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Post by forgottenxthreat on Oct 26, 2009 7:48:17 GMT -5
The dead wood of the branch snapped easily and River pulled it from the tree. Placing it in his arms with the rest of the fire wood, he lifted his leg and continued to stumble through the brush. The forest was quiet; a lack of sound was the only voice- until an unfamiliar and powerful shot rang out through the trees. Birds fluttered, noisily out of their nests, high above him. River froze, his brow creased, intensely listening.
The snarls of branches clawed at him as he pushed them aside, ripping through underbrush, racing back to the campsite. He arrived at the edge of the clearing and looked around. Gerand was keeping watch when he left; Raine, bathing by the stream. But the campsite before him now was abandoned.
“Shi t,” he said, dropping his bundle of firewood at his feet. He slung his gun from over his shoulder and frantically started down the trail to the stream.
He pushed through the last wall of brush with his gun aimed forward, scanning the area. No one was there. Then he looked down.
Gerand lay immobile on his stomach, with puddles of blood streaming from his back. He wasn’t conscious. Raine was crouching over him, trying to stop the bleeding. River pushed Raine out of the way with his body and started ripping the edge of his shirt.
“Gerand?” He asked forcefully, “Gerand can you hear me?” His shirt finally gave way with a sickening rip. He scrunched the fabric into a ball and forcefully pushed it down into the wound. River realized that the pressure wasn’t enough- he was bleeding too fast.
“Move,” he told Raine.
He hoisted an arm under Gerand’s neck, another under his legs, and lifted him off the ground.
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Post by kangaroo cry on Dec 30, 2009 21:01:43 GMT -5
"I've made a fool out of myself, haven't I?" Gerand asked her through coughs and wheezes.
She pressed her tiny hands against his wound harder as her hands began to shake from the force she was continuously exerting. “Of course you did.” She muttered. “You always do. Remember when you missed the one of the guys that was ambushing us? He wasn’t even moving, but you didn’t hit him. Right, Gerand? Do you remember? And the other day, you let the fire go out, when there was more wood right there. Remember?” Raine continued this stream of memories, trying to keep Gerand in this world by making him focus on the life he’d lived.
Footsteps approached, and Raine glanced up to see River walking towards them. The instant relief she felt surprised her, so much that she didn’t say anything or resist as River pushed her out of the way and began tending Gerand’s wound on his own.
“Gerand?” He was asking. “ Gerand, can you hear me?” Raine watched him lift Gerand’s unconscious figure and she silently hurried to collect her clothes, tugging her tank top over her head and forcing her arms through the armholes. Her amra fell to the ground, and as she stared at it an idea occurred to her.
She hurriedly snatched up the amra from the mud, wiping it off on her shirt, and then ran to catch up with River and Gerand, walking closely next to them.
“Get him back to camp. I know what to do.” She said, standing taller and feeling more secure in her world now that she had a purpose again, a direction to walk in, something to contribute.
She watched Gerand grumble in unconscious pain as he was jostled around by River.
With an anger she did not try to hold back, she snapped, “You’re holding him wrong. Are you trying to make this difficult?”
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Post by forgottenxthreat on Dec 30, 2009 22:17:32 GMT -5
River snorted as Raine called from behind him. You know what to do. Yeah. Ok. Would've been nice if you knew what to do before a bullet went through his back. River couldn't handle her right now. He only had one thing on his mind and that was trying to move as quickly as possible with a lifeless body in his arms, and a steep thorn-lined trail growing vividly in front of him.
"You'll do nothing," He said monotonly, commanding an order of his own, "There's still a bullet in there. If you go in and grope around, you'll push it further." He stepped over a fallen log and felt Gerand slip a little in his grasp. River jostled Gerand a little, steadying his grip. Gerand would not die now. Not on his watch. Not in his arms.
All the while the sun seemed to be sending rays through the impenitrable tree branches, its heat slithering and finding a pathway to bore down directly into their backs and poison them with its firey red glory. Sweat began to appear on River's forehead. Whether from the heat, or worry, or strain he did not know. And with every passing second Gerand's life clock ticked fainter...
