Not This Time

[cherry1]

Raven reacted immediately the second Sinclair appeared in front of her. Blood…so much blood. It’s all she could think of. “No” she said frantically as she rushed out of the rover and to his side. Her hands were shaking as the prospect of the man who’d basically been a father to her dying in her arms registered in her mind. He was all she had left. After everything…everyone had been taken from her. Ripped right out of her arms. Her mother, Finn and now…No. Dammit NO! This was not going to happen. She refused. “I’m going to get you out of here.” Even now. Even as the blood spurted out of his mouth he was still trying to reassure her. Still trying to make this okay when this was anything but okay. Raven wasn’t about to lose him. Not now. Not when she needed him most.

Immediately Raven leaped into action knowing she had precious little time if she even hoped to save his life. Especially with Emerson on the loose. Standing or more like limping, putting all her weight on her one working leg, Raven began dragging his body to the side of the room behind some old equipment and out of sight. Each pull forcing Sinclair to let out an agonising hiss of pain. The sound piercing Raven’s very heart knowing that she was hurting him. But it was the only way to save him. “Stay with me Sinclair.” She whispered, unable to raise her voice any louder. “Please.” She choked on the word letting out an involuntary sob instead.

Laying him down she quickly grabbed a rag and and pressed it hard against his wound. The sudden pressure forcing his eyes open and bringing him back to consciousness. It was an old dirty rag but it would have to do. “Look at me, I’m here…I’m here.” She repeated trying to get him to focus on her voice and anchor him to the land of the living. Frantically she looked around, before spotting a first aid kit on the other side of the room. Her salvation.


Tag: seren2

[seren2]

Everything had happened so quickly, one moment he'd been in the hanger bay with Raven and the next they had news that Emerson was in Arkadia somewhere. He'd followed instructions to lock the doors but it turned out that Emerson was already in there with them. The lights cut out and they were plunged into darkness, Sinclair couldn't see anything and he knew that their only chance was to open the outer doors. However, Emerson had tried to prevent him from opening the doors, he'd told Raven to get in the rover, if she was in the rover then at least she'd be safe until backup came in the form of Clarke and Bellamy. He could barely see the mountain man in the darkness but Emerson could obviously see him, Sinclair had managed to get one good hit at him but it didn't do much to scare the man away. He came at him again whilst he was opening the doors and this time he felt a flare of pain in his abdomen, forcing him to cry out.

The outer doors were open, he'd done his job and as he brought his hand to his stomach he felt the familiar stickiness of blood beneath his hand. Looking down at the wound he saw the steadily expanding patch of red on his shirt and knew that the wound was serious. Even as the thought entered his mind he gave a hacking cough and the taste of blood filled his mouth and spilled over to coat his lips and his legs gave way beneath him, suddenly incapable of holding his weight. As he lay on his side he saw Raven climb out of the Rover and begin hurrying towards him, going as fast as she could with just one good leg "No... No! Stay in the rover" there was a desperation in his voice as he stared at her wide-eyed, inside the rover she was safe. Inside the rover no harm could come to her and she'd be safe to wait for Bellamy and Clarke to arrive.

He felt the desperation to say something, anything that would persuade her go back to the vehicle and so he kept muttering the words "It's okay" repeatedly, trying to reassure her that everything would be fine. "Please go back in the rover" he begged her, his voice coming out as a whimper that seemed to be getting weaker as time passed by. She was the only one left in the world that he truly cared about, he wasn't going to lose her now, he wasn't going to be the reason that she died. Despite his protests, Raven refused to leave his side and it was infuriating, she always had to be the stubborn one. He felt her grab hold of him and suddenly he was moving, being pulled across the floor by the girl and he couldn't hold back the painful sounds that escaped him, as every time he was moved a jolt of pain shot through his body. His stomach felt as though it was on fire and nothing would stop the pain, his head began to swim and his eyes began to roll, the edges of his vision blurring as he tried desperately to keep his eyes open.

Her voice sounded so far away and he couldn't tell if she was by his side or if she was on the other side of the room, he couldn't even really make out what she was saying, but he could hear her and that meant that she was still with him. Emerson hadn't got her... Yet. He let out a cry of pain as the pain in his stomach flared up suddenly and his eyes flew open and Raven's face swam back into focus. He could hear her voice clearly again despite the roaring in his ears, she was staring at him and he could see the fear etched onto her face, he could see the tears that had left tracks on her face and he hated that this time he was the cause of her pain, she'd been through so much, experienced so much pain and this time he was the one hurting her. He instantly noticed her look away from him and from his position on the ground he couldn't see what she was looking at but he recognised the look in her eyes. He reached for her and his hand blindly found hers, where she was using it to keep pressure on his wound and he squeezed it harder than was probably necessary. Whatever had caught her attention, they needed it, that much he could see in the expression on her face but he wasn't going to allow her to risk her life for him.

