Heartbeats

Chapter 20 : His sick heart

Sasha bit her lip harder so as to suppress the cry that erupted from within her chest. The pain shot like lightning, it flicked and pricked her too quickly and too painfully from her leg until it scattered throughout her entire body.

She looked down and all she could see was the crimson liquid that painted the long gash on her skin.

She could hear them all at once and then none; mixed voices of men from various recon squads passed by her ears all molded into one big chunk of nothing but noise.

"Sasha!" The clearest, purest voice came out of the mold, and her eyes instantly brightened into a new clarity as she searched for the source.

"Captain." The fourteen-year-old Sasha called towards him, while the man pushed through the crowd that gathered around her.

Gavril stood tall in the crowd with Daniel beside him. The young boy looked shaken and worried, his hands tightly embraced the emergency bag.

Gavril tended to the wound. His hands were precise and certain. He cleaned the wound and stopped the blood from further gushing out. Gavril only had to slightly motion to the boy and he would instantly give him what he needed. No need for any orders, Daniel knew what Gavril was doing.

Gavril then heard the paramedics coming. He cheered under his breath in relief as he got a whiff of Borian's scent.

The moment they learned of the accident Borian and Gavril split up, Borian to call the hospital and Gavril to check on Sasha.

Sasha was placed on top of the stretcher with Gavril motioning between wanting to assist and keeping himself out of the way. Meanwhile, Daniel wanted to come with her but Borian held the young boy back. In the end, it was Gavril who came with them.

Sasha had fallen from the hanging obstacle course when she swung. And the momentum caused her to hit the metal railing on the side. The edge was not that sharp but with all the factors combined, it was sharp enough to cut and break through her skin.

Daniel looked up at the ceiling from where Sasha fell down. The torn rope still hung dangerously overhead and the sharp edge of the metal railing still had some of her blood and skin. As he looked at the surrounding he felt that they mocked him and his failure to save his sister.

Daniel was enraged with his helplessness.

After being cleared by Doctor Rob, Borian and Gavril took the girl home. Sasha, unable to use her left leg, was bedridden for the next few days.

"Do you think it'll leave a scar?" The little girl asked, looking at where her leg was underneath the thick blanket.

"and why should you care? You're a soldier, not a celebrity." Gavril answered quite harshly.

Sasha just closed her mouth and blushed a bit, embarrassed by the stupidity of her question.

"Now, do you want me to read tonight?" Gavril asked to get the girl back on track. The girl just nodded.

Sasha cuddled closer to Gavril who shared her bed with her. Gavril opened the book and started to read the page where he last left his bookmark. Gavril was reading her a poem, one of his recent favorites that he was still memorizing. Gavril used to do this very often, after a long day of training, he would read a story or poetry to Sasha and Daniel. It was usually Sasha who stayed and listened because Daniel always found it boring. Good thing Borian would stay with the boy and played with him until one of them dropped with exhaustion.

This time though, Sasha could barely keep her eyes open. Gavril's gravelly husky voice sounded like a lullaby that serenaded her to sleep. But she also thought that it could be her pain meds kicking in. She hated how these pills could knock her out cold into a deep sleep, that no matter how light of a sleeper she was, she was helpless when under this drug.