Free The Bleeding Crowd by Jessica Dall

they scanned him and
let him into Dahlia’s room. The lights turned on as the door
opened, then clicked and locked behind him. He seemed to be
alone.
    “Dahlia?”
    No one answered. He moved to the bed, wincing
slightly before unbuttoning his shirt with his right hand. He
shrugged the sleeve off his right arm, and pulled the fabric off
the wet, dark spot that was forming on the left side. Most of the
blood had congealed around the gash, the bright red already turning
maroon and brown. Just a line oozing red beads in the mess of dried
blood. He hissed, balling the shirt around the damp spot and
pressed it to the still inflamed cut.
    The door slid open.
    Dahlia placed her bag by the door and turned.
Her head snapped to the side as her body jumped. “Jeezum!” She
placed a hand to her chest, taking a deep breath before speaking
again. “Ben? What are you...?”
    “Needed some help.” Ben gave a tense
smile.
    She moved closer. “What?”
    “Well, at the moment I seem to be bleeding
rather a bit.” He held up his arm.
    Dahlia sucked in a quick breath, stopped, and
then turned, walking towards the bathroom with purpose. “How long
have you been bleeding?”
    “I don’t know. Half an hour maybe? It’s
slowing down I think.”
    “Do you feel lightheaded?”
    “Not really.”
    She came back with a washcloth and bowl in
hand. “I’m going to wash it to get the excess blood off. It’s going
to sting a little.”
    Ben nodded, flinching slightly at the first
touch, but remaining silent.
    Dahlia washed the wound gently, working
quickly and professionally, then studied the cut. “It’s deep.”
    “That bad?”
    “Well, you don’t generally bleed when it’s
good.” Dahlia shot a look at him. “It might need stitches. You
should go to the hospital.”
    “You’re a doctor.”
    “I’m not a surgeon.” Dahlia shook her head,
pressing the cloth back on it as more blood began to bead along the
surface. “I don’t generally sew people up.”
    He fought back a grimace. “I can’t exactly
just stroll over to the hospital.”
    “Don’t you have one at the camp?”
    “Please , Lia.”
    She pressed her lips together for a long
moment before releasing a shaky breath and moving to her medical
bag. She pulled out a jar, handing it to him. “Rub this on the
site. Just a thin layer, don’t move the skin too much.”
    He did as directed, watching her as she
pulled out a syringe. “You’re going to give me a shot?”
    “It’s a weak local anesthetic. I’m sorry, but
I don’t have anything stronger that isn’t also a blood thinner,
which is the last thing you need right now. They regulate the
stronger stuff, you know, to stop drug abuse.” She found a small
vial. “I’m going to inject near the wound. Hopefully, it will dull
the nerves a little and make it a little less painful.”
    He nodded, looking away as she readied the
syringe and injected the painkiller into his arm. She got up,
wrapping the syringe in plastic, pausing for a second, and then
dropping it in her trash can. “I’m going to let that sit for a few
minutes so it can take effect. Tell me when the wound doesn’t start
to hurt as much.”
    “It’s not that bad.”
    “You don’t have to put on a strong face.”
Dahlia frowned at him. “A cut like that has to hurt.”
    “I’ve felt worse.”
    She shook her head, pulling out a thread and
needle. “Are all men like this?”
    He attempted a smile, ended up with something
more like a grimace. “Perhaps.”
    She threaded the needle quickly. “I don’t
have any surgical thread... or needles for that matter, so I’m
going to have to do this the old fashioned way.”
    “Yeah?”
    She didn’t respond, but pulled her hair back
and sat down. She looked at the cut and then back up at him.
“You’re sure you want me to do this?”
    He nodded. “I’m just not going to look.”
    “I...” She ended up just shaking her head and
set to work as he did his best not to flinch each time she