#nicole simply. knowing that there is a vital artery in ur thigh but not knowing where it is

[endfght]

anxiety threatens to overwhelm her, with hands shaking uncontrollably to breath coming in and out in sporadic, high-pitched bursts. everything that had happened did so so quickly that nicole couldn't be positively sure what exactly occurred. they'd been hole up in an abandoned park ranger's shack, connor gone with his father and shane to check the traps that they'd set early in the morning, and to scavenge what they could in preparation for the last leg of their journey. she and cait had been attending to a stew brewing in the fireplace when footsteps sounded on the porch, not a second thought given to who they'd belonged to ⸺ until they got heavier, hesitated, and then splintered the door off of it's hinges. they were lucky in the grand scheme of things: the lone man that came through the door was not much bigger than either of them, but the look in his eyes was enough to frighten nicole to her core. there was the briefest of seconds where they were all just staring at one another, and then he lunged; and when nicole opened her eyes, he was dead on the ground and caitlin had a blossom of blood forming in a circle on her pant leg around the blade that had previously been in the dead man's hand.

no— don’t take the fucking knife out.

hands freeze immediately, wide eyes shifting from @innocentsbled's face to the handle sticking out of her thigh. instinct had been to remove the cause of cait's sudden pain ― but sister's ever-rational mind stilled her hand before she could act. ❝ i⸻ what- ❞ jaw hung, voice cuts itself off, words caught in her throat with a lump the size of a fist. she takes a deep breath in attempts to calm herself down, sweaty palms wiped down the sides of her legs, eyes blinking rapidly to keep the tears she hadn't realized were falling at bay. ❝ what do i do ? tell me what i'm supposed to do ⸺ please, cait⸻ ❞