This is my first fanfiction so please go easy on it. If you like the story I'll keep chapters coming. If not keep it to yourself, please don't hate on it. If you find any errors, whether it be spelling, grammar or anything else please just let me know. I've been reading many of the fanfictions on this site but I just wanted to add my own to them.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Underland Chronicles or any of the characters, save the ones that I will be adding. Both the Underland Chronicles and the characters within belong to Suzanne Collins.
-Ssi
Luxa's blood splattered against Gregor's shirt as her stitches tore immediately when she sat up in the bed. Gregor moved as fast as he could to grab her shoulders and push her back into a laying position.
Luxa looked around frantically, "Where am I?" She asked in a short breath.
"Luxa stay calm, you were stabbed and this was the only place I could take you. The palace was overrun and we didn't know what to do," Gregor tried to explain what happened as Mrs. Cormaci and George burst into the room.
Luxa looked up at Gregor with a hint of anger in her eyes, "Where am I?" She asked again louder.
"The Overland," Gregor said softly, "I'm sorry but it was the only place to keep you safe."
Luxa began to struggle even more trying to get out of Gregor's grip but in trying the wound in her side just bleed more. "Unhand me!" She yelled, waking up Hazard on the other bed.
"Please Luxa stop moving, you ripped your stitches already, you're just hurting yourself more," Gregor pleaded with her.
For the first time Luxa seemed to understand what he was saying and looked down at herself. The blood still pumped out of her. Hazard was by her side by now holding her hand.
George finally, after taking in what he was looking at spoke up. "I'll call 911, someone put something over that to slow the bleeding."
"No!" Gregor shouted out before he had finished.
"What do you mean no? She needs medical attention right now!" George said bewildered.
Gregor looked up at his uncle not knowing how to explain the question but to his rescue Mrs. Cormaci stepped in. "She doesn't exactly have insurance and she nor us can take the questions that would come up if we called anyone."
George looked around like he was trying to both understand the situation and think of a way out of it. He looked down at Gregor as he continued to sit next to the strange girl. "Cover that up and slow the blood, don't even think about locking the door," he finished saying to Mrs. Cormaci before sprinting out of it himself.
"Where is he going?" Luxa asked looking up at Gregor.
"I have no idea Luxa," Gregor responded while he tried to cover up her wound with his hands.
"Luxa, I am so happy you have not lost your light," Hazard said gripping her hand.
"By the looks of it, I am out of the boiling oil and in the fire now," Luxa said as the initial burst of adrenaline began to fade.
"Don't say that," Gregor said and he finished covering up her side and abdomen. "You're too stubborn to die and we both know that."
Luxa gave him a small smile and laid her hand on top of Gregor's wrist. Luxa closed her eyes and laid her head back against the pillow. Taking a big gulp Luxa's body went limp but her breathing remained constant meaning she had just gone unconscious again.
For around a minute everyone stayed still in silence, completely unsure of what to do. Gregor started to overthink everything that was happening and began to breathe heavier and heavier as the moments passed by. Just when Gregor thought he wouldn't be able to hold it together any longer George ran back into the room carrying a big first aid case. Not like a suitcase or anything like that, this was a heavy first aid bag that was dark green with a red + on it.
"Everyone out except Gregor, don't crowd her," George said and he leaned over behind Gregor and started to rummage through his bag.
"I cannot leave her!" Hazard responded immediately glaring at the newcomer.
"Please, Hazard, she needs space and you really shouldn't see this," Gregor tried to calm him. Hazard glared at him for a few moments trying to decide whether or not to trust him on the matter. Apparently he ended up trusting Gregor because he stood up and followed Mrs. Cormaci out of the room. Mrs. Cormaci turned and closed the door behind them leaving Gregor and George alone in the room with Luxa.
"Remove that," George pointed at the balled up fabric over Luxa's wound, "and put these on." George handed Gregor white, rubber gloves. Gregor looked down at his blood soaked hands, thinking the gloves may be useless but put them on anyways. "Gregor, I don't ask for much but this is too much, the second she's stable you are going to tell me everything, understood?"
Gregor nodded in understanding as he put on the gloves and removed everything in front of the wound revealing the jagged stab wound. George started to remove the stitches that had already been torn off. When the wound was free of all stitched George grabbed a glass of water from off the bed stand and poured it around the wound cleaning the skin without getting any of it in the wound.
George grabbed a smaller kit from his bag and opened it revealing multiple needles and thread. Expertly he slipped the thread into the needle and tied it into place, before he began to sow the wound back shut.
"This isn't going to work," George said as he continued to sow the stitches without breaking a sweat. "She's lost too much blood Gregor; we're still going to have to get her to a hospital."
