(3)
I frantically search through the bathroom drawers for a sewing kit or something to stop the bleeding but find nothing. The owners must have taken most of their things with them. I continue searching the house and then the garage, coming up with very few helpful things. I lay them out on the floor in front of him and sigh. Duct tape, pieces of cloth, tweezers, a few tampons, pliers, a stapler, clothespins, half a bottle of vodka, matches, a hammer, and a screwdriver.
"Alright Alec I'm going to need you to trust me and not wake up." I slowly roll him onto his back as I recall all the shows I'd watched and what they did when someone was shot. "Exit wound," I mumble to myself and check his back, no gaping hole meaning the bullet is still in him. "Shit Alec, even when you're unconscious you manage to still be a pain in the ass."
I look at my supplies and groan as I pick up the pliers. I look up and say a small prayer before lifting his shirt. I take a swig from the bottle of vodka and cough loudly as it burns its way down my throat. I pour some on the wound, cleaning it up a bit. I notice the familiar sparkle of metal as it gets clean of blood. I slowly move the pliers into the hole until I feel them hit the bullet. It takes multiple tries, but I finally get a grip on the bullet and pull it out.
I let out a small chuckle and smile as I drop it onto the ground. "I'm practically a Doctor," I say to myself. I look back down at what I have and then the blood still pouring out of him. I pinch the two sides of the hole together and use the clothespins to hold them there. Their tan color quickly becomes red. I open the stapler and pull out the remaining staples. Using the pliers, I separate them from each other.
"These are going to have to do," I mumble and pick the first one up with the pliers. One by one I thread them through each side of skin and close them. I slowly release the clothespins and let the staples hold his wound closed. The skin tugs slightly at them but it was good enough, Bree could fix it when we got back. I pour more vodka on it hoping to keep it clean like it does in the movies. I lay the cloths on top of one another and the gently put them over the staples before using the duct tape to keep them in place. I relax a little now that Alec wasn't continuing to bleed out in a stranger's entryway. I pull his shirt back down and grab a blanket off the couch and lay it over him. I stuff the remaining supplies into my bag and lean against the back of the couch, shutting my eyes. It had been a long night.
----
"Shit!"
My eyes spring open and I look down at Alec. He was still unconscious, though the color had started returning to his cheeks which was good. I stand up slowly and pick up the pistol my father gave me. I step over Alec, holding the empty gun up as I slowly make my way to the hall. I round the corner and see a man holding a gun up. Maybe his is empty too. He's dressed in all dark green except the strip of red wrapped around his bicep with the Republic's symbol displayed in gold.
"Drop the gun and put your hands up," his voice is strong, a hint of an accent is draped over each word.
"You drop your gun," I reply, my voice shaking slightly as I adjust my grip on the gun and glance over at Alec, his eyes open slowly, and he squints them at me. My eyes flick back to the man. I shift on my feet as the man and I keep our eyes locked on one another.
"I don't want any trouble, I didn't know you would be in here. I came to hide." His face gives nothing away as he speaks. Out of the corner of my eye I see Alec stand and start to move to the next room to come up behind the man.
"If you didn't want any trouble you wouldn't have dropped the bombs on us." I say just as Alec uses the butt of the other pistol to knock the man out. Alec groans and leans against the wall. He pulls his shirt up and peels the bandage away to look down at his wound.
"Are these staples?" he asks, looking up at me. I just smile and walk over to the man. I kick his gun away and search his pockets. I pull out his dog tags and check the name.
"Enzo Petrov," I say and drop them. "What do we do with Mr. Petrov?" I ask, looking up at Alec.
"I'm sure your dad will have a lot of questions for him. How far is it to get back to your house?"
"At least three miles. I can't carry him, and you can barely carry yourself." He's crazy if he thinks the two of us are going to be able to carry him back to the house.
"There's a car across the street, we can use that to get back." He says and unlocks the front door, hobbling his way across the street. I make my way to the door just as he smashes the window this the pistol and unlocks the door. He leans into the car and just as I'm about to call out, the engine roars to life. My jaw slightly drops as he puts the car in gear and pulls it into the driveway. He gets out and pops the trunk before making his way up to the front door.
"You know how to hotwire a car?"
"You don't?" he says walking over to Enzo. "Are you going to help, or do I have to do all the work?" I'm beginning to wonder why I saved him.
Alec and I pick up Enzo and, for lack of a better word, drag him to the car before putting him in the trunk. "Would he really do that much harm in the back seat?" I ask as Alec slams the trunk shut.
"I'm not going to take the risk." He makes his way around the car to the driver's side.
"What are you doing? You don't even know the way back," I state and open the driver's door before getting in. "Let's go, we haven't got all day." I smirk as he makes his way to the passenger's seat.
I watch the sun rise above the houses we pass as we make our way back. The streets are empty except for the occasional abandoned car. I hoped that with our trip into town and this drive we would at least run into one survivor, but that isn't the case. As we finally pull into my driveway, Nolan and Henry come running from the house.
"Where have you been? I told you to be back before dark! Soldiers came through yesterday, we thought they had killed you. Did they see you in the town? Are you bleeding?" My father rattles off questions before we can even shut the doors.
"We had to stay in some house a couple neighborhoods over. We saw the soldiers in town and they chased us. Alec got shot but I stitched him up. One of their soldiers wandered into the house this morning, he was alone and now he's in the trunk," I say and look back at the back end of the old car.
Nolan pops the truck as the others gather around it. I make my way back as well and see Enzo is now awake and staring up at us all. A small smile plays on his lips as he sighs, "I could say something witty but I'm getting the sense that I should just shut up."
YOU ARE READING
End of Days
Teen Fiction"Trust you? Are you kidding? I think it should be pretty evident to you that we don't trust you." "Henry, I would like to speak to you alone." Cyrus says, now ignoring Nolan. My father shakes his head slowly, "if you want to talk say it here. I'm n...
