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"Oh, Apo. No. No no no no no."
"Hey. Hey, I'm fine. I'm okay!"
"Apo. There is a knife in your chest."
"No, I'm fine," Apo squeaked out through tears welling at the corner of their eyes. She most definitely was not fine, the biggest giveaway being the small hunting knife. Lodged between her ribs.
Cherri yelled in anger and kicked the corpse of the bounty hunter lying on the ground near them. "He was there for me! What kind of idiotic-"
"Because I love you," Apo managed to say, their voice somehow retaining all its usual softness. "I don't want to see you hurt."
"You idiot." Cherri grabbed Apo's shoulder and buried their head in the cloth. Her other hand strayed down to their chest, fumbling for the knife.
"Hey-" she yelped, jumping back from Cherri's grip. "Girl, careful!"
She raised her hands in innocence as they met Apo's widened eyes. "Sorry?"
"Do you know how dangerous removing a blade from an open wound can be?" Apo's voice was frantic with panic, as if the reality of their situation had finally settled in.
"…no? I'm a… was a bounty hunter. I don't try and save people's life. I was usually the one stripping it away." She cocked her head to the side, as if it were the clearest thing in the world. Apo's mouth pressed itself into a line. "Did I say something wrong? Apo, I'm sorry-"
"You aren't the problem," they reassured, their voice suddenly shallow and labored. Cherri's eyes flicked down to her chest, where the hilt was stuck there in a slowly expanding pool of blood.
"Oh."
"I think… I think I need to sit down."
"Okay. Okay." Cherri scrambled to help Apo gently down onto the ground. "Okay. Um. Um. Can't pull the knife out… can't push it in more, obviously…" She scanned her surroundings, searching for something, anything.
Her eyes landed on a rock, and she lunged forward to grab it. The hard ground scuffed the knees of their pants, tearing the threads apart, but they didn't care. She could get a new pair. She couldn't get a new Apo.
"Apo." They grabbed for her hand, giving it a little reassuring squeeze. Apo let out a little groan. Her hand was cold. "This might hurt."
Cherri took her rock with one hand, steadying the small bit of blade she could, and smashed the rock into the hilt. Apo sharply took in a breath and squeezed her eyes shut as her girlfriend chipped away at the wood. Cherri yelped as the wood cracked, before she regained their composure and pried the two halves apart with her fingers.
Tears rolled down Apo's face, and no matter how much it pained Cherri to know she was causing her girlfriend pain, Apo surviving was worth it. Apo surviving was worth it. She repeated the mantra over and over in her head as she tried to bend the metal against Apo's chest, to stop it from sticking out.
They managed to get the knife blade below a forty-five degree angle, and she ripped a strip off from her cloak and wrapped it around Apo's waist. It wasn't the best she could do, but she didn't remove the knife, so it was probably fine. Apo was probably fine. Apo was fine.
"It's over. The worst of it is over. You did so well." Cherri pressed a kiss to Apo's forehead. The other didn't respond, the only indicator of life in the woman being their slow and shallow breathing. Cherri didn't know for how long Apo had been unconscious, but it was probably for the best that she didn't experience Cherri's dismemberment of the knife in its whole. She slung them onto her back so she could move them. With bounty hunters after her, it wasn't safe to stay out in the open.
Before leaving the area, the limp body of Apo's stabbed caught her eye. Cherri spit on him before bringing her boot down on his face. Somebody like him didn't deserve a proper goodbye. His body would rot under the hot desert sun alone until some poor soul came along to find the remains.
She wiped the blood off of the bottom of her shoes by scuffing it on the barren ground. The coagulated blood on her fingers was smearing on Apo's dress. The knife lodged in her chest still remained, dark blood clotting it in place.
Cherri felt Apo stir beside her, and she stared at them intently as they opened their eyes. "Don't panic. We're in a cave, but we need to get moving soon. Our friends might have caught onto our trail." Apo groaned. "Do you think you can move?"
"Maybe?" They winced as they sat up. "Ow."
"You're still alive, which is what matters. We don't have to start walking right away if you don't want." Apo hummed and gingerly touched her rib, withdrawing their hand quickly with another wince.
