[IC] This Means War

[liah]

I tried to exhale as quietly as I could. I didn't know how far away the soldiers were from me, but I needed to breathe. I was suffocating on my own breath. I felt like my lungs were on fire. They burned for air; craved it, and so did I.
BANG! I heard a gunshot not too far from me. Afterwards, four more followed. Then silence. A bone chilling silence filled the air that was simply too hard to ignore. It sent chills up my spine.
'Oh no.' I thought. 'What if it was Sam or The Siblings?'
"Was that one of our guys?" One of the soldiers said..
"Good, they must've got the fugitives. Let's head back and collect the bodies. We'll go back to camp afterwards." The woman said.
With that, footsteps could be heard racing towards the opposite way of the gunshots. They were going the wrong way? It didn't matter to me. Perhaps they were taking a shortcut. I just needed them gone. Once I figured they were out of sight, I scooted out from under the bushes and let out a deep breath. Or rather wheeze. I reached into my pocket to grab my inhaler, but it wasn't there. It must've fallen out when I got shot. Or maybe when I was running? Then the sudden realization of me being shot sunk back in. I sat up against a tree and put pressure onto my thigh letting our a small cry of pain in the process. I had to be in the worst situation of us all. I had no clue where Sam or Spencer or any of the others were. I was all alone and probably dying. Or maybe I was being over dramatic. I just knew I couldn't breathe and it was really taking a toll on me.
"Where" I wheezed, "is it?" I was barely able to talk to myself. I scanned the area carefully from where I sat, spotting something white about fifty or so feet away from me. That had to be my inhaler. All I had to do was grab it. I pushed myself halfway off the ground before the pain in my leg caused my to cry out, falling back where I sat. I had no more adrenaline to keep me going.

[natcat]

We walked in silence. A heavy silence. One that I hadn't experienced before.
Spencer strode ahead of me, still walking too fast for my liking, I was grasping my ribs as I fought to keep up with him.
"Spencer, slow down." I gasped, the exhaustion and pain were beginning to be too much.
He ignored me, his arms tight at his sides as he began to speed up.
"Spenc-"
He whirled on me, fire in his eyes. "How could you?"
I blinked at him in shock, then fumbled for an answer. "We weren't going to make it, Spencer. We were moving too slow."
"I don't care, Sam. I do not care." He was breathing hard, his chest heaving as he jabbed a finger in my direction before he spoke again, cold and slow. "You killed them all."
"I had no choice."
"There's always a choice!" He shouted. "You could have wounded them. You shot kill shots. You weren't aiming to wound, you were aiming to kill. How could you do something like that?"
Spencer was young, he didn't know what things were required of you when it came to war. I took a deep painful breath, trying to ignore the guilt that was starting to crawl up my throat.
"This is a war Spencer. There are some things you have to do. Hopefully you'll never have to experience that, hopefully we can get you out while you're still-" I broke off, my eye caught on a small object half buried in the dirt.
"Still what? Sam." He said irritated as he watched me crouch down and reach out, uncovering what looked to be container of some sort. I felt Spencer come up behind me, looking over my shoulder at the object as I picked it up, brushing off the rest of the dirt. "What is that? Looks like an inhaler."
My heart clenched. "It is."

[liah]

I absolutely needed my inhaler. I couldn't go on with out it. I pushed forward off of the tree I was leaning on, falling on my stomach and knocking the little bit of wind I had left, out of me. My vision was beginning to get blurry. From where I lay, I began scooting towards what I thought to be my inhaler. Every inch I moved sending excruciating pain through my entire leg. I winced, barely able to cry out as I began to make my way towards my inhaler. I was so far yet so close. I continued on, crawling and scooting, trying not to hurt myself than anymore possible. I wheezed, barely able to exhale any breath I had in me. I couldn't go on anymore. I couldn't breathe. Looking up again, I saw two people who had on Tilerian uniforms. Sam and Spencer? It had to be them.
"Saaaam." I croaked. I had no clue if he could hear me. "Sam!" A raspy whisper escaped from my lips.

[natcat]

"It's Daisy's. She must be around somewhere around here." I said as I stood up, holding the inhaler tightly in my hand. "Look around, see if you can see anything else."
Spencer nodded and stepped away. It was a dense forest and before it had been useful, but now it wasn't. If Daisy was here, if she need the inhaler, it wasn't going to be easy to see.
"Daisy." I called out, pushing aside branches as I walked, scanning my surroundings. "Daisy!"
"I couldn't see anything back th- Wait, what's that?" Spencer pointed over to one of the larger trees in the area, not far from that was what looked to be a body.
"Daisy." I breathed, panic racing through my veins. "Daisy!?"
We raced over, all pain momentarily forgotten as I ran desperately hoping it wasn't too late. Spencer reached her first and skidded to his knees beside her. "Daisy, are you okay?" I heard him ask.

