The sky was pitch black; the clouds twisted into bizarre shapes. Some resembled skulls, stretching their hideous jaws toward me as if looking to devour me whole.
My shoulder and chest burn with pain. I'm reaching my absolute limit, and there is still a long Way to go. I need to find a storm drain, fast.
Idon'tknow…whatishappeningtome?Inthisstate,I'measyprey.
Jack was five kilometers away from the old building…
"Stevens reporting in, Leader."
"Report situation, Stevens. Have you located the target?"
"I'm sorry, sir. The mission was a failure. Walter is in critical condition, and I can barely move."
"Damn it, Stevens. You knew failure wasn't an option on this mission. What am I supposed to Tell the Commander now?"
"Understood, and I apologize again… but please, sir, send help for Walter first."
"Copy that. I've already deployed Wolf Squad to assist you."
"Ah… not them," he whispered, trying to stand up only to collapse again.
"What was that, Stevens?"
"Nothing, sir. Thank you."
"Don't mention it. See you back at base, and you'll explain exactly what happened… Stevens."
The comms went dead.
"Damn it… this is going to hurt," he muttered, his body trembling violently.
….
Right. Left.
Right. Left.
My body burns hotter by the second; the wound in my shoulder is absolutely killing me.
Jack emerged from the storm drain near the old building he called home, his left leg beginning to falter, throwing off his stride.
"Finally…I'mhome,Valentine!"hegasped,limpingheavily.
He entered the building, opened the hatch, and dropped inside, closing it behind him before slowly making his way down the stairs.
The air grew heavier with every breath; breathing was pure torture, and each step felt like taking ten. Even the hallway seemed to stretch out endlessly before him.
Jack's vision began to fade with every step. Turning the doorknob with the absolute last of his breath, he collapsed, losing consciousness for several minutes.
"Jack? What's wrong?... Why are you so badly hurt?"
Jack regained a fraction of consciousness at the sound of Valentine's voice.
"I'm sorry, Valentine. I can't even move a toe… Can you help me, please?"
"Hold on, I'll get a mattress, blankets, and something for your wounds."
"But first… open the large backpack… I have something in there for you. You won't have to keep using that old bat… and the walls for support anymore."
Jack's ragged breathing cut. Through his words.
Valentine walked over to the backpack and slowly pulled the zipper down until she saw a crutch customized to her height.
"Thank you so much, Jack, for this gift!" Valentine cried out, a wide smile spreading across her face as she looked down at Jack on the floor.
Meanwhile, Jack was hyperventilating…
"I'm so sorry. I'll go get everything else right now, fast."
Valentine quickened her pace with the crutch, fetching everything she needed in a backpack to help Jack as quickly as possible…
"I'm back," she called out, pulling a human-sized inflatable mattress from the pack. She reached out, pressed a finger against the mattress's small valve, and it began to inflate within seconds.
"I know I'm not as strong as you!... but I'm trying my hardest to help you as much as I can," she murmured, hanging her head as tears began to fall, her voice cracking.
Valentine got down on her knees, placing the inflatable mattress alongside two blankets and a small pillow right next to her patient's body. She leaned over, cupped the back of his head, and used every ounce of her strength to slowly slide him onto the mattress, careful not to worsen his injuries.
"Whew, Jack… you are heavy!" she gasped, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
She removed his jacket, which was torn and heavily stained with blood. On his right shoulder. She discerned two gunshot wounds: one was a clean through-and-through; the other bullet was still lodged inside.
Jack was completely unresponsive, his breathing growing fainter by the second.
She pulled the medical kit from the backpack and snapped it open. She grabbed a stethoscope from inside and placed the earpieces in her ears. Pressing the chestpiece against Jack's chest. She began to listen to his heartbeat.
"Okay… your heart rate is normal," she whispered, moving it toward the left side. She shifted the Stethoscope: first checking his left lung.
Everything sounds clear here.
Then, she guided her right hand with the instrument to his right lung.
Something's wrong here… the sound is muffled.
