Sam's eyes, which had been shut tight fighting back the pain, opened wide for a moment as she gasped for breathe before fluttering closed once more. "Sam? Sam! Come on damn it, stay with me!" Baird pressed his fingers to her neck checking her fading pulse again. Her skin was cold and clammy. "Oh, sh-" He fumbled around for something, he wasn't sure what, that might help her. He had used nearly all of the gauze wraps he had, placing them gently against her ribs just beneath her right breast. The digger had exploded no more then 6 feet away from her, the shrapnel managing to pierce straight through her armor. Sam's wound was severe. It didn't take a doctor to tell she'd lost a hell of a lot of blood; each gauze wrap was soaked with it, as well as what remained of her tank shirt. Baird had done the best he could to clean the wound; he'd managed to remove her chest plate and tear the bottom right half of her debris-covered shirt away. He then poured water from his canteen on and around the effected area, washing away as much dirt and blood as he could before applying pressure with the clean gauze wraps. He tried to keep the environment "sterile"; his mind racing with all possible ways to treat a wound like this. He'd gone over everything he knew; hands working feverishly as he silently cursed over the lack of morphine in his small first aid kit. Only field medics were permitted to carry the pain killer now, with everything in such short supply.
Sam moaned as she reached for the wound again. She didn't know why, but the excruciating pain coming from her side made her want to touch that part of her body, as one might rub their knee after bumping it. "No, no. Sam, don't do that," Baird said, a little more sternly then he would have liked as he took her hand in his. He noticed her gloves were bloody and dirty and removed them for her, trying to make her as comfortable as possible. She clutched his hand weakly; her fingertips like ice in his bare hands. Suddenly, she squeezed the mechanic's hand like a vice as she inhaled sharply through her teeth. "Easy, easy, it's alright. Just breathe," he told her, squeezing her hand back. Her strained expression slowly relaxed again, her breathing shallow. He looked at the saturated gauze for the hundredth time. They were so soaked with blood that they'd started to slip out of place again. Each time Baird had to put them back on the wound, fresh waves of pain radiated from Sam's side. As he began to do so again, she gasped then whimpered pitifully, trying her best to control herself. "Baird, please….I c-can't….," she begged as she tried to squirm from his strong grip. "I know. I'm sorry. It's just…we have to apply pressure on it...To stop the bleeding." Sam nodded weakly, defeated. Her eyes were red, but she'd kept her tears from falling.
Baird decided to remove the gauze wraps and replace them with new ones. He knew he shouldn't, but it was the only thing he could do to stop the bleeding while keeping Sam comfortable. Fresh gauze seemed to stay in place better, which meant he wouldn't have to keep touching the wound, causing her even more pain.
"Last time, I promise." He said. Sam bit her lower lip and closed her eyes tight, bracing herself.
Damon Baird sped down the dirt road at full speed, cursing under his breath. He knew the pack-horse was damaged badly, so he wanted to cover as much distance as he could before it broke down.
"Hey, Baird! Slow down will ya? I think Carson's gonna hurl." Sid shouted with a smirk from the back seat, watching his squad mate cover his mouth, fighting back the urge to vomit. Ziryn put her arm around Carson's shoulders. "Just relax. Close your eyes," she soothed as she glared at the back of Baird's head before turning to Sam. "Is he always this much of a pain in the ass?" she whispered, not wanting Baird to overhear. Sam laughed softly. "You have no idea. Just be happy you're only stuck with him for today." The Pasanga woman raised her eyebrows at her female companion before shaking her head, chuckling softly. "Well, I don't know how you've managed stay alive, much less deal with him if he always drives like this," she said as the truck bounced over a rock in the road. Carson shivered and shut his eyes tighter then before.
"Hey mate, if you've gotta puke, just do it over there, yeah?" Sid told him as he pointed to the corner farthest from himself. "I just cleaned these boots," Sid chuckled before Sam punched him in the arm, "Ow, what? I did," he said, gesturing to his feet. The south-islander rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah, we're all real impressed Sid." "Really?" Sid quipped, his handsome face lit with a charming smile as Baird shot him a look that said "you better shut the hell up!" through the rear view mirror. Sam sighed and shook her head, smiling, then closed her eyes and rested her head against the interior of the pack-horse. "I'm fine guys, I just get…car sick sometimes…," Carson said weakly, taking a deep breathe, then exhaling slowly.