"I guess I'm lucky to not have had my lung punctured. You did the best you could, I'm proud of you."
Cherri tried not to come off too proud of herself as she began to properly redress the wound, under Apo's instruction. Her cloak would be permanently torn into fragments, but it would be a symbol of their survival.
The blood had fully dried and clotted around the knife, though the scabs broke apart a bit as Cherri unwound their girlfriend from the strip of blood soaked cloth. She shook her head when asked if there was any source of water in the vicinity, and rubbed dirt onto the cut when prompted instead. Apo's skin was red and inflamed, and it felt almost hot to the touch.
"Thank you," Apo sighed, pulling them down to plant a quick kiss on her lips. "It's not good, but it's definitely not worse. I'll have to walk a little slow, is that alright with you?" Cherri hummed in confirmation, straightening herself back up. She offered her hand, and Apo hissed as she was brought up to her feet.
"Are you okay," Cherri asked again, resisting the urge to shove Apo back down and make them rest, for god's sake.
"Yes," they insisted, their voice gaining a twinge of annoyance.
"Okay. Take my hand."
Apo laced her fingers between Cherri's, letting the shorter navigate them through the darkness. Many a time Apo almost ripped on a rock, Cherri steadying her as they went. Their footsteps echoed against the cave walls, a hollow noise that felt like it was knocking into Cherri's skull. They gave their girlfriend's hand a gentle squeeze to make sure that she was still there, before continuing on.
"How far in did we go?"
"Deep in enough that if they found this place, they'd give up before they searched the whole thing."
"I see." The two fell into silence again, Cherri leading them through the twists and turns of the caverns.
"You're hotter than usual," Cherri observed, breaking the slightly uncomfortable quiet that sat between them.
"Thank you, is it my hot new bandage?"
"No, like… your skin." She traced circles into their palm. "You feel really warm." Apo hummed in contemplation as the two continued on.
"Can we stop for a minute? I don't feel well."
"Of course. Do you wanna get to the shade?" Apo nodded wordlessly, and Cherri couldn't help but notice how her girlfriend's state had deteriorated. She didn't know if these were normal symptoms, but they seemed to be causing her quite a deal of pain.
"Sure," Apo groaned. Over half a day's worth of walking had taken its toll on her, wearing her out much quicker than usual. They got themselves over to a patch of ground shaded by a large outcrop. It was a nice break from the hot mesa sun, there was even a tiny patch of moss at its base. Apo flopped over with a sigh of relief, short, ragged breaths racking her body.
"It's cold."
"Really?"
"Yeah," she gasped out. Their body shivered weakly, and Cherri put a hand up to their forehead in concern.
"You're burning up."
" 'm fine," Apo mumbled, though they very clearly were not. They were insisting they were freezing despite every part of their body being hot to the touch.
"No, you are no-" Cherri cut off mid sentence, the realization shooting through her like a bolt of lightning, something was probably wrong with Apo's wound, and it was only going to get worse. "Stay still for me, will you?" Slowly, she unwrapped the makeshift bandage, and heavens above, it was worse than she thought. "Apo Kuna, you are rightfully starting to piss me off," she whispered through gritted teeth.
The area around the knife in her abdomen had become even more red and inflamed than before, yellow bits of skin flaked away at the touch, their blood looked black and cloudy. She gently traced the edge of the wound, and Apo shouted in pain almost as if she had been stabbed again, and she jerked her body away from her touch.
"Sorry, sorry!" Tears started to prick at the corner of Apo's eyes, and she sobbed silently as Cherri haphazardly inspected the area.
"You don't need to be sorry, it's not your fault," she said gently. They shifted uncomfortably beneath her. "I'm going to try something. It might not help, but I need to try. I need you to trust me."
Apo sniffled and grasped for her hand. "Is it that bad?" It pained her to hear how weak and shaky their voice was.
"No, no!" This probably wasn't a thing to lie through their teeth about, but it was to keep Apo's peace of mind. "Not at all."
"Okay. I trust you."
Cherri wavered for a second. She should not be trusting her. Not now, not with what she was about to do. They brushed it off with a shake of their head. "Do you want a warning?" Apo hummed a 'no' in response.
