Blood Lily Company - Afghanistan, year 1

XXI

- Kris! What the hell is going on?
- Erk, Tito here. Farm secured. Two seriously wounded.

Erk's heart leaped in his chest. Tito went on.
- Archer and Igor.
- OK, the Viking said, sounding relieved. Diagnosis?
- Archer took a bullet to the head, through his helmet. He's bleeding a lot, he's out. He's breathing.
- Calm down, Tito. I'm sending Kris to you, he's the one with the first aid kit. Turn your light on the wound: can you tell if the bullet went through his skull?
- I don't think so. Damn, there's blood everywhere... Shit, hold on buddy! Shiiit!
- Tito, calm down...
- Erk, Kris here, I'm with Archer. Pulse is strong so far, somewhat fast. The bullet opened the scalp, grazed the bone but it feels like the helmet has played its part.
- Fine. Put a bandage on it to limit the bleeding. If the brain is not exposed, use some cistus. We're on our way.
- What?
- We're going to the G1 copter, we should be there in fifteen minutes. G2 will follow. Tell me about Igor.
- Erk, this is Shorn. I am with Igor.
- Hang on a minute, Erk said as he climbed into the bird. Phone, tell Lin about the injured, no need for her to turn around. Tell her I'm going there. Warn Fatso, too. OK, Shorn, I'm listening.
- Igor took a bullet just below the collarbone on the left, it's bleeding a lot.
- Fine. Is the blood light or dark?
- Dark, I think.
- You think? Shorn, you have to know!
- Fuck, Erk, it's difficult to tell the difference at night!
- OK, OK, keep cool, Shorn. It is gushing or just flowing out?
- Uh, flowing.
- Good news, it must be the subclavian vein or the lung.
- You're calling that good news?

Elise's face, sitting next to Erk in the cabin, reflected the same question and the same outrage.
- Yes, it could have been the subclavian artery and, well...
- Oh. Sorry. So, what do I do?
- Did the bullet go through?
- Uh, I... yes, I just checked, it did.
- Very good. Take off his vest, jacket and t-shirt, put pressure on the wound on both sides and put him in a position that's comfortable for him, so he can breathe. Cover him only if he's shivering. The cold will slow the bleeding a bit. We are quite close.

Elise had called G2 to find out if it had taken off. They had to load mattresses and blankets.
- Kris, if Archer is stabilized, go see Igor, will you? And above all, do not move them.
- Copy. Are you far?
- Hold on, let me ask. Elise, ETA on site?

She got to see her pilot.
- Kris, ETA 3 minutes.
- OK. Let's hope Igor can hold on.
- That bad?
- Yeah, our man is stabilized, but the Ruskof, it's not so good. Pulse is fast and weak.

Elise got back to the cockpit to ask the pilot to go faster.
- I see. Signal your position with a flare, will you?
- I have some red, I'll send it as soon as we hear you. Damn!
- What is it? Kris, what is it?
- The plane took off!! Fucking hell! Curtis, rocket, rocket!

In front of the helicopter, the little Piper JA-22 burst out of its hangar, followed by the luminous trail of the Blazt-8 rocket. For a while, they thought the plane would escape the missile, then there was a fireball and then nothing. But Erk and Elise didn't see this. The copter had landed, Erk had jumped out of it, thrown off balance by his sling he almost fell, and rushed towards the red-lit smoke.

He put his right hand on the wound and his hand glowed, a warm white. Igor, whose breathing had been very shallow until then took a deeper breath and opened his eyes. Elise knelt beside him, worried.

Erk had stopped the bleeding and repaired the bullet-torn vein and upper left lung, and had worked on the exit wound too. There was still a hole on each side, which would repair itself with time. Kris checked the Russian's pulse and nodded, satisfied. He had lost enough blood to be very weak and only rest would fix that. But his life was no longer in danger.
- Well done, bro. Shorn, you stay with him. Elise, tell your pilots to land to the left of the hangar and refuel, Curtis and Ladislas are over there. Bróðir, are you all right?
- Yeah, I'll be fine. Archer?
- This way.