up and he lay there somewhat peacefully. I grabbed his ruined shirt that had been sitting on the floor next to me and the ice and brought them into the kitchen. I threw the shirt into the trash and dumped the ice into the sink.

An hour or so had passed and he was still unresponsive. It was dark out, Chris had already headed up to bed and everybody else was long asleep. I sat myself in a large fancy chair in front of the fireplace and read a book while I monitored Eric. His honey brown hair was a golden color thanks to the fire. His side was red and irritated surrounding his wound. It was finally starting to bruise, but it looked surprisingly better than it did before. I felt awful...I guess he shouldn't have snuck up on me. But he did save my life, I'd have been riddled with shotgun holes if he hadn't grabbed me. He risked his cover and his safety to save me. Whether that was just him being his normal cocky self, or if he really cared about me in the end I was grateful. And I needed him just as much as I needed Chris.