After digging through the compartment, Ashley finally found the first aid kit. She grabbed a pair of surgical scissors and cut away the cloth wrapped around her knee. As expected, the wound looked worse and was inflamed from being hastily bandaged without proper cleaning.
The fabric she'd used earlier might have seemed clean at the time, but dirt had still seeped in, and now the skin around the injury was swollen and raw. Worse, small bits of gravel were still embedded deep in the flesh, which explained the sharp, persistent pain every time she moved.
She didn't hesitate.
Taking a disposable scalpel, she began picking them out one by one. Her hands trembled, and her breath hitched at the sting, but she forced herself to keep going, jaw clenched tight as she worked through it. When the last fragment was out, the wound bled more freely, the exposed flesh looking even harsher under the light.
There was no time to do this gently.
