7. Kate

Chapter 7

Kate

F ear and adrenaline surged through Kate's system as she searched for her cauterization tool. Alexis's shoulder looked mangled. There were several bullet wounds, and she was bleeding from them all. There was so much blood that Kate wasn't sure if she'd even be able to pinpoint where all the bleeding was coming from. With only so much she'd be able to do, she was grateful Alexis had passed out. Cauterizing the wound was going to hurt like a bitch, and there weren't any narcotics left. It was going to be extremely painful, and it was better that she didn't have to be awake to endure it.

Determined to stop the bleeding, Kate pressed gauze into the wound. She tried to mop up as much blood as possible, hoping to find the source and that there wasn't any damage to major arteries or veins. Alexis would bleed out in minutes if a major artery had been hit, and Kate moved robotically, intent on staying calm.

The location of the injury was disadvantageous, at the juncture of her arm and shoulder, and Kate wouldn't be able to tourniquet the wound. She had to cauterize what she could, then put quick clot powder on the rest. If she could bandage it in place well enough, it might hold a twenty minute jog to the extraction point, but that was only if Kate controlled the blood loss. And Alexis was growing paler by the second.

Kate's hands worked tirelessly, and time stopped existing. The only thing that mattered was repairing the damage done to Alexis's circulatory system. She swiped and mopped up blood with her gauze, applied the red incandescent tip to the injury.

The smell of burnt flesh usually bothered her, but Kate ignored it and the pain in her chest and pushed on. She could only use the tool in so many places, and then she had to resort to quick clot powder. When all the obvious bleeding had been stopped, Kate hit the speed dial on Alexis's satellite phone. It rang twice, and then a deep male voice answered.

"Come in, Sniper Alpha. This is Bulldog One."

"Bulldog One ,this is Medic One. Sniper Alpha has multiple life threatening GSW's. We are twenty minutes north from extraction point. Headed your way. Come get us. Over."

"I read you loud and clear, Medic One. Bulldog One is sending the cubs. Over and out."

Kate hated radio speak. He'd been clear and concise, knowing that life threatening meant they were under a time constraint. She knew the terms and codes were to keep anyone from intercepting information, but it still took her a second to put it together. They were coming to get them. Now Kate had to finish bandaging Alexis and get her up and to the extraction point without being seen.

Kate whimpered quietly at the prospect of what they faced ahead, her fear and exhaustion slipping out. Silent tears ran down her face as she poured quick clot powder into Alexis's shoulder wound and began wrapping it in a tight bandage. As Kate secured the bandage, Alexis woke up, the pressure from the bandage causing pain and pulling her out of sleep. Kate pressed harder, applying as much pressure as possible. It was the only way to stop the bleeding. Alexis hissed at the pain in her shoulder and sat up.

Alexis's beautiful azure eyes looked into Kate's, and Kate swallowed down a lump in her throat.

Whatever was in her eyes didn't look like hope or confidence, and she wouldn't let Alexis give up.

Don't die, Alexis. Please don't die. I love you.

"Listen to me. You're not going to let this stop you, you hear me?"

Alexis's gaze was distant, and Kate leaned close until Alexis focused on her.

"I will not leave you. If you stay here, then I'm staying, too."

Despite blood loss and the pain, the words seemed to sink in, and Alexis's gaze narrowed on her.

"You can't!"

"Watch me, Lieutenant Cole. You are my partner , and I swore to save as many as I could." Kate's tone was final, reflecting her opinion on the matter.

Alexis glared at her. "Don't you dare. Kate, you have to get out of here. I can barely move, and I've suffered serious blood loss."

Kate cocked a brow at her. "I'm aware of your medical condition. That's exactly why I'm staying. I won't leave my partner behind, and I would never abandon a patient.

"Kate," Alexis said, her teeth bared in an angry expression.

"Are you really going to leave me alone? Let me wander out from here by myself and try to find the extraction point on my own?"

It was a low blow, but Kate didn't care. She was competent at navigation and had memorized the maps of the area just in case something like this happened. But that didn't matter. Kate wasn't leaving her behind. It was completely out of the question. If she had to take the low road to get Alexis home safely, she would do it.

"And what kind of person do you think I am? You think I'm just going to abandon you to save myself?"

Alexis looked stunned. Kate went on angrily, not giving her enough time to respond.

"Hold still while I secure this. It's going to be tight, and it's gonna hurt like hell. But the pain will keep you awake and alert."

Alexis gritted her teeth and Kate pulled hard on the ends of the wrap, securing it as tightly as it would go without completely cutting off the circulation to her fingers. A pained groan tore from Alexis's throat, and Kate's heart ached at the sound of her agony.

"Can you stand?"

Alexis jerked her head in a nod and slowly got to her feet with Kate's assistance. Kate tried to give as much support on the injured side as possible, but the whistling of breath between Alexis's teeth told her the pain was excruciating.

"If you're going to pass out, let me know. Otherwise, we're going to start walking. There's some lower embankments, and we may have a shot of staying out of sight if we take the lower ground."

Alexis didn't respond, just put one foot in front of the other. They trudged south as fast as Alexis could stand going. The air was cold, and Kate was uncomfortable, the cold sweat from exercise mixed with the lower temperatures creating a biting damp. In the back of her mind, she worried about being severely dehydrated. It wasn't a current threat, though, so she just kept going, one arm wrapped around Alexis's waist, giving her a solid base to push off of for each agonizing step. Kate was astounded she hadn't passed out from the pain and couldn't imagine the searing fire of the wound in her shoulder.