[liah]

I shook my head 'no'. "I-" I wheezed out, shaking my head. "breatheee." I swung my legs in front as best as I could, nodding to my thigh. My whole pant leg was almost covered in blood. Far more than I thought. I looked up at Spencer and gripped the front of his shirt. Did he know where Sam and the others were? "In...haler...." I managed out. "Please." I let go of his shirt, placing my hand on my chest. I was losing my grip on reality. I saw two Spencer's, then one. My eyes were begging to flutter. I was fighting to keep them open.

[natcat]

"Sam!" He looked at me panicked as I reached them. "I- I think she's been shot." He said pointing at her leg that was drenched in blood. "But she can't breathe either... Give her the inhaler!"
"I know, I know!" I knelt down beside Daisy who was desperately grasping at her chest. "Here, take it!" I shoved the inhaler into her hand, folding her fingers around it. "Use it, Daisy." I told her, guiding her hand up to her mouth. "Breathe!"
Spencer was just sitting there, looking stunned. "Spence, find something that we can tie around her thigh, we need to stop the bleeding, then put pressure on the wound."
"But we don't know how bad it is-" He broke off as I interrupted him.
"It doesn't matter, we just need to stop the bleeding. Can you do that?" I asked not waiting for an answer as I turned back to Daisy. "Breathe Daisy, please just breathe."

[liah]

The look on Sam's face told me exactly how bad things actually were. I felt like I was blacking out. He held my shaky hand up to my mouth and for a moment, I struggled before I was able to push down on the button. The spray released and I was hardly able to breath it down. I couldn't. I pushed down again, inhaling with all my might, letting the medicine wrap itself around my lungs that so desperately needed it. I didn't feel any different. I repeated the process two more times; pushing the button, inhaling, exhaling, repeat. Dropping the inhaler in my lap, I took some deep breaths, trying to get my breathing back under control. My vision returned to normal and I closed my eyes.
"Thank you." My voice was almost audible again. "Sorry 'bout that." I ran a hand down my face, feeling more embarrassed than anything.

[natcat]

I jerked my head back in suprise. "Sorry!? Are you kidding? You are ridiculous." I rolled my eyes, relieved that her breathing was back under control, one less thing to worry about. "Spencer, how's that leg?"
"I'm getting there." He said, as I looked around I noticed he was in the process of taking off his belt. He looked at me and shrugged. "It was all I could find. I think Joe took the bag with all the medical equipment in it."
I swallowed and nodded. "Okay. Okay, good, keep going."
"Uh, Sam?"
"Yes?"
"I just tie it around?" He knelt by Daisy's thigh, his belt in his shaking hands, looking increasingly nervous.
I sighed and turned back to Daisy. "Stay still, this will hurt." I went over to Spencer and looked down at Daisy's leg. The blood had soaked her whole pant leg. Reaching down, I gripped her pants and ripped them open where the wound was.
"Tie it just here." I pointed just above the bullet wound. "Make it tight."
He nodded as I began unzipping my uniform down to my waist. I gingerly pulled off my white undershirt, revealing the large number of bruised ribs and bandages I had never gotten redressed. Spencer gently lifted Daisy's leg and slid the belt underneath. He looked at me once for reassurance, before he went ahead and tied the belt.
At the same time, I balled up my undershirt and pressed firmly down onto the bullet wound. Sorry, Daisy.

[liah]

"I know." I replied, knowing this was definitely going to be painful. I braced myself, wincing as Spencer lifted my leg to tie the belt around it. Once they both looked at each other, I knew what was about to happen. It was like they mentally counted to three before they both did what they had to do. I tried to ignore the pain by biting down on my cheek, but as soon as he tied the belt, the pressure came. I couldn't help but scream and jerk my leg. "Wait, wait, stop! Stop!" A few tears rolled down my face. I quickly wiped them away, hoping the boys couldn't see. Fistfuls of grass found their way into my hands as Sam and Spencer went to work. "Stop!" I begged this time.

[natcat]

Spencer was done quickly and lifted his hands off of Daisy's leg, holding them up in the air as if he was being arrested. "Sorry, sorry, sorry." He said quickly to Daisy.
I held my hands down, placing pressure onto her wound, it was all I could do to help stop the flow of blood. If we stopped that we could get moving and hopefully find the others. "Stay still, Daisy." I said through gritted teeth. It wasn't easy hurting her, even when I knew it was for her own good. Her legs jerked again and my hands slipped off, more blood ran down her thigh. "Spencer, you've gotta do something."
Placing my hands back into position, I held the white top firmly, though it wasn't white anymore, it was red. Spencer looked between Daisy and I, hesitating before I widened my eyes at him, telling him to hurry up.
"Sorry." He apologised once more, before he practically lay across her body, holding her still.

[liah]

Spencer put his hands in the air and I sighed relief. I nodded at his apology, letting him know that 'it's okay'. I knew he was just doing what he needed to do.
Soon after, Sam added more pressure to my leg.
"Ooof!" Spencer lay across me, trying to keep me still. "Spencer" My voice was angry and in pain. "Get off!" I yelled, still kicking my legs. I knew I had to be still, but it hurt too much. It was a reaction and I didn't mean to do it. It just happened.
Sam put more pressure on my leg and I cringed, a spell of dizziness overcoming me as a few more tears rolled down my cheeks. This time I couldn't wipe them away. I gasped, taking a deep breath as Sam went to work. Letting out pained cries whenever even the slightest pressure was applied to my leg.