And Raine's mouth continued to whine.
“You’re holding him wrong. Are you trying to make this difficult?”
That was it. River's frenzied mind couldn't take anymore. Even now, in a moment of dire emergency, she still wouldn't let up. She makes him SO. ANGRY.
He suddenly stopped and whipped around his face ending up just inches from hers. "I'm sorry," He yelled sarcastically, his lips curling- he had now lost all ability to stay calm, "Did you want to carry him? Because that would be a great idea right about now. Then maybe some mysterious shooter can come up behind you and shoot him again!"
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Post by kangaroo cry on Dec 30, 2009 22:54:24 GMT -5
Raine’s fists tightened. Her hair was dripping down her back, soaking into her black tank top, and her face was still wet. She swiped the back of her hand across her forehead hastily and faced River as he turned on her. No one had ever so gotten on her nerves as he constantly did.
“You’re implying that I was snuck up on?” Raine growled. “What’s your problem? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard—stupider than you pretending your name is River. I’ve never been careless before; my guard has always been up. What makes you think that would change now?” She narrowed her black eyes at him, feeling droplets of water drip down her cheek.
And in that moment, Raine realized she’d never hated anyone as much as she hated River. The audacity, the nerve of him! To suggest that her guard had been down. It had been, of course, but she’d never admit it, not so long as she pulled air through her lungs. And if the situation had played out thirty more seconds, the results would’ve been vastly different. No one sneaks up behind Raine and lives to tell about it.
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Post by forgottenxthreat on Dec 30, 2009 23:25:32 GMT -5
River turned away from her and continued up the trail. He shook his head, fuming with anger. He felt as though his head might implode. After a couple seconds, he finally responded to her,
"You know it's your fault. If he dies." The thought was cruel, and crueler to say it aloud. But that conclusion was blinded by disdain.
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Post by kangaroo cry on Dec 30, 2009 23:36:18 GMT -5
Raine pounded along beside River. “MY fault? What took YOU so long to get there? By the time you got there Gerand was already shot, and I had already killed the gunman. If you’d arrived at the same time he had then there could’ve been another solution! If you’d been correctly doing your job and keeping watch, then all of this could have been avoided!” Maybe he was slacking off on purpose, Raine thought spitefully. She wouldn’t put it past him.
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Post by forgottenxthreat on Dec 30, 2009 23:48:56 GMT -5
River scowled as Raine continued to spout. Correctly doing my job keeping watch? She thinks this is MY fault?
They had finally reached the camp. And it wasn't a moment too soon. River was ready to spit venom, his blood was boiling so. And Gerand's blood was barely boiling at all...
He set him down gently, resting him flat on the ground, then turned him over on his stomach, the bloody wound facing up. River wiped his brow of sweat and knelt down next to Gerand. Color was draining from his face. His eyes had long flickered closed. He saw his chest rising and falling, but faintly. The blood was continuing to crawl rapidly through the fabric. "You go get the medi-pack. I'll get the bullet out."
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Post by kangaroo cry on Dec 31, 2009 0:04:42 GMT -5
The sun was still shining, so bright and blistering. Raine’s hair was beginning to frizz in the heat, but she pushed it behind her shoulder and out of the way. After putting her hair in its place, she then turned to the task of putting River in his place.
Raine knelt down next to Gerand, and then looked up at River across from her. “Don’t order me around. You think I’m going to let you take the bullet out?” She laughed once. “And what kind of experience do you have? This isn't child's play.”
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Post by forgottenxthreat on Dec 31, 2009 0:12:39 GMT -5
River froze at her words. He looked at her over the body of their companion and could feel his words turn to ice. "I've removed a bullet from a body before," He spoke in a whispered, deep tone. His brow creased and he stared unblinkingly at her.
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Post by kangaroo cry on Dec 31, 2009 0:42:22 GMT -5
Raine swallowed, his tone bringing her to silence and solidifying her in place, her hand frozen halfway to put pressure on Gerand’s wound again. “I know how to stop bleeding.” She said, her voice a low pitch, her eyes open and meeting his. She’d had all this anger in her a moment ago, but she couldn’t find it now.
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