Far and beyond

Crimson

As Monsa was driving away at a lightning pace and her heart was racing still, the corner of her eye caught a ray of light. She did not realize that the night was turning into day until now. She did not know what time it was. She saw the two moons chasing each other out of sight. The larger one was halfway gone and the smaller one was following closely. The night was clear. They were so high up that even the clouds were beneath them. She only now realized that she was in such a panic that she wasn't driving back in the way they came from. She stopped. She looked at the navigation on the vehicle. It showed that they started going back on the right way but went off course only a few minutes ago. Actually, they have only been driving for about twenty five minutes. It seemed like an eternity to Monsa. Her feet were still shaking. Her legs were filled with lead. Her head did not have enough space for all the information she needed to process. And her chest was hurting. She had to focus on her breathing because at some part last night her body forgot how to do it automatically. 

They were standing still. The morning brought light and the light flooded the inside of the vehicle. Only now was Monsa able to see that her hands were covered with blood. She looked at them with disbelief as she was holding on to the steering wheel like a drowning man holds on to a rope. She suddenly let go. She looked at her palms and the back her fingers. They were bloody on both sides. She let out a scream. At that moment she started looking up and down her body, touching her legs and her abdomen looking for the source of it all.

- It's not yours. - a silent voice whispered. - It's from me. I'm hurt. I have two. Two places. Something stabbed me or something like that. Do you know first aid?

Monsa turned her hear to the right. Only now had she remembered that Sofia was with her. He uniform was black. Even with the blackness you could see that it was wet with blood. It was so much blood. How was she still alive? 

- Yes. Yes. I do. I know it. Where? I mean... what did it? You said you're stabbed? - Monsa was struggling with her words.

- It's under the back seat. The first aid. Please. It hurts. Hurry. - Sofia was breathing fast and shallow and her face was pale. The once beautiful blue eyes were now looking tired and lifeless. 

Monsa quickly jumped over the seat and started unlocking the compartment under the seats. She had training. She should know what to do. Sofia needed to lie down. Was there space in the vehicle? Should she go on the snow? 

- There is a stretcher. Under it. It's a roll up. - Sofia seemed to be out of breath even more with every word she spoke.

- Hold on. I'm getting it out. Don't sleep. Hey! Keep your eyes open! - Monsa tried to do whatever she could but so far it was not working. She quickly pulled out the long plastic box and the rectangle piece of metal that was to be the stretcher. 

A moment later she was outside. She rolled out the metal box that was to be the stretcher. She pressed a button a piece of fabric rolled out from one end to another held by thin metal rods on the sides. After it was placed next to the door she reached up to open it. Her expectations were that after she opened the door she would stand up and gently lay Sofia on stretcher where she would stop the bleeding. However, as soon as her hand touched the door to unlock it Sofia fell right out of it and onto the floor. The pure, innocent whiteness was in a moment changed into a crimson red. Compared to all the whiteness on the mountain it was just a dot. But it was a dot that changed the outlook of the mountain. No matter how small compared to the wholeness, it stood out. Monsa couldn't help but notice it was spreading with each moment. Each fraction of a second meant that another part of the white snow will be blood stained and an ever bigger part of the mountain would be changed. Maybe with time it will go back to being all white again. Or maybe it will forever be stained with crimson. Or maybe like a plague, it will spread. Spread until all of the pureness and innocence of the mountain is replaced with bloody rage and evil. Monsa was struggling to put Sofia on the stretcher. She was heavy and Monsa had never had to lift anything as heavy. The only time her body was challenged, on a physical plain, was when she was swimming in the lake. She had never done this. Doubt creeped in. What if she could not save her? She would be the reason why someone she felt really close to would die. 

Monsa opened the first aid kid after she managed to place Sofia on the stretcher so that her body is not on the snow. She used a laser scalpel to cut trough the clothes of Sofia where she had been stabbed after she had removed the armor that was on top of them. She noticed that she had a cut on the outer part of her right thigh. It was not very deep but it was long. The tasset had done it's job. Even though the plate of graphite had fractured from the impact it still seemed to have had some effect. The cut was diagonal going from the top of her thigh almost to her knee. She took out a device that acted as a scanner and ran it down the length of the wound slightly above the skin. It showed that it was a pure cut, only tissue damage, no major arteries were cut so the bleeding was not as much. She took out another tool that was used to spray the wound with a powder and then she ran it placed it on one end of the wound and started going down the length of it. The flesh was pulled together and stuck tight. It seemed like this would be a wound that would recover quickly. As she was looking at the body of Sofia, Monsa had in her head a feeling that something was wrong. Sofia was too quiet for what she had been experiencing. Monsa looked at her face, she was breathing still, but barely. Monsa realized she doesn't have much time. She quickly grabbed the tool and placed it on the other wound. It showed that there is a potential spleen rupture. So that is where all the blood was coming from. It showed that the recommended to repair the rupture on the spleen by stitching it or using a heat sealing. It also recommended that an anesthetic be used while preforming the operation. Monsa took out an anesthetic from the kit. It was in a form of a patch that she should apply near the heart. She did. After that she started following the steps on how to deal with a ruptured spleen. After the procedure was complete and the wound sealed shut Monsa was beginning to show signs of composure. She had preformed well. The bleeding was stopped and both wounds were disinfected and closed. 

