It was like someone had turned on a sink at full blast. Blood spurted out of him, coating his skin red.
Gemma might as well have been stabbed in her own heart.
She clamped her hand down over the wound, putting her entire body weight onto Alfie’s leg, trying to stifle the bleeding.
“I need someone’s belt and then something sturdy like a stick or–or–or a twisted shirt,” Gemma said. “Something I can use as a tourniquet.”
Imara handed her an empty magazine, and Hawk passed his belt to Gemma, having beaten Christian in the race to see who could disrobe faster.
In seconds, Gemma had the tourniquet over Alfie’s artery, inches above the bullet wound. Using the belt, she twisted it into place, cutting off the circulation from Alfie’s heart.
He cried out in immense pain before fainting.
Gemma pressed her fingers to the arteries of his neck, wrists, and ankles. He was alive, but barely. His pulse was so weak.
She wiped sweat off her forehead with the back of a blooded hand. “We need to get him out of this simulation alive if we’re going to pass, right? How in the blazes are we going to do that?”
“Well, what’s our next step?” Imara asked.
Colton stood amongst dead Dissent bodies and waved a bloodied piece of cloth that he must’ve taken from inside one of their vests. “Seems our overlords left us a message. It’s an old game from Earth: ‘Capture the Flag.’ Kind of cliché, but whatever.”
“Well, look who finally decided to help,” Imara drawled, flapping her arms in annoyance.
Colton worked his way toward them. “Hey, while you lot were tending to that waste of space, I actually found our objective. So, a thanks would be nice.”
“Never gonna happen.”
Hawk held up his hands, silencing them. “Okay, so it’s ‘Capture the Flag.’ What does that mean exactly?”
Colton stuck the cloth in his pocket. “It means we leave this loser behind and hope he doesn’t die.”
“You’re not serious,” Gemma said. “We can’t leave him here.”
“Then, by all means, stay with him,” Colton snarked.
Christian shook his head. “We’re not leaving Gemma by herself to protect Alfie.”
“Then you can stay too.”
“Okay, stop,” Hawk interrupted. “That’s enough. This is obviously a team-building exercise, and we are failing miserably. So, here’s what’s going to happen.”
“Who put you in charge?” Imara cocked a hip.
“Just let him talk.” Christian rubbed his forehead.
“Thank you.” Hawk smiled at Christian before turning his attention back to the group. “Gemma obviously knows medical stuff, so wedoneed her to stay here and keep Alfie alive. Christian, you’re the best shot, so you stay here and keepthemalive. Colton, Imara, and I will go find this stupid flag and end this blasted test.”
“See,” Colton drawled. “That’s exactly what I said.Ishould be in charge.”
Imara glared at him.
“How will we know when you’ve got it?” Christian asked.
Hawk shrugged. “Either the test ends, or we’ll meet you back here.”
Gemma sighed. “Fine. Just . . . nobody else get hurt or die, okay?”
“Aw, she cares about me after all. So sweet,” Colton said, smirking when Gemma flipped him off.