After ten minutes of walking, Alexis's breathing became labored. She kept going, though, and Kate worried that Alexis would overdo it and reopen the wound, or that she'd lose consciousness at any moment. They pressed on, Kate constantly monitoring every nuance of Alexis's condition, while Alexis kept them headed in the right direction.

Kate talked softly, demanding Alexis' attention to keep her awake.

"Tell me how bad the pain is in your left shoulder right now, scale of one to ten."

"Eight. Hurt worse before you bandaged it." Each word was staccato, slow, and coming from between gritted teeth.

"That's good. If it gets worse all of the sudden, tell me. Okay?"

Alexis jerked her head in a nod.

"How far do you think we have left?"

"Did you call while I was out?

Kate suppressed a shudder, the panic trying to choke her at the memory of being covered in Alexis's blood and calling for help.

"Yes," Kate answered, not trusting herself to say more. She choked down the tears that threatened to spill again.

"Five more minutes of walking? Then I'm going to need a rest. They'll be here shortly after that. If we're lucky, we haven't been followed. I think it's more likely that our next extraction site will have combatants in the area."

Kate tried not to let it bother her but knew that they'd have to find a way to either be fast or get by undetected. If they went too fast, Alexis could tear her injury open, and if they went too slow, they risked being seen and Alexis losing consciousness from the prolonged pain. Kate didn't know what to do.

We are both going to die out here.

The options were all bad. All they could do was keep moving forward. Every other step came with a sharp exhale or a pained grunt. Alexis kept silent, her teeth locked together. The walk was grueling, but eventually, Alexis began to slow. Kate looked around for a good place to hide until their team arrived.

They were surrounded by small hills and desert and the remains of an old neighborhood. What used to be homes stood abandoned, neglected, and some consisted of crumbling rubble. Their best hope at finding cover without running into an ambush would be to stick to the hills and ditches and stay away from buildings.

Kate pointed to a hill with a jerk of her free hand. It looked to have a deeper valley or ditch on the other side, and they'd be able to crouch out of sight until help arrived.

"Just over that hill. Is that close enough for our guys to find us?"

Alexis coughed, pain wracked her body, and Kate felt her trembling against her.

"Yes. The extraction point is the flatland between the hills and that graveyard."

She motioned toward the ruin of an old neighborhood with her good arm.

Kate steered them toward the ditch and discovered it was deep enough to hide them well until their team arrived. The incline wasn't too steep, and she was grateful that Alexis wouldn't need to climb in or out of it. She wasn't sure Alexis's wounds could take the strain.

Time seemed to slow as Kate got Alexis settled into the ditch, and she saw crimson spreading through the wrap at Alexis's shoulder. It looked nearly black in the darkness, and Kate swore and reached for her pack. The supplies had dwindled, and she wasn't sure she even had what she would need to restabilize Alexis. She dug through the bag for more gauze.

Removal of the wrap securing the bandage informed Kate that Alexis had definitely torn something open again.

"Fuck. Alexis, talk to me. How are you feeling?"

She gave a wet chuckle. "Not great."

Kate almost never had to remove a field dressing. She didn't want to cause more damage by tearing out a formed clot by removing the bandage. But if she didn't take the bandage off, she couldn't apply more clotting agent into the wound or use the cauterizer.

The old bandage was soaked through, and Kate swore as she ripped it off and set about applying more clotting powder and then used the last of her gauze and bandages to apply pressure to the wound. She pressed down hard, causing Alexis to whimper quietly.

"I'm sorry, I have to do this. I've got to control the bleeding."

"I know." Alexis grumbled through clenched teeth.

Kate fought down her emotions, unable to entertain them while trying to actively keep Alexis alive. The second she lost her focus, Alexis could die. Kate wasn't sure that Alexis would survive the injuries she'd sustained even if the extraction went according to plan.

The level of blood loss was becoming critical, and Alexis was going to need a blood transfusion as soon as possible in order to survive. The reality of their chances robbed her of breath, and the tears she'd been holding back streamed silently down her face.

She's going to die. I'm going to lose her, too.

Alexis raised her good arm and swiped away Kate's tears with her thumb. "No crying. Not for me." Her voice was hoarse and strained.

She is going to die. There is no way we will make it.

The sound of truck engines had Kate's heart racing and fear turned her stomach sour. They hunkered low in the ditch and watched the beams from headlights rising and falling, indicating a truck or two was driving through the hills. Kate wasn't sure how far they'd patrol. She tucked their heads down and put her hands on either side of Alexis's pale face.

A soft, near silent sob tore from Kate's chest. "Listen to me. You have to stay with me."

A hint of a frown turned down Alexis's lips and her eyes drifted shut.

"I don't want to go. I just found you." Alexis whispered back to her.

Kate choked down a sob and tried to focus on keeping pressure on Alexis's wound and being silent.

The rumble of engines grew closer, accompanied by the sound of deep male voices calling out into the darkness. They weren't concerned about being seen or heard, which meant they either had control of the area or they had weapons. Kate figured it was probably both, and tried not to let fear paralyze her.

"I know, and I just found you, too." She wasn't going to let Alexis give up.

"You can't leave me now. I love you. I am not leaving this godforsaken desert without you, Alexis."

I love you.

I love you so much.

Kate cried silently and wondered to herself if, after spending so much time imprisoned by grief, she was going to die in the desert or they both were before they ever got their chance to be together.