For prompt 8: No anaesthesia

Thanks to Cym and guelphbeegirl for looking this over and discussing what could somewhat realistically be in the kit! xD Any remaining mistakes are my own.


Alex slowly lifted his head over the edge of the ravine and looked around. A fresh smell of damp soil and moss filled his nose. The sun hadn't risen enough to penetrate the thick canopy, leaving the dew to soak through his trouser legs as he knelt.

Nothing moved between the dark oaks.

A crow cawed down a warning from a tree to his right, and another bird answered further away. They fell silent when Alex stayed frozen in place. A mosquito buzzed at his ear, and he repressed the reflex to swat it away.

Still nothing.

He waited for a few more minutes before crawling back down into the ravine to sit beside his friend.

"Anything?" Tom whispered.

Alex shook his head.

"I think they've given up," he whispered back. "But it's best we stay here for a little longer."

Tom nodded. He looked pale, his face plastered in sweat and dirt from trekking through the forest. After two days of being hunted through the wilderness like foxes during a battue, they were both beyond exhausted. Alex glanced at his friend's shirt; the right sleeve had a large brown stain.

"We need to take care of your wound."

Tom clutched his arm and grimaced.

"Can't we just … leave it?" Tom asked. He refused to meet Alex' gaze.

"It will get infected."

"It isn't that bad! Barely hurts anymore." Tom's voice got higher at the end, and he closed his eyes, clearly trying to suppress the light tremors wracking his body.

"Tom," Alex said, trying to sound reassuring. "We have the supplies now. We need to clean it."

Tom grimaced but nodded. The tall beech trees growing on the slope dwarfed him as he sat poking holes in the dirt with a twig. His torn school uniform and matted hair made it look like he had challenged a bear to a fistfight and lost.

They waited for it to get lighter, then they climbed the last few meters down to the stream that flowed at the bottom of the ravine and settled on the small riverbank, the only plain ground in the area. Alex packed out the first aid kit he had stolen from a small empty skiing hut earlier that morning. The hunting party had nearly caught them because of that stunt, but it had been necessary.

The first aid kit was well equipped with everything still sealed in their original packages. There was even a proper suture kit. A real lifesaver when stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Maybe they still had a little luck left. Alex checked the labels and grimaced. Or maybe not.

"What is it?" Tom asked, worried. They were no longer whispering to each other but still kept their voices low, just in case.

"It's more than five years old."

"So? It's not like I'm going to eat the gauze."

Alex shook his head. "It means it might not be sterile."

Tom still looked at him blankly. "It can't have kids?"

Alex gave him a look.

"If I use this, the wound might get infected."

Tom's face fell as he caught on. "And if you don't, it will anyway." Tom tried to hide it, but Alex could see the fear in his eyes.

"Is there nothing else you can do?"

Alex searched the kit again and found a small flask with 70% alcohol. "We can try to disinfect the wound with this. We'll have to use the stream to get the dirt out first though. It's not completely safe, but running water is better than nothing …" Alex bit his lip.

"What is it?"

"I have to sew it."

Tom's eyes went wide. "What?"

"It's too wide. It needs at least a few stitches." Alex held up the small suturing kit that had been in the box. "It might not be completely sterile, even after we use the alcohol, but it'll have to do until we can get back to the village and get you to a hospital."

Tom eyed the kit. "What about the pain killers?"

Alex didn't have much hope but checked the packages anyway. "Sorry. Went bad more than a year ago. They really should take better care of keeping their kits up to date."

"Can't I try them anyway?" Tom begged. "Like with the kit. Maybe they'll work anyway." He sounded young at that moment, and Alex' mood soured even further. His friend didn't deserve this. To be dragged into Alex's mess, to get hurt on Alex' watch … It wasn't fair.

Tom looked so hopeful. Alex felt bad for extinguishing it.

"Best case scenario: they won't work. Worst case: you'll get sick, and it will be even worse than if we had let the wound fester."

Tom got impossibly paler and looked away. Alex wasn't sure what to do.

"Ian taught me how to properly stitch a wound. I'll be quick, promise."

Tom gave him a rueful look. "Ian sure taught you a lot."

"Yeah."

They stayed silent after that. Alex washed his hands in the relatively clean water from the stream, before unwrapping Tom's tie from his arm, so Alex could rinse the wound as well.

He carefully prepared the threads and needle from the suture kit under Tom's nervous gaze. His friend's breathing picked up a little.

After Alex finished, he sat down beside Tom and gently turned the hurt arm, so the wound was in easy reach.

"Look away and take five deep breaths," Alex said quietly.

Tom listened and some of the tension left him.

"Good. Keep it up and start counting your breaths out loud."

Tom sent him an incredulous look over his shoulder, then quickly looked away when he caught sight of the sickle-shaped needle in Alex' hand. Tom started hesitantly counting out loud while Alex pushed the needle through. Alex ignored the small hitches of breath every time he touched the skin around the wound and acted like he didn't see Tom discretely rubbing his eyes with his good arm.

"Nearly done," Alex said when he tied off the third stitch with a surgeon's knot. "Just one more."

"That's not nearly done!" Tom hissed, and Alex could hear him gritting his teeth.

"Keep counting," Alex ordered. He couldn't take his eyes off his work, but he could try to lighten the mood. "If you're a good boy, I'll give you a treat."

"Did you just call me a dog?" Tom said with mock offence. "If you want me to bark next, I demand at least a few head-scratches first."

"You do plenty of barking already, mate. Usually up the wrong trees."

Tom nearly choked on a snicker, and while his frame shook a little, trying to get it under control, Alex could also feel his friend relaxing as they kept up the banter.

"There, all done," Alex said a little later when he had tied the gauze around the stitches.

Tom looked warily at his newly bandaged limb. "It will be fine now, right?"

"Sure," Alex reassured him, though he knew it wasn't quite that simple. It would do for now. He plastered a smile on his face. "Now for your treat!"

He pulled some hardtacks out of their pack and Tom groaned.


Themes: non-graphic description of a minor wound, sewing a wound without anaesthesia