Remember to Breath (A Narrative - Part 8)

She's not the kind of girl
Who likes to tell the world
About the way she feels about herself
She takes a little time in making up her mind
She doesn't want to fight against the tide

And lately I'm not the only one
I say never trust anyone

She knows the human heart
And how to read the stars
Now everything's about to fall apart
I won't be the one who's going to let you down
Maybe you'll get what you want this time around
I won't be the one who's going to let you down
Maybe you'll get what you want this time around

- The Trick Is To Keep Breathing – Garbage


3 Months Ago

The ringing in her ears couldn’t drown out the echoing of gunfire that surrounded her like a death shroud. She closed her eyes and wiped the blood off her cheek with the back of her hand as she quietly named all the bones in the body.

Phalanges, Metatarsals, Tarsals, Fibula, Tibia…

She could feel her breathing calm down slowly with each tick off the mental skeleton in her head, her eyes finally opening as her name was called. She lifted her hand and pointed the long, silver gun around the corner, noticing an Alliance soldier inching up to where Logan was hunched behind a crate.

Bel sucked in a breath and squeezed the trigger, the bullet finding its home inside the Alliance soldier’s neck. She mentally cursed at herself, meaning to aim for the heart. She reminded herself she needed to practice more as she ran over to where Logan was sitting.

“Damn, girl. Thought for sure you were gonna freeze up.” He clutched his shoulder as he looked up at her, his blonde hair mussed by his hand running through it. She could see streaks of blood dried along the ends. His eyes were dark with pain and the hand clutching the shoulder was coated with blood.

The doc in her woke up instantly and she handed her gun to him even as she was pulling out bandages and her forceps as she surveyed the damage. “Got the bastard, but I don’t know how safe we are. I gotta remove this bullet then stop the bleeding. I can help you back to the boat, but I can’t carry you, Logan. You have to walk.” Even as she spoke she was ripping his tshirt and pouring antiseptic over the wound. She could feel him stiffen and hear his intake of breath at the sudden burning before she grabbed the syringe with a local numbing agent inside. “Tough it up, this is field work.” She injected the agent inside as her head popped up over the crate to look at the fiasco, silently praying for everyone as she bit her lip.

“I can tough it up, Akage. If you can stop sticking your head up and giving then a target to shoot at.” He pulled her down and she almost landed on his lap. He chuckled huskily as she sat back up and glared at him.

“Is it numb?” She asked frostily.

“Is what… OW!” A string of curses escapes his lips as Bel cut into his shoulder to open the wound more to retrieve the bullet. She smirked at the curses as she reaches down to grab her forceps, pressing into the hold and digging inside before she finds the bullet.

“Bonzai…” She smiles as she pulls it out and drops it into Logan’s open hand. She winks at him as she sews up the wound, hoping the novocain lasts. Finally, she puts gauze over the wound before taping it down and patting his shoulder. “Sounds like the gunfire is further down. Lets get you up.” She stands up and hefts Logan to his feet, her eyes darting around before she starts to half walk and half drag Logan to the boat.

The gunshot from Logan beat the burning pain in her thigh, the pain so familiar to her she knew exactly what it was. He was half turned in her arms, the gun she gave him pointed down a soldier laying dead on the floor, a gun in his hands and a bullet between his eyes. She reached down to her thigh and grumps heatedly. “This is not good. Xaviar is going to kill me.” She winces as she starts to limp. He stops her and sighs.

“Get on my back.” He turned around and leaned down some, inviting her onto his back with a smirk that was more endearing than teasing. She thought about his shoulder before she crawls up on his back, wrapping her good leg around his waist while his good shoulder helps lift her bad leg to his waist as well.

As Logan ran himself and Bel back to the safety of the ship, Bel kept breathing. Her heart kept beating. And her thoughts kept running. The migraine that infected her thoughts and sight forgotten for now.

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