Chapter Text
Cyn closed her eyes as she laid on her back for a moment to catch her breath and let the pain wash over her. Shoulder, ribs, thigh. She bit her lip. Roth was going to be so pissed at her. She could almost hear the lecture now.
“How do you expect to be a good medic or Squad Leader when you’re injured?” Roth would say and she wouldn’t have a good enough answer for him. She’d have to listen to him ream her into next week and fight the urge to wince while he bandaged her wounds.
Adrenaline was swiftly leaving her body as exhaustion settled in its place. Her muscles begged her to never move again and right now she didn’t want to argue. She wondered which injury Roth would be most upset about.
Dislocated shoulder? That could easily bench her for 8 weeks. Shadis actually might be the most pissed at that one, she decided. Especially if he decided to go through with the expedition next month.
The possible broken ribs? That sounded like that might be pretty high on Roth’s list, especially if she were to puncture a lung. God, she would never hear the end of that. And if she died, Roth would probably find a way to bring her back and ream her again. Not to mention that if her ribs are broken, that would be a long painful downtime too that could lead pneumonia. She frowned. Pneumonia on top of broken ribs didn’t sound very appealing. Cyn might be the most pissed about the ribs.
The reopened wound on her thigh? Not ideal. She was definitely looking at a lecture for that one. A long one too if Roth had his way. She was not looking forward to it.
Cyn took a breath and winced as burning pain swept across her chest. She frowned again. My ribs are at least bruised, she grimly thought to herself.
“Cyn?” Levi’s voice ripped through her.
Her eyes snapped open. She had never heard her name uttered like that before. Like a desperate plea. So unlike him.
“Cyn, get up!” Levi called.
“I’m okay,” she groaned as she forced herself to her knees, ignored the fresh waves of pain, and looked to Levi. She gave him a small tired smile that he returned. “I’m okay.”
“You bitch!” Deiter hissed, watching Cyn stumbled to her feet.
“Would you believe me if I said that I’ve been called worse,” Cyn said, glancing around the room. Her eyes fell on the large dead man by the door and she limped towards him.
“Do you really think that the three of you are going to make it out of here alive, huh?” Deiter asked. “The Lady in Black always gets what she wants and she wants you dead.”
“And what do you think she will do to you when she finds out you failed?” Levi said. “If she had any sense, she’d dispose of your worthless ass the second she finds out. So, shut the hell up and you might live longer.”
Deiter fell silent and watched as Cyn slowly got to her knees in front of the dead man. She tried to ignore the way his face was frozen in permanent surprise, his wide unblinking, lifeless eyes, and the scarlet pool of sticky blood as she rummaged through his pockets, hoping to find a knife to free the others. She cursed under her breath when all she found were a couple of unlabeled glass vials, a metal flask, and a large unmarked envelop. She turned the vials over in her hand and watched the strange liquid swirl inside.
Strange.
She was about to pull the stopper off one of the vials when Levi called to her.
“Check his boot,” Levi said, drawing her back to their situation.
Right. How could she forget their current situation?
She pushed her curiosity aside and shoved the vials and envelop in an inner pocket of her uniform jacket before she moved to feel around for anything that could help them. She reached into his boot and pulled out a knife. She gave the lifeless man one last glance and then reached over his face, wondering if this could have been different.
She should have stayed at HQ.
“Rest in peace,” she murmured as she closed his eyes once and for all.