Furthermore, the veins in his injured arm were completely engorged, showing a faint purple hue in some areas and a pale blue throughout the rest.
Itlooksasifthebulletisdestroyinghimfromtheinsideout.
Without wasting a second, she pulled a pair of shears, antiseptic, surgical gloves, and sterile Gauze from the kit.
She slipped the gloves on. She took the shears.
"Alright… here goes. Don't worry. I'm going to take care of you."
Carefully, she began cutting away his shirt to expose the wound.
She took the antiseptic, thoroughly soaked a piece of gauze, and applied it to Jack's wound with her left hand. She placed a few more pieces of gauze along the right side of Jack's body.
His arm tensed violently, his veins bulging all the way up to his neck as his respiration spiked.
"Easy. I'm not going to hurt you; you're safe here," she whispered into his ear.
The tension in his right arm subsided and his breathing began to stabilize, though his veins continued to worsen with every passing second.
Next, she pulled a package containing a syringe and a vial of local anesthetic from the medical Kit. She tore open the package, removed the syringe, and set the wrapper aside.
She pierced the rubber stopper of the vial with the needle, drawing the liquid into the barrel with her right hand.
She approached Jack's shoulder, where the purple and blue veins looked ready to burst beneath the skin. With a ragged sigh, she plunged the needle right into the edge of the open wound. She felt the resistance of the flesh, followed by the ease of the plunge as she injected the anesthetic.
She repeated the injection three more times, ringing the bullet hole until the skin around the metal began to blanch. Jack let out a low, muffled groan—a sound that chilled her to the bone—but she didn't stop.
She knew this pain was the price of saving his life.
Valentine began to palpate the wound, searching for the bullet.
Noway;itdidn'tevencomeclosetoexiting.
Nevertheless, she grabbed a pair of self-retaining retractors from the supply kit. She positioned them into her unconscious patient's wounded shoulder, opening the incision wide enough to see inside.
A spray of blood erupted from his shoulder in several directions.
Then, she took a surgical suction tip and placed it inside the wound; locating and extracting the projectile was paramount. She waited a few seconds for the suction to drain enough blood for her to clear the lead.
With her right hand, she drew a pair of extraction forceps, while using her left to guide the suction tube as close as possible to the axillary vein.
She slowly brought the forceps to Jack's shoulder, pausing right before inserting them.
Her fingers began to tremble.
She took a slow, steady breath.
Calmdown,Valentine.Youarenotlettinghimdie.
Her hand steadied once more.
"Here I go, Jack," she whispered with a faint smile.
Bringing her right hand back to the unconscious patient's shoulder, she slowly inserted the forceps in search of the lead.
"Click." The forceps successfully made contact with the projectile. She opened the tines slowly, gripping the bullet with care.
Step by step, she began pulling it out, trying not to cause irreversible damage. Jack's breathing slowly began to regulate.
Valentine took a deep breath, on the verge of extracting the bullet from his shoulder entirely.
Suddenly,thetipoftheprojectileruptured.Astrangegreenliquidbegantopourinto the wound of the lifeless body.
The stench was putrid…
Damn it, no… what is this?
The projectile melted within seconds, dissolving part of the forceps, Valentine's glove, and completely eroding several of her fingers.
"It hurts… it burns! I don't understand!" Valentine screamed, pulling bandages from the small kit and wrapping them tightly around her mutilated fingers.
The corrosion stopped just as it reached her phalanges.
Meanwhile, the surgical suction continued to relentlessly drain blood from the cavity of Jack's shoulder.
"This can't be happening, Jack… damn it, what do I do now?" she cried out, trying as fast as possible to staunch the hemorrhage.
Butitwasinvain.
Jack was dying before her eyes; there was nothing left to do. "Please don't die!"
"Don't leave me alone!"
Jack's breathing stopped completely.
"JACK! …NOOOOO!" she screamed, her voice completely broken and devoid of hope.
"I'm so sorry, Jack… in the end, I couldn't do anything to save you. I'm too weak," she murmured, leaning close to his ear and holding him tight.
