From Rags to God of War

Severely injured

Inside, there was a variety of sterile medical equipment.

"I found it!" Isabella whispered into the phone.

"Good," Jessica said. "Now, grab the antiseptic, sterile cotton, a roll of bandage, and scissors from that box."

Isabella gathered the requested items, stacking them next to Nicholas.

"Now," Jessica instructed, "I'm going to walk you through this. First, we need to clean the wound."

"Isabella, pour that antiseptic onto the sterile cotton," Jessica said. "Then, clean the area around the bullet wound. Be careful. Wipe away all dried blood and make sure the surrounding area is clean. Don't press too hard on the wound itself."

Isabella swallowed hard. Her hands trembled slightly, but she did as she was told. The strong scent of antiseptic quickly filled the room. Nicholas hissed in pain as the cotton touched his wound. Isabella repeated the process several times until the area around the wound looked clean.

"Okay, Jessica," Isabella said, completely focused. "It's clean."

"Good job," Jessica praised. "Next, we need to locate the bullet. There's a chance it just grazed him or is still shallowly lodged. Check if there's an exit wound on the other side of Nicholas's arm."

Isabella examined Nicholas's arm. She gently pulled back the torn sleeve of his shirt. "No exit wound, Jessica. It looks like the bullet is still inside."

Jessica sighed. "Alright. This is going to be trickier. In that case, our priority now is to stop the heavy bleeding and stabilize the wound until I can get there. Can you see the bullet?"

Isabella leaned closer to Nicholas's arm. "I can see it, Jessica. It looks like a small, shiny object, slightly embedded."

"Okay," Jessica said, her voice remaining calm. "Now, grab the sterile tweezers from the box. Briefly heat the tips with a flame to ensure sterility, then wipe them with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball. Remember, don't touch the wound too deeply, just enough to gently pull out any fragments if you see them."

Isabella complied. She burned the tips of the tweezers with a match, then cleaned them. Her heart was pounding.

"I can do it myself." Nicholas knew Isabella was panicking.

"No, I can do it." Isabella insisted.

"Are you sure you can?" Nicholas asked.

"I can," Isabella replied, determined. "I have to."

"Now, Isabella, very carefully, see if you can grip the edge of that bullet," Jessica instructed. "If you can't, don't force it. The main priority is to control the bleeding."

Isabella brought the tweezers closer. Her eyes focused on the wound. She saw the tiny metal shard. Her hand moved, trying to reach it. She tried, but it was so difficult.

"Jessica, I can't grip it," Isabella said, frustrated. "It's too deep, and it feels like it's bleeding more."

"It's okay," Jessica quickly replied. "Don't push it. That's good. It means we won't make things worse. Now, grab more sterile cotton. Press down hard on the wound. Don't let up. This will help stop the bleeding."

Isabella pressed the sterile cotton onto Nicholas's arm with all her might. Nicholas hissed again, but this time he clenched his jaw, making no sound.

"While you're pressing hard on the bullet wound, grab the roll of bandage. We're going to wrap it tightly. Start below the wound, circle Nicholas's arm, and keep going upwards, making sure the bandage applies pressure to the entire wounded area."

Isabella followed Jessica's every instruction. Her hands worked quickly, wrapping Nicholas's arm with the roll of bandage, covering the already blood-soaked cotton.

"Make the tie tight, Isabella. Really tight," Jessica urged. "But make sure his fingers can still move."

Isabella tied the bandage. She checked the color of Nicholas's fingertips. Still normal. She tied it as tightly as she could.

"Is this tight enough?" Isabella was still unsure.

Nicholas said, "Yeah, that's enough."

Isabella wasn't convinced. "Why not go to the hospital?"

"You've done a good enough job." Nicholas patted Isabella's hand. "Get some rest; I can handle this. It's just a small wound."

Isabella couldn't relax; she kept her eyes on Nicholas's wound.