A cough shook the mans body and the fresh taste of blood touched his tongue, he hadn't imagined that he'd die like this. But if he was honest then there was no one else he'd rather have at his side in his final moments, but even so the thought of her staying by his side when doing so could cost her, her life repulsed him. "Leave me" the words came out barely more than a whisper, but he knew that she'd heard him as he gave her hand another firm squeeze. He'd lived what he'd like to think was a full life, there was nobody else left that cared about him apart from Raven and he knew that she'd be okay. She had her friends, they'd take care of her. "I'd rather die alone knowing that you're safe than die with you at my side knowing that I'd endangered your life" he told her, trying to pry her hands away from his stomach as he spoke "Just go... Be safe"

cherry1

[cherry1]

Raven ignored his pleas for her to leave him behind. She couldn’t leave him alone like this. Not when there was even a sliver of a chance that she could save him. “Like hell am I losing you.” It just wasn’t an option. Her safety be damned. Because if death wanted to claim another person she cared about, the bastard would have to go through her first. Her expression shifted to one of fierce determination. Emerson was out here somewhere, hopefully occupied with the others. She knew they might need her help, but Sinclair was her priority now. And she had to act fast if there was any hope in saving his life.

The rag she had pressed against his wound was quickly soaking red. “You’re losing too much blood,” she said, unable to hide the tone of panic in her voice. “There’s a first aid kit just a few feet away.” A lie. It was across the room, but she didn’t need him worrying about her in his current state. “I need you to promise me something Sinclair.” Holding his face in one hand, Raven forced him to focus on her. “I need you to hold on…please.” Taking his hand in her own, she placed it on the blood soaked rag and pushed, indicating that he needed to keep pressure on it. “I’ll only take a second.” She hoped.

And with that Raven nervously checked her surroundings before making her first move. Emerson may think he could just take them down, but he hadn’t met her yet. As soon as the coast was clear, she bolted for the first aid kit, as quickly as she could with her bum leg. The thought of Sinclair’s condition fueling her forward. “Yes,” she whispered to herself once she had her hands on the kit. Holding on for dear life to the only thing that could save him. Unless he already…no. She couldn’t think like that. He had a goddamn promise to keep. Making her way back, the pain in her leg trying to cripple her, she refused to waver. Not this time. “Stay with me Sinclair. I need you.” She begged, before finally reaching him. Using her voice to keep him conscious. “Who else is gonna kick my ass into gear?” She smiled, trying to wipe away the tears still streaming down her face as she hurriedly tried to open the kit. Sinclair's life hanging in the balance.

[seren2]

Jacapo felt sure that if she stayed then she would die and he didn’t want that, that was the last thing that he wanted but he was also sure that Raven would not be persuaded to leave him, not until he breathed his final breath. She was foolishly determined to save his life but Sinclair didn’t even know if he could be saved, he could feel himself growing weaker and he could see the darkness trying to creep into the edges of his vision as he tried to blink it away. He tried to continue to watch her, as long as he kept his eyes open then he was hopeful that he could stay conscious, he knew that he had to stay awake, he couldn’t allow himself to close his eyes, no matter how tired he felt.

“You’re losing too much blood” he could hear the panic in Raven’s voice as she spoke, he knew that he was losing a lot of blood, he could feel it soaking the front of his shirt and he could still feel the stickiness on his hands from where he’d pressed them against the wound. A first aid kit? She needed to stop the bleeding, he would die if he didn’t stop bleeding and he could already feel a fogginess clouding his mind, preventing him from thinking straight due to the blood loss. She claimed that it was only a few feet away, it wasn’t far but that didn’t stop him from worrying, he was in no condition to help her if something were to happen. Her hand on his face forced him to focus on her, she wanted him to make a promise that he couldn’t necessarily keep but the look on her face made him nod weakly in response. He held the bloodied rag to his wound as he felt her hand slip from his, he tried to keep the pressure applied so that it would slow the bleeding. Emerson had yet to make another appearance and that led him to believe that maybe he was no longer in the room with them, maybe it was wishful thinking but he hadn’t attacked again and that at least, was something.

