Daughters of the Night Sky(56)
The medic unceremoniously removed my coat and knelt to inspect my flank. I looked down at my blouse, equally soaked in blood, and noticed he fingered a few small holes in the fabric. Two or three large shards of wood had lacerated my side, but I felt nothing but the night air on my skin. Not even the medic’s hands registered as he examined me.
“Get some bandages and a stretcher,” the medic called to the rest of his staff. “She’s been wounded.”
“Oh, I have not,” I argued, the cold air lapping at my cold flesh, making my entire body shiver painfully.
I pulled up the side of my blouse and saw that my right side looked more like a side of beef in a butcher’s window than my own flesh. The medic quickly assessed that it was just two shallow punctures, but I was bleeding profusely.
“Katya, do as he says,” Polina ordered.
I nodded, squeezing her hand as I allowed the medics to assist me onto the stretcher.
“Take care of everyone,” I commanded her. “They will need someone.”
“You have my word,” Polina whispered, brushing her lips against the back of my hand.
I patted her cheek and waved encouragingly as they loaded me onto the ambulance. It was only when the doors shut me off from their concerned eyes that I let the darkness have me.
CHAPTER 18
The lights overhead were harsh, and the gray concrete and steel contrasted sharply with the blinding white of the linens. I moved to sit up and take stock of my surroundings, but the sharp pain at my side and a pair of strong hands kept me down.
“Ah, you’re coming around. Excellent.” A doctor, his long white surgical gown billowing around him like the perfect negative of a nun’s black habit, peered down at me with a measuring gaze.
The strong hands belonged to a nurse with tight brown curls and kind eyes. When she sensed I wasn’t going to strain, she loosened her hold and brushed a lock of hair off my forehead.
“You need to stay still, my dear. The doctor is a busy man and doesn’t need to be stitching you up a second time.” She smoothed my sheets as she spoke, her hands being the sort that could never rest idle. She was perhaps a few years older than my mother, but fewer lines of hardship framed her eyes.
“Of course,” I acquiesced, not wanting to repeat the process while conscious. I could feel the tape and gauze that protected a large section of my side. More than a few stitches, I could tell without visual confirmation.
She rewarded my compliance with a cool glass of water and an extra pillow so I wasn’t lying completely prone. Until the water hit my lips, I had no idea how parched I had been.
The doctor removed the dressing to examine the sutures that ran the length of my right flank, and I found myself averting my eyes. With each stroke of his fingers, I felt each stitch burn into my skin like a hot ember.
“I’m sorry, my dear. We’re terribly low on morphine or anything that will do much for the pain. We have to reserve it for the amputees and the like. I’m sure you understand.” The doctor spoke so regretfully, I had to stop myself from apologizing for the inconvenience of being injured. “Healing as well as I might hope for. You’ll be back in the air before you know it.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” I said, my voice still raspy despite having drunk half the water.
“They were worried about you,” a voice said from the bed to my left. I craned my head slowly, to see Oksana clad in a white gown identical to mine. “It wasn’t until yesterday that they began to sound optimistic. You lost a lot of blood.”
“I expect I did,” I said, remembering the sight beneath my blouse.
“It’s been a long three days waiting for you to wake up, lazy-bones.” The warmth in Oksana’s voice was uncharacteristic. She had her arm in a sling but, from my sidelong view, looked to have decent coloring, considering her ordeal.
“Three days? I can’t possibly have been asleep for three days.”
“You snore.”
“Thanks,” I said, wishing I had the strength to throw a pillow at her. “Have you heard anything from the regiment?”
“Not a word,” Oksana said. “Information isn’t easy to come by here. And since I’ve not been cleared to fly, they’re not too fussed about keeping me well briefed.”
“I’m so sorry about Sofia,” I said after a few moments. I thought of the solemn faces of the rest of the regiment and wondered how we’d go on without her as our champion.
“She almost got away. We outmaneuvered the first plane, but only just. We never saw the second one coming. By the time we reacted, it was too late.”
“It was the same for us. They aimed for Taisiya, hoping to take down the whole plane.” My hands gripped the bleached sheet, and my muscles tensed, causing my side to scream.
“So she—”
“She’s gone. They were fairly certain the other crews were lost entirely.” The truth of it echoed off the concrete walls. “Taisiya died on the flight back. I was too busy keeping the plane from crashing to try to patch her up.”
“Stop now, before you head down that path, Katya. I’ve been down it. There was nothing you could have done to save her.”
“I know,” I whispered. I was no medic. Even if I were, I couldn’t have simultaneously flown the plane and attended to her injuries in time to save her. If there had been time. “I hope you haven’t been feeling the same about Sofia.”