The Long Dark: A Survivor's Tale

Tending my wounds

You know that figure of speech 'I was seeing stars'? Turns out that it's not really a figure of speech. Little specks of white light filled my vision while I laid there, splayed out on the floor of the bunker. A heavy, ringing pain throbbed through my head. The Aurora still lit up the sky above me, casting an eerie, ghostly green glow through the small hatch entrance while the wolves howled and barked in question, almost waiting for their prey to come out and attempt to escape.

I finally gained the energy to stand, slowly. Almost instantly, an overwhelming wave of dizziness washed over me. I stumbled around a bit before falling onto the bed. My vision had cleared enough that I  could make out the small drips and puddle of blood on the floor. My hand and leg were still bleeding rather profusely. I blinked several times, desperately trying to focus and clear my blurred vision. I didn't think I hit it hard enough to cause a concussion, but it'd definitely leave one hell of a bruise. The small ceiling lights in the shelter flickered, giving off just enough enough light for me to examine my hand and leg. My hand was in bad shape. Deep punctures and gashes made a rough outline of the wolf's mouth. They were deep. My leg, on the other hand (pun intended), was much better than it felt. The jean leg was ripped apart but there were only a few minor cuts, which had actually stopped bleeding on their own.

Once my vision had cleared up a bit, I reached over and pulled the first aid kit out from the under the bed, it's contents rolling around and clanging inside. Bandages and Antiseptic were really all I needed. The bottle was still pretty full. I unscrewed the cap with the palm of my other hand (missing two fingers made it pretty difficult) and hesitated before pouring it over the wounds. It stung like you wouldn't believe, fizzing up almost as soon as it hit the gashes. Once this had stopped, I poured water over it to wash the liquid and blood off. Upon examination, the wounds weren't deep enough for stitches. I'd be shit out of luck. With my ears and head still ringing, I carefully wrapped the hand.

While I was at it, I decided to change the bandages on my other hand were I had removed my frostbitten fingers. The bleeding had stopped and the stumps were starting to heal. They itched like crazy and the beginnings of a scab was starting to form. After cleaning this off, I re-wrapped it. I was down two hands and had hit my head pretty hard. Trying to leave this bunker for other shelter would be suicide. Especially while the Aurora still illuminated the night. I was exhausted and hurt. I didn't even bother to crawl under the sheets. I simply feel over onto the bed, asleep before I hit the pillow.