Chapter 7

It was a long hike up to the rest of the team, and luckily, they were waiting at the edge to help Sonny and Jason. The two men would do anything for their team and push through any pain or aching muscles as they took extra caution to keep as even as possible to eliminate any extra jostling, and by the time they made it to the top, they were spent. Trent and Brock were right there to grab Clay from Sonny and bring him towards the middle of the makeshift camp to assess his wounds as they could smell the blood before they saw their teammates.

"Brock, Sonny, come here and hold these lights for me; I need to find the source of the blood." Trent all but barked out as he was panicking at the amount of blood and Clay's lack of response as he was moved from person to person and placed on the ground.

Ray went to grab Liz from Jason and bring her towards Trent but a little off to the side to keep some distance between them to allow the members' free movements. Jason followed behind him, grabbing his flashlight and Rays from his belt as he sat beside him. Liz had some blood on her shirt, but it was not overly large and did not seem to grow in size; Jason commented that it was the side pushed up against Clay as she helped him, so they chalked it up to be transferred blood for now. A mistake they would soon regret. As Clay had more blood, he was the priority for Trent as he needed to confirm the bleeding was stopped or they would lose him. Trent moved his medical pack between Clay and Liz; knowing Jason was more adverse to medical training than others on the team, he would be able to assess Liz and hopefully stabilize her, depending on her wounds.

Trent lifted Clay's shirt, noted a few minor scraps and bruises but nothing too deep on his upper chest, and chalked it up to the possibility of moving through the forest or related to how they got out of the building, as they didn't know any details yet for what went down after they left. Still, they had some theories as they heard an extra explosion and gunfire. As Trent scanned Clay's torso, he noted the two gunshot wounds under bandaging, and as he lifted a corner, he saw no active bleeding and the remanence of quick clot around the wound and on the gauze. He then went to Clay's thigh, where the white bandaging was peeking through the cut fabric, noticed the same wound packing, and relaxed a little, knowing there was no blood loss and the crimson stains were old. Trent then poked and prodded Clay's legs, arms, chest and ribcage and shoulders, looking for sprains or broken bones and was relieved he came up short, just some tender ribs. As he moved up Clay's head, he saw a large gash on the back of his head below where his helmet sits, and he then checked his pupils. Sluggish and dilated. Crap, Trent internalized this could be from a concussion or skull fracture, and there was nothing he could do about that in the field. Trent then started an IV to hydrate Clay, a blood transfusion to replenish his tank and provided Clay with much-needed pain relief as he injected him in his non-injured thigh with one of the morphine injectors. Then he went to the back of his head and started to clean the wound and assess the bleeding and if stitches were needed. After he performed 12 stitches and wrapped the injury, he was satisfied Clay would be stable until the helo arrived and the trip to the hospital.

"Ray, how far out is exfil?" Trent mumbled as he moved around Clay.

"Ten mikes out," Ray replied.

"Sonny, I need you to hold his shoulders down; Brock, get his legs. I'm going to try to wake him up with pain stimulation, and I would like to avoid him swinging at me again." Trent noted as he positioned himself beside Clay to rub his sternum with his knucks.

Just as Clay started to respond and grunt in pain, Jason yelled at Trent.

Ray had laid Liz down, and he could not take his eyes off her as he took in her situation. He roamed down her body and winced as he took in all her injuries. Such a small strong frame should not be this coloured in bruises and blood; she did not deserve to bear these war wounds and live with the scars. She was too strong inside and out to be this broken. Jason handed the lights to Ray and got to work instantly. He was so gentle as he assessed her body for any hidden injuries; he was too scared to cause her more pain, and neither of them could take it. Jason started at her legs and moved his way up, looking for anything broken, and after coming up clear, he went to her arms as he avoided her already set shoulder. He made sure her arm and hand were pink, and there was proper circulation from the set, but something still looked off along the posture on her left side, like she was trying to curl into herself for protection as she lay unconscious and vulnerable. After he assessed her arms were clear otherwise, he took note of her temple and cleaned the wound by applying some butterfly bandages as it was a long gash but not overly deep. While doing this, he kept looking at her chest to ensure he could still the rise and fall of her slow breathing. Jason then moved slowly to her neck and let out a string of curses as his fists clenched out of anger, and he closed his eyes for a moment to collect himself until Ray put a reassuring hand on him. All the while, Jason was relaying the injuries to Trent.

"Those bastards strangled her; how close to death was she, and I was not there!" Jason mumbled with a tone Ray knew too well as Jason was beating himself up inside for leaving them.

