Don't Forget You're a Badass

4.

The shaking stopped eventually, and where the water had been roaring in their ears, it was now quiet. The four of them slowly got up and looked around. The water was gone, and the street was a wreck.

"Ok guys." Lena said getting their attention, "I want everyone to drink some water and we are going to eat some of the protein bars, then we are going to start heading inland. See if we can find some help, ok?"

She handed them all a water bottle and spread the protein bars out in front of them, grabbing one for herself.

"Um Miss Lena," Eva said sheepishly, "Chris and I can't walk very well without our crutches."

"How well is not very well, sweetie." She asked looking them over.

"We can sorta walk but not for very long, and we're pretty slow." Chris explained, "it's better if we have crutches or even a railing to hold onto."

"Would it help if you two held my hands?" Lena asked, knowing she couldn't carry them both, especially with the probably broken ribs she was trying to hide, "we can go as slow as you need and take breaks, but the further inland we get the better off we'll be."

"We can do that." Eva said as they both nodded in agreement.

"Are you alright to walk, Hassan?" She turned to him.

"Yes, ma'am." He said.

"Alright good, you three finish up and I'm gonna pack the first aid kit to take with us." She nodded and went to do just that.

A few minutes later Lena tossed the bag over the edge and climbed down after it, "alright one at a time, Chris you first." She watched as his legs appeared over the side and she grabbed his hips helping him down.

Once he was settled on the ground she turned back towards the other two, "alright Eva, you're up." And she helped her down the same way and got her settled.

"Alright Hassan, you know the drill." She called up to him and watched his legs appear over the ladder.

Once they were all settled on the ground she picked up the med bag and slung it over her shoulder, wincing and letting out a hiss as it strained her ribs. She hoped the kids didn't notice.

They did.

"Miss Lena are you hurt?" Eva asked worriedly, three eyes trained on her.

"I just hurt my ribs a bit, but I'll be alright." She assured them.

"Oh, which side?" Hassan asked.

"Uh, my left?" She replied, not sure why it mattered to them.

"We can be matching!" He exclaimed.

"Wait, Hassan, did you hurt your ribs?" She asked worriedly, "let me see."

He pulled up his shirt, biting his lip and whimpering at the strain. His ribs were definitely cracked, she noted, but he'd probably be fine until they got to the hospital, and she said as much.

"Ok kids, I want a list of your injuries." She said, kicking herself for not asking earlier, "also any medical conditions."

"Hassan's ribs are hurt, and he had a pretty bad cut on his forehead, but it stopped bleeding. Eva has a bad cut on her leg but it also stopped bleeding. And I have a cut on my leg and a broken arm, other than that it's just scrapes and bruises. Oh and Eva and I have CP, that's why we need crutches."

"Ok, that's not too bad," she said, "here let me check you guys out a bit."

She did a quick concussion test on Hassan, he seemed alright. Then checked each of their deeper cuts, and finally took a look at Chris's arm. "Yikes little man, that's gotta hurt pretty bad, but you guys did an amazing job patching yourselves up, and those knots were pretty badass Eva."