Ch 7: The question

A/N: Ok, now for the aftermath.

Disclaimer: see Ch 5

What the hell? Where am I? I look around. The area I am standing or floating, since I'm not being moved by it) is undulating and wriggling. It looks like a black and grey swirl, almost like a cloud, only it isn't gaseous, it's more like a solid living organism the way it us wiggling around. It almost reminds me of a room inside Jabu Jabu's Belly back on my N64 emulator (1). A strange voice is calling out to me. "Jeeeeffff" "Jeeeffff" It sounded like someone calling down a ridiculously long hallway. Why does this voice sound familiar? I can't seem to remember it. Why am I here anyway, the last thing I remember… oh, that's right, I got mauled by a bear. I wonder if this is the afterlife. I added on as (literally) an after thought. Well it wasn't exactly what they had said it would be at Synagogue, but it wasn't that unpleasant. At least I wasn't in any mind crushing pain anymore. "Dammnittt Jeefff, don't go inntoo shoock onnn mee!" Me? Who was going into shock? I'm dead. But at least I am free from all that pain.

#Bella#

"Jeff!" "Jeff!" I scream as soon as I finish off the bear. Really, with this much strength it is child's play to knock aside its swipes and drain it of blood. Normally I would feel remorse for killing an animal that is more than likely just protecting its home or its territory, but Jeff was a precious friend.I toss the corpse into the trees as I hastily scan the area for the first aid kit Jeff says he always takes with him on hikes "just in case someone else gets hurt", while part of my enormous mind still has time to assess Jeff's wounds. He more than likely wouldn't live if he didn't get help soon. I spot the oversized kit and rush over to him. I recognize the signs they taught us in our first aid elective class almost immediately. "Damnit Jeff, don't go into shock on me." Judging by the cracks I heard when he hit the tree coupled with his attempts to drag himself over, he probably had a broken spine near the waist. All of this went through my mind in the time it took me to gather the supplies I would need and start on Jeff's arm. Please Jeff, stay under just a bit longer, if not for my sake then for yours.

#Jeff#

Suddenly I felt a sharp stabbing pain in my left arm. That pain seemed to shatter my peaceful afterlife and drag me back to the living. "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" All I felt was the pain in my left arm. Even as my eyes focused on Bella holding the wound on my arm shut with one hand and doing her best to sew it shut with the other. Even as I looked past her and saw the split skin and splint on my left leg. The pain seemed to dominate my mind, canceling out everything else, even as the pained look on Bella's face registered. Through a surge of brute will power I lift my head and manage to mumble out, "Thank god that's over." when she finishes. I use my good right arm to push myself up out of my slump so that I am leaning against the tree. I take one look at Bella and it's obvious. "That bad huh?" I manage to choke out.

"Of course not, you're gonna be fine." Bella gives me one of her dazzling smiles, which manages to break through the haze of pain long enough for me to gasp out between strangled breaths, "Don't shit me Bella. I know more about first aid than most doctors! wheeze My left leg is a mess, and it looks like it was a compound fracture. wheeze You obviously splinted it, and that should have, and should still, hurt like hell. wheeze I also can't feel the roots which ought to be digging into my legs. The only explanation coupled with the way I hit the tree earlier is that I have a broken spine, and not a simple break at that.wheeze I can't even wiggle my toes, so the break more than likely severed all the nerves. wheeze Couple that with the blood loss from both my leg and my arm,wheeze and I'm probably going to die." I slumped back against the tree. I don't get to relax for long as my body jerks forward and I cough up blood.

#Bella#

"…I'm probably going to die." states Jeff as he leans back against the tree. Just as he leans his head against the trunk his whole body violently jerks forward and he coughs up blood. The back of my throat burns, but I ignore it as I assess the damage. After all, if the first scent of his blood when I was sewing up his arm didn't get me, another log on the fire that burns the back of my throat wasn't going to make much difference. More than likely a broken rib I hadn't noticed has pierced an internal organ, likely a lung, limiting his life further. There really was only one chance at this point if I wanted him to live.

"Jeff, I have to ask you something."

A/N: Muhahaha, bow down to my evil cliffhangers of doom.