Kyle huffed out a chuckle. “I’m going to need you to assist, and Alex to hold him down. This bullet is deep, but luckily, it didn’t hit any major organs or arteries. Dodged a bullet there…literally.”
Kyle glanced up at them with a grin. “Did you guys get that one? Dodged a bullet?”
“Got it,” Ava said with a confused glance. “Really, though?”
Sebastian groaned, writhing on the dining room table. “Please stop making jokes and get this bullet out.”
“Sorry.”
“Doc’s convinced he’s the comic relief in the group. You know, like if they made a movie, he’s the witty banter guy,” Alex said.
“Aww, yeah, I could see that,” Ava said with a smile. “You’re also the really cool guy who removes a bullet from Sebastian and saves his life, right?”
Kyle poked a finger at her. “Yep. Now, let’s do this the smart way. Ava, run upstairs and find any gauze and medical supplies that you can. Sebastian, do you happen to have a baster?”
“Oh, no,” Alex said, his already pale skin turning ashen. “Do I even want to know what that’s for?”
“Suction,” Kyle said as he headed for the kitchen.
Ava raced upstairs to search the bathrooms for any medical supplies. As she opened and closed cabinets, her mind raced five steps ahead. Would they be able to save Sebastian or would he die on their makeshift operating table?
With an armload of supplies, she returned downstairs. “Are we ready?”
“Ready,” Kyle said. “Alex, hold him down…”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Ava said as she unscrewed the cap off the vodka and pressed the bottle to Sebastian’s lips. “Drink up. This will dull the pain a little.”
“Good thinking, Ava. And I’m going to need that to clean the wound a bit. After I do that, Alex, hold him down. Ava, use the baster to suction out blood while I carefully remove the bullet, got it?”
“Got it,” they both said as Alex placed his hands on Sebastian.
Kyle sucked in a deep breath, tweezers in one hand and the vodka bottle in the other. “Brace yourself. This going to hurt.”
He doused the wound with the clear liquor as Sebastian screamed in pain. Alex struggled to hold him as he bucked against him, struggling to deal with the pain.
“Easy, Shadow, easy,” Ava said, pressing her hands against his chest.
“Suction, Ava,” Kyle said.
Ava used the baster to suck up blood and discard it into a pot as Kyle searched for the bullet.
He sucked in a sharp breath as he shook his head.
“What’s wrong?” Ava asked.
“I can’t see it.”
She toggled on her phone with her bloodstained fingers and held it above the wound.
“Thanks,” he answered, digging into the wound again. “Suction.”
Ava worked to remove the pooling blood again before Kyle clenched his jaw. “I see it. Trying to extract now.”
Ava removed the baster, angling the light so he could see into the wound where blood pooled again.
“Almost,” he answered. “Can you suction again?”
Ava withdrew another baster full of blood as Kyle beganto lift the bullet from Sebastian’s gut. Sebastian gritted his teeth, groaning in pain as he shifted on the table.