Inside, there was a variety of sterile medical equipment.

"I found it!" Isabella whispered into the phone.

"Good," Jessica said. "Now, grab the antiseptic, sterile cotton, a roll of bandage, and some scissors from that box."

Isabella gathered the items Jessica requested, stacking them next to Nicholas.

"Alright," Jessica instructed, "I'm going to walk you through this. First, we need to clean the wound."

"Isabella, pour that antiseptic onto the sterile cotton," Jessica directed. "Then, clean the area around the bullet wound. Be careful. Wipe away any dried blood and make sure the surrounding area is clean. Don't press too hard directly on the wound itself."

Isabella swallowed hard. Her hands trembled slightly, but she did as she was told. The strong scent of antiseptic quickly filled the room. Nicholas hissed in pain as the cotton touched his wound. Isabella repeated the process several times until the area around the wound looked clean.

"Okay, Jessica," Isabella said, completely focused. "It's clean."

"Good job," Jessica praised. "Next, we need to locate the bullet. There's a chance it just grazed him or is still shallowly lodged. Check if there's an exit wound on the other side of Nicholas's arm."

Isabella examined Nicholas's arm. She gently pulled back the torn sleeve of his shirt. "No exit wound, Jessica. It looks like the bullet is still inside."

Jessica sighed. "Alright. This is going to be trickier. In that case, our priority now is to stop the heavy bleeding and stabilize the wound until I can get there. Can you see the bullet?"

Isabella leaned closer to Nicholas's arm. "I can see it, Jessica. It looks like a small, shiny object, just barely embedded."

"Okay," Jessica said, her voice remaining calm. "Now, grab the sterile tweezers from the box. Briefly heat the tips with a flame to ensure they're sterile, then wipe them with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball. Remember, don't go too deep into the wound, just enough to pull out any small fragments if they're visible."

Isabella did as instructed. She burned the tips of the tweezers with a lighter, then cleaned them. Her heart was pounding.

"I can do it myself," Nicholas said, knowing Isabella was panicking.

"No, I can do it," Isabella insisted.

"You sure you can handle this?" Nicholas asked.

"I can," Isabella replied, determined. "I have to."

"Now, Isabella, very carefully, see if you can pinch the edge of that bullet," Jessica instructed. "If you can't, don't force it. The main priority is controlling the bleeding."

Isabella brought the tweezers closer. Her eyes focused on the wound. She saw the small metal shard. Her hand moved, trying to grasp it. She tried, but it was so difficult.

"Jessica, I can't get a grip on it," Isabella said, frustrated. "It's too deep, and it feels like it's bleeding even more."

"That's okay," Jessica quickly responded. "Don't force it. That's good. It means we won't make things worse. Now, grab more sterile cotton. Press down hard on the wound. Don't let up. This will help stop the bleeding."

Isabella pressed the sterile cotton onto Nicholas's arm with all her strength. Nicholas hissed again, but this time he clenched his jaw, not making a sound.

"While you're pressing firmly on the bullet wound, grab the roll of bandage. We're going to wrap it tightly. Start below the wound, circle Nicholas's arm, and keep moving upwards, making sure the wrap applies pressure to the entire wounded area."

Isabella followed Jessica's every instruction. Her hands worked quickly, wrapping Nicholas's arm with the roll of bandage, layering over the already blood-soaked cotton.

"Make the tie tight, Isabella. Really tight," Jessica urged. "But make sure his fingers can still move."

Isabella tied the bandage. She checked the color of Nicholas's fingertips. Still normal. She tied it as tightly as she could.

"Is this tight enough?" Isabella was still unsure.

Nicholas said, "Yeah, that's good."

Isabella wasn't convinced. "Why aren't we going to the hospital?"

"You've done well enough." Nicholas patted Isabella's hand. "Get some rest; I can handle this. It's just a small wound."

Isabella couldn't relax; she kept her eyes glued to Nicholas's wound.