Relative Strangers (Book 2) No Man Is An Island

2. Bleeding Out

6 months later

"If I ever see another mammoth in a shopping centre, it will be too soon" sighed Matt.
The team had just returned to the ARC building, after a particularly interesting situation with a woolly mammoth.
"I know what you mean. That was certainly a memorable day" agreed Abby.
"Well now that it's over, you can return home to Nick" replied Emily, as she leant on one of the nearby desks.
"Yes. I hate that I have to leave my baby for such long periods of time, but this job is my life, so I can't just quit" admitted Abby.
"No, and having Connor stay home isn't exactly an option either"
"No, it's not".

"Are you guys talking about me?" Asked Connor as he placed his arm around Abby's waist and kissed her cheek.
"Only good things, I promise" smiled Abby.
"That's good to know... Are you ready to go home?" Questioned Connor.
"Yeah, I was just saying goodbye to Matt and Emily"
"Cool. Becker not here?"
"No, he's unpacking his gear in the armory"
"Right. Bye, we'll see you soon".
"Yep, see you two tomorrow" said Matt, as he placed his arm around Emily.
Abby and Connor turned to go, but before they could take a step, an anomaly suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Jess!" Shouted Matt, as he jumped into action.
"I'm on it" replied Jess from her chair in front of the computer screens, a few feet behind them.
A second later the alarms sounded and it wasn't long before Becker and the rest of the soldiers arrived in the room with their guns raised at the anomaly.
Suddenly a thought crossed Matt's mind.
"Wait Becker, stand down, the anomaly alert alarm didn't sound on its own, it could be E" Matt warned.

"There is a security risk in the room Matt, and I can't take the chance that it might be her, when there are lives at stake" admitted Becker.
"But what if-" started Matt.
"She's been gone for 6 months Matt. Face it, she's never coming back. Now get a something to close this blasted thing, before something dangerous comes through" interupted Becker.

Matt sighed and removed the anomaly locking device from the table beside him and laid it on the floor, pointing it at the anomaly in front of him.
He lifted his finger and prepared to press the button that would lock the anomaly, but before he could, the anomaly began to flicker, and a second later a body fell through.
"E!" Gasped Matt, as E fell into his arms.
E didn't reply, instead she pointed the device in her hand at the anomaly, and caused it to fade from sight.
With the anomaly gone, Becker and his team lowered their guns, and turned their attention to E.

"Is she O.K?" Becker asked.
Matt suddenly realised that his hands were damp, and as he looked down at them, he realised why.
Blood was pouring from a wound in E's shoulder, and her eyes were beginning to flutter as she drifted in and out of consciousness.
"E, what happened?" Asked Matt, as he pressed his palms against E's wound.
"It's a long story" mumbled E.
"We need some help over here" shouted Matt as he looked to the rest of the people in the room.
Connor ran off to fetch a first aid kit, as Abby and Becker dropped to the floor beside Matt and E.

Abby inspected E's wound and frowned, "She's been shot".
"I don't understand" replied Matt.
"She's got a bullet wedged in her shoulder Matt. This wasn't a creature attack" explained Abby.
"So someone shot her. Well that's new. Normally she turns up savaged by some creature" admitted Becker.
"Dinosaurs aren't the only monsters on this earth" reminded E quietly.
"I know that. So, who have you've been annoying this time, and should I be happy that it wasn't us you were irritating?" Questioned Becker.
"I'm glad to see that you're just as happy to see me as you always are Becker" mocked E.
"This is no time for jokes you two" scolded Matt.

Connor returned a few seconds later carrying a first aid kit in his arms.
"I think she's going to need a bit more than first aid" admitted Abby as she opened the box.
"Is she going to be alright?" Asked Matt nervously.
"Just keep pressure on the wound" instructed Abby as she removed a pair of tweezers from the box.
"What are you going to do with them?" Questioned Becker.
"I need to remove the bullet from her shoulder, before the wound can be stitched up. You two need to hold her still, while I do it" replied Abby.

Becker nodded and placed his hands on E's arm, holding her down.
"Alright, Matt, I need you to move your hands so that I can see what I'm doing. Once I've got the bullet out, you need to put your hands straight back where they were" ordered Abby.
Matt took a deep breath and lifted up his hands, revealing the gaping hole in E's left shoulder.
Abby then pushed the tweezers into the hole, searching for the bullet.
"Ow! Haven't you got something for the pain?" Begged E, as pain surged through her body.
"I can get you something in a minute. Just keep still, I've nearly got it" replied Abby.
A few seconds later Abby lifted up her hand, triumphantly showing the bullet inbetween the tweezers.
"Got it" she exclaimed.

"Good for you" muttered E, as her eyes rolled back in her head.
"Matt!" instructed Abby, gesturing towards the wound.
Matt quickly leapt forward and placed his hands over the hole, to try and stop the bleeding.
"E. E!... Abby, what's wrong with her?" Asked Matt nervously.
"She's lost consciousness because she's losing too much blood" Abby answered.

"Well what does that mean, what do we do?" Questioned Matt.
"It means that we need to operate now. We need to get her into the medical bay, and quickly" replied Abby as she jumped to her feet.
"I can't let go off the wound or she'll bleed out. Becker you will have to carry her" instructed Matt.
Becker nodded as he placed his arms around E and lifted her carefully into the air, as Matt kept pressure on her wound.
"Follow me, and hurry" ordered Abby as she began to run out of the room, with the boys following closely behind her, carrying E between them.