"Chris! Chris, don't. Stay up there.", you got back on your feet, still a bit shaky.

He looked down to you, visibly upset.

"Did you fall on your head? Why shouldn't I come down?", he asked with a slight worry in his voice.

You grinned, a sharp pain beginning to throb in the back of your head. Briefly you began to lose your footing, everything spinning before your eyes.

"Shit.", you muttered, pressing a hand over your mouth.

You felt sick. Your eyes were not working as they should. Sometimes your vision git blurry or spots turned blind.

Hopefully it wasn't a concussion. There was no hospital near so that would be unfortunate.

"Did you say something?", Chris lay down on his stomach to get a better view down to you.

Although you were far away from him, he felt more comfortable that way. Somehow it gave him hope that if he stretched long enough that he could grab you and pull you out of the ravine. It was a ridiculous thought, but at that moment it gave him comfort.

"Nothing.", you spat out the thing you had kept hidden in your mouth and held it up. "You sly bastard threw it to me perfectly."

At the sight of the round button, a mild smile appeared on his bearded face.

"Keep it. I can find you anywhere in the world with it."

You nodded.

"Then I guess I can't get rid of you anymore."

"Is that what you want?"

You laughed.

"No. If you continue to be such a good soldier, I might keep you forever.", you winked at him.

At that moment, he could feel his cheeks getting hot. Good thing you couldn't see him directly from that distance. He was embarrassed to blush just because of a stupid compliment.

"Hey, can you throw me something down? Guns and ammo would be good.", you stroked over your wet and sticky forehead. "And bandages."

Immediately, Chris disappeared.

For a moment he was gone, sounds rang out and birds moved across the sky in the brightening night. When he reappeared he had filled his arms with a backpack and the bulletproof vest you had left in the hideout.

"Here.", he threw everything down to you wrapped in a thick jacket. "Take care of your wounds and then put this on. It might get cold down there. I'll call the others and see if we can find another way down."

You opened the backpack and pulled out disinfected cloths. It burned like hell as you stroked the wounds and removed the worst of the dirt.

It smelled of alcohol.

Soon, the white fabric turned bloody red, not being able to take all of the blood that was leaving your body.

There were many wounds, much more than you had first thought. If even one of them got infected, there wouldn't be enough time to save you from blood poisoning.

"Holy crap.", you sighed and pulled out bandages to wrap most of je injuries in a neat manner. "I've looked better once."

You did not cover the scars. It would only have been a waste of supplies. The bandages needed to be renewed every other hour. You needed to keep as many as possible.
Only god knew how long you would be stuck in this hell hole.

Chris raised his eyebrows.

"Did you say something?", he threw something else down at you. "Keep that with you. If you're down there, maybe you can take something off my hands."

You stepped closer with a curious look.

It was a pack of explosives. And a remote detonator.

"You know, Redfield, you should not throw stuff like this. It might blow up. Or are you trying to kill me?"

He snorted.

"I thought about it a few times. But no. You will need it for something else."

"Shall I blow something up for you?", you wiggled the package in the air.

He grinned mildly.

"That would be a great help to me. You seem to want to stay down there anyways, so if you find anything that looks very suspicious, blow it up for me."

You frowned, amused and curious at the same time.

"What is suspicious by your definition?"

"A huge boil growing somewhere between the stones, throbbing like a heart seems pretty suspicious to me. It is like the source of all power here. It allows everything to renew itself and grow. No source, no renewal."

"Will it attack me?"

He shrugged.

"Maybe."

You frowned.

"How likely am I to die down here? Be honest, Redfield."

He rolled his eyes, holding back laughter.

"You'll be fine."

"Gotcha.", you put the vest over your head and checked if the gun was loaded. "Where do we meet?"

"Where I can pull you out. I can track you with this button. When you get to a suitable place, I'll pull you out."

You raise your hand.

"Then I'll see you on the other side, Redfield.", you grinned.

He made a face.

"Please don't say it like that.", he sounded sour. "It makes me nervous to think about it."

"Don't worry.", you rolled your eyes. "I'm not going to die. Remember, cockroaches don't die."

"Gross, but true. Otherwise I'll bring you back from the afterlife and kill you with my own hands."

"Uh, I'm so scared. Seriously, Chris you need to stop believing you're stronger than me. I'll tear your ass apart if you rob me from eternal peace."

His laughter filled your ears, as you stretched your neck and checked if there was any danger lurking behind a corner.

You threw a glance back up, just to catch him in the right moment. The look on his face mad your heart jump. That smile was just perfect. It even reached his eyes. And he only smiled for you.

The thought made your cheeks burn with heat. Suddenly there was this wish to see this view more often. You wanted to see it, just for you. The picture burned itself deep into the back of your mind. You locked it away, just like a treasure.

Breathing in sharply, you swallowed and turned away your eyes again.

"Fuck me.", you whispered to yourself. "I should pull myself together."