Disclaimer: As much as I enjoy writing about Indy and his adventures, I do NOT own any of the characters or places in this story (except for Freyja). Fair warning that there is some violence in this story. Also, I am not a medical professional, so the medical bits are going to be inaccurate. I had a ton of fun writing this, and I hope you enjoy!
A cool breeze swirled across the hilltop, sighing in the ruins, and creating an eerie whistling sound that only added to Mutt and Indy's disquiet. After hopping off the ladder that came up from the burial site they had found, Mutt surveyed the darkness around him. Indy soon exited behind him. "It's too quiet, kid. Keep your eyes open." He looked around, searching for anything out of place. Mutt nodded, too focused on trying to get out of the place to get irritated with the use of "kid", and not his name. Again.
They continued up the steps. They hadn't gone far when three masked men seemed to fall from the walls. One landed on Mutt, knocking him over while another blew a dart at Jones. He just narrowly escaped being struck by holding up a piece of wood from the ruined ladder. His eyes widened in shock as he looked at it. He then charged his attacker. "Watch out for those darts, they're poison!" He yelled at Mutt as he ran.
Mutt, meanwhile, had been knocked to the ground by his attacker. The masked man was on top of him and was a huge hulk of muscle. Thinking fast, Mutt whipped out his switchblade. They rolled and fought in the dust for what seemed to Mutt like an eternity before Mutt finally found an opening. He heaved the switchblade up into the attacker's abdomen with as much force as he could muster. The man's eyes widened behind his mask. Mutt ripped up with the knife, and the life quickly left the man's eyes. The man collapsed on Mutt, and he grunted under the added weight.
He quickly rolled the body off himself and stood. There were two of the masked men left, and somehow Indy was holding them both off without a scratch. This man was not just a college professor, of that Mutt was certain. He ran at one of them with his knife held at the ready. The man heard him coming and turned, surprise registering on his face.
At the last second Mutt saw the gleam of a knife. It was too late, and Mutt couldn't stop his momentum. He tried to jump to the side, but it wasn't far enough. The knife caught him in the side and went deep. Pain was a wild animal, tearing at Mutt's insides. He staggered but stayed standing. He shook his head to try and clear it and gained the wits to make one last attempt. If he didn't, they'd be dead.
The man's arrogance was in his favor because the man had turned away thinking he was done for. Mutt pushed himself into a growling sprint and rammed the attacker off the ledge they were on. He smashed down, splintering the ladder, although he was too big to fall into the burial chamber.
That was all well and good, but Mutt was dazed with pain and didn't care much about what happened to the guy, as long as he was done for. All he could do was stare at the knife hilt protruding from the left side of his abdomen. He weaved as he considered what he had to do next. He shrank from the thought. He vaguely heard the sounds of the scuffle happening behind him, but everything faded into the background in the face of his pain and the knowledge of what came next. The blade had to come out because although leaving it in would help staunch the bleeding, it could cut into his organs or skin and muscle when he moved. He put his hands on the handle and gripped. He sucked in a breath and closed his eyes. And then, as quickly as possible, he ripped the thing out with shaking hands. He yelped and dropped the knife, and his knees buckled. The ground rushed up at him, and he lay shaking in the dirt. He gripped his side with both hands out of pain and to try and stop the bleeding as much as possible. He closed his eyes and grit his teeth, the pain too much for sound.
"Kid?! Mutt!" Indy ran to him. Mutt sucked in a breath and pushed himself to his knees. He again closed his eyes and tried not to throw up as the world spun in dizzy circles. He still held his side, and blood stained his hands. He tried to get up and swayed, stumbling forward. Indy caught him before he could fall and lowered Mutt to the ground. He peeled the leather jacket back, moving Mutt's hands back as he did so.
Mutt's breath whistled through his clenched teeth. "I didn't…sign up for…this." he said between painstaking gasps. "Neither did I, kid" Indy snarled as he pulled up Mutt's shirt and looked at the wound. Mutt shivered. The blood loss was getting to him. Indy quickly started shrugging out of his jacket. "Keep it…it's just…blood loss." He said, trying not to groan. Indy placed the jacket over Mutt anyway. "Let your guard down a little, you don't need to be so tough all the time." Indy said as he rummaged through his satchel. "You let…your guard…down…you get…hurt." Mutt groaned as another spasm of pain hit him. "You make it sound like you speak from experience." Indy commented as he quickly pulled a thin flannel blanket out and began tearing it into strips. Mutt made an attempt at shrugging. "I still don't need your jacket, old man." Indy turned towards him. "You're cold, and you are keeping it!" He went back to tearing strips. "Told you…it'll be fine…jus blood loss." Mutt was slurring now. "And just what do you know about blood loss, kid?" Mutt just made another attempt at a shrug. Fine. The kid could keep his secrets. All Indy wanted to do was get them both out of there alive.
