Bullet

Jason follows Katie's information, relying on her to move the team forward. He trusted her instincts and her words. While Carson was uneasy following blind, to Jason it was normal.

The the team reaches the ground floor. At the end of the last hall two guard could be seen approaching outside, already alerted to the team's intrusion.

"Katie, get those guards out of the way. Jason, open the door." Carson gives orders, trusting the teamwork of his friends, even if he couldn't understand it..

Ryder follows lethargically, wincing a little when he's pushed around.

Once outside, the team can see several men coming their way, high-powered rifles aimed at them. Jason doesn't even think. The rifles explode. The men shout and jump back, some injured, some just scared.
Make 'em run, Katie.

The trek back up the trail takes much more time than calculated, with Ryder's strength dwindling. Jason looks over his shoulder once to see jeeps dispersed from the plant. "We're too slow."

"I know, but no one is staying behind." Carson might not have always agreed with Ryder, but there was no way he'd leave him.

Sweat poured down the sides of Ryder's face. Out of breath, he tries to keep up, relying on Carson and Jason, his legs feeling like lead weights. "There's no time," he manages hoarsely. "Get yourselves out of here."

Carson and Jason keep up the pace, ignoring the request. Stumbling through the brush, the river was the next obstacle.

"Make it fast," Ryder advises, gasping for breath. "Crocs are gonna think it's dinner time with all this blood."

Carson grimaces as they enter the waist-high water. "Great. That's all we need."

Thankfully, all four make it to the other side without incident. The trek continues through the brush and bramble, Ryder falling once, being picked up by Carson and Jason again. No time could be wasted.

Finally making it back to the cabin, they burst in through the back door. "Clear off the kitchen table," Carson barks. "We gotta move fast before we're discovered here." He drags Ryder toward the kitchen.

Once the table is cleared, he gets Ryder to lay on his back, pulling off his shirt to leave clear access to the bullet wound.

"What are you doing?" Jason questions.

"Getting the bullet out." Carson glances around the kitchen and starts searching the cupboards. "We don't have time for one or two days at a hospital."

"But..."

"Get me the first aid kit."

Jason hesitates before running to the bathroom.
I hope he knows what he's doing.

Ryder tries to sit up and roll off the table, but Carson puts Katie to work. "Don't let him up. He's lost too much blood the way it is. Hold him down." Still scrounging around, he finally finds a half-empty bottle of whiskey in one of the cupboards.

Coming back to Ryder, with no mercy, he pours some of the alcohol over the wound.

Ryder flinches and tries to sit up again, but is held down.

"Here." Carson offers some of the alcohol to him as the only thing closest to a pain killer that they had.

Ryder bites his lip, then accepts, coughing just a little as it burns down his throat. But it was nothing compared to the way his shoulder felt.

Once Jason is back with the first aid kit, Carson burns a knife on the stove to sanitize it and is back, ready to take the bullet out. "Jason, go keep watch out back to make sure we weren't followed." Then he looks at Ryder grimly. "This is gonna hurt."

Just lucid enough to understand, Ryder takes a deep breath and stares up into Katie's eyes. As Carson digs for the bullet, tears of pain form in Ryder's eyes, but he doesn't move. His focus remains a steady stare into Katie's eyes, while his fingers hold her hand in a vice grip.

But as Carson digs deeper, Ryder's reflexes kick in and his body starts to fight back as he tries to sit up, pulling away from the pain.

Carson can feel the knife start to slip and grits his teeth. "Katie, hold him," he directs quickly. "Do anything to keep him still - I can't risk more damage."