And Then They Were In Love And Lost

Chapter 7

It was a long hike up to the rest of the team, and luckily, they were waiting at the edge to help Sonny and Jason. The two men would do anything for their team and push through any pain or aching muscles as they took extra caution to keep as even as possible to eliminate any extra jostling, and by the time they made it to the top, they were spent. Trent and Brock were right there to grab Clay from Sonny and bring him towards the middle of the makeshift camp to assess his wounds as they could smell the blood before they saw their teammates.

"Brock, Sonny, come here and hold these lights for me; I need to find the source of the blood." Trent all but barked out as he was panicking at the amount of blood and Clay's lack of response as he was moved from person to person and placed on the ground.

Ray went to grab Liz from Jason and bring her towards Trent but a little off to the side to keep some distance between them to allow the members' free movements. Jason followed behind him, grabbing his flashlight and Rays from his belt as he sat beside him. Liz had some blood on her shirt, but it was not overly large and did not seem to grow in size; Jason commented that it was the side pushed up against Clay as she helped him, so they chalked it up to be transferred blood for now. A mistake they would soon regret. As Clay had more blood, he was the priority for Trent as he needed to confirm the bleeding was stopped or they would lose him. Trent moved his medical pack between Clay and Liz; knowing Jason was more adverse to medical training than others on the team, he would be able to assess Liz and hopefully stabilize her, depending on her wounds.

Trent lifted Clay's shirt, noted a few minor scraps and bruises but nothing too deep on his upper chest, and chalked it up to the possibility of moving through the forest or related to how they got out of the building, as they didn't know any details yet for what went down after they left. Still, they had some theories as they heard an extra explosion and gunfire. As Trent scanned Clay's torso, he noted the two gunshot wounds under bandaging, and as he lifted a corner, he saw no active bleeding and the remanence of quick clot around the wound and on the gauze. He then went to Clay's thigh, where the white bandaging was peeking through the cut fabric, noticed the same wound packing, and relaxed a little, knowing there was no blood loss and the crimson stains were old. Trent then poked and prodded Clay's legs, arms, chest and ribcage and shoulders, looking for sprains or broken bones and was relieved he came up short, just some tender ribs. As he moved up Clay's head, he saw a large gash on the back of his head below where his helmet sits, and he then checked his pupils. Sluggish and dilated. Crap, Trent internalized this could be from a concussion or skull fracture, and there was nothing he could do about that in the field. Trent then started an IV to hydrate Clay, a blood transfusion to replenish his tank and provided Clay with much-needed pain relief as he injected him in his non-injured thigh with one of the morphine injectors. Then he went to the back of his head and started to clean the wound and assess the bleeding and if stitches were needed. After he performed 12 stitches and wrapped the injury, he was satisfied Clay would be stable until the helo arrived and the trip to the hospital.

"Ray, how far out is exfil?" Trent mumbled as he moved around Clay.

"Ten mikes out," Ray replied.

"Sonny, I need you to hold his shoulders down; Brock, get his legs. I'm going to try to wake him up with pain stimulation, and I would like to avoid him swinging at me again." Trent noted as he positioned himself beside Clay to rub his sternum with his knucks.

Just as Clay started to respond and grunt in pain, Jason yelled at Trent.

Ray had laid Liz down, and he could not take his eyes off her as he took in her situation. He roamed down her body and winced as he took in all her injuries. Such a small strong frame should not be this coloured in bruises and blood; she did not deserve to bear these war wounds and live with the scars. She was too strong inside and out to be this broken. Jason handed the lights to Ray and got to work instantly. He was so gentle as he assessed her body for any hidden injuries; he was too scared to cause her more pain, and neither of them could take it. Jason started at her legs and moved his way up, looking for anything broken, and after coming up clear, he went to her arms as he avoided her already set shoulder. He made sure her arm and hand were pink, and there was proper circulation from the set, but something still looked off along the posture on her left side, like she was trying to curl into herself for protection as she lay unconscious and vulnerable. After he assessed her arms were clear otherwise, he took note of her temple and cleaned the wound by applying some butterfly bandages as it was a long gash but not overly deep. While doing this, he kept looking at her chest to ensure he could still the rise and fall of her slow breathing. Jason then moved slowly to her neck and let out a string of curses as his fists clenched out of anger, and he closed his eyes for a moment to collect himself until Ray put a reassuring hand on him. All the while, Jason was relaying the injuries to Trent.