- Sofia, I think you're going to be okay. I think this should stop your bleeding. - Monsa said as she was checking both wounds. She did not, however, hear a reply. - Sofia, Sofia!!

As Monsa turned her look to Sofia, the once sky blue eyes filled with innocence and life were now dull and bland. Sofia wasn't breathing. Monsa tried to shake her. Nothing. She tried to revive her. She pushed with her hands on her chest over and over and then tried to give her CPR. It was at this moment that she noticed she was still wearing her air filter and Sofia was not. She must have taken it off while they were driving. The vehicle had it's own filter so theirs weren't needed. But outside, the air was still unbreathable. Monsa quickly took her filter from her face and tried once again. However when she blew the first breath she felt the warm blood that had filled the mouth of Sofia. She spat it out. She then quickly turned Sofias head to the side in an effort to clear her mouth from the blood. She grabbed the first aid kit again. Electroshock. That should do the trick. Monsa placed two plates on Sophia. On her chest and back, both sides of her heart. She then clicked and they made a buzzing noise followed by an unleashing of a charge. She tried it multiple times. It was to no avail. She tried chest compressions once again. It didn't help. Monsa spent what seemed like forever trying to revive Sofia. She tried everything she could. Nothing worked. When a shattered Monsa broke down in tears, she looked around for help. It was only then that she noticed that she was standing in a large red circle. What seemed like a sea of blood was engulfing the snow around the lifeless body of Sofia. Monsa was desperate to bring her back. Even though she knew her for only one day, it felt like she was her life long friend. She remembered her son and how he would be growing up without a mother. She remembered her parents. How they would cry when the news reached them. And it was because of her. Because she couldn't save her. Because she did something wrong. Would have it helped if she gave the air filter to Sofia? Should she have treated the wound on her torso first? Should she have not been such a coward when she hid in her tent? Would she then be able to make a difference? Would Sofia be alive then? Her arms were still bloodied as she was trying to wipe the tears, that were now falling uncontrollably, from her face. Her face was because of it smeared with a mixture of blood and tears. When all the other emotions passed, anger filled her. It made her mad that something like this would happen. It made her mad that she was so naïve in believing that she could just speak to those savages. Sofia was right. They needed to be more safe than they were. They didn't asses the situation properly. And now, because of that, because of policies that she was so naïve to believe in, a child was left without a mother. And it was not only one. She let out a scream. A scream of anger. A loud one. Louder than she had ever screamed before. She cursed everyone. She cursed the aliens, she cursed mission control, she cursed God even. But in reality, she was mad at herself the most. And she cursed herself the most. 

And at the end of all, she let out another scream. Her head was lowered, her shoulders slouched. She was looking at the crimson snow thinking how this could not be happening. How this can't be real. How it must be a dream or a hallucination. That is what it is. She is sleeping in the tent, in the camp. She is dreaming. This can't be real. But then. Something reminded her that it is, indeed real. She heard a scream. The same kind of scream that she had heard the night before. The one that made her leave her tent. They were following her. They were hunting her. She was pray. She quickly tried to lift Sofia into the vehicle. She threw the first aid kit inside first. She pulled and lifted. It was to no avail. She wasn't strong enough. She tried to pull her by the chest first, then by the legs, then to lift her whole. She could not. She kept trying with all her might. And then, another roar. It was louder. They were getting closer. In the rush of the moment she looked down at the lifeless body of Sofia. She knew that she could not carry her.

- I am sorry. I am so so sorry. Please forgive me. - Monsa cried as she was getting up in the vehicle. She directed one last look at the body of what was once her friend and started driving. She looked again on in the mirror. She hoped Sofia would give signs of life and she could go back for her. Instead, her body was just there. In a sea of red. Lifeless. Cold.