I heard the sound of shots. People screamed and ran to the walls and corners, trying to get out of the way.
"You have to come now!" Mana yelled.
My heart pounded at the sounds of chaos coming through the hole. I saw her feet dangling, but something was delaying her.
"Kenna, you're going to have to jump. The ship's closing up," Mana yelled again.
I moved to see if I could help. Kenna was sitting ready to jump through the hole. That's when I noticed the problem with the ship.
The ship was reconstructing its walls by itself. The hole was getting smaller. Soon she would not be able to fit through.
"Now, Kenna!" Mana screamed.
Kenna finally jumped, her body slipping through the ever-shrinking hole in the hull. But she had waited too long. In the end, her arm got caught and pulled back. Her forearm and hand slid through as the hole closed around it. The metal of the ship scraped deeply from halfway up her forearm to her fingertips.
She screamed in intense pain and fell to the floor in a heap, thankfully unconscious. Her arm was bleeding profusely.
I felt like vomiting. I did have memory problems, but I could not remember ever seeing anyone hurt so badly.
"Jay, get us the hell out of here." Mana said.
There was a lurch as Jared quickly accelerated away from the alien vessel. Mana tossed me the first aid kit.
"Stop the bleeding, Dar. Jared's piloting and I've got to make sure they don't transport us back." She ran for a console and began tapping furiously.
"Keep them from getting a lock, Mana," Jared said. "We'll be on the other ship in a few minutes."
I stared down at Kenna. Her arm was a mess.
I didn't know what to do.
"Dar!" Mana yelled, "Stop the bleeding. She's can't lose any more blood. Jared, he's just standing there. I can't let them get a lock on us. But Kenna's going to die. She must have cut an artery."
"Dar, we need you. Kenna needs you. Please," Jared said, his tone desperate.
I pressed my lips together and suddenly felt the ability to move again. It didn't matter how I sick I felt. This person needed my help. And I needed to help her.
I knelt beside her and tore open the first aid kit, finding packets that contained thick pieces of gauze. I opened two of them and used them as gloves. I picked up her arm, wrapping the pieces of gauze around at the same time. The raw exposed red flesh turned my stomach. But I ignored my nausea, focusing on the areas filled with blood.
There was a spot that was gushing, and I quickly tore open medical packets, one after another, pressing them against the bleeding. The pads turned bright red immediately. I opened more and pressed them onto the wound, applying as much pressure as I could. These soaked through, too, but it took much longer. Finally, the outer bandages stayed white. For that, I was truly thankful.
I found a roll of gauze and wrapped lengths of it around the pads that were already there. Then I continued wrapping until the whole bloody mess was covered.
In the end, her arm appeared twice its normal size. It was a terrible job and looked awful. But she wasn't bleeding anymore. I felt a sense of satisfaction. These people needed me, and I had helped them.
I wondered if I was the sort of person that helped other people.
KENNA
I was in agony. I couldn't think. I couldn't speak. I certainly couldn't move.
But I could hear.
"She moved. I'm sure she moved. She must be coming around," a man's voice said.
"That's not good. I'm not done," said a woman.
I heard myself screaming, over and over, as the excruciating pain became even worse.
I became aware of strong hands holding me down. Was this alien torture?
The darkness took me again.
DAR
Kenna was in really bad shape.
We had escaped from the prison ship and stopped at the other smaller ship for only a few minutes to gather supplies. Mana continued to evade their transporter beams while Jared and I grabbed food, water, and medical supplies.
We were on our way. After Jared had taken us into hyperdrive,
"You have to come now!" Mana yelled.
My heart pounded at the sounds of chaos coming through the hole. I saw her feet dangling, but something was delaying her.
"Kenna, you're going to have to jump. The ship's closing up," Mana yelled again.
I moved to see if I could help. Kenna was sitting ready to jump through the hole. That's when I noticed the problem with the ship.
The ship was reconstructing its walls by itself. The hole was getting smaller. Soon she would not be able to fit through.
"Now, Kenna!" Mana screamed.
Kenna finally jumped, her body slipping through the ever-shrinking hole in the hull. But she had waited too long. In the end, her arm got caught and pulled back. Her forearm and hand slid through as the hole closed around it. The metal of the ship scraped deeply from halfway up her forearm to her fingertips.
She screamed in intense pain and fell to the floor in a heap, thankfully unconscious. Her arm was bleeding profusely.
I felt like vomiting. I did have memory problems, but I could not remember ever seeing anyone hurt so badly.
"Jay, get us the hell out of here." Mana said.
There was a lurch as Jared quickly accelerated away from the alien vessel. Mana tossed me the first aid kit.
"Stop the bleeding, Dar. Jared's piloting and I've got to make sure they don't transport us back." She ran for a console and began tapping furiously.
"Keep them from getting a lock, Mana," Jared said. "We'll be on the other ship in a few minutes."
I stared down at Kenna. Her arm was a mess.
I didn't know what to do.
"Dar!" Mana yelled, "Stop the bleeding. She's can't lose any more blood. Jared, he's just standing there. I can't let them get a lock on us. But Kenna's going to die. She must have cut an artery."
"Dar, we need you. Kenna needs you. Please," Jared said, his tone desperate.
I pressed my lips together and suddenly felt the ability to move again. It didn't matter how I sick I felt. This person needed my help. And I needed to help her.
I knelt beside her and tore open the first aid kit, finding packets that contained thick pieces of gauze. I opened two of them and used them as gloves. I picked up her arm, wrapping the pieces of gauze around at the same time. The raw exposed red flesh turned my stomach. But I ignored my nausea, focusing on the areas filled with blood.
There was a spot that was gushing, and I quickly tore open medical packets, one after another, pressing them against the bleeding. The pads turned bright red immediately. I opened more and pressed them onto the wound, applying as much pressure as I could. These soaked through, too, but it took much longer. Finally, the outer bandages stayed white. For that, I was truly thankful.
I found a roll of gauze and wrapped lengths of it around the pads that were already there. Then I continued wrapping until the whole bloody mess was covered.
In the end, her arm appeared twice its normal size. It was a terrible job and looked awful. But she wasn't bleeding anymore. I felt a sense of satisfaction. These people needed me, and I had helped them.
I wondered if I was the sort of person that helped other people.
KENNA
I was in agony. I couldn't think. I couldn't speak. I certainly couldn't move.
But I could hear.
"She moved. I'm sure she moved. She must be coming around," a man's voice said.
"That's not good. I'm not done," said a woman.
I heard myself screaming, over and over, as the excruciating pain became even worse.
I became aware of strong hands holding me down. Was this alien torture?
The darkness took me again.
DAR
Kenna was in really bad shape.
We had escaped from the prison ship and stopped at the other smaller ship for only a few minutes to gather supplies. Mana continued to evade their transporter beams while Jared and I grabbed food, water, and medical supplies.
We were on our way. After Jared had taken us into hyperdrive,
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