Page 102 of Treasure of the Abyss

Her scream was loud enough that he felt its vibration against theglass.

Leaving the others to tend to the razorback, Jax lifted her off the bottom. Melaina looked from Macy to Jax, her features drawn with worry and fear. The youngling swam beside him as he raced toward theFacility.

Though they hadn’t been far away, it was the longest, most difficult swim of his life; he pushed as fast as he could without jarring her, without putting any more strain on her wounded leg, without allowing more of her blood to flow. The water in the entry chamber had never drained so slowly. He wished, for a fleeting moment, that the Computer had a physical form he could rake his claws across after it spouted a cheerywelcome.

“Will she be okay?” Melaina asked once the water was shallow enough tospeak.

“Yes,” he said with a confidence he did notfeel.

When the interior door opened, he rushedthrough.

“What do you need, Macy? Where do you want me to takeyou?”

“The infirmary,” Macy said through themask.

“I don’t know that word. Describe theroom.”

“White. Lots of tables. Beds. Red sign—” she sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth “—with two crossedlines.”

He moved as quickly as possible through the corridors, twisting his torso to ensure she didn’t bump into anything. Though he’d never heard the word she used, he knew the room she’d described, and he hit the button outside the entry with his elbow when hearrived.

The double doors slid apart, disappearing into the wall, and he hurried inside. He laid Macy atop one of the tall, narrowbeds.

“Sam, release the mask.” She turned her head to the side, letting the mask fall to the floor, and dropped her hands to grip her leg just below the knee. Jax kept his tentacle tight. “Need something to slow the bleeding. A bandage. Cloth.Anything.”

Melaina was at the side of the bed, peering over the low railing. “I amsorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m glad you’re safe,” Macy’s smile was strained as she looked at theyoungling.

“Gather cloth to soak up the blood,” Jax said to Melaina. The youngling hurried to do so, and Jax shifted his attention to Macy. “You are going to befine.”

He wasn’t certain whether his words were meant to assure her, orhimself.

Melaina returned with a bundle of folded cloth in herarms.

Jax took a piece from her — it looked like the sheet from one of the beds — and tore it into a more manageable strip. He took Macy’s foot in one hand and lifted it higher. She hissed; her knuckles paled as she dug her fingers into herleg.

“Just wrap it. Quick,” shesaid.

Clenching his jaw, he withdrew his tentacle. Blood seeped from the wounds, spilling onto the bedding beneath and staining it. Fast as he could, he wrapped the cloth around her leg and pulled it tight. Crimson blossomed across thefabric.

Macy’s breath was ragged, and tears leaked from her eyes to mingle with the sheen of sweat on her face. Her tears didn’t stop her from curling forward, taking the ends of the cloth from Jax, and trying them together. She sagged back onto the bed once she was done, chestheaving.

Humans didn’t heal like kraken did — Jax knew that much, but it wasn’t enough to help her. Had her body already suffered more than its limit? Helplessness roared inside him, an insatiable fire devouring everything, threatening to consume him. What if he did somethingwrong?

What if he made itworse?

“Melaina,” Jax said. The youngling shifted her wide-eyed gaze to him. “I need you to find Arkon and send him here. You knowhim?”

Shenodded.

“Good. Do not stray from the Facility. If you see others, pass the message on and remaininside.”

Melaina turned and hurriedaway.

Jax leaned over Macy and cupped her face. “Tell me what you need, Macy,” herasped.

“Need to clean the wounds,” she said. “Disinfectthem.”

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