Chapter 13: A.H.B.L!!!!!!!!

I cried out as the ground beneath and over me shook viciously, knocking me to my knees. Just as the tremors seemed to calm down, a terrible noise like thunder cracked above my head. I snapped my head towards the ceiling as broken debris began to fall upon me.

"Move!!" Braun commanded as he crashed into me, sending me flying out of the way of the rubble. There was a horrible crunching sound and a cloud of dust filled the room, limiting my vision. 

"Braun!" I called out, pushing through the rubble and straining to see against the dirt in the air. "Braun!!" I heard a feeble moan and immediately rushed towards the sound, finding Braun's leg crushed beneath the heavy rubble.

"Braun!!" I cried, clearing the heavy rocks and wood off of his leg. It's amazing what a human is able to accomplish in a time of crisis. I searched the room for any spare medical equiptment that hadn't been crushed by the heavy debris. All I could find was disinfectant, a scapel, a roll of gauze, and some sort of spare kit. I rushed back to Braun and gently rolled him onto his back, examining the wound more clearly. His leg wasn't as bad as it looked, but his foot had almost been crushed entirely.  A gruesome sight to say the least. 

I began to panic, unsure of what to do and hating myself for being so useless. Why did he get in the way? Why did he save me?! It should've been me to get caught under the rubble. 

"Yer not going to start cryin'...are ya?" Braun mumbled weakly, flashing me a grin. 

"B-Braun!!!" I exclaimed, relieved and frightened at the same time.

"I'm not really good with cryin' girls." He laughed and sat himself up. He stared as his crushed foot with a calm and calculated expression. "Were ya able to find any spare equipment?" I showed him the pitiful objects I was able to salvage from the rubble. He sighed in reponse and looked around the room, his eyes finally resting on the mountain of boulders blocking our only exit.

"D___ it!!!." He swore, punching a nearby rock with his hand. The rock cracked then crumbled into pebbles. I stared, mouth agape in utter shock. "Can you hear that? The screaming and gunfire?"

I listened and heard the faint sound of battle not too far from the room. 

"Our comrades are out there, fighting for their lives...for humanity." Braun said in a quiet but dark voice. "And I'm stuck here...unable to do anything." His expression was calm, but the way his voice and hands shook, I could tell he was anything but.

"...I'm sorry." I replied quietly. "If I'd been faster...your foot never would have..."

"Oh this?" He said like as if he'd just noticed. 

"I-if there's anything I can do to help, I'll do it!" I said determinedly, awaiting his command. A moment of silence passed as he calculated the situation.

"Then..." He began while pointing to the corner of the room where another mound of rubble sat. "Go over there. There's an escape route under that rubble. I want you to take that and get out of this place."

I stared at him in confusion.

"But...your foot." I began dumbly. "I...I can't leave you. I won't leave you!"

"Come on." Braun groaned, annoyed. "Our options are limited as it is...and by the sound of what's going on outside, we're losing. We'll probably be retreatin' soon and I don't want to be here when the Zombies start tryin' to find anyone that got trapped...Ya don't know what it's like... They're merciless...."

I stared at him, feeling like he was talking from experience.

"...Get out of here, Ruri." Braun continued. "I don't want them to find you. Besides, you won't like what I'm about to do." I looked over at the pile of rubble, covering the secret escape route and sighed. I walked over and cleared the area of rocks until I was able to see a square wooden door in the ground.

"Sorry...Braun." I said, my back turned to him. 

"Don't be, Ruri." He laughed. "I want it to be like this. Now that escape route leads to a forest nearby. Once you make it out, head due north until--"

"No." I smiled, and returned to his side. "I'm saying sorry because there's no way I'm going to listen to you. I'm staying right here until we fix your foot. Then when you're better, we'll escape together." Braun's shocked face slowly turned into a small smile.

"Idiot." Braun laughed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "...are you sure about this?" I nodded. "...It's not going to be pretty...what I do next..."

"I'm ready." I answered, determined, but a little scared.

"Well then..." Braun sighed. "Find as many clean sheets, anesthetic, rope, and thread as you can."

"Okay." I said quickly, getting up to search. "But, um...why?"

"Because," Braun said in a chillingly calm voice. "I'm about to perform an amputation."'

Thank you SO much for reading!!! This chapter wasn't very progressive, but that's okay. I'm just happy I'm able to write after such a long time. ;v;

Oh! And if you're wondering what A.H.B.L stands for:

All Heck Breaks Loose

(I substitued H-E-Double hockey sticks for Heck. ^^;;)