Blood on Tea's Hands.
As the door slowly opened, Tea's shadow spilled onto the floor. Crooked beams of the sun leaked through the cracks in the wooden ceiling.
"At least we will have light," Tea said as she took cautious steps into the house.
"Yeah, but as soon as it rains you can kiss dryness goodbye," Joey added.
Joey closed the door behind them.
"Uhh, Joey, what are you doing?" Tea asked as he locked them in.
"Tea, this is where we've got to stay until these guys get better. They need shade and water," Joey stated as he looked around "and one outa two ain't bad."
"Yeah, but one out of two wont keep them alive." Tea looked around. "Joey we have to leave. We have to find a better place...with shade AND water AND possibly MEDICAL SUPPLIES." Tea headed for the door.
"Tea, look at Yugi," he stated.
Tea stopped in her tracks. Joey stared at her intently and asked her again. But she refused. She lowered her head in an attempt to do what he asked, but she could not bring herself to open her eyes. She knew the very sight of Yugi's condition was enough to break her in half.
"I can't," Tea replied.
"Tea," Joey gently voiced "look at Yami."
"I..."
"Tea, look at me," he said pulling her close. "I'm exhausted Tea. If you go out there, I can be behind ya like I wanna be. We need you to have faith in us. Faith in Yami's and Yugi's will to live...and my strength."
Tea slowly glanced at Joey and the figure upon his back. Joey's shirt was soaked with Pharaoh's blood. It finally hit her.
"Now, the first thing we have to do is stop the bleeding," Joey said calmly as he positioned Yami's body onto the ground. "Here, lay Yugi down. We've got to search this place for blankets, bandages, whatever you can find that might help."
"Okay, Joey," Tea muttered.
The two placed Yami and Yugi side by side on the cold hardwood floor.
Alone. The two pale figures were silent and still, as if imagining the sweetest dream. Yugi curled up in a ball—frozen into the position Tea carried him in, and Yami's body was spread across the ground, legs apart and one hand on his chest. It was true. Yami was in a far worse condition, but Yami would never put himself before Yugi's care. His deep purple eyes slowly opened—a strong contrast to the red blood on his face. He turned an eye to his beloved friend.
"I'm...sorry," Yami hoarsely whispered.
He coughed and tightly clenched his chest. Simply breathing was becoming too hard. Yami slowly moved his arm across the splintered floor. The small movement aggravated Yami's wounds and caused him to squint in pain. It also caused his new heart to beat faster...which meant more blood, which meant less time. He knew he was not doing well. The blood pouring from a wound in his side began to soak the wooden boards beneath him. But Yami's mind was focused on the condition of his dearest friend.
"Yugi," he whispered.
It was amazing how Yami's voice could become so gentle. Yami's hand had finally reached Yugi's left shoulder. Yugi was warm. It was the first time Yami was able to touch him with his own hands. Yami closed his eyes.
The words "I will protect you," slowly drifted off Yami's tongue as his once again drifted into the subconscious.
"Yugi's wounds, though very painful, will not kill him." Yami thought.
Yami's wounds, however, were deep and with ever fleeting second he got worse. Yami was bleeding from his very heart.
"Joey!" Tea yelled. "Joey I found something!"
Tea had been searching the parameter of the house while Joey explored what seemed to be a small bed rest area. He managed to find a bunch of old wool blankets. Just as Joey reached the center of the house, where Yugi and Yami laid, Tea came crashing in.
"Look what I found!" Tea beamed as she held up a large black leather bag with both arms.
It was a large first aid kit. It was filled with all sorts of medicines, syringes, bandages, and even a pocket medical book. Tea found it in the storage shed at the back of the house.
"Was there anything else back there?" Joey wondered. "You know, like water or food?"
"I don't know. I came here as soon as I found this thing. We don't have much time. C'mon, we've got to treat Yami."
