"We need blood. Do you have the results for Ravi's blood type?" Billy Fisher asked with a serious expression.
Back in the day, long before he met Jason, he had taken courses to become a military doctor, but in the end, he gave up on that path. However, over the years, he had continued to train for situations like this while following Jason's group.
"His blood type is AB positive. Who here has that type?" Bob asked, sweating profusely. His hands were moving quickly as he worked to treat Ravi's wound.
"Jason and I have that type. You can take mine," said George as he looked through the contents of some information cards. The whole team was prepared for this kind of situation, so they had the means to deal with what was happening now.
"Yes. I need you to roll up your sleeve."
Bob was trembling with nerves. It could be said that at this moment, one person's life and another's well-being depended entirely on his skills. Even though he was trained to deal with these kinds of injuries, the year-long gap without practice brought doubts about his procedures.
Jason noticed this and stepped forward, placing a hand on Bob's as he held the needle ready to draw blood. Their eyes met, and Jason said, "Listen to me very carefully. You're a soldier, and you're trained to witness things a hundred times worse than what you're seeing now. I trust that you have the skills to solve this problem."
"Focus and block everything else out. Only the wounded are here, along with Billy and George, who will follow your every word. Merle and his brother are waiting for you to help with their injuries."
As Bob listened to Jason's words and looked at his face, he nodded and began to work without paying attention to anything else. With smooth and steady movements, he started drawing blood from George while moving over to Merle and showing Daryl how to assist with the wound.
"What a fucking mess… I hope Jon killed that bastard who escaped or we're screwed later…" he muttered with his usual crooked smile.
"Don't talk..." Daryl said while looking at his brother.
Within minutes, the operation began, and Jason, who couldn't help with any of the medical procedures, stepped out of the RV and scanned the surroundings with vigilant eyes. He signaled Glenn to take cover and then started moving to the sides.
Everyone was gathered outside with grim expressions. This was the first time they had come out of a confrontation in such bad shape, and it made them realize how easily one could be shot and killed.
About an hour later, Bob stepped out of the modified RV, followed by George and Billy. A while after that, Daryl also came out, crossbow in hand. Everyone gathered around to hear what Bob had to say. Judging by what they had seen, Ravi Kapoor's condition was very serious.
"I'll be honest with you—I did everything I could. But given the situation, it took too long. Now all we can do is wait and see if he pulls through. Otherwise… he won't make it." Bob looked at everyone and then sighed bitterly.
Hearing this, everyone looked at each other with sadness and, one could say, a sense of guilt. Then a voice broke through the haze of silence:
"Listen, this is entirely my fault. Even though I knew we might run into enemies here, I insisted on coming and dragged you into a mission where I put your lives at risk."
"Merle and Ravi's injuries were caused by my poor decisions. Don't feel bitter, because I'm sure this will only make us stronger. I'm really sorry, guys." Jason looked at everyone and sincerely apologized. He had acted on impulse and put his people in danger.
As Daryl stepped forward, he looked at Jason for a few seconds and said, "This isn't your fault. What does any of this have to do with you? Who here dares to say you made a bad decision when you always ask for suggestions and make sure we agree? If anyone says otherwise or blames you for what happened, I'll be the first to beat the crap out of them."
"Daryl's right. None of us here are blind or led by emotion. That group of lunatics showed up out of nowhere. No one would've guessed something like this would happen, even if we knew there were people here besides us. If they didn't attack now, they would've done it later. That's just the way the world works now!"
Glenn spoke up as well. He looked at Jason seriously, and his words reflected what everyone else was thinking. When Jason heard them, he felt a bit of relief deep down.
At that moment, footsteps echoed from inside the modified RV. Bob reacted quickly and supported Merle, who stepped out and looked straight at Jason.
"You're the person I chose to help get through this hell. I don't want to hear any bullshit apologies or anything like that. At least you managed to kill all those bastards."
Jason smiled at Merle, nodded, and then started thinking about what had to be done now that things had taken such a turn.
...
"Zz… Jon, what's the situation?" Jason asked with a frown. He hadn't heard back from Jon since he left to chase the wolf who escaped.
Just then, Jason realized that order might've been a bit reckless, driven by his anger and desire to wipe out every one of the wolves in that place.
"Zz… Sir, the target was found and eliminated. I'm on my way back."
"Zz… That's perfect. Is there anything I should know?" Jason was satisfied with the reply. At least now they'd have more time to move around the area without more enemies showing up.
"Zz… No, sir. Just that this group was far from normal. They appear to be cannibals. I'm guessing they ran into another group of survivors near our location before they found us."
"Get back as soon as possible! We're scouting the area for supplies and trying to learn more about the group that attacked us," Jason ordered firmly.
"Understood, sir."
Once the conversation ended, Jason signaled to George and the others to begin moving and finish what they came here to do in this remote place.
Now that the enemies were gone, Jason had no intention of returning to Noah's shelter right away. The most important task now was to transport the materials they had come to collect into the buses as quickly as possible. After all, even though modifying the buses wasn't difficult, it would still take time if Jason wanted to stick to his plans.
Taking advantage of the break while Bob treated Merle, Jason organized everyone to load some of the modification supplies. Luckily, there were forklifts in the warehouse, and enough vehicles driven by their team, so they finally managed to load all the materials.
After that, Jason instructed everyone to search the bodies of the enemies they had just taken down. All those weapons and supplies would be essential—at least enough to make the losses they suffered this time somewhat worthwhile.