"Okay."
Cherri put her hands on the metal of the knife.
Counted down in her head.
Three…
Two..
One.
Cherri pulled.
Apo let out a cry like a wounded animal as the knife jolted halfway out of her chest. Almost immediately, dark red began to well at the place where the hunting knife had once been. They squirmed and thrashed under her grip, trying to wrench away from her. Cherri readjusted her hands onto the blade, the actual handle laying splintered on the mesa ground that could have been miles away. The edge broke open the skin on her hands, and through the pain she managed to extract the knife and throw it as far away as she could. The metal landed on the ground with a dull thud.
She struggled tearing off a strip of cloth from her cloak, the task's difficulty monumentally increased by the blood clinging to her hands. The hunting knife might've been useful right about now.
"Focus on my voice. It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay." The last part was a reassurement to herself more than anything. She opted to taking her cloak off entirely and rolling it into a clump, using it to soak up the blood flowing from their body.
"It's so cold."
"Hang in there," Cherri said desperately, "Apo hang in there, hang in there." Apo only groaned.
Pull it together, Cherri. Pull it together, pull it together, pull it together. Apply pressure on the wound. Her medical knowledge was limited, but she could do that at least. Apply pressure. Apply pressure. That she could do.
They found a decent size rock and laid it on top of the cloak to keep it down, to keep pressure on the injury.
She laid a hand over theirs, shocked at how cold she was to the touch. They had been burning up mere minutes ago.
" 'm gonna go to sleep now," Apo mumbled. True to her word, she was softly snoring in a matter of minutes. Cherri couldn't get to sleep, a mix of worry and vigilance racking her body and keeping them from resting. Probably for the best, she needed to keep guard in case her old colleagues caught onto their trail.
"Apo. Apo, wake up. I can sense people around."
"Mmmh." Apo stirred, blinking their eyes open wearily. "Where am I?"
"Apo?"
"Apo? I thought that was my name. Is that the name of this place?" Cherri furrowed her brow, looking at her girlfriend with a strange expression.
"Are you alright?"
"No," she said bluntly. "Ev'rything hurts."
"Oh."
"Why is there a gash on my chest?" The clearly disoriented Apo put a finger to the wound, and she promptly started crying out in pain as the two parts of their body made contact. "Ow. Ow ow ow ow ow."
Cherri gently cradled her head in her arms as they continued to make pained noises. "Do you want to sit up?"
"Can't."
"Okay."
"It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts."
"I know Apple," Cherri murmured, using the nickname she hadn't used since they had begun running from Cherri's old employers.
Apo smiled weakly at her through the obvious pain. "Your face is really pretty." A wave of pain shot through her again, and no matter how hard they tried to keep it in, they couldn't help but howl in pain.
She put a hand to their heart, wincing as they felt how quickly their heart was rapping in their chest. Their breathing was slow and laboured. She traced their features softly, cupping their cheek in their hand. "I do love you, you know."
Apo wheezed out a laugh. "Thank you, pretty lady."
"Shh." She pressed a figure to their lips. "Conserve your energy."
"Okay," they slurred out. "Can I go back to sleep? 'm tired."
"Yeah. You do that." Cherri held Apo in her arms, feeling the uneven rise and fall of her chest as she slowly took breath after breath. They lingered there for a while, Apo in her arms. Rise, fall, rise, fall. She couldn't do anything as they twitched as their breathing slowed.
She held their hand gently - to tell them that everything would be okay. Their skin was cold and clammy, all her usual vigor gone.
Now she was lying unmoving in her arms.
Barely breathing.
Rise, fall. Rise, fall. Rise… fall.
…
..
Another lift of breath never came. No matter how long Cherri waited for another, their body lay still in her arms.
Still.
Unmoving.
Lifeless.
Nothing. Their grip on Cherri's hand loosened.
Nothing.
There was no life left in Apo Kuna's body.
Cherri did nothing.
Said nothing.
Just stared. Stared at the lifeless woman in her arms.
Slowly, she gently moved Apo down to the ground, careful not to harm their body. She took a deep breath, stood up, and buried their face in their hands.
