Matt's POV
The drive home is much slower then the one it took to get to the burning building. I can hear the sirens scream by as they rush to get to the base still so far out of there reach. No one is left alive there, I don't know why they even bother there so slow about it. Or maybe I was just a lot faster then I realized?
I have to drive carefully, getting pulled over now would be bad, not to mention if I so much as go over a speed bump to fast I worry it will shock the little blond enough to have his heart stop.
I keep my hands to the wheel and my eyes to the road. I don't want to look to the back seat, not yet, not when I can't help him. The idea that I should pull over in the bushes and climb into the back seat to start mouth to mouth crossed my mind. Thats what was the biggest threat right now after all, the smoke in his lungs could claim him now while the burns and other injuries would take hours or even days. If I did do that though, what good would it really do? Even if I did clear his lungs and get him to breathe deeply it would be at the cost of valuable time that he docent have, and that's if he didn't quit on me, or become dependent on it which was more likely. Still, I wanted to.
I pulled into our car park and quickly got out of the car, climbing in and leaning over him again. I could check for a pulse but his neck is pretty torn up so I settle for putting my head to his still covered chest and listening once more.
A sigh of relief escapes when it seems nothing has changed, he's still hanging on, that's the main thing.
Slowly, carefully i gather him up in my arms, bridal style this time I know he is alive and I'm not in a huge rush to leave a burning building. I need to take the time to make sure I don't do anymore damage this time so I can afford to hold him more delicately.
Pushing the door I hadent bothered to lock open with my foot I slip inside, taking mello to the bedroom but only getting as far as the door. No... I shouldn't lay him in bed... If I do it will be harder to give him CPR... Was I going to give him CPR? Wouldent that be cruel? For what, a 4% chance of recovery? Less? I shake the thought away, I'd think about that when and if it got to that point. I'll just have to move him off of the bed again.
I lower my best friend down slowly onto the blankets, taking care not to touch his wounds more then I need to.
Finally I can start trying to pull off his clothes, though seeing how there melted to his skin I make a quick run to the kitchen and grab both a new bottle of water and a pair of sharp scissors before starting the horrendously slow process of cutting the leather off of my Mellos body. It comes away slowly, in some places easier then others. It seems the burn goes from his hairline all the way down his chest, his shoulder and a good chunk of his back. The skin there peels away like goo as I pull the leather from his body.
I can't help but gag slightly. The smell and the feeling of the mushy melted flesh is to much for me. Video games and horror movies did nothing to prepare me for this.
I reach again, leaning over the side of the bed and puking into the trash can. Fuck mello, if you wake up from this I'm never going to let you live it down!
After I compose myself again I pull down my goggles. not that seeing better is something that I really want to do right now but there getting a little hazy with tears. Then I cut way his pants, which is much faster as its not welded to his skin from the heat.
"why don't you ware god damn underwear?" I sigh trying not to touch my best friends junk while I pull off his pants. Near death or not I'm sure if he knew. Was stripping him he would have a gun pointed at my head faster them I could say I'm sorry for anything!
I turn back to his stomach and chest. Bare without the vest now I can see it rise and fall which is comforting but I know I need to check for internal injuries as well as I can. Slowly I straddle the blond and put my hands on his chest putting careful pressure down and feeling for broken ribs. He dose have a few... At least one that's bad enough to feel pointy bits jutting out just under the skin. It's not as bad as I had thought though. Not that it means he isn't bleeding like a sieve on the inside bit it's a start.
Now... How do I bind his wounds without the bandages sticking to him?