Here be CHAPTER TWO of The SALAD Chronicles. I would like to thank the first two commenters for commenting... feels great to get reviews/comments, especially when one's a newbie here, rofl.
And now, the legal crap:
DISCLAIMER: The characters Syaoran, Sakura, Takashi, Chiharu, and Eriol are based LOOSELY off the characters of the same name in the anime/manga Cardcaptor Sakura, and are owned by their authors/artists, CLAMP. The story, plot, and original characters within this fanfiction are owned by me, and me only. (Pm first before using an original character, please).
And now, Chapter Two... I'm sure you're ready to get pass all this and head into the story.
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I put a pillow underneath Syaoran's head, trying to make him as comfortable as possible.
The wound is deep, but his bleeding seems to have stopped. I am glad for this... for a moment, I was afraid that he would...
No! Syaoran is going to be alright. I won't let it happen.
Hiiragizawa-kun put new handcuffs on the boy who had attacked Syaoran-kun, this time making sure to empty the boy's pockets. I put the dagger back on the dish... where Syaoran-kun had taken it from earlier, and bandaged the boy's wrist as best as I could.
I turned back to look at Syaoran-kun... I owed him my life twice, now.
Hiiragizawa-kun replaced his gun in its holster, standing guard over our captive, continuing the book he had started earlier. Yamazaki-kun and Chiharu-chan continued their earlier banter, as Hiiragaziwa-kun spoke:
"Best we leave soon.. probably tomorrow morning, while the rest of the teams are asleep. Hopefully Syaoran will be well enough to walk by then..."
I agreed with him, although I wished Syaoran-kun had more time to sleep... he strained himself too much already.
There was a sound of something being slammed down, coming from where Naoko-chan was manning our radio. She put down the phone in despair, covering her face with her hands.
"What's wrong Naoko-chan?"
"Mom's called me for the eleventh time this week! She's always so overprotective..."
"She's just worried about you..." I began to say, when she yelled:
"ELEVENTH TIME THIS WEEK! Why can't she just leave me alone?..."
I sweatdropped, moving back a few steps. Then she said:
"Sorry for yelling at you, Sakura-chan... just a little tired, that's all." she said this while rubbing her eyes. It was pretty late.
Relieved that Naoko had calmed down, I guess she brought up a good point: I wonder how big brother Toya was doing.. and Dad. Did they miss me? Were they worried?
I began thinking about the events that lead up to my signing up on this group, when I noticed Syaoran stirring behind me. As before, his eyes opened slowly, as if they hadn't in a thousand years. I went to him, telling him to relax as before...
Hiiragiziwa-kun coughed, beginning to speak:
"May I have your attention: Tomorrow morning we're heading out, taking the Silver passage through Greensbrook. Once we past that, we should be near the next safe-zone... over the hill." as he said this, he pointed towards a distant green hill on the other side of the ravine. A safe-zone was an area where fighting wasn't allowed... sorta like the "home base" in tag. Syaoran could rest up there.
"What about him?" Yamazaki was pointing at the captive. The boy glared back, as Yamazaki was responsible for the welt on his forehead earlier.
"What IS your problem anyway?" asked Chiharu, prodding the boy with the butt of her rifle. "You've commited two fouls so far: Stabbing Li-kun, and trying to kill Sakura-chan! Where's your team anyway?..."
The boy spat at her, saying as he did so: "Pheh! Team! I do what I want WHEN I want, WHEREVER I want! And besides..." his red eyes gleamed again, It was sorta... creepy. "... would you prefer that I kill you first, Chiharu-chan?" he said her name in a mocking voice, smiling devilishly.
Chiharu took a step back, eventually hiding behind Yamazaki comically. Who wouldn't, with those boy's fang-like teeth?
Hiiragizawa stepped forward, smiling as he put a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"With that kind of attitude, you should have no problem with staying out here for awhile..."
The boy attempted to bite his hand, but his razor-sharp teeth instead collided with his own shoulder. Hiiragizawa was too fast.
"Remember, first thing tomorrow morning. I'll take guard duty tonight."
He began to turn out a few lights, dimming one that he used for reading. Although he turned his back to the boy, one could tell that he was keeping constant alert.
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Daybreak. The sun hadn't even gone past the horizon line, and already we were at work.
