Page 21 of Hearts Under Fire
“Did you call while I was out?
Kate suppressed a shudder, the panic trying to choke her at the memory of being covered in Alexis’s blood and calling for help.
“Yes,” Kate answered, not trusting herself to say more. She choked down the tears that threatened to spill again.
“Five more minutes of walking? Then I’m going to need a rest. They’ll be here shortly after that. If we’re lucky, we haven’t been followed. I think it’s more likely that our next extraction site will have combatants in the area.”
Kate tried not to let it bother her but knew that they’d have to find a way to either be fast or get by undetected. If they went too fast, Alexis could tear her injury open, and if they went too slow, they risked being seen and Alexis losing consciousness from the prolonged pain. Kate didn’t know what to do.
We are both going to die out here.
The options were all bad. All they could do was keep moving forward. Every other step came with a sharp exhale or a pained grunt. Alexis kept silent, her teeth locked together. The walk was grueling, but eventually, Alexis began to slow. Kate looked around for a good place to hide until their team arrived.
They were surrounded by small hills and desert and the remains of an old neighborhood. What used to be homes stood abandoned, neglected, and some consisted of crumbling rubble. Their best hope at finding cover without running into an ambush would be to stick to the hills and ditches and stay away from buildings.
Kate pointed to a hill with a jerk of her free hand. It looked to have a deeper valley or ditch on the other side, and they’d be able to crouch out of sight until help arrived.
“Just over that hill. Is that close enough for our guys to find us?”
Alexis coughed, pain wracked her body, and Kate felt her trembling against her.
“Yes. The extraction point is the flatland between the hills and that graveyard.”
She motioned toward the ruin of an old neighborhood with her good arm.
Kate steered them toward the ditch and discovered it was deep enough to hide them well until their team arrived. The incline wasn’t too steep, and she was grateful that Alexis wouldn’t need to climb in or out of it. She wasn’t sure Alexis’s wounds could take the strain.
Time seemed to slow as Kate got Alexis settled into the ditch, and she saw crimson spreading through the wrap at Alexis’s shoulder. It looked nearly black in the darkness, and Kate swore and reached for her pack. The supplies had dwindled, and she wasn’t sure she even had what she would need to restabilize Alexis. She dug through the bag for more gauze.
Removal of the wrap securing the bandage informed Kate that Alexis had definitely torn something open again.
“Fuck. Alexis, talk to me. How are you feeling?”
She gave a wet chuckle. “Not great.”
Kate almost never had to remove a field dressing. She didn’t want to cause more damage by tearing out a formed clot by removing the bandage. But if she didn’t take the bandage off, she couldn’t apply more clotting agent into the wound or use the cauterizer.
The old bandage was soaked through, and Kate swore as she ripped it off and set about applying more clotting powder and then used the last of her gauze and bandages to apply pressure to the wound. She pressed down hard, causing Alexis to whimper quietly.
“I’m sorry, I have to do this. I’ve got to control the bleeding.”
“I know.” Alexis grumbled through clenched teeth.
Kate fought down her emotions, unable to entertain them while trying to actively keep Alexis alive. The second she lost her focus, Alexis could die. Kate wasn’t sure that Alexis would survive the injuries she’d sustained even if the extraction went according to plan.
The level of blood loss was becoming critical, and Alexis was going to need a blood transfusion as soon as possible in order to survive. The reality of their chances robbed her of breath, and the tears she’d been holding back streamed silently down her face.
She’s going to die. I’m going to lose her, too.
Alexis raised her good arm and swiped away Kate’s tears with her thumb. “No crying. Not for me.” Her voice was hoarse and strained.
She is going to die. There is no way we will make it.
The sound of truck engines had Kate’s heart racing and fear turned her stomach sour. They hunkered low in the ditch andwatched the beams from headlights rising and falling, indicating a truck or two was driving through the hills. Kate wasn’t sure how far they’d patrol. She tucked their heads down and put her hands on either side of Alexis’s pale face.
A soft, near silent sob tore from Kate’s chest. “Listen to me. You have to stay with me.”
A hint of a frown turned down Alexis’s lips and her eyes drifted shut.