Just Survive Somehow

Chapter 43 - Pain and Distraction

"Ahem."

I open my eyes. Jeremy is standing in front of me with a first aid kit in his hand. "May I?" He asks, gesturing towards my hand.

I nod but don't say anything.

He leans down in front of me and carefully takes my hand. The careful touch from his hand is enough to make me flinch from the pain.

"Sorry..."

I just shake my head and clench my teeth together.

I'd just threatened to blow this kid's head off and now he was apologizing to me as he tried to fix my hand. Why?

"So," I start, speaking in a tense tone from trying to ignore the immense pain in my hand. "I've gotta ask, why are you doing this?"

"Can we not talk? It'll be easier for both of us."

I chuckle a little. "If I'm gonna die, I don't want my final words to be something stupid like 'please' or 'don't kill me'."

"Just let me do this in silence." Jeremy pleads.

I let out a deep breath. "Bandaging it won't fix anything."

He raises his head to meet my eyes. "What?"

"My finger is laying on the ground five feet away from us and you think a bandaid is going to fix it?" I question, raising an eyebrow at him.

He sighs, rubbing a hand through his hair. "Then what will help?"

I take in a sharp breath. It hurts so bad. Get yourself fixed quickly. Think Sasha, you studied this before the dead were walking among us. What do you do?

"Stitches probably aren't an option..." I start as I try to rack my brain for a solution. "Do you have a lighter?"

Jeremy nods. "Why?"

"Cauterize it."

Jeremy seems a little stunned by my response. Then he nods, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a lighter.

"How do I..."

"Grab a knife. Heat the blade. Hold it on the wound for two seconds, pause, then press it again for two seconds and repeat. You should be able to tell when it's done." I explain the process to him as simply as I can.

He nods, grabbing a swiss knife from the first aid kit and flipping the blade out. "I can do this." Jeremy says, presumably talking to himself.

"You'd better." I tell him. "Give me something to bite down on."

He nods quickly, turning to grab a rag from the first aid kit. He rolls it up and gently puts it in my mouth for me. He ignites the lighter then moves the blade over the flame.

"That's good," I mumble through the rag.

He nods, letting out a deep breath as he holds the blade near my hand.

"Two seconds." I repeat.

Why would he do this for me? I couldn't make sense of it as he moved the blade closer to the bleeding nub of hand where my finger once had been. I watch closely, my eyes getting wider as the blade approaches my hand.

Think about something else before he starts...

Jasper-

I let out a shrill of noise as the blade finally touches my skin. Two seconds. The burning sensation doesn't leave when the blade does. The pain in my hand increases as the burn on my hand continues. Soon I feel the pressure of the blade again. Two seconds. I bite down on the rag, trying to keep from making any more noise than I already am. I feel my throat vibrating, knowing some sort of noise is being made but it's all drowned out by the pain.