The Wolf of the Wilds

The River

The flames hadn't taken grip yet, the canopy above only just beginning to smoulder.

She didn't have long, but any time at all was enough. Grabbing a thick blanket from the smashed window display she wrapped it around herself and carefully squeezed between a wooden beam and a tall stack of boxes. Holding her hands flat on the boxes, she strained as she pushed the beam with her back to make a passable space. With a grunt, she managed to shove it aside and cleared a makeshift pathway.

Rushing onwards, stepping over rumble and ducking under flaming pieces of hanging fabric, she finally reached her partner. He was curled in on himself, his shirt torn at his shoulder, blood weeping from a wound that lay beneath.

As she knelt beside him, and touched his back, he shifted ever so slightly. His usually bright eyes were reddened and clouded with pain.

"Lena," he breathed, "it's not safe."

"I know, but I'm not leaving you here. We need to go, now. Are you injured?"

He tried to sit up, but he drew a pained breath and collapsed back down again. Forehead pressed to the ground, he nodded and waved a hand to his side. "They got me. One...stabbed me and they ran when things started collapsing," he managed to get out.

Helena looked down, a painful, dizzying feeling overcoming her as she saw the blade handle poking out of his stomach, the dark stain of blood leaking into the surrounding area. Closing her eyes for a moment, she tried to clear her mind.

Now wasn't the time for a breakdown. Hold it together. Hold it together. Hold it together.

"Okay," she murmured hurriedly, glancing around as their surroundings grew flooded more and more with an orange light. "We need to move. Don't remove the blade. This is going to hurt, but you need to stand. Lean on me as much as you need."

She leant down and tried to desperately support him as he lifted himself up, his good arm looped over her shoulder.

"Ah! Ah," he hissed, his fingers clenching and unclenching as he sat up. "That hurts. Fuck. That hurts."

"Come on, almost there," she encouraged, staggering under his weight as he struggled to his feet. As she carefully led him through the burning maze, he was slow and seemed to sway. If she hadn't been there, she had no doubt that he would've collapsed. It was difficult as it was. Adrian was heavy and a dead weight, while Helena was considerably shorter than him and the day hadn't been kind to her either.

Flames were beginning to lick at the gap she'd come in through, heat pressing into her skin. They didn't have time to be picky though. Pulling the blanket over them, she half aided, half dragged Adrian over the last few steps. Pain flared in her leg and she knew that the exposed skin had caught the fire's wicked attentions.

"Shit," she swore once they were free, throwing down the slowly smoking blanket and aggressively slapping at her dress until the flames were dampened.

"Are you...okay?" Adrian asked, taking several deep, laboured breaths.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. You're more the concern at the moment. We need to get you medical help, fast," she said back, flinching as there was a loud crack from behind. The rubble collapsed in on itself, a large flaming splinter landing right where they'd been only moments before. They'd made it just in time. "Adrian, I need you to apply pressure to the stab wound, either side of the blade until we get you help. Can you do that?"

Adrian nodded, wincing as he pressed his hand against the cut, red staining his fingers.

"There's a- There's an entrance near here, right? To the underground?" Adrian suggested, clearly struggling with the pain.