Page 14 of Lyon

“Hurry and get those people somewhere safe. They’re starving. You’ve taken care of them all this time. Thank you; it’s an honor to know you, Mack. Now go.”

“It’s my honor to know you, Niki. Please be careful.”

“I will.” As soon as he left, I got to work on Max. I felt guilty for hiding my water and alcohol. I knew in my heart I would need them, so I kept them in my bag. “Oh, Max, you’ve lost so much weight.”

I poured some alcohol on the wound and felt around it until he screamed in pain. His eyes opened, glazed over, but he recognized me. “Why the fuck are you still here? You have to get out. It’s dangerous.”

“Max, how many times have I been in dangerous places? Hundreds of times, sometimes with you.”

I pressed on the wound to see if I could feel the bullet. “What are you doing? That hurts.”

“I’m going to try to get this bullet out. The longer it’s in, the worse it is.”

“Please don’t touch it again. If it’s my time, then it’s my time. Listen, Niki, I can feel myself fading; you know how much I love you. You’re the best sister in the world. Tell Mom and Dad I lovethem. I’m sorry about dying. I know it’s hard for you. That’s why I want you to leave. I don’t want you to see me die.”

I chuckled; I couldn’t help it. Max knew I would never let him die if I could stop it, and I would. When I glanced at Max, I saw he was sleeping. I wiped away more tears as they fell.

I got up and walked around the building. I decided I would take Max myself to a hospital. I needed to find materials to make a makeshift stretcher to pull him out of there. Should I wait for Lyon to come back? What if they don’t return, and we’re both dead before anyone finds us?

I found a blanket, a tarp, and some leather straps. I placed everything next to Max and started making a stretcher. This was going to be more challenging than I thought. Max had lost weight, but he was still a big, tall man. I knew the wood I found wouldn’t be enough.

I lay down next to Max and slept for a few hours; it was so dark I couldn’t see anything. I didn’t want to use the rest of the candle yet, so I lay back down and put my arm over Max. I wanted him to feel me and know I wouldn’t let him die.

7

Lyon

It had beeneight days since I last saw Niki. In that time, we had evacuated two more groups of Americans and received additional assistance. Now, we were back to retrieve Niki. Mack informed us that she had found her brother, who had been shot in the side—the same individual Leo had mentioned.

“Do you think she’s still there?” I asked River.

“If it were my brother, I wouldn’t leave his side. Unfortunately, Mack fears her brother might be dead by now. I hope we find her in good health. Staying with a deceased sibling can’t be good for her.”

We needed to reach her as quickly as possible. Unaware of whether or not Niki was alone with her possibly deceased brother, I was frustrated that we hadn’t been informed of her exact location earlier. We had assumed she was already en route home on another plane.

“It’s this building,” Mack said, accompanying us. I opened the door and heard the click of a trigger being cocked. “Niki, it’s us.”

“It’s about damn time. My brother is driving me frigging crazy, insisting I leave him to die in peace. Are any of youmedics? He needs that bullet out before it causes more damage. He wouldn’t even let me move him, and I spent days crafting a makeshift stretcher. So it would hold his weight.”

I chuckled. “We’re all medics. There’s food and water in this bag. Let me check on your brother,” I said, kneeling beside her. She opened the bag, took a long drink of water, and ate a pepperoni stick while I examined her brother.

“Did you have any food all this time?” River asked.

“I snuck into the market square and hid some food in this robe. I managed to feed both Max and myself, though I had to force him to eat and drink. I only went twice, fearing I’d get caught and leave Max here alone.”

“What do you think?” she asked as I examined Max.

“This bullet needs to come out before gangrene sets in. Max, can you wake up for me?”

“Max! Wake the hell up!” Niki shouted. “You have to yell to wake him. He’s always been a heavy sleeper.”

I saw her chin quiver, tears threatening. “He’s been so stubborn, asking me to tell Mom and Dad he’s sorry he died. Can you remove the bullet now?”

“I’ll do it on the plane. Let’s load him up, guys. We’ll use the stretcher Niki made.” Max opened his eyes, clearly in pain. I administered a painkiller, started him on IV fluids for dehydration, and gave him an antibiotic drip. Once the pain medication took effect, I made an incision to drain the infection.

“He screamed every time I touched his side,” Niki said.

“I understand. I was shot in the side once and lay in the mud for days until my team found me. When they touched me, it felt like a hot poker.”

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