I'm taking part in Febuwhump, hoping to post each day one-shots based on a prompt. These are going to be a lot of hurt, hopefully, a bunch of comfort, and of course, angst. My favourite!
To stop myself from writing way too much for each prompt, I am limiting myself to no more than 1k words each prompt. I almost broke that rule for this one
Feb 1st - Head Wound
I felt the sharp stabs of the rocks under me first, and then a ringing in my ears.
Slowly, my senses came back, my eyes opened, looking up at the night sky. It was almost pretty. We were far enough out that I could see the stars, the trees arranged around me in a circle, their branches framing the lights blinking down at me.
I considered rolling off of the rocks but even attempting to lift my fingers felt like more effort than I had right now. Something in the back of my mind was telling me I had to get up. There was something I was meant to be doing. But, instead, I laid and stared up at the stars.
The ringing was fading, and it became someone yelling.
"Rose!"
They sounded so distant but the desperation in their voice was clear. I couldn't respond, when I tried to form a word, only a small garble sound came out. It may have been a whine, I wasn't sure.
"Rose! Where are you!"
They were closer. He was. Dimitri.
I tried to remember what had happened. How did I end up on the ground in the middle of a forest? As with the rest of my body, my mind was sluggish, the memory of the events leading up to now clouded in a haze.
I remember we were driving with Lissa and Christian, one of the few trips they took together so Dimitri and I were able to work together. I maintained my guardian mask throughout, though I was excited to be near him all day.
Something fell onto the road and we had to swerve. There was so many Strigoi emerging from the trees. There were cars behind us so we couldn't go back the way we came, and we couldn't go forward. The only option was to run.
Dimitri led and I covered the back. There were too many.
Guardians were fighting, trying to give us time to run and hide Lissa, but some got through them. There were three other guardians with us, Royal Guards. I could trust them to take care of Lissa.
I told them to keep going, eyes catching Dimitri's for a second before I turned and cut off the two Strigoi chasing us. I surprised one and managed to get my stake into his chest before he could react, falling forgotten to the ground with a cut-off scream as I focused on the second one.
I didn't bother looking back to make sure the others got away, I knew Dimitri would have kept going. He understood. They come first.
What I thought was going to be just one, turned into two. I didn't have the element of surprise on my side anymore. I killed one but was left injured and struggling for the last one. Their fist flew towards me and I didn't duck in time.
It felt like a hammer, hitting me on the side of my face and I fell. The forest fall dipped down, the force of the hit knocked me off balance and I rolled down the side of the steep hill, tumbling through the leaves until I impacted something hard.
And then nothing.
Willing strength into my arms, I reached up, touching the side of my face. Pain exploded from my temple, fingers feeling slick. Whatever I hit, I did so with my head.
The sounds of feet trudging through the leaves got louder.
I licked my lips, trying to get my dry mouth to moisten so I could make a sound that would travel. It was still too dark, no one would see me this far down. My words came out as broken sounds, barely louder than the crickets.
"Roza!"
If I couldn't make a sound with my voice, I would have to get his attention some other way. I wrapped my fingers around a rock, feeling it slip, I dug my fingers into the sharp edges to keep ahold of it. I brought it down on another rock, the resounding clack of it colliding echoed through the quiet night. It wasn't as loud as I wanted it but it was enough.
"Wait. Do you hear that?"
I heard someone respond to Dimitri and then the sound of running. Suddenly a bright light was pointed down the hill, making me squeeze my eyes shut and groan.
"Oh god. Roza. She's here!" Dimitri yelled, then the sound of feet dragging through the leaves until he was beside me, dropping to his knees. His hands hovered over me, "Roza, I need you to open your eyes, okay?"
I cracked my eyes open, wincing against the light in his hand. With a small sound, he lowered it. His fingers lightly curled around my chin, tilting my head to the side. My vision swamped and stomach turned.
Dimitri cursed under his breath. "I need a medic bag. Now." He ordered roughly, dropping to a gentle tone as he brushed strands of hair from my face. "It's okay, Roza. You're going to be okay."
I must be in pretty bad shape if Dimitri was acting like this. We both tended to wave off most injuries, understanding that we needed to keep moving. But for him to be speaking like that, to be showing his emotions so obviously, then I didn't look good.
"Li–ssa?" My voice was broken and raspy.
"She's fine. Both she and Christian are on their way back to Court." His hand laid over mine, thumb rubbing the skin of my wrist, "You gave us the time to get away."
"Good." My eyes started to feel heavy, drooping.
"No. Stay awake, don't go to sleep. Help is coming."
I tried to nod back, regretting the motion. "W–ill do, comrade."
Just as he said, more footsteps could be heard, lights shining through the trees.
"I'll be fine," I mumbled, reaching again for my forehead only for Dimitri's fingers to catch mine, squeezing them.
"You will be."