"Jack, come back to me, please. I'll get stronger, I swear!"
Jack remained motionless.
"JACK!… wake up right now!" she screamed again, slamming her fists against his chest as she sobbed uncontrollably, questioning over and over how she could be so weak.
Valentine slowly pulled away from his chest, staring intently at his face, trying in vain to fight back the tears welling in her eyes. The more she tried to hold them in, the worse the agony became.
Her breathing began to accelerate.
She was on the verge of passing out when something stopped her.
Her patient's arm had been ravaged by the corrosive liquid. His skin was burning away, his flesh evaporating by the second, and his bones melting like butter.
A black liquid began to ooze from the host's wounded shoulder. The surgical suction tube began to clog with the thick, dark fluid, and bizarre noises echoed from it.
"Cha…cha…cha,cha,cha…cha,"itpausedforamoment…
The blackness consumed the entire room in seconds.
Ican'tseeanything.
A faint breath shattered the silence of the room.
The body's bones began to shift in an unnatural, grotesque manner; the shoulder deformed, and his collarbone cracked audibly.
The lifeless body rose slowly, its head hanging low, casting me aside.
Thesilencewassuffocating.Mybodytemperaturespikedbythesecond.
"Jack…?" she whispered.
Suddenly, a massive black spike erupted from the host's chest, impaling her directly through the stomach.
A torrent of blood sprayed from her mouth.
I can'tmove. I can't even scream.
Thespikeslowlydraggedherclosertothebodyoftheentitystandingbeforeher.
Mybodywon'trespond.Istartedtremblingoutofnowhereandpureterrortookholdof me; the fear eclipsed my pain.
The entity raised its head. It smiled, and its eyes began to weep blood.
"Donottremble.Otherwise,youwouldhavealreadyceasedtoexist,"ithissed, extending its Arms to ensnare me.
With a sudden tear, it ripped her shirt open, leaving her neck and left shoulder completely exposed.
Silence returned once more.
It opened its jaws, tilted her head slightly to the side, and sank its teeth deep between her neck and shoulder.
The pain was excruciating; she could feel every single drop of her blood being siphoned through the punctures in her neck.
Tears of pure agony began to flow anew.
The silence shattered.
Valentine wrapped her arms around Jack's body.
"It's okay… it's me. Don't hold back, take as much as you need," she whispered into his ear, gently stroking his head.
Her veins bulged, turning a dark green color, and Jack's did the same.
Slowly, Jack's arm and shoulder began to regenerate. His bones stopped their erratic, unnatural contortions and snapped back into place.
The darkness cloaking the room began to recede, withdrawing back into its vessel.
He pulled his teeth out of Valentine's flesh.
Valentine backed away slightly, covering her right shoulder with her free hand. She winced at the touch as her wounds closed slowly and painfully… her right leg partially regenerated, and thefingers she had lost moments ago fully reformed.
Jack looked down, first staring at his blood-soaked hands and then at his surroundings; everything was splattered in a crimson red.
He raised his gaze to meet Valentine's eyes.
"Idon'twantanymore…Iamsosorry,Valentine,"hemurmured,hisvoicecracked, tears streaming down his face as small drops of blood dripped from his chin.
Valentine opened her eyes and looked into Jack's. She smiled, extended her arms, and deliberately stepped closer to her companion. Cupping his head, she pulled him to her chest, gently stroking his hair.
"Don't worry, don't try to blame yourself for what happened."
"Don't think about it anymore. I'm fine."
"Howdoyouexpectmetobefine?!IjusthurtyouandIdon'trememberathing…what if it happens again?... What will we do?!" Jack's voice escalated as he raised his head, his agony intensifying.
"I will get stronger and I will stop you. I won't let you hurt anyone else," she countered, raising her voice with another smile, continuing to hold him and stroke his hair repeatedly, though her breath was ragged.
Jack raised his head, his crying subsiding.
"Incredible," he whispered, turning his face away in sheer embarrassment, his body wracked with muscle spasms and his breathing heavy.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing,Ididn'tsayanything."