Winter Wasteland (The Pack)

Chapter 12

Warnings: Description of Rob's ankle and pretty gross stuff... Can't say much else

~Preston's P.O.V.~

With the distant chirping of birds I awake sorely, the muscles in my shoulders and back screaming in protest. Ugh, hauling Rob around everywhere is really tiring... But I guess it is my fault. I think silently, reaching around to massage a knot at the intersection between my back and shoulder. Speaking of which...

"Hey Rob get up, we should see how your ankle is doing. Don't want it to get infected." I call out, leaning towards his sleeping form and pushing on his shoulder lightly.

Rob bats away my hand and I roll my eyes knowing he's a heavy sleeper. He drags his arm up to his eyes and covers them, tucking his head in towards his chest.

"Fine then, I'll do it myself." I threaten even though I'd wait for him to wake up either way.
"Wait! I'll get up, don't do it yet." Rob panics, his eyes snapping open.

I sit back and Rob pushes himself up, tucking one leg in and sticking the other out in front of him. With a nod of permission he allows me to gently roll up his black pant leg to reveal his bandaged ankle. Rob hisses in pain when I untie the fabric and pull it away, revealing his wound. I throw the bloody piece of black fabric away knowing it won't serve much purpose anymore.

Back when I was bandaging up his ankle I couldn't see the extent of the damage due to the amount of blood gushing from the wound but now that the bleeding has stopped the damage is clear, and I gasp. The tear in his flesh is a good couple of inches in each direction, creating a jagged circle where the arrow plunged into his skin. The surrounding skin is stained red with blood and is obviously irritated. The wound runs so deep I can actually see a portion of his bone, the very outer layer slightly fractured, but not enough to deem it officially broken... Just damaged. Inside the wound it's starting to scab, and a lot of dried blood is scattered within and around the wound.

     Rob sneaks a glance at the wound as his face instantly pales. I jerk backwards as his cheeks puff out and he scrambles away behind a bush, gagging noises emitting from his throat.

     "There goes whatever I had left in my stomach..." He groans, shuddering.
     "Here let me wrap that back up, before it gets any worse. I mean not that it's bad, considering the circumstances it could actually be a lot worse."

     Rob nods, holding one numb hand over his mouth.

     For a second time I pull down my black t-shirt, tearing off a long strip from the edge. Gently taking his ankle into my hands I re-wrap his ankle being mindful not to bind it too tight. Rob let's out another whine of pain when I jerk the knot tight.

     "Sorry." I mumble, pulling back down his pant leg.

     The air is still as we sit there in the snow, not a sound reaching our ears. Out of boredom I start to dig a hole in the snow, waiting impatiently for Rob to say he is ready to go. I can tell he's in pain, and even though he's trying his best to pass it off and smile I can clearly see the agony in his eyes.

     "Okay let's go, and while we're on the way let's look for food." Rob states after a few minutes of silence.

     I nod, abandoning my random act of digging a hole in the thick snow and instead letting Rob brace himself against me, standing up slowly. Once we relocate the direction of West we begin another trek through the snow, praying nothing else happens. Although the only thing that I can find myself thinking about is food. No matter how much I try and focus on other things. We need to find something... And fast. But for now I need to get my mind off this...