Brink of Death

Callie asked Lemuel, her voice faint, ‘Can you donate blood?’ ‘I can,’ Lemuel nodded resolutely. ‘I can give 400 cc.’ Callie shook her head. ‘No, 200 cc will do. Find two more soldiers with blood type O and take 200 cc from each.’ Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she whispered to Elias, who couldn’t respond, ‘Elias, don’t leave me...’ Elias didn’t answer. Neither did she need one. For Callie, the choice was clear. She was an orphan with no one but Elias. In the worst-case scenario, if she couldn’t save him, she would rather share his fate. Callie had the medical team wheel Elias into the operating room. Once inside, she donned a surgical gown and a mask. After meticulously going through the sterilization procedure, she approached Elias’s side. The bright green surgical light cast an intense glow over Elias’s body. Callie’s mind was a whirlwind, but she couldn’t afford to lose focus. With gloved hands, she carefully used scissors to cut away Elias’s camouflage clothing to ensure