"MISHA!"
The heart-wrenching scream reverberated throughout the forest, louder than anything Misha had ever heard before. He felt like something shattered inside him, but he couldn't tell what. All he knew was that there was now a vicious, searing pain twisting his stomach.
Although his mind was a mess, his body still reacted. Misha instinctively stretched a hand toward the teenager, but it was already too late. He had put too much distance between them with that one step back, and his fingers only lightly touched Gabriel's fingertips. The two of them couldn't grab each other's hands, and Misha kept on falling backward.
Realizing that he couldn't reach him, Gabriel gritted his teeth and decisively jumped toward the child, wrapping his arms around Misha's thin body. He pressed his head against his chest, trying to limit the damage the boy would receive by curling his body around his.
When Gabriel caught the boy, he twisted his upper body mid-air so that Misha would be on top of him. This way, he'd be the one to hit the ground first and take the brunt of the impact, and the child would then land on his body. That should cushion his fall, if only by a little.
Everything happened in the span of a few seconds, and Misha couldn't keep up with the sudden turn of events. With Gabriel protecting his frail body, they rolled down the slope for what seemed to be an eternity, colliding with several rocks along the way. Their momentum only stopped when they crashed into a large boulder.
Then, everything came to a sudden halt.
All Misha could hear was his furious heartbeat drumming at his temples. His limbs felt heavy, but he could tell that his bones were still in one piece. He had broken them too often in his past life, and he was aware of what kind of pain accompanied such an injury. Although his whole body hurt, it was bearable; he probably only had a few bruises and scratches. Maybe a sprain, but nothing serious.
After heaving a sigh of relief, the boy tried to lift his head, only to realize that Gabriel held onto him too tightly. It made it hard to move. Annoyance sprouted in his heart, and Misha grunted, "I told you not to touch me!"
However, he didn't receive any answer. Dread started to creep up on him when the silence stretched, and he hesitantly called, "Gabriel?"
But there was still no answer, and the feeling of dread grew sharper.
His breathing accelerated, and Misha extirpated himself from the teenager's arms. He straightened his back to have a good look at the teenager, and his heart skipped a beat.
"No, no way...."
Gabriel had his eyes closed in what seemed to be a serene expression. But that serene expression was ruined by the large quantity of blood smearing his face, making his hair stick to his face. There was a deep cut around one of his eyelids, and his glasses were nowhere in sight. His upper lip was busted, and it looked like his nose was broken, swollen and misplaced. In their fall, he must have knocked his head against several rocks.
If Misha's head wasn't wounded, it was only because the teenager had dutifully protected it with his hands, which were now bruised all over and swollen. A few fingers were obviously broken, and some appeared dislocated.
No matter how much Misha wanted to delude himself, Gabriel wasn't only resting his eyes.
'I have to wake him up,' he thought before stretching his hands to shake the teenager's shoulders. He called his name over and over again. Yet, Gabriel still had no response—his eyelids didn't even twitch.
"Gaby, stop that, it's not fun. Come on, open your eyes."
Misha's heart started to beat faster. He was at a loss as to what to do; he could only hit the teenager's chest with his tiny hands, roaring, "I'm telling you to open your eyes! Open your eyes! Please, open them!"
But even screaming at the top of his lungs didn't change anything. The teenager didn't move, his arms listlessly lying beside his chest. And as if to mock him, his breathing gradually became weaker and more irregular.
Misha had to accept reality: Gabriel was severely hurt and needed immediate medical assistance.
"A phone." Misha's voice trembled. "Yes, I need a phone."
He instinctively patted his pockets before remembering that he didn't own a cell phone at this age. He cursed and bent over to rummage through the teenager's pockets, quickly picking up his cell phone. Thankfully, it didn't break in the fall, although it wasn't in great shape either.
Gabriel hadn't put a password on it, allowing Misha to use it at will. At first, he thought of calling 911, but he changed his mind when he saw his mother's number. It'd be faster to call her as she was already in an ambulance that wasn't too far from their location. She could explain the situation to the paramedics and ask them to come back.
His sister's wounds weren't life-threatening, and she could wait, but he knew Gabriel didn't have this luxury. If his injuries weren't treated quickly, he was afraid he wouldn't last long.
The moment Misha heard his mother's warm and gentle voice, he felt the urge to cry.
"Gabriel? What's wrong?"
"Mom, it's me."
"Misha?"
"You need to come back right now."
"Sweetheart, I can't! I need to bring your sister to the hospital," Gulnais said, her voice carrying a bit of indulgence. "You–"
"Mom, you don't get it!" Misha cried out, interrupting her. "We fell, and Gabriel is not moving. His head is full of blood, and his body is bruised all over. He–" Misha took a deep breath before continuing, "His breathing is getting weaker and weaker."
There was a short silence before his mother replied in a helpless tone, "What are you saying? I know you don't mean harm, but you shouldn't joke about such things. Could you put Gabriel on the phone, please?"
At these words, Misha felt as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water on him. Even though he loved his mother dearly, he couldn't help but hate her for a second. Why couldn't she believe her son?
Shedding all of his child-like pretenses, Misha yelled, "I'm joking?! As if I could joke about such a thing! I maybe love to prank people, but I'd never do a phone prank call when my sister is hurt, and I certainly wouldn't joke about someone else's life. Gabriel needs immediate medical assistance, so tell the paramedics to turn back right now, or the next time you see him, he'll be lying in a coffin, and we will be burying him six feet under. Understood?"
Misha was heavily panting after saying his piece, his knuckles having turned white from holding the phone too tightly. His mother's answer came shortly afterward. She sounded stunned, but the boy could care less about her current emotional state.
"I understand, we're coming back."
"Good. We're close to the chalet. I think a few meters to the right. Scream when you arrive, and I'll scream in response to guide you. Just hurry up."
Before his mother could say anything more, he hung up and collapsed beside Gabriel. He dazedly looked at the injured teenager and whispered to comfort himself, "Everything will be fine. That bastard had lived past his thirties in our previous life, so how could he die now?"
Biting his lips, Misha shook his head to chase away the bad thoughts and anxiously waited for the ambulance to arrive. Meanwhile, he paid attention to Gabriel's breathing. He didn't know why, but the idea of him dying before his eyes was unbearable; it felt like something was trying to tear him apart from the inside out. Although he hated him, although he wanted to get rid of him, he still couldn't stand to watch him die.
"Don't you dare die," Misha whispered, grabbing the hand that was the less injured before squeezing it. "Your life is mine to decide, and I don't want you to die today. It would be letting you off the hook too easily. So, live."
Shortly after the words escaped his mouth, warm tears started to roll down his cheeks.
Mini theater
Author: Misha, if Gabriel had stopped breathing, would you have given him CPR?
MC: ... Yeah, sure. I would have tried to break a few ribs while I was at it.
ML: You know, you're not heavy, and your arms don't have much strength either. It'd be a bit difficult for you to break my ribs with CPR.
MC: I can always jump on your chest. That should do it.
ML: Are you trying to save me or kill me?
MC: How about both?
Chapter revised on 2022-05-10
Edited by Clozed! ♥
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