Cloudy Sky: The Unlucky Thirteen

32 - Blood Trail

"It's Caprice," I say in a tone that borders awe, "How did she just —"

"Did you hear that?" asks the next voice, usually chill and relaxed but now unusually tense. Leo? Since when did he and Queen Sarcasm —

"Hell yeah I heard that. If it isn't the moron of all morons." Caprice's voice is louder and louder until I spot her, sidling towards us from a thicker grove of trees.

Leo follows her with a, "Holy crap. That, is a lot of blood!"

The blood staining the leaf litter around Gemi's body is, indeed, a lot. Luckily he's passed out. I'm not sure how, exactly, this is lucky.

Caprice sprints the rest of the way over, eyes wide and concerned. "Is that Gemi, what happened there?"

Grudgingly, I shift away from his body as she crouches next to him, her hair hanging over her face in tangled clumps, dangerously close to dipping into the blood. "There were darts, shot at us. We ran and went for the bushes —" I point towards where Caprice, wise as she is, picked up the 'blood trail'. "— and apparently there was someone there. Nia sort of screamed and me and Aqua stopped —" I shoot Aquaria a look that says, This is not the time to whine about 'no nicknames'. "— but Gemi was further ahead and stopped too late, because a hand just came out of the bush and slashed his leg with a knife."

"A disembodied hand?" Caprice asks, her tone dripping with sarcasm. She doesn't even sound concerned. "My main question is, he's lost so much blood. How have you absolute geniuses not figured out to tie his leg in a tourniquet?" Casting an irritated look at Leo, she adds, "Or do you not know what it means?"

"Sister dear, we don't know how. Unlike you, our holy braincell," Aquaria matches Caprice in sarcasm. "But I can assure you we know what this long–ass word means. Since evidently that's a measure of our knowledge."

"Guys! Stop. My twin is bleeding out, can we just tie the leg or whatever?" Nia waves her hand in front of the sisters angrily.

Aquaria folds her arms, but Caprice strips off her hoodie and tears off the sleeve before bending down in front of Gemi, her hair hanging over him again like an eerie, tangled emerald veil. I try to peek to see what she's doing, but her eyes roll upwards to fix me in a glare. Which is just so creepy, so I nod quickly and stop poking my head in 'her business'.

"There ..." she lets out a long breath that rustles her hair and yanks on something before pulling her hair into a high ponytail and using a small strip of cloth to tie it. The gray cloth tied tightly around Gemi's leg looks unnatural. Weird. I shudder a bit.

Caprice pulls the now–sleeveless hoodie over her head and sighs deeply, "Have you tried screaming for help? If so I nominate Nia for the job. She's so shrill and loud. I heard it from far back."

Aquaria smirks. Nia looks a bit guilty. I just shrug. "Yeah. Definitely loud. Also the accomplice of our own crazy pyromaniac. No — don't look at me like that. She thinks it's a compliment. I'm complimenting her."

"What do we have to lose?" Leo rolls his eyes. "Is that what you're gonna ask next? How about, your life? I'll answer this stupid question before it's asked."

Caprice doesn't respond. She just stands up and sizes up a tree before glancing over at Leo, "I need you to grab my by my waist and push me up a bit. Can't get the branch. Leo I swear to all that is holy, if you make a joke about that I will cut you —" She jerks her head in Gemi's direction.

Leo, looking very terrified, gingerly wraps his arms around the oldest Deadpool's waist and lifts her up carefully.

I exchange a look with Nia. "You think it was Caprice in the bush?" I joke very quietly, so she doesn't hear.