Cherri screamed into their frustration, not caring about the blood soaking the fabric and smearing on her face. Not caring if it compromised their- her location.
It didn't matter if they caught her.
It didn't matter. Did anything really matter? Apo was gone. Apo was gone, Apo was gone, Apo was gone.
Apo, who had shown her how toxic her lifestyle had been.
Apo, who had stuck with her despite how temperamental she could be.
Apo, who had always remained positive, even while on the run.
Apo, who had been a light in the darkness.
Apo, who had been the light of her life.
Apo, who was lying dead at her feet.
Apo. Apo Apo Apo.
She felt numb. She tried to move their limbs into a more peaceful position, but stopped when she saw that she was only bloodying their clothes more. She instead found rocks and encircled their head with them, like something of a bloodstained, lithic halo.
Voices could be heard in the distance as Cherri finished the circle, and suddenly it was from mourning to hypervigilance like a flip of a switch. "Who's there?"
Murmuring voices turned to silence, and hurried footsteps replaced them. "Who's. There?" She snapped, whipping her head around. Coming from somewhere she couldn't trace, an arrow whizzed down and pierced the dusty ground. "Hey! Come down and face me yourself, you cowards!"
Nobody came. Pathetic. Cherri sighed and reached for the crossbow stored inside the scabbard on her leg except- right. It wasn't there anymore. She had left it behind in the panic of worrying about Apo getting a knife lodged in their chest. Oh well. She still had her fists.
"Show yourself!"
But nobody came to her call.
"Where are you? I know you're there!"
Another arrow shot down from the top of the outcrop, almost shooting into Cherri's foot. They stared up at the top, squinting through the sun. "Aha! Caught you." She ran around the rock, looking for an easy way up, but in typical fashion, there was none. They rolled their eyes and cracked their knuckles, preparing to scale the sandstone. Her hand caught a ledge, and she hauled herself up with a grunt. She was almost at the top before the bounty hunter mercilessly pushed her off with his foot. Cherri winced as her legs took the impact, one of her ankles buckling under her weight.
"Ow?? What gives??"
The bounty hunter scoffed as they slid down the steep surface of the rock. Their skin was well tanned by the desert, a burn scar marring his lower jaw.
"Are you new? Or is that new? Don't remember your face," Cherri quipped, hoping it would distract him from the fact she was slowly backing away. It did not. He stepped forward, grabbing her hand to keep her from getting away.
"Don't think you're getting away, Firecracker." He spit out her old codename like it was venom.
"My name is Cherri, actually." With a swift movement, she brought her fist to his face, reveling in the noise his nose made as it broke. He made a strangled noise, grasping at his face.
"Nice try."
There was someone behind her. Someone behind her with the point of something sharp pressing against the nape of her neck.
"Heyyyy, hey now! You wanna talk about this?"
The first bounty hunter took out a combat knife and spun it idly between his fingers. A trickle of blood was slowly finding its way down his face from his broken nose. "I think we've talked long enough."
"Don't move a muscle," the one behind her hissed.
"Nah," Cherri said. "I don't think I want to." She wrenched her hand away and ran. She didn't make it far with her twisted ankle. The second bounty hunter tackled her to the ground, pressing their blade - now identified as a stone arrowhead - to her throat.
"Nice try, Firecracker. You ran for as long as you could. As for now? Well, I think you know what happens next. Scorch, finish her off."
The bounty hunter codenamed Scorch nodded their head, and with a quick slash, drew the arrowhead across her throat. Pain shot through her entire body, and she stared up at the two bounty hunters in a desperate panic.
Cherri coughed, and blood bubbled up and pooled in her mouth, the liquid tasting metallic and sour against her tongue. She panicked and gasped for air, but couldn't draw any in. She clawed at the ground with one hand, grasping her throat with the other. Her hand, already cut up and bloody, quickly became slick with newly shed blood. Reality began to waver around her, her vision darkening at the edges.
Weak. She felt weak. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't breathe. Gasping for air only brought blood down to her lungs, pooling in them, slowly suffocating her.
The last thing she saw before she slipped into unconsciousness were the two bounty hunters staring down at her, pompous smiles on their faces.
Cherri let the entire world go black.