Chapter 6 Oxygen Thief
OXYGEN THIEF
Blood pooled around his boots. The rubber sole squeaked as he twisted, gun trained on the alien tracking him.
Gabriel wasn’t sure who the blood was from, but he suspected it was Judd’s injured arm.
He squeezed off a burst; it slammed into the broad triangular head.
The dog-like alien shook. It didn’t seem to be as impervious to their bullets as the bigger ones.
Not that it was doing much good.
The alien’s haunches bunched as it prepared to jump.
Gabriel knew it was faster than him and could jump farther.
But it was unwieldy, incapable of sudden changes of direction.
Lowering his gun, he crouched onto the balls of his feet.
Sweat dripped into his eyes as he watched the alien, waiting for the right moment.
It launched. Gabriel dove forward, rolling on his bad shoulder. But he couldn’t catch himself and ended up sprawled in the street. Gritting his teeth, he pulled his knees under him and tried to get up.
Pain spiked through his shoulder, and it was only the constant thrum of adrenaline that kept him from doubling over.
The dog alien skidded into a motel pool, splashing into the water with a surprised whistle.
It seemed to struggle against the cement walls, large, clawed legs scrambling to get out of the water.
Cement crumbled under its feet, cracks seeping into the pool, sending waves of water onto the street, spreading all the way to the bigger alien on the other side.
Gabriel heaved a shuddering breath, looking over his shoulder to see Phin crouched over Judd, firing at the bipedal. His gun spat out five more rounds before clicking uselessly.
He grunted as he dropped the gun, pulling his .45 from the holster. Phin was more careful with this gun, settling his aim before popping off rounds. The bipedal alien didn’t seem bothered by the handgun any more than it had been by the big machine gun.
The creature’s two shoulder-mounted guns whirred, one facing Gabriel and the other at Phin and Judd.
Time seemed to slow as Gabriel tried to consider his options.
He didn’t have much ammo left. Even if it did, at best, it only seemed to irritate the aliens.
To his right, the quadruped managed to crush the side of the pool enough to get up.
Water sparkled on its smooth sides, dripping onto the ground in tiny little splats.
Gabriel backed up, head swiveling between the two aliens. He wondered which one would kill him first. Personally, he was hoping for the gun. It looked faster.
A screaming cut through the air, followed by the familiar hum of a loud engine.
Gabriel looked up in time to see a police motorcycle, lights and sirens blazing, careening through the street.
The bipedal alien changed its aim, unloading both guns at the motorcycle.
The impact sent the bike flying, metal quickly eaten by the molten rounds.
The motorcycle skidded to a halt on the opposite side of the street, wheels still spinning as the sirens finally cut out.
Gabriel saw movement out of the corner of his eye, turning to aim when an ambulance slammed into the smaller alien. The thing toppled, flying after the downed motorcycle.
The back door jerked open.
“Get in!”
Gabriel didn’t wait; he grabbed one of Judd’s shoulders and helped Phin throw him into the ambulance. The medic helped, pulling Judd in and falling back onto the stretcher to make room for the three additional men.
“Get us out of here!” he yelled to the front. The ambulance jerked forward; accelerator pressed down faster than the wheels could respond.
Phin grabbed the door, wobbling dangerously as the truck moved. Debris crunched under the tires as it heaved itself over terrain the ambulance wasn’t built for.
The medic had Judd’s shirt ripped open, assessing the blood pooling onto the floor. His face was stern.
“Can you help him?” Gabriel demanded.
“Don’t insult me, soldier boy,” The medic snapped, not looking at Gabriel. “Get out of my way.”
He shoved Gabriel into Phin so he could reach the cabinet behind him. His focus was completely on Judd’s injury, hands coated in dark blood. He rummaged through the cabinet before getting what he wanted.
Gabriel couldn’t help but look at all the blood seeping onto the stretcher. Crimson waves spread across the white sheet. The medic didn’t look daunted, yanking open a box and pulling out a tourniquet.
Shaking his head, he realized he wasn’t helping by staring. He joined Phin at the back of the truck. Wedged between the end of the stretcher and the back doors, his face was almost smashed against the window.
“Chased us for a minute but veered off,” he grunted.
Phin’s face was flecked with black. Dirt and sand stuck to his sweaty skin. His clothes were awash in blood, clinging wetly to his body.
“You hurt?”
He shook his head. “It’s all Judds.”
Without the threat chasing them, he looked back toward Judd. His face was pale, but he was conscious. Occasionally, he answered the medic’s quiet questions as he worked.
Gabriel had never been in a civilian ambulance, but it wasn’t much different. The back of the truck was open to the front, and he could see the thin shoulder of the driver as he expertly navigated the side streets. The windshield was cracked so badly he was surprised he could even see out.