I began to wrap up the tarp and poles that we used for our makeshift tent despite Sakura asking me to not strain myself. Although the pain still came, I was managing to cope with it...
I can't let myself become a burden.
Once we had cleared the area of any sign of us being there, the boy with the glasses, whose name I still can't seem to remember... moved the captive next to a rock. Placing a small bag of food in front of him, we were beginning to leave when Sakura spoke:
"We can't just leave him like this!"
The whole group turned to look at the captive, who was still bound with his wrists behind him.
"I mean... he did try to kill me, but still, what if he starves like that?"
"I don't need your help, witch!" the boy spat back, having heard Sakura.
The boy with the glasses went to Sakura, saying: "It's the best for all of us, Kinimoto-chan, he'll probably be out of those cuffs in a few minutes if we don't hurry."
Sakura reluctantly agreed, and we continued on. After all, Sakura never liked to leave people behind...
The pain... it shot through my whole body this time, coming from my stomach. It was still in the healing stages, and I guess forcing myself to walk wasn't helping it any. Despite this, I tried my best to not show any pain... I can't give our group an extra burden. In fact, it would've probably been better for them to go on without me, except...
I don't remember how I know, but Sakura would probably not allow it. She would stay by my side till either the other teams caught up with us, that crazy kid killed us, or our team changed their mind and came back.
And so, we continued to trudge on through the ravine towards Greensbrook.
From what I remember... Greensbrook is forested enough that it would slow anyone down, but at the same time, gave us cover from other groups. It would slow down anyone that might be following us.
All the better.
Before we could turn a corner, however, the boy with the glasses stopped us, edging across the wall, pulling out his gun as he did so. I noticed that it was no ordinary weapon... although a revolver, it was noticeably of larger size than an ordinary .45.
He looked around the rock, then signaled us forward, slowly, with his free left hand. We continued on, but then hid behind a couple of large rocks, where he gave further orders;
"Private Yamazaki, there may be another team over that next hedge over there. See if you can... disarm them."
"Time for shooting already? Ok... which reminds me, did I tell you guys about the time my pop..." he started, moving slowly out of the rock barrier and towards nearby shrubbery.
"Oh brother..." said Chiharu, rolling her eyes. She was used Yamazaki's stories, having known him since kindergarten. Nevertheless, she kept faithful watch on Yamazaki as he moved forward.
You know, when I think about it, Yamazaki never seems to lose that smile of his... he only does when he's thinking deeply on something, which is still a rarity. It's amazing how he can stay cheerful no matter what the situation is.
I slid back against the rock wall next to Sakura and Naoko, who I remembered was the girl who ran our communications. I noticed she was wearing earphones... probably listening to the radio.
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I crouched behind the small bushes nearby, and, as they taught us back in military school, began to line up the other team's guys on my sights. You know, I was about to tell them about the time my pop was able to take down five guys surrounding him at the same time without killing them, but I guess that sounds too much like a lie, chuckles.
Chiharu-chan seems to be a little more worried than usual. I wonder what's up? Maybe she's going through a few... girl-problems?
lightbulb
Ah! I heard something about girls going through something called "menopause" or something like that. Perhaps it's just her after all... I wonder what I could do to help? She always liked ice-cream... and the military chef DID teach us how to make them when I asked him during class. I guess I could make some when we reached the village.
And suama. Plenty of that too!
But anyway, where was I... oh yea, disarm the other team.
They haven't noticed us yet... which is good, since they probably would react badly. Good thing they're standing up, all I have to do is to hit their hands... or maybe the guns, then they wouldn't be hurt that badly.
Crosshairs in the center... steady the gun...feel the bullet fly like a dodgeball... right into their...
Blam
Blam
Blam
What... happened... first I heard something like cans bursting from being shaked too much.. and then... It's like when I let go of the swing back in kindergarten... and flew...
Why am I staring at.. the sky? I can't... move. My breath's coming in slower... but I can't feel anything. No pain, nothing seems to be brok...
"TAKASHI!"
That... voice... I think it's Chiharu's... she sounds like... she's screaming. I try to speak, but I...I can't. What's wrong with me?
Is she alright? Is...
I suddenly feel so tired...