Joey was amazed at the strength and courage just a little black bag had given Tea. She was a pillar of strength... "I hope she's a Dr. Quinn too," Joey thought.
Tea brought the bag close to Yami who was staring aimlessly at the ceiling with one hand on Yugi. His chest rose deeply with every breath, as every breath was labored and distressed. The sight of Yami's purple eyes flashing in the light almost brought tears to her eyes.
"Yami!" She ran toward his collapsed body and plopped down onto his knees next to his head.
"Tea?" Yami spoke. His voice rippled the very fabric or the air. Her presence, however, brought him no comfort, for Yami could sense the deep pain in her mind. He tried to reach out to her but his entire body shuddered from the very thought of movement. He winced as she then laid a hand on his chest. The blood stained her hand.
"Joey help me, we have to lift him onto a table." Tea demanded.
Joey slipped his hands under Yami back and proceeded to lift his upper half.
The pain was unimaginable. Yami growled out in anger. Simply lying still was a pain, but moving was out of the question.
"I know this hurts buddy. Were gonna make you better, but you gotta help me. Can you try in stand up?" Joey questioned.
"I...c-can't. My body...I can't walk." Yami panted. "Please, you've got to help Yugi first. Make sure that he's okay."
"Yugi will be fine. Trust me, we need to get you fixed up first. You're in a much worse condition and Yugi needs you there to support him when he's better," Joey declared. "Now, we need to get you onto this table." Joey pointed at a large brown dinner table not more than three feet away, but to Yami it might as well have been 1000 miles. "Can you do it?"
"I...I will try, Joey. That's all I can do...Arghghh!" Yami shuddered in pain, grasping his heart once again.
"Hurry!" Yami demanded.
"Joey, hurry!" Tea screamed.
"Let's go Yami...NOW!" Joey affirmed. And with the rest of his strength he pulled Yami upright. Yami tried his hardest to steady himself and walk over to the table, but his legs quickly buckled under his weight. With his last might Yami forced his body to fall towards the table where Joey caught him and lifted him.
"Hold his neck, Tea," Joey stated.
Yami winced and coughed loudly. Tea continued to hold his neck and felt the warm substance bucketing out of a wound on his scalp.
"He's breathing too hard, Joey," Tea said. "And he's bleeding from all over the place. What do we do?"
"Hey, I'm no doctor. Look in the book," Joey answered.
Tea wiped the blood of her hands and went into the bag. She pulled out a medium-sized paperback with the title: The New Haven Classic Medical Emergency Manifesto for PhD's. Tea became frightened. She wasn't a PhD...what could she do if she couldn't understand what the book was saying?
Joey stretched Yami's body out upon the table so that Tea could treat him, but it was too late. Yami had finally gone into shock. His bright crimson eyes were now tightly shut and his body went cold. His teeth were tightly clenched and he was freezing to the touch. He was hyperventilating.
"What do we do!!?" Joey yelled. "How do we make him stop?"
"Yami...Yami! Please, you've got to breath slowly. I'm gonna find a way to help you," Tea yelped.
Tea flipped to the Medical Trauma section of the book and began reading. Joey attended to Yami while he struggled to breathe.
"It says here that first we have to calm the victim down and keep the heart rate as minimal as possible. Then we have to stop the bleeding. After that, we have to raise his body temperature and get him oxygen, then we have to disinfect the wounds and wrap him up and keep him warm," Tea said pointing the small text in the book.
"I can't even get him to calm down Tea, how are we gonna do all that?!"
Yami was in a cold sweat. His heart was pounding. Every time Joey removed his hand from his chest, Yami grasped his heart again. Yami was anemic. He had lost more blood than there was to spare. His blood pressure had declined to fatal levels and his heart was palpitating.
"How are we gonna save him, Tea!?" Joey panicked.
"Faith," Yugi said.
He had awakened.
"I have faith that Yami will protect me."
Whenever will the sun shine for Yami and Yugi? Find out soon.