“We aren’t leaving him. Get the medic help now!” Rylie yelled. Turning back down to Trevor, Rylie lowered his voice. “Trevor, we’re going to get you out of here. I promise. I won’t leave you.”
Trevor nodded, but the pain stayed too intense and he felt too light headed. “Did he catch the child?” His voice wasn’t more than a whisper before his eyes involuntarily closed, and he passed out again.
****
“FUCK! God Damn It! That shit FUCKIN’ hurts!” Trevor woke ready to fight. Brody and Rylie were there, holding him in place. Brody pinned his arms down. Rylie lay across his legs trying to hold him still. “GET THE FUCK OFF ME. MAKE IT STOP! GODDAMN, IT HURTS!”
“Trevor, you have to stop. Don’t move! You’re making it worse.” Tears were streaming down Brody’s face.
“Keep hold of him. We’re almost done.” The sounds of saws and drills going off sent unbelievable agony pulsing through his body, clouding his brain. It was too much. Trevor began to vomit before he passed out again.
****
“Dad...it’s Trevor.” Tears clogged Rylie’s throat, making it hard for him to talk. Rylie dropped the phone to his thigh, rubbing his hands over his face, wiping his eyes.
“What? Son, are you there?” Concern laced his father’s voice. Rylie could hear his father calling for his mother to pick up the other line. “Tell us what’s happened.”
“Dad, it’s bad. He’s been hurt bad.” Rylie cried openly as he spoke; grief just tore at his heart. Hearing his father was all it took to finally push him over the edge. He could hear Reed asking questions in the background.
“Who’s been hurt? Trevor’s been hurt? What happened? Hold on, your mom’s getting on the phone.”
“Rylie, what’s happened?” his mother asked.
“Trevor’s been shot, multiple times. And he lost his leg. They had to take it in the field. He was awake when they did it.” Rylie cried harder, remembering holding Trevor down, allowing this to happen to his best friend.
“Oh, Rylie,” his mom sobbed.
“Where are you now? Where’s Trevor?”
“Trevor’s in Germany. They got him stable and transported him today. It was the closest place. He’s in surgery now, but he’s lost a lot of blood. They told me I could call his next of kin. He doesn’t have anyone but you two. Mom, Dad, please pray for him.”
“We will. Reed’s here. He wants to talk to you.”
Reed’s voice was intense, anxiety filled, desperate. “What happened?”
Rylie paused to control the memories that threatened to overwhelm him. “He lost so much blood... Trevor’s hurt bad, Reed. They thought he was dead. They made me hold him down.”
“Tell me exactly where Trevor is, Rylie.”
“He’s on base in Germany. They won’t let me go to him yet. It’ll be a day before I can get there.”
“Get me whatever clearance I need. I’m on my way.”
Chapter Thirteen
Trevor’s eyes fluttered, but it took several tries to get them to stay open. An annoying beep kept sounding off in the background. Who would pick that for their ringtone? His mouth was dry, and he tried to lick his lips, but his tongue felt like sand paper. Unable to wrap his mind around why he felt this way, Trevor thought over the night before, wondering how much he actually drank to put him in this condition. Turning his head, pain shot through his brain, blurring his vision even more. He felt the cords at his face, and he looked around to see he was in a hospital room. An ugly hospital room, so that meant it was probably a military hospital, which would make the drunken night out such a better option.
Feeling something at his right hand, Trevor lowered his gaze, focusing on the blond head. Reed lay there sleeping, his head tucked on his arm. Their hands were linked together even as he slept. The hold felt reassuring to Trevor, but the position Reed slept in looked incredibly uncomfortable. So did the chair he sat in. An uncomfortable looking hospital chair pushed to the side of the bed, with Reed’s body positioned weirdly, with just his head on the bed. Reed needed to get more comfortable; he shouldn’t sleep like that. Trying to rise, Trevor stopped short. The pain in his shoulder, leg, and arm were excruciating, making him reevaluate the plan to move at all.
Rylie came into his view from the left, placing a hand on his arm. “You’re awake. Thank God, Trevor. Stay down, you’ve been hurt. Do you need a drink of water? Reed tried to keep ice on your lips and tongue, but you didn’t make it easy.” Rylie spoke slowly and quietly, but Trevor’s mind seemed unable to focus on the words being said to him.
“Where am I?” he asked hoarsely, not much louder than a whisper. Rylie brought a small cup forward with a towel, drizzling water into his mouth, wiping the wayward drops running down his chin.
“You’re in Germany. You’ve been out for a few days.”
“What day is it?”
“Friday, around two in the morning,” Rylie said, letting a little more water trickle into his mouth. “They’ve had you out for a couple of days. Giving you time to heal.”
“I was at your wedding.” Trevor tried hard to remember something, anything of the last few days. Confusion narrowed his brow and Rylie gave him another drink.
“Yeah, we got called out. You were hurt trying to hero up.” Rylie wiped Trevor’s chin; all the water in the cup was gone.
“That doesn’t sound like me.”
“Whatever, man. You saved a room full of children.” Trevor wet his lips with his tongue, while Rylie filled the small cup up again, drizzling more water into his mouth.
“And what happened after that?”
“You got shot a bunch of times and fell a few stories. The building thought it should fall with you to keep you company.”
“Oh, that’s what hurts like hell. I don’t think that was probably part of my plan. I don’t remember any of it.” Trevor looked over at Reed who slept through their quiet conversation. “Why’s he here?”
“Reed came right away, got here Tuesday evening. It didn’t look good for you. It’s shocking you lived through all the loss of blood. They told me to contact your next of kin. That would be my mom and dad. Reed was there when I called, and arrived here twelve hours later, before they even allowed me to come. He’s been by your side ever since. This is the first time he’s slept since I’ve been here.”