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Stratt was sprinting across the grass as fast as she could run. Her coffee thrown to the floor, forgotten about. All she could think about right now was the state of Grace on the floor. She thanked whatever god was above them that he wore that bright yellow coat that made him stick out on the burnt grass.
She knew exactly what building just exploded and exactly who was in it when it blew up. Grace was the last chance at saving the planet, if he survived. She hoped and prayed as she ran to him. She could start making out his general features now like the massive bloodstain on his jeans.
“Grace!” She saw his head move slightly. He’s conscious. That’s good. What wasn’t good however was that he tried to sit up.
“Grace, stop! Don’t move!” She slid on the grass, landing next to his legs. Stratt leant over his face, scanning it for head injuries. She watched as his eyes scanned her face back in confusion. Grace’s glasses had somehow just managed to stay on his face, granted they were askew, but undamaged. Stratt fixed them so they sat on his nose properly. Grace put his head back on the grass fully.
“What— What’s wrong? Has something happened?” Stratt looked at him in fear. At the very least he wasn’t aware that he was injured. That meant the adrenaline was still keeping him going. Stratt pulled her phone from her pocket, dialling the first number in the list. She barked orders down the phone before the voice could even say hello and hung up before they said a single word.
“Just— Just stay still alright. Don’t move.” Stratt moved to his leg. His right leg’s pant was torn on his mid-thigh. She didn’t want to touch it, it might make Grace realise he is injured, and he would go into shock. That is the last thing she needs right now. She really hoped it was a small wound, and it just looked worse than it is.
Stratt carefully pulled at the fabric of his jeans, being careful of the wound itself. She breathed a small sigh of relief as she saw a large but shallow wound. Stratt looked back to Grace’s face as she took her scarf off. He was straining his neck to see what she was doing. She could see the confusion on his face as he saw the state of his pants.
Carefully, Stratt slid her scarf under his leg, not jostling it too much. She braced herself as she pulled it as tightly as she could around his upper thigh. The scream that Grace let out seemed to echo in the surrounding destruction.
“I know. I know. I am afraid it’s necessary Grace. I have to stem the blood loss.”
The surrounding ground vibrated. Vehicles shot past them as more fire and rescue teams responded to the explosion. Stratt watched as Carl’s car pulled up next to them and he got out. Carl looked at Grace with the same amount of horror as Stratt did.
“Carl—?” Stratt watched as Grace’s eyes became glassy and unfocused. They were losing him. Carl dropped to his knees beside Stratt on the grass as she pushed with all her strength onto the wound. Her hands felt sticky now as his blood began to dry on them.
“Jesus Christ. The medical team is on its way. What can I do?” Stratt nodded her head to her hands, Carl understood and switched places with her. She had to pull her hands with some force to get them unstuck from Grace’s jeans. Stratt cringed internally.
“Keep pressure on it as much as you can. How far is the medical team?” Carl did as he was told. He applied pressure with all of his weight to Grace's leg, Grace’s face screwed up in pain. Stratt knew that was a good sign, his body’s still reacting to the pain so he was still alive and reactive.
“They’re about a minute and a half out.” Stratt internally cursed. That’s too long. They needed to do something now. Stratt went to Carl’s car. She dug around in the back until she found the first aid kit.
She dropped back to Grace’s side, ripping the fabric bag open as she did. The contents spilled everywhere, but she saw what she was looking for. She grabbed the bottle of saline and tore the lid off the top. Carl saw what she intended on doing and removed his hands from his jeans before ripped the leg of them open more. Stratt poured the saline onto the wound. Grace’s leg tensed up at the touch of the liquid, Stratt breathed a momentary sigh of relief.
She went back to the first aid kit and grabbed all the rolls of gauze. She ripped them open before turning to Carl.
“We need to wrap his leg as tightly as we can.” Carl simply nodded in response. The pair got to work, Carl lifting Grace’s leg as Stratt pulled the rolls of gauze as tight as she could around his entire thigh. As she did, they slowly became soaked with blood. It was a lot less now which was a good sign.
As soon as she was done, the pair went back to applying pressure across his thigh whilst waiting for the medical team.
The sirens behind them made them both breathe a little easier. Neither of them let up the pressure on Grace’s leg until the medical response team told them too.
One second they were applying pressure with all their body weight and the next they were standing in the wreckage, watching the ambulance drive away with the last hope for humanity. Carl turned to Stratt.
“I’m surprised you didn’t just pass Grace and head for the building.”
“DuBois and Shapiro were in there, given they were working with Astrophage, I think it is fair to say, they’re dead. Grace is our last hope for the mission to succeed.”