Fire for Effect by Kendall McKenna Page B

Jonah could be of some use.
    Staying low, they dragged the Marine to the back of the room and out of the way. Jonah grabbed up the discarded M16 and leaned it against the wall within easy reach. Kellan emptied the webbing and pockets of the Marine’s uniform. He handed ammunition to Jonah and tore open the IFAK—Individual First Aid Kit—dumping the contents onto the floor.
    “Staff Sergeant Mason, we got a room back here with an alcove,” a Marine shouted. “It’ll provide a little more cover.”
    “Roger that,” the staff sergeant Kellan now knew was named Mason, answered.
    “Tell me which room and we’ll move there once we’re done here,” Kellan said, not looking up from his task.
    “Fuck, is that Frasier?” someone asked in a worried tone.
    Jonah tore open the Marine’s MTV to reveal a name patch that read ‘Frasier’.
    “Get back to your position, Porter,” Mason ordered from where he was firing out the front door of the house. “They’ll take care of Frasier.”
    Porter gave brief directions to the secure back bedroom. “Solid copy,” Jonah told him.
    The largest patches of blood were on the Marine’s right arm and leg. “Ka-Bar,” Kellan barked.
    Jonah retrieved Frasier’s knife from the leg sheath and handed it over. Kellan cut open the sleeve and pant leg of Frasier’s uniform. The arm wound was the worst. Flesh was devastated and Kellan thought he could see bone fragments in the wound. There was too much damage to apply direct pressure.
    “Anybody have a CAT?” Kellan shouted, asking for a Combat Application Tourniquet.
    A black strip of fabric hit the tile floor and slid to within Jonah’s reach. Kellan took the two-inch thick nylon webbing and slid it over Frasier’s arm nearly to his armpit. He twisted the plastic windlass until the blood flow slowed and seemed to cease. Securing the windlass, Kellan shifted to examine the leg wound.
    Before Kellan asked, Jonah handed him a thick wad of gauze. Kellan pressed into the wound on the top of Frazier’s thigh. It was a large but clean, circular wound. As he pressed the gauze to that wound, Jonah helped Kellan shift Frasier’s leg until they found the jagged exit wound. Jonah handed him another wad of gauze.
    “Is there QuikClot?” Kellan asked.
    Jonah showed him the packet. “Say when.”
    When his watch reached ninety seconds, Kellan pulled away the gauze and blood flowed freely. “Now.”
    Jonah carefully tore open the QuikClot packet and sprinkled the granules into the exit wound. Kellan shifted Frasier’s leg so Jonah could sprinkle the QuikClot into the entry wound.
    With the bleeding under control, Kellan asked, “Pressure bandage?”
    “How’s Frasier doing, sir?” Sergeant Mason asked.
    “Bleeding’s under control,” Jonah shouted in answer.
    Together, they applied the large cotton pads to the entry and exit wounds. Kellan wrapped the four-inch wide elastic wrap and secured it with the plastic and Velcro fasteners.
    “Are you gonna wrap the arm?” Jonah asked.
    “Yeah,” Kellan replied. “Gauze and triangular bandage?”
    Jonah handed over the roll of gauze and Kellan wrapped Frasier’s arm. He covered it with the tightly wrapped triangular bandage. The tourniquet would control the bleeding but the bandage would keep the wound as clean as possible.
    “He’s good for now, staff sergeant,” Kellan shouted, “but he needs a cas-evac asap!”
    “Copy that,” replied Mason.
    Jonah picked up the M16 and grabbed one side of Frasier’s collar. Kellan grabbed the other side as they prepared to move to the more secure room. Two more Marines fell through the doorway.
    “Soames was fragged!” one of the new Marines yelled.
    A fresh burst of adrenaline flooding Kellan’s system. They left Frasier in the relative safety of the corner and crawled forward. “We’ll take care of Soames,” Jonah declared.
    “Kistler, head back and make sure they’ve got all the rooms secured back there,” Mason ordered