#gonna just add this to the collection
Trigger Warning. This bit takes place in a hospital and deals with victims of a natural disaster.
—————————————————-
Another body was carried inside and dropped onto an open bed. The dark yellow blood trailing behind alerted me to the severity of the wound.
“On three.” I lied to the patient in front of me and gave their injection immediately. I dropped the injector on the table next to their bed and moved quickly to the bleeding Helvsparr.
A quick glance and I knew what the bleeding was from. Still, you could never be too sure.
“What’s wrong?”
I looked again to their face when no answer came. Unconscious. One of the beings who carted them in had stayed behind. I clicked sharply at them.
“What happened to them?” I repeated.
The clearly shaken up Drrhn finally looked coherent. “Rockslide. He was pinned. My partner is a human. Two deathworlders on a rescue team, should have been fine.”
I clicked again, louder. “He’s bleeding out and in order to have a chance at saving him, I need to know what all is wrong.”
“Byron gave him a sedative and amputated his arm. He also has a potentially crushed chest plate and several broken ribs. Minor cuts and gashes from the rocks.”
I held pressure on the wound and gathered the supplies needed to cauterize. Normally we’d have a nice cooling spray to seal the wound but this was an emergency and we ran out of the nice stuff two hours ago.
When I cauterized the wound, he woke up screaming. The Drrhn snapped too and helped hold him still. I moved quickly once that was done, checking the Helvsparr for any more damage. He kept looking for his missing limb, an appropriate response, but his squirming made it hard to do much.
“Drrhn, you see that cabinet with the yellow and red signs?”
“The one that says do not open?” he asked.
“Go get me the blue and white bottle,” I commanded.
“If there’s more than one?” he asked.
“Then get me all of the blue and white bottles.”
He ran off.
“What are you giving me?” the Helvsparr asked.
Finally, coherence.
“You’ve got an injury that most species don’t survive. Lose of a limb is fatal, except in humans. Being as you’re dealing with a human injury, you’re getting human medicine. Those crazies haven’t offered much of substance to the galaxy but their medicine is something to be envious of.”
“Isn’t human medicine lethal?” he asked.
I didn’t have time for a bedside manner. “You’re dying one way or another. At least this way I can mitigate pain and stop you from dying of shock.”
Drrhn made it back with five medicine bottles. I grabbed one and pulled out four red pills. I held them out to the Helvsparr.
“Here.”
He took them and swallowed them dutifully, if nervous.
“Now hold on to the rails and don’t let go.”
He did, nervous. I clicked at the Drrhn, who reached forward to hold two of his remaining three arms down. I started feeling down his chest, identifying the major internal problems. The Helvsparr tried to be quiet, but there was only so much he could do when four firm hands press down on broken bones.
After finding the spots that are the most damaged, I grabbed the wraps and braces. I clicked instructions at the Drrhn periodically because he was the only extra hands I’d get.
“Hey Doctor? I don’t feel pain, or anything really. Am I dying?”
I forced an easy nod at the bottle. “It’s the human medicine. They put themselves in so much pain, they invented some of the best pain relievers we’ve ever seen.”
“I’m not dying?” he asked.
“Not today. And you’re not allowed to die on me tomorrow either.”
I finished bracing and wrapping, told him to rest, and moved on to the next unattended bed.
“Doc, is he really gonna live?” Drrhn asked.
“No clue. Human medicine is dangerous, but it’s his best bet. At the very least, he won’t die in pain. Now, you either go back out and do your job, or you’re going to continue to help do mine.”
The Drrhn nodded and rushed out to continue to pull in more mutilated victims of a not so natural disaster. I glanced down my next patient to identify any major concerns.