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Damnit... they got Yamazaki. What was taking him so long to take the shot? And where did those bullets come from? At first, we thought it was coming from him... but as soon as I saw him fly, and, for the first time in awhile, saw him open his eyes... I knew he was hit.
Chiharu yelled when Yamazaki was struck, and she charged forward, to try and help him, as the boy with the glasses yelled: "Private Mihara, No!"
Chiharu screamed, after another volley of missles hit her as well. She lay down next to Yamazaki, her face on the side, facing Yamazaki's seemingly limp body. Blood slowly began to drain from the both of them.
The boy with the glasses drew his revolver, tossing out his hand experimentally and bringing it back. A round just barely missed him, a millisecond longer and he would have had a large hole in his hand. He jumped out, his gun forward, and, squinting, fired a single round.
There was the sound of someone yelping as he was hit, as the boy ducked behind the bushes again. Sakura was about to attend to Chiharu and Yamazaki, but the boy held her back, saying: "We don't know how many of them know our presence. Stay clear for a moment."
He looked out quickly from behind the bush, and, satisfied, began to walk over towards where he had shot. He motioned to Sakura that it was all clear, and she immediately ran to the two lying on the floor.
I walked over, ignoring the pain coming from my torso as I crouched in front of Yamazaki. It was indeed the first time he had his eyes fully open... for years. They were blue... but somewhat pale, and they seemed to be staring out into nothingness.
I knew the sign... either he was unconscious, or...
I assured Sakura that I was fine, and began to help her bandage the two, both of which seemed to be going into a coma. The bullet holes seemed to go over on the other side... there would be no need for surgery. However, we needed to stop the blood flow before they lost too much.
I opened Yamazaki's shirt, and, taking a few towels from Sakura's kit, began pushing it on the wounds. Luckily, the bullets didn't seem to hit anything vital...
Sakura was working fast, tying turnikits in order to seal some of the wounds. We were out in the open... sitting ducks. And Sakura had no training in stitches...
My hands were becoming soaked in blood... I took off Yamazaki's shirt, tying it around his chest. Sakura took out a few gauze pads to help close up the wounds...
It was then that I noticed that when I pushed on Yamazaki's chest, blood came from his lips...
Oh no.
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They can't die now. They can't!
What... What the hell was that guy thinking?!
I have to calm down. Chiharu's wounds seem to be less severe, only one bullet passed through her torso. I'm wrapping both wounds in gauze, and I can only pray... pray that they hold out until we reach the safe-zone.
Chiharu was still conscious. She was trying to speak... trying to talk to Yamazaki. I told her to stay calm, and that she and Yamazaki will be fine...
What I would give for the proper tools to close up these wounds. I'm doing the best I can... but the quartermaster wasn't packing the kits for these kind of wounds. The Rules prevented aiming at the torso, or head...
"Naoko-chan! Help us!" I yelled to Naoko, who had just taken off her earphones. She seemed at first shocked by the sight, but then ran over to us.
"Here... I need you to press down on this, I'm going to get the cauterizer..."
I rummaged through the first-aid kit. I know there was a cauterizer in here somewhere...somehow.
Ah Ha! I found it... it's small, looks kinda like a butane lighter... it's risky, and I wasn't really trained for this, but It's our only chance.
I lit a small flame on the cauterizer, and moved around the ring of an especially large hole on Chiharu's back. The nerves were severed, so I don't think she felt any pain. Within seconds, the blood flow stopped... temporarily.
I quickly closed that wound up with another gauze pad, slightly relieved that Chiharu was, for better, patched up. Syaoran caught my attention by shouting... something bad was happening to Yamazaki.
I went over, and was shocked enough to bring my hand to my mouth; a bullet had passed through Yamazaki's left lung. He was going to choke on his own blood.
There had to be a way to save him... anything.
Those... pale eyes. He stopped breathing. DAMNIT!
Acting quickly, I did the only thing I could do... I took a cork from one of our water bottles and stuck it into him. The hole in the lungs had to be closed, and there was nothing else I could use. I wrapped bandages around it, and, taking my last scrap of gauze, taped it over the other side of the hole. I patched up where the bullet had gone threw the skin, and, getting closer to Yamazaki, started CPR.
Syaoran couldn't do it... he still had that large wound in his chest, and he might exasperate himself if he tried. No one else was around. I had to do it, or Yamazaki would...