[natcat]

It was a while before the bleeding began to slow. I sat back on my heels, lifting my hands gently off of Daisy's leg. "Okay, Spencer you can get off, thanks. Could you grab another top to replace this one?" I asked as I gestured down at my now deep red shirt, soaked in Daisy's blood. And so were my hands.
I looked over at Daisy, who had tears running down her face. I hardly blamed her, all of that was a lot to take. "Are you okay?" I asked as I sat beside her leg, my bloody hands resting in my lap.

[liah]

I nodded, my face in the crook of my arm as I tried to hide the tears. "I'm alright." I huffed. After a few moments, my eyes met Sam's, then Spencer's. "Thank you... Again. For saving my life and fixing my leg." I wiped my face again. I felt like such a big baby. I should be able to handle this. It was just a bullet wound to the thigh. Right? I looked down at my lap, wondering if they felt as tired as I looked.
"There's a uh- a bag over there that I grabbed. I don't know what's in it, but it might be another shirt or something." I mentioned, knowing he'd need one since his was soaked in my blood. "Probably should've said something about it earlier."

[natcat]

I shook my head. "No worries." I said and gave her a small smile. "All we've done is stop the bleeding, we won't be able to get the bullet out until we got the proper supplies. Which means we need to find the others and hope that they've still got the bag." I explained as I used my arm to wipe my brow.
Spencer was back then, holding up a new shirt. "Great, thanks." I nodded to him as he handed it to me and I quickly replaced the old one on Daisy's leg, with the new one.
"Don't think we'll be needing that anymore." I said with a grin as I held the now ruined shirt up. Placing it down beside me, I wiped my hands on my uniform pants, getting off what blood I could, then zipped up the rest of the uniform, safely covering what I couldn't stand looking at. "I'll get that bag." I said and stood up with a wince, my body aching now more than ever.
Turning away, I left Spencer sitting by Daisy. "How are you feeling? Sorry, again about before." I heard him say as I walked off.

[liah]

"Don't worry about it, you were just helping. I was being a brat." I glanced at him. "Sorry for yelling at you." I laughed a little. Despite me feeling like total shit, I was still doing better than how they found me.
"Spennnnceeeerrr!" I heard in the distance. "Saaaaaaam?" A long pause. "Daisyyy!?" Shouting echoed through the forest. Must've been the siblings. "Spence?" The voices were growing farther and farther away.
"It's Em!" Spencer hopped to his feet. "I gotta go get them!" He looked at me for approval and I nodded. He jumped a few times before jogging off.

[natcat]

I found the bag Daisy had spoken of by the tree where she had clearly been hiding by before. There were spots of blood everywhere, leading me back to where Daisy lay now. "Do you want to sit up?" I asked her, gesturing to a smaller tree that would be good for her to lean against if she needed it. "Wait, where's Spencer?" I asked but I got my answer when I heard him in the distance, yelling out his siblings names. "They're close then?"

[liah]

"Yes aaaaand yes." I nodded, answering both of his questions. "They were all just calling our names a few seconds ago. He asked if he could go get them, so I let him go." I paused. "Not sure why he asked me though. He's a big boy, he could've just gone if he wanted to." I shrugged, gently holding out my hands so he could help me to the smaller tree he gestured to.

[natcat]

I felt relieved as I dropped the bag onto the ground with the others. My promises were kept, Daisy was safe and Spencer was back with his siblings. Grabbing Daisy's hands, I held in a groan as I pulled her up, giving her my shoulder to lean on as I helped her over to the tree.
Once she was settled, I sat down beside her, closing my eyes and resting my head back against the tree as well. "I've gotta say, that wasn't too much fun." I said, opening my eyes and looking out at the spot where Daisy had been lying, blood stained the grass where she was just seconds ago.

[liah]

"What? Lifting me up or finding me half dead?" I joked. I looked over at him, examining how tired he looked. I knew we'd all had quite a day today. All of this happened in under an hour. That'd tire anyone out. "How about you? Are you okay? Saw those bruises on you. I forgot you were all banged up. You good?" I asked.

[natcat]

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just aches a bit." I told her. "All that running wasn't terribly helpful." I smiled.
I was tired. I was hurting. But neither of those things were truly bothering me as much as what Spencer had said to me earlier. You weren't aiming to wound, you were aiming to kill. How could you do something like that?
His words echoed in my head, and I still couldn't even answer him properly. I could've just injured them, shot at their legs or arms, but no, I shot at their heads and chests. Each bullet hitting exactly what I wanted. I didn't know how I could've done something like that, I hadn't even thought about it at the time. I had just wanted to keep my promise.
"There over here." I heard Spencer getting closer, clearly having found his siblings. "Joe, do you still have that medical bag? Daisy will need it."
"Yeah, I should, I didn't drop anything." Joe sounded alert still, that was a good sign. They must have avoided all the trouble.