"No, we can't," Gregor exclaimed, "Isn't there anything else we can do?"
"Nothing short of a blood transfusion which would be risky anyways, besides unless you happen to know her blood type you'd likely kill her trying," George explained bluntly.
"The boy in the other room, Hazard, is her cousin can't he give her blood?" Gregor asked trying to think of anything.
George sighed, "even if they were twins there would still be a possibility that they aren't the same blood type."
Gregor thought for a moment before getting another idea, "wait, I'm O negative, that means I'm a universal donor, right?"
George looked at Gregor, "You're 100% sure you're O negative?"
"Yeah, we had to test it before the last school year. I remember I had O negative blood, and I remember someone saying that was universal donor." Gregor said starting to feel hopeful.
"Then yeah that would be compatible but are you sure you want to do that?" George said still sounding a bit unsure.
"Yes," Gregor said in a heartbeat as he pulled back his sleeve.
George just stared at Gregor. "The girl in that photo?" George asked. "This is her, isn't it?"
Gregor nodded quickly, to which George responded by exhaling deeply. Reaching back into his bag George pulled out a couple of rolled up tubes and began to untangle them. "If you start feeling nauseous at all tell me immediately. You're going to have to hold this in yourself." George said as he grabbed Gregor's arm and inserted the needle, at the end of one of the tubes, into his arm. Gregor stiffened up and held the needle in place while trying to stay as still as he could.
The blood started to leave Gregor and travel through the tube almost immediately making him feel a little uneasy. Gregor had been injured multiple times now and had bleed quite profusely more than once but this felt much different. Gregor watched as he voluntarily gave the blood from his body. A couple drops of his blood escaped from the end of the other needle before George inserted the needle into Luxa's arm and held it in place.
"Now as hard as it is, we just have to wait," George said calmly. "So what's her name?"
"Her name is Luxa," Gregor answered.
"And, Luxa is the reason you and your parents and siblings moved to Virginia to live with me?" He asked.
Gregor thought for a moment, "It's a little more complex than that but yeah she was a big part of it. Can I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead" George responded.
"Where did you learn how to do all of this?"
"Your dad never told you?" George asked.
"Apparently not, I didn't know you knew any special first aid or anything."
"While your father was learning to become a teacher, I was joining the military. I was supposed to be a field medic and I trained for a couple of years but when your grandfather passed away I took a leave to attend his funeral. After learning he gave me the farm, I just kind of stayed on leave until I was dismissed from the service. I never saw any actual action but I learned a lot and I still keep my first aid kit in my car." George finished his story, "just in case I needed it."
"You have no idea how happy I am for that. Really." Gregor said simply. "If it wasn't for you I don't think we would've been able to stop the bleeding and I know for a fact we wouldn't be able to do this," he motioned his head towards the red tubes. "Thank you."
"Eh, what's family for, if not patching up friends of other family members," George said sarcastically. "Besides, you're still going to owe me that explanation."
"I promise I'll explain everything." Gregor said.
"Good, that should be enough," George said as he pulled the needle out of Luxa's arm and wrapped some medical tape around it. Gregor followed his uncle's example and pulled the needle out of his own arm. After taping a bandage pad over Luxa's main wound George turned to Gregor and taped up his arm so it wouldn't bleed anymore. "Now let me take a look at that," George pointed at Gregor's other arm.
Gregor looked over to where his uncle was pointed and saw two thin lines of blood on his shirt that was sticking to him. "Oh, I think I may have ripped my own stitches," Gregor slightly laughed as he realized that he hadn't felt them rip when he tried to restrain Luxa earlier. Gregor pulled his shirt off over his head and turned so George could get a good look at the three scratches on his bicep.
"Well that bottom one is actually stitched really well, but is that sowing string?" George asked.
"Yeah, it's all I had at the time." Gregor said.
"You stitched that yourself?" George asked as he pulled the other stiches out, "not bad at all, however I'm still going to change those out as well to make sure this doesn't get infected."
"By all means," Gregor smiled, "Thank you."
George grunted in response as he began to stitch up the top cut in Gregor's bicep.
"So where would you like me to start this story?" Gregor asked.
"How about the day you met this young lady." George suggested.
Gregor chuckled, "This may take a bit."
Chapter 15 everyone. I'll admit it's a little short and not too much happens but what does happen is fairly important and I'll come back to some of these parts as need be. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and if you didn't by all means let me know. I hope all of you enjoyed Christmas and all other Holidays that you may have celebrated other than Christmas. For now I'm passed all the stuff that hit the fan so i should be updating these chapters more frequently now. As always please rate and review. Any and all feedback is welcomed.
-Ssi
