Shades Of Morality

"Burdens"

I couldn't just pull the stick out, doing so would kill me from blood loss, leaving Blair to soon follow.

No one else was coming, there was no one else who could.

I could call for some ghostly help, but none of them that I knew were strong enough to lift a person.

I could use some counseling, but Rogers had already taught me everything he knew about surviving in the forest and first-aid. Besides, calling for ghosts took some strength out of me, even if only a small amount. But if what I was planning was going to have any chance at success, then I needed every bit of strength I could muster.

"Okay Alder, you need to take inventory first." My voice echoed in the mists, coming back to me weak and scared. Yeah, that was definitely because of the mists.

I was in a bad spot equipment-wise, I didn't have anything on me but my clothes and shoes.

Injuries? Both shoulders, one recently dislocated. The other I didn't even know, but it hurt to like hell whenever I moved it, but, they both functioned.

Throat? bloody bruises wrapped around it. Torso? Hard to tell, a number of big bruises across my back. Minor scrapes, oh, and a stick that was about 2 inches around shoved through the side of my back and out my stomach.

...I should check and make sure my shoelaces were tied.

"Dammit!" I yelled out.

Blair was bleeding out, she couldn't afford for me to procrastinate.

With quick jerking motions, I tore strips out of my T-shirt. Grunting at the strain it put on my side.

Moving slowly and deliberately I wrapped the makeshift bandages around the stick as it entered my back, then around my torso and then to the front. I repeated the warp a few times until I ran out of material. It wasn't pretty, but It would have to do. Besides, I barely had any shirt left.

If I wasn't so scrawny, or if I didn't wear such baggy T-shirts I wouldn't have had enough material for this to work.

I took deep breaths, bracing myself for what was about to come.

Reaching out I grabbed the stick from were it protruded out from my front. I had to try a couple of times as it was slick with blood.

Then I grabbed the base of it, right where it entered my back. This side of it was also covered with blood.

With a sick twisting in my gut, I shifted my weight, stepping off the tree.

Suddenly all of my weight was on the back end of the branch. I pushed as hard as I could, desperately trying to prevent the branch from pushing against my insides any more than was necessary.

For an agonizing moment that seemed to stretch out into eternity, I hung there. My arms burning, side screaming. Then with a loud SNAP! I broke loose.

I had planned ahead, quickly letting go of the branch I grabbed a passing tree limb, stopping my fall before it became deadly.

white-hot bolts of pain went crashing down my shoulders. I hung there for a moment. Agony numbing my senses as it seemed to pour in from everywhere at once.