Chapter 22 #2
I analyse the raw open skin above his hip. It looks like an animal dragged its claws along his abdomen. It’s a miracle I don’t see intestines poking out.
I take off my coat, form a ball and push it onto the wound. He lets out a weak grunt. “I know, I’m sorry.”
I’m actually relieved he makes a sound, it means he’s still alive.
I let my eyes roam over the rest of his body, searching for other wounds, because by the looks of the one on his abdomen, this animal was feral and relentless.
The rest of his upper body seems fine, but when I observe his legs… Damn it.
More blood oozes out of a deep wound on his upper right thigh, as if the animal dug in its teeth and took a chunk out of him.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I’ve seen a lot at the infirmary in Anima, but this…this is way above my head. I take deep breaths, but that only gets the coppery scent in my nose, making me nauseous.
Think Maily, think.
A tourniquet. Yes, that might lessen the bleeding. I search for something to bind his leg with. I could use my shoelaces, but they will dig into the skin and cause even more damage. My socks could work, but will they be long enough to go around his muscled thigh?
Without many other options, I take off my shoes and socks. My toes land in the cold white snow, but I don’t really feel the bite of it. I let go of my coat and tie both of my socks together.
I hastily bind the socks above his wound, miraculously making it work and pull some more to make it even tighter. He cries out, and his dark eyes flutter open, the pain making his gaze unclear.
“Breathe with me,” I instruct. “In. Hold. Out.”
I’m not even sure he hears me, but I repeat my words and eventually, a rhythm appears in the movement of his chest. While he keeps breathing, I tear off one of my long sleeves and cover the gaping wound of his leg, which causes him to release a painful moan.
The material soaks instantly, but at least it’s covered now.
I have to keep him conscious, at least until help arrives. “Can you tell me your name?”
At first, I think he won’t answer, his mind too far gone due to blood loss. But after a couple of seconds, his lips move and I bow down, bringing my ear closer to him.
“Arlo,” he responds, voice raw and laced with pain.
I didn’t know I was holding my breath until I push the air out. “Nice to meet you, Arlo. My name is Maily.”
“You should…run…”
“I don’t think so. I’m not going anywhere.”
I move a little closer, my knees touching his ribcage. His lips curve in the ghost of a smile. “You feel…so warm…”
I frown. He must be delirious, with my skin exposed to the harsh temperatures, my body heat is rather low. But sure, sharing body heat isn’t a bad idea.
I apply more pressure to the wound at his abdomen, his body shuddering under my hands.
I count his breathings, it gives me something to focus on, but it also shows how few they become the more time passes.
A crushing reality settles in my chest. He is slipping away and there is nothing I can do about it.
“Help! Someone, please help!”
Maybe I should’ve called out sooner, even though I know it’s useless. I was all by myself with not a single soul to be seen. A rattling sound comes from Arlo’s chest with every breath he takes.
I close my eyes and let my head hang for a moment.
No.
No.
I refuse to let another person die in my arms. Not tonight. Not ever again.
As I brush the damp curls from his forehead, a spark ignites beneath my skin, spreading like wildfire through my veins. My head spins and the edges of my vision become blurry.
But I cannot faint here, we would be defenseless. So I push through, the heat within me making my skin damp and my hair cling to the back of my neck.
Branches snap in the distance and the sound of footsteps becomes louder. Until I hear a voice calling out my name. “Maily!”
Aramis?
Relief floods through me. “Aramis! We’re over here!”
He breaks through the trees in a blur of motion, and instantly drops to his knees across from me as his gaze lands on Arlo’s ruined body.
His face is carved in stone, yet the faint twitch of his jaw and the storm behind his dark green eyes confirms what I was already expecting.
Arlo is in bad shape, even with my poor efforts in keeping him alive.
Damn it.
Sadness washes over me and for a moment I can’t look at the poor young man between us. “Aramis…I-I’m so sorry, I really did everything —”
“Maily,” I can’t look up, not even at the sweet tone that coats my name.
“Hey, Mai.” A hand lands on top of mine still holding my blood drenched coat in place.
I slowly lift my gaze, meeting his eyes as he applies pressure to the wound on Arlo’s leg with his other hand.
“You had no supplies and tried to slow the bleeding with everything you had. I would’ve done the same. ”
He shrugs off his coat and drapes it across my shoulders, the warmth of his body still lingers in the fabric, carrying the familiar snow-pine scent I associate with him.
“It doesn’t really matter in the end, now does it?”
“It does, believe me. Now, put the coat on.” I obey, too drained to argue I’m anything but cold right now. “Tell me what happened.”
“I was on my way to the greenhouse, when I heard a cry for help. I immediately ran into the woods and followed the blood trail. It took me a couple of minutes to find him, he had already lost so much blood, Aramis…” I swallow audibly, the reality hard to face.
“Maybe I should’ve returned to the Academy, but I didn’t want to leave him alone, not like this.
Not if there might be other wild animals lingering around or picking up the scent of his blood.
” I meet his gaze. “And now you are here.”