"It is not your fault we had to leave, and from what we knew, they were ok and going to be right behind us. We didn't know. She is strong and showed up when needed to get them to us the best she could. We brought them both home alive, Jase. We must focus on that. We have them home safe." Ray reassured him.

All Jason could do was nod and let out a low deep growl as he reached back to her neck to ensure there were no other wounds, swelling or obstruction to her breathing. He glanced down towards her chest again for that tiny sliver of reassurance of her breath and instantly paled.

"TRENT! Get over here now. She's not breathing." Jason barked.

Trent, Brock and Sonny's heads snapped up and stared toward Jason and Ray as Clay slowly fluttered his eyes and winced at the movement and loud noise. Trent was on his feet in no time, lunging towards Liz, as Jason went to remove her vest and helmet entirely and wait for instructions.

"Brock, I need my bag closer; if I'm correct with what Jason said, I may need to intubate her. Sonny, stay with Clay and keep him calm and still if he fully comes around." Tent ordered.

Brock slipped over with the bag and another light to help and rested along her head to help provide aid in any way he could while keeping an eye on their surroundings and the HVT that was still tied down a few feet away.

Trent cut away Liz's shirt, and they all stilled and paled, realizing there was more hidden beneath the surface. Liz's left side was covered in dark purple bruises, and upon examination, Trent assessed she had some cracked ribs; one for sure was fractured and shifted, and that was probably the result of her lack of breathing as it had moved up to puncture her lung.

"She was stabbed? Why didn't she say something when we got to her that it was her blood when Sonny grumbled a comment about the amount on them both when he picked up Clay." Jason questioned as he needed to know why she was hiding how bad she was as she stood and talked with them just moments before he set her shoulder.

"Maybe she didn't know? Pebbles is not one to hide an injury after Trent has called her out way too many times. Or adrenaline? They managed to get from the compound to the clearing with all these wounds. The only thing I can see possible is adrenaline and stubbornness, and we all know they both have more than enough of that." Brock tried to help ease Jason's questions and shifty eyes.

Trent's attention landed on her chest, and with an ear against her skin, he listened as he held up his finger to signal the team to be quiet.

Trent lifted his head and looked towards his bag, "Her left lung is collapsed, I believe, but her right side sounds normal, just laboured trying to do all the work. I don't think the stab wounds made it through her diaphragm into her chest cavity." He put out his arm and called for the materials needed to insert a chest tube to let the air out and inflate her lung.

As he performed this procedure and taped the tube, he visually assessed the knife wounds more carefully to form a plan to clean and stitch her up. Clay finally came too and struggled to get up before he realized Sonny was holding him down and cooing in his ear to keep him still and relaxed.

"What happened? Where is she? Did we get the tango? He was not alone!" Clay blinked at Sonny in a panic as his eyes focused on his face noting the frown lines.

"Hey, Lil buddy, she is over there with Trent fixing her up. She's alive just gave us a little scare." Sonny informed him as he lightened up his grip on Clay. "You guys got the tangos, and no more came, so we are clear. But we need you to stay here and stay down as you get your tank refill, and we can't risk any of your sieve holes opening up."

"I heard her scream, but I could not get up." Clay winced from the pain and memory of being pulled into darkness as he heard her cry. He went under the darkness, which was the last thing he heard or remembered; at that moment, if he survived, all he could think was that he was scared to wake up to hear she was gone.

"I need to intubate her; that swelling is too extensive; we can't risk anything happening on the helo as her airway is severely bruised," Trent called out, cutting off Sonny's reply to Clay's broken-hearted moment to his best friend as he asked for the intubation tube and bag as he switched places with Brock.

"Helo is one mike out." Blackburn came in over coms as Ray provided a sitrep knowing Jason was in no state as he was already shutting off, knowing his children were knocking at death's door and blaming himself and everyone else involved in this mission.

"Ok, everyone, pack up; Sonny, you get Clay but keep pressure off that leg. Trent, can Liz be moved?" Ray instructed.

Trent nodded, looking up at Jason. "Yes, but she has to be carried the same way Jason brought her up, and I will need to keep pumping her bag."

As the helo arrived, everyone loaded in and set up for an uneasy ride toward the medical staff and team doctor waiting at the C17 to help transport them back to VA Beach. Trent insisted they needed to be home for the proper care and were stable enough to make the flight. He was not satisfied with any of the hospitals and care staff around the area providing appropriate aid to their wounded family. If each member of Bravo and their support team took rotation on the bag to keep Liz breathing it would be a long and exhausting flight but possible.