“Gunshot to the leg, but she's lost a lot of blood.” I set Flora on the table gently.
He prodded her wound. Flora yelped, shivering violently. With one last, pitiful look at me, her eyes rolled back as she passed out. The pain had been too much, and though I knew it was normal for her to faint from it, I still grit my jaw at the sight. I hated seeing her like this.
Doc cut down the side of her khakis to expose the area for cleaning, then he handed me a roll of paper towels. As he sanitized his equipment, I tore off a bunch to put in Flora's mouth. If she woke up during the procedure, she would need something to bite down on.
Claudine squeezed Flora's hand. “Is she going to be okay?” She was coming down from her high and was fighting the urge to become frantic. I knew all too well how she was feeling.
“She'll be fine.” The doc cleaned Flora's wound, then dug in with medical tools. He pushed the gushing hole open enough to get the pliers in and fished for the bullet. “I was trained in Nam',” he calmly recounted with the casualness of building a toy car. Flora groaned, but was still incoherent. “This is a cake walk. Your friend—”
“Sister. She's my sister,” Claudine corrected.
“Your sister,” Doc let the words drift as he found and slowly removed the bullet, “—is gonna be alright.” He dropped the bullet into a tray, patted down the wound, then opened her eyes to check her pupils. “Put her on the grass outside.”
I picked her up and he followed us out. Once I had her gently on the ground, I felt her cheek. Her breathing was soothing. “Any word on Poet? He in the area?” I asked, looking around. I recognized a few of the guys, but only through reputation or through other acquaintances. It struck me that these guys were the closest thing I had to a family, and even then I didn't know many of them. It was a lonely feeling.
“Last I heard they were picking off the stragglers, but you know Remy...”
“Yeah, yeah. He's always gotta be the last one out. Poet's a goddamn superhero.”
The old man laughed. “Gives the rest of us a bad name!” He briefly looked me over for any grievous injuries. Satisfied that I wasn't going to fall apart, he patted me on the shoulder and headed back in.
For a long while, I just stared down at Flora's sleeping face. The peace was envious. Glancing up, I saw that Claudine was standing over us. She won't let Flora out of her sight.
Except she wasn't watching Flora—she was staring at me.
I shifted under her scrutiny. “How're you feeling?”
“Like shit,” she answered with an honest smile.
“The withdrawal gets harder every time. It's gonna be rough, but it'll pass if you let it.”
She took Flora's hand again, considering something only she could see. “The withdrawals aren't the hard part, not anymore.” She looked up at the sky, eyes starting to shimmer with unshed tears. “Letting her down, that's what's rough.” Laughing without humor, Claudine lowered her head and rubbed her eyes. Here, watching her raw emotion, I could see she was related to Flora. “This is all my fault. She came out her for me.”
“That's true.” I made myself more comfortable in the short grass, absently stroking Flora's shoulder. “She risked her life for you.”
The painful realization marred her already weary face. “All the damage I've done... Flora's better off without me.” She half-turned, ready to walk off without another thought. “She's safer without me in her life.”
My hand froze where it was. “You're leaving?”
Claudine swallowed hard, the look of determination solidifying on her features. “It's for the best.”
“Don't leave, please,” I said, a tired smile spreading on my face. “Your sister might be game for it, but I don't know if I have another one of these rescue missions in me.”
Hesitating, she glanced back down at her sister. “Tell her not to come after me this time.”
“That's adorable. You think she listens to me? I spent days trying to convince her to give you up, but she came anyways. Stubborn, that one. I see that she gets it from you.” I spoke with enough conviction that Claudine twisted around, listening curiously. “Stay. Say goodbye in person, when she wakes up. You know that she deserves at least that much.”
There was a war going on in her head. I don't know what she decided, but it was good to see Claudine come back and sit down next to her sister.
“You should hear the way Flora talks about you,” I said. “Her big sister. The girl who taught her everything she knows.”
“Hopefully not everything.” She smiled weakly, covering the pronounced track marks on her arm with her hand.