"Hey Zayn, you alright?" Sam asked when she noticed the young gear sitting slightly apart from the others, fingering his COG tags. "Oh, yeah, ugh, yeah," he said softly, folding his hands on his lap. "Baird's driving isn't bothering you too, is it?" Sid asked before looking at the others with an evil grin, wriggling his eye brows. His female companions rolled their eyes at him in unison. He had close shaven dark brown hair, a thick accent and a real knack for getting on Baird's nerves with his flirty, mischievous attitude. The blonde gear shot the younger man a quick glance through the rear view and gritted his teeth. Aside from Sam, he was now enemy number 1.
"Oh, no…it's just…" Zayn cleared his throat. "Nothing. I was just thinking." He was still a little shaken from the fighting earlier. Ziryn took his hand and squeezed it and he looked up at her and smiled, slightly more relaxed then before. "In case you idiots haven't noticed, this thing isn't running that great!" Baird barked from the driver's seat, his face flushed. "Well no shit! You're beating the hell out of it, man!" Sid said with a laugh. Baird sighed, trying to control his temper. "And the wretches had nothing to do with it, right Sid?" "Ah, calm down mate, just having a bit of fun." "Yeah well, you're gonna have some fun in a minute." Baird shot back, as the pack-horse jerked and sputtered, then died. Baird cursed and jumped out, slamming the door.
"Damn…Is he always this pissed?" Sid asked; eyes wide. Sam rolled her eyes back and groaned, at the end of her rope with the touchy blonde, then nodded. "Let's go see what we can do," Ziryn said calmly, climbing out of the truck. "That woman is a saint," Sam thought to herself as she followed. "Come on guys, let's get a little air." She said. "Oh God yes," Carson muttered as he got up, looking pale. Sid laughed and followed him. The group jumped out of the pack-horse to see Baird already opening the trunk, mouthing a colorful array of curse words as he sifted through his tool box. "Hey Baird, is there anything we can do?" Ziryn asked gently as he slammed the trunk shut. "No!" he snapped before looking at the young woman's hurt expression. His face softened slightly as he lowered his voice. "No, its fine, I've got this," he said. She nodded and turned to join the others who'd gathered around the edge of the road before Baird tapped her on the shoulder. "Thanks anyway," he said softly. She nodded her head with a weak smile and walked over to the group. Baird looked at the ground for a second before going to the front of the pack-horse where he undid his chest piece and crawled underneath. At least he'd had the decency to sound sorry. He'd just met her this morning, but Baird had noticed Ziryn's kindness and gentle demeanor right away, so he felt bad for having shouted at her. "Save it for Sid," he told himself as he pulled his goggles over his eyes.
Sam was talking with Zayn and Sid as Ziryn made her way to join them. "Turned you down huh?" Sam asked, smiling weakly, looking compassionately at her. Ziryn just shrugged. "Told ya he was a bastard," Sid added. "I swear, I don't know how you put up him everyday Sammie." Sam shot him a withering glance and his smile vanished. He'd already given her a pet name, and she didn't like it. "You learn to ignore him," Sam told Ziryn, not bothering to look at Sid. "Hey, where's Carson?" she asked, looking around. "He, umm," Sid bit his lower lip, fighting back laughter. "He didn't make it." Ziryn looked at Sid with disgust then turned to Zayn. "That poor thing, what happened?" "Oh, he'll be fine. He just hates "all types of vehicles," Sid replied, making quotation marks in the air with his fingers. "Weak stomach, that one. You should see him on a boat." He smiled, remembering old times with his friend. "He's a good lad though. Ah hell, I'd better go find him. He couldn't have made it too far." He turned and started off in search of Carson.
"Hey Zayn! Let's have a look around," Ziryn called as she started down the dirt road. "I was thinking the same thing." The young man replied, jogging after her. "You coming Sam?" The brunette gear was about to reply before turning back to look at Baird, struggling with whatever he was working on underneath the pack-horse. She overheard Sid shout "Found him!" and glanced over to see the queasy gear wiping his mouth, walking slowly with his friend patting his back to where Ziryn stood waiting. "Nah, I'll stay here," she said. "Someone's gotta watch his ass." She added quickly gesturing to Baird with her thumb. Zayn smiled and nodded once, before turning away. "We'll just scout around for a bit!" he called over his shoulder.
(Author's Note) Zayn, Ziryn, Sid and Carson are my OC's.