As I predicted, he started choking... coughing up a mouthful of blood.
For a moment, he lay still... I was afraid.. that I had failed to save a friend.
But then his breathing began to stabilize. He was drawing ragged gasps, slowly, in and out... we were afraid each new breath would be his last...
I felt pitiful at myself for only being able to do so much..., covering my face with a slightly bloodied hand. Right there, I almost lost two of my best friends...
No. I almost lost three of them. Including Syaoran-kun.
Hiiragizawa-kun came back, dragging a boy with shocking red hair with him. He was cradling a hand wrapped in bandages.
"This one..." he said, throwing the boy down, "... is responsible for firing at Mihara-chan and Yamazaki-kun."
Obviously defeated, the boy made no movement to try and escape or attack. He just sat there, staring at the ground... afraid to meet us face to face.
Part of me was angry... angry at him for nearly costing us our friend's lives. But, looking at this down-trodden face, another part of me felt... sorry... I don't know why, but I couldn't seem to hate him.
"Privat... I mean, Chiharu, and Takashi. Will they live?"
"Ye...yes. But we need to get to town..."
"We shall, today. First, however..."
He gestured to the boy slumped on the ground.
"What have you done? Why did you fire at our two comrades' vitals?"
The boy made no reply.
Suddenly, Syaoran cut in, pulling the boy up by his collar and yelling: "Answer us!"
The boy looked up into Syaoran's face, looking like he was about to say something:
But then, his composure began to crumble. First, tears slowly began welling in his eyes... and a minute later, he looked downward, tears falling rapidly as he wailed.
Syaoran and Hiiragizawa were both surprised and skeptic at this... and yet, for me... it seemed as if... maybe this boy didn't want to do what he did... I wonder if...
"SPEAK DAMNIT!" yelled Syaoran, kicking the boy over. He was about to strike again, when Hiiragizawa stopped him.
The boy sniffled, wiping his face with his sleeve. He mumbled at first... then said: "I...I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to..."
He continued:
"I DIDN'T WANT TO! They... they said that if I didn't follow they're ways, they'd save themselves the trouble and kill me."
"Who's 'they'?" asked Hiiragizawa.
As if in answer, there was the sound of a gun firing... everyone ducked instinctively... but the bullet hit its mark.
The bullet was aimed for the boy's forehead, but because Syaoran pushed him down in ducking, it instead hit the boy's left shoulder. He fell to the ground in pain as Hiiragizawa fired three shots in the direction of where the bullet came from. One of them hit it's mark, giving us a little time to think;
"The forest is close by, we can make a run for it..." said Hiiragizawa.
"But... Chiharu, and Yamazaki!" I said, motioning to the two on the ground floor.
He motioned to the boy, who was clutching his left shoulder... it was only grazed.
"You! If you want to survive for tomorrow... help Syaoran carry one of our comrades. Sakura, Naoko, you two get Chiharu. I'll keep them at bay."
We grabbed our respective people, trying our best to handle them gently as we ran towards the woods. Hiiragizawa fired another round, then began reloading his weapon, continuining to give us cover fire. I ducked as a bullet zinged too close to my head, and, having reached the forest, we jumped in.
I'm not sure how far we ran. The sounds of bullets being fired behind us hit the tree trunks instead, deflecting them. We fought through the underbrush , all the while trying to balance Chiharu and Yamazaki, who were still in bad shape.
Before long, we appeared on the other side of the forest... half-way up the green hill.
Upon reaching the top, however, I felt a sharp pain in my left leg... I noticed blood beginning to dribble from it, the pain increasing. I tripped on something, causing Chiharu to be dropped... in the tumble that occurred, Naoko, an unconscious Chiharu, and I rolled down the hill. The other three followed after us.
We stopped, my face touching a rocky floor, cold and hard, in contrast to the grassy hill.
I don't know what hurt more... the pain in my leg, or slamming my face on the cobblestone floor of the village.
The next thing I realized is that hands... thick, elder ones of age... were carrying me into the town... maybe it was the impact, but something caused me to lose consciousness... everything was beginning to get fuzzy...
A great white light...
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Author's Notes: So, there be Chapter 2. How was it? Any comments, concerns? Ask via PM or the review section. For those of you who made it this far, I hope you enjoyed it.