A faint mutter came from the ground.
“He’s alive!” Aries shouted. “He says... we’re idiots. He says we ignored his warnings. He thinks we triggered all the explosives.”
Relief crashed into Collin’s chest so forcefully the breath was nearly knocked out of him. The knot of terror broke loose. The world made sense again.
Lekyi had been testing black powder. They had stumbled into his testing ground.
“Collin! Get over here! He’s losing too much blood!”
Collin scrambled to his feet and hurried over. His stomach flipped violently.
Blood soaked Lekyi’s entire thigh, his trousers shredded. A thick branch—about a foot long—was impaled through his upper leg.
Collin froze, horror locking him in place. His own leg began to throb in sympathy as he stared at the gruesome wound. His vision blurred and his stomach turned over.
Don’t throw up! Don’t throw up!
“We’ll get you home. You’ll be alright. We’re close to Chroma. It’ll be fine!” he insisted, his voice shaking.
“Do you think we should pull out the stick?” Aries’s voice trembled.
The idea was too awful to process. “No! I mean—maybe?” Collin raked his hands through his hair, turning in frantic circles as if someone with more knowledge might suddenly appear.
But panic wouldn’t save them now. He forced himself to breathe, to think.
“We need to stop the bleeding first.” His mind raced. What could they use as a tourniquet? They’d given most of their supplies to Logan.
His hand brushed his pocket—a wad of cloth. His old supply sack. Tearing it open with his teeth, he ripped the seams and created a long strip of fabric.
“That stick has to come out,” Collin said, dreading every word.
Aries stared at him in horror, mouth agape.
Collin didn’t want to be the one to do it. But neither did Aries.
Finally, Aries cursed under his breath. “Fine. I’ll do it. But I’m never forgiving either of you for this.”
Relief hit Collin like a wave—then shame rose up right behind it. He should’ve volunteered. The idea still made his stomach turn. There’d be time to reckon with that later. For now, he just swallowed hard and knelt beside Lekyi, hands steadying for the tourniquet the moment the stick came free.
“This might be a good time to pass out,” he said, voice shaking. “It’s going to hurt.”
Aries took several shallow breaths, muttering under his breath as he gathered his nerve. When he finally reached for the stick, his hand trembled—but in a flash, he yanked it free.
Lekyi’s scream tore through the forest, raw and blood-chilling. He writhed, but Aries pinned his shoulders as Collin worked quickly, wrapping the tourniquet tightly around the pulsing wound.
Collin collapsed backward, the scream still ringing in his ears, certain that he would never forget that sound.
His whole body trembled.
A breath. Then another, but his words still shook. “I think—we can move him now.”
After a hurried discussion, Collin and Aries figured out the best way to lift Lekyi to his feet. They pulled his arms over their shoulders and, on the count of three, staggered upright. Aries, taller than Lekyi, had to hunch awkwardly to keep him balanced.
Their first steps were clumsy. Their second and third were no better. They wobbled forward like a three-headed, six-legged creature that could barely stand. Their pace was so slow, a snail could have overtaken them.
Lekyi’s head lolled, his breathing ragged. His leg was drenched in blood. His face twisted in pain, and tears streaked the dirt on his cheeks. His jaw clenched so tightly, it looked likeit physically hurt him not to scream. Collin couldn’t tell if the tourniquet was helping. There was already too much blood.
“This isn’t working!” Aries’s voice cracked with panic. “He’s not going to make it at this pace.”