On the right, a bench seat took up most of the wall, ending with a nylon netting that he supposed was used to stabilize the medic working.
Or catch them if the driver had to slam on the brakes.
Several cabinets lining the wall opposite the bench were open, the medic pulling stuff from them as he needed.
The walls and cabinets were smeared with bloody fingerprints.
He slipped a nasal cannula over Judd’s face, nudging Gabriel to the side as he pushed past to attach it to an oxygen tank.
There wasn’t much room in the truck. Gabriel was pressed up against the wall as he tried to stay out of the way. It was hot inside with hardly any airflow; the only light was coming from the window in the side door and the two back windows he and Phin were blocking.
Still, the medic worked. Shoulders hunched, he had managed to start an IV and had a bag of fluids draining into Judd. The tourniquet seemed to have stopped the bleeding, and the paramedic had the blood cleaned off so he could assess the wound.
“How is it?” Gabriel couldn’t help but ask.
“Nasty laceration,” the medic mumbled. “Lucky though.”
He scoffed, tipping his helmet back. “Lucky? That much blood loss is lucky?”
“Yeah,” the medic snapped. “His brachial artery is intact. If he’d severed that, we’d be swimming in it.”
For the first time, the medic looked up at him. His green eyes were narrowed in irritation, and there were lines around his mouth where he’d pressed his lips together. A large bruise colored his cheek, swelling already setting in.
His eyes dropped to Gabriel’s shoulder. “Let me look at that.”
Speechless, Gabriel watched as the medic finished bandaging Judd’s arm. Still awake, Judd looked more relaxed. His eyes were half closed, and his breathing had evened out. Color was beginning to return to his face.
“Did you drug him?” he asked.
The medic huffed. “No,” he turned his attention back to Gabriel. “Just told him to calm down and stop acting like a baby.”
Phin snorted behind him, and Gabriel had to bite back his own laugh. Judd was tough, but he tended to be overly dramatic when he was hurt or sick. The last time the man had a cold, he had been insufferable.
The medic reached for Gabriel before pausing, realizing his hands were still covered in blood. Hands out in front of him, he twisted to look for something to wipe them on.
“Here,” Gabriel offered him the handkerchief from his pocket. He used it to wipe the sweat and dirt off his face. “It’s a little sweaty but…”
Blood smudged on the green material as he scrubbed his hands. The blood didn’t come off, having stained his skin and sunk into his cuticles. But the medic dropped the handkerchief on the bench between them and reached for Gabriel.
Expertly, he pulled the Velcro on his plate carrier. He sighed, tipping his head back when the heavy vest was lifted clear. The shirt beneath was made of a quick wicking material, but it was saturated in sweat. He could finally feel the breeze on his damp skin.
“Need the shirt off?” he asked, eyes still closed as he enjoyed the relief.
“No,” the medic answered gruffly, clearing his throat as he reached for Gabriel’s shoulder.
Lest he be called childish, he grit his teeth and tried not to think about the pain. The medic’s hands were skilled, confident without being rough. He probed the joint, rolling Gabriel’s arm in circles.
“You dislocated it,” he confirmed. “But I’m pretty sure you managed to relocate it. Unless you pulled something, it’ll be fine. Want a sling?”
Gabriel opened his eyes. The medic was sitting closer to him now, almost in his lap due to the lack of space.
His hair was light brown, almost blonde.
He had it cut longer on the top, and it was beginning to fall in his eyes.
His skin was pale, and now that he wasn’t sneering, Gabriel could see that his full lips were thick and pink. The color of a ripe peach.
He’s pretty.
Which was an absurd thought to have when they were in the back of an ambulance reeking of sweat, being chased by aliens, with blood on the floor. But it was there in the forefront of his mind.
Wiping his nose with the back of his wrist, he looked up at Gabriel expectantly.
“Gabriel Lennox,” he said softly, eyes fixated on a small smear of blood on the medic’s cheek.
“What?”
“That’s my name.”
Phin cleared his throat behind him, and it was like ice water being poured over him. He shook his head, smiling bashfully.
“Sorry, I was distracted. No, I don’t need a sling.”
“Oh,” the medic nodded, clearing his throat. “I’m Blake Lewis. My partner up there is Tommy.”
“Phin,” his grenadier chuckled in a way that made Gabriel want to add rocks to his rucksack the next time they went for a run. “And the bleeding sack beside you is Judd.”
Judd weakly lifted a middle finger towards Phin.
Blake seemed to find the whole thing funny. His lips twisted in an aborted laugh, looking back towards the front of the ambulance. Using the railing bolted to the ceiling, he stood and made his way to the opening between the front seats, leaning in to speak to Tommy.
The young man turned, and he could just see his profile. He looked young. Gabriel’s stomach twisted.