One moment Raven was at his side and the next she was gone, he could hear her footsteps growing further and further away from him as she hurried towards the first aid kit that she’d claimed wasn’t far from them. He tried to sit up, to see where she was and to work out why she sounded so far away from him but as he tried, a fresh wave of pain erupted from the wound in his abdomen and with a gasp, he allowed himself to fall backwards again. He was starting to feel cold, the cool floor making him shiver but he could also feel a thin layer of sweat on his brow. He tried to regain his breath, the effort of trying to sit up had made his breathing come in short, ragged gasps. He stared up at the ceiling, waiting until he heard the sound of Raven’s approaching footsteps, he only allowed himself to relax when she appeared over him again after obviously being successful in her mission to retrieve the first aid kit. He wanted to tell her that she didn’t need him, she’d made it this far and if he didn’t make it then there’d still be others willing to give her support but instead he muttered four words “You won’t lose me” they were meant to offer her reassurance but his voice came out sounding weak and hoarse. If Raven refused to leave him behind then he had to make sure that she was risking her life for something, if he gave up then it would be for nothing. “Will you ever stop saving my ass? This is what, the third time now?” he asked the girl as he reflected upon the previous times when he’d needed Raven to get him out of difficult situations.

cherry1

[cherry1]

He wasn’t giving up. That was something. Hell that was everything. Because she needed him just like she always had, because there was no way she could do this alone. Raven smiled weakly at his rhetorical question. “Only when you stop saving mine,” she replied, trying her best to focus on saving him and not the way his chest rose and fell rapidly now. Like he could hardly breathe. And not on the way the colour had drained from his face. All logic was telling her, yelling at her that there was no way out of this. But Raven had ignored logic before and came out the other side, why couldn’t she do it again.

She was no doctor but even she knew that the first priority was to stop the bleeding. And fast. Lifting his shirt slightly she took a look at the oozing wound. Stitching it up would take too long, and besides she’d need to pull the bullet out first. And that meant moving him away from this place and the immediate threat Emerson posed. “This might hurt a little,” she warned as she reached for lighter in the makeshift kit and grabbed a small blade. “But we need to move you and this is the only way,” her voice broke slightly as she explained herself. Raven hated the thought of causing him more pain, but this was their only option.

She removed her belt and slowly placed it in Sinclair’s mouth so he would have something to bite down on. Holding the flame underneath the blade Raven waited for it to glow red. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, before finally bringing the hot metal down over the wound, cauterizing it. It was a temporary solution, but it would have to do for now. She winced at the sizzling burning skin, but held on to the knowledge that she was one step closer to saving him.

Tag: seren2

[seren2]

He would’ve laughed at her words if he could, but he found laughing impossible at that moment. There wasn’t anything to laugh about, not really. He felt like he’d had all the strength drained out of him, he felt so tired and he knew that was probably due to the amount of blood that he’d lost but he didn’t want to sleep, he was too afraid to sleep at that moment. Afraid that if he gave into his exhaustion and allowed his eyes to close, that they’d never open again. He owed Raven more than to just give into his need for sleep, she deserved more than to watch everyone that she cared about die, he wasn’t going to just become another name on the long list of names of the people that she’d lost. "That's not going to happen any time soon" he muttered a reply, finally managing a small smile in an attempt to reassure her, even if he couldn't bring himself to laugh.

He felt her lift his shirt up, he figured that she did this to get a better look at the wound, he knew that he was still bleeding, he didn't know if the flow of blood had slowed or not but he knew that the need to stop the bleeding was probably a priority. Blood needed to stay inside your body to be of any use to you and he'd felt quite a lot of his blood escape from the wound in his abdomen and coat his hands and now probably the floor too. Raven's words made sense to him, any method that she used to close the wound or stop the bleeding would surely cause him pain but then he followed the movement of her hands and realised what she was doing. Suddenly the idea of sleep didn't sound like such a bad idea opposed to the idea of the pain that her next move would bring to him, he'd rather not be move at all despite knowing that it was necessary. "It's okay, just do it" he told her after hearing the emotion in her voice, wanting to comunicate to her that he knew that she wasn't doing it because she wanted to bring him pain and she was only doing it to save his life.

He took the belt willingly into his mouth, figuring that it would help if he had something to bite down on, he knew that having the hot metal pressed against the fresh wound would be painful and he didn't know how he'd react to that pain. 'I'm sorry' were the last words he heard before he felt the stabbing pain in the place right where the bullet had entered his body. The belt helped stop him from screaming out in pain from the searing pain that seemed to have consumed his body and forced his eyes to close, but it couldn't stop the cries that ripped from his throat and showed the pain he was in. Keeping completely quiet seemed impossible with the pain that he was in, his hands curled into fists at his sides and he bit down on the belt in an attempt to keep quiet. If he'd thought that being shot had hurt, closing the wound using this method somehow felt worse. When the blade had been taken away from his skin and the burning had subsided, Jacapo opened his eyes and found that tears had begun to leak from the corners of his eyes. "Hurt a little? Understatement" he panted, swallowing as he tried to calm his breathing down enough so that he could think clearly, which was hard enough as it was from the pain and the blood loss that he'd sustained. "You're okay?" he asked her between breaths as he tried to read the expression on her face.

cherry1