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 Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:25 pm
David was busy tearing through Liz's first aid kit as she looked herself over.
"I'm fine," he said. Which, he was. It hurt, but it was going to hurt a hell of a lot more as his bruises healed. He tongued his split lip as he set out what he needed on the small kitchen table.
"Do you think we'll need to stitch up that gash?" David knew he's have to do it if it came to that, and even though he might have killed two people today, causing Liz pain wasn't something he was going to enjoy. He watched her worriedly through his good eye, as his left struggled to peek through its swelling.
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:34 pm
Liz slowly leaned forward and removed his helmet with her right hand, setting it on the table. She fingered his glasses, noting the missing lens, and the puffiness around his eyes.
She looked back to her arm as red started to drip on the floor. After painfully removing her brace, she damped a towel in the sink and tried to clean the blood off her arm so she could see the wound.
Her stomach churned, and she held the towel to her arm tightly, holding her arm over her head. Her voice was weak and quiet, but firm,
"I don't have any surgical thread, and can't sew like this. When the blood stops, will you cauterize it for me?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:54 pm
"... So, yeah. She ripped my earring out."
Scotty was now talking to the squirrel. The squirrel seemed at least mildly used to being around people, though it seemed neither interested or disinterested in what was being said. All it wanted was food.
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:58 pm
He took off his jacket and laid it on the back of a chair.
"With...?" He dreaded the answer, as he walked over to the kitchen sink to wash his hands.
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 6:07 pm
Arcadian He took off his jacket and laid it on the back of a chair. "With...?" He dreaded the answer, as he walked over to the kitchen sink to wash his hands. "There's butter knives in the drawer to your right. Emergency candles on your left. Get it hot enough that it's very hot, but not red. Use a washcloth around the handle." She sat back down, her head light. She took note of any injuries again, but found none obvious, as she didn't have x-ray vision to see his bruises. "Hey, afterwards, you're going to want to get some of those ice packs out of the fridge. There's some peas you can put on your eye. Also, use some of that Biofreeze in my pack on your worst bruises. There's some Tylenol above the sink; don't use the stuff in my pack, that's mixed with aspirin. You don't want that."
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 6:09 pm
The squirrel ran around the branches of the tree as Scotty continued speaking. It still hadn't found any food.
"Well Rocky, I guess I better see if they can wait on in me in the emergency room now. I doubt it, but it's not like I have anything better to do."
He stared up into the branches a moment.
"No, no. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy your company. It's just that I've had to do most of the talking."
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 6:20 pm
He blinked.
"You sure you want to use candles to heat it up? That'll leave carbon on the metal... and I don't think you want to get that into your wound." He remembered a popular cult film. Actually, it had been on his mind ever since she mentioned 'cauterize.'
"Where's your clothes iron?" He got out the rubbing alcohol as he waited for an answer.
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 6:33 pm
Her face blanched as she imagined the greater area affected, but figured he'd use the side of the iron as best he could. At was at this point she regretted having an electric stove. She didn't speak at first, just nodding. She took a deep breath, "Laundry room in the hall, on the shelf on the left."
"...You seriously taking your medical advice from that movie?" she laughed nervously, "the candle might not be so bad, you know..."
"You're seriously thinking a candle's smoke will be sterile?" He countered as he rushed down the hall.
Her voice wavered as he sterilized the iron and knife, "...Well, no, but...".
She checked to make sure the bleeding had slowed some, and despite her towel being stained, it had. She turned away as he turned on the iron. It heated up fast. He grabbed a wash cloth and one of her pot holders as he held the knife to the iron.
"Don't worry", he reassured her, "You think I'd actually use the iron on you? I'm just going to heat up the knife, okay?"
He gently wiped the rest of the blood off her arm after the knife had heated up sufficiently. She took a deep breath and braced herself against the table with her right hand, "1-2 quick touches. Don't leave it on too long."
Her friend took a seat next to her and placed a hand on her left shoulder to soothe her and also to hold her still, "Hey Kitten? You mind counting back from five for me?"
She took a deep breath and slowly counted, keeping her eyes closed,
"Five. Four. Thre-AAHHH"
David retracted the knife as quickly as he had put it on. The blood at the wound site coagulated slightly. Liz whimpered and clung desperately to the table with her right hand, as she couldn't place any pressure on her left arm.
"I gotta go again, Kitten." he whispered as he sterilized the knife again, "I thought I'd get it all the first time. I'm sorry. One, two..."
He finished sealing the wound as she flinched. When he was done she retracted her arm and cradeled it to her, knowing the next task was to reduce the swelling in her wrist. Yet all she could do at the moment was cry.
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 7:35 pm
He felt like the biggest douchebag on the planet, seeing her cry like that. It's not exactly something where hugging would help.
"I'm sorry."
Getting up, he could feel his body becoming more and more pained from his injuries. He went and raided Liz's freezer, plucking a bag of peas out for his eye, and made up an ice pack for her arm. The coolness felt good on his face as he walked over to gently place the pack on her arm, before rummaging through her knapsack for the biofreeze.
Groaning audibly to get her attention, he pulled off his shirt. His left arm was rather bruised, but his right kidney would make her cringe. He wasn't ripped, nor was his skinny, but he wasn't showing his skin to impress her.
"Which one needs this stuff...?" He said, tiredly, planting the bag of peas back on his face.
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 7:39 pm
"Well, fine. You can come with me for a little bit, Rocky. But I'm not sure they'll let you in the hospital. It's not a vet's office after all."
The squirrel didn't respond.
"So, you need a bit of coaxing, eh? Let's see if I have anything for you..."
He looked in his pockets and the only thing halfway edible was breath mints. Despite the fact he was talking to the squirrel as if it was human, he knew it was unlikely to actually eat a breath mint.
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 7:47 pm
Liz surveyed the damage, worried about the bruise around his kidney,
"Right back, about 2/3rds down. You can put some on the rest of your visible bruises too. It's going to get really cold though, to warn you. Maybe you should go lie down. There's an extra pillow and a blanket in the laundry room. There's some pain meds in my bag too."
David did what he was told. The coldness would distract him from the pain.
"I'll be okay. Besides, I want to figure out what's going on. Where's your computer?"
The nurse frowned worriedly but stood, balancing the icepack on her wrist as she grabbed a few more pea bags out of the fridge. She picked up her bag and lead him to her room.
Her computer was a laptop a desk in front of the window. More people had crowded in the streets from before, he could notice.
Liz wrapped her arm in a sterilze gauze bandage. She placed the ice bags on her wrist and eye as she lay back on her bed,
"The password is 'ernurse127'."
Her right hand rummaged through her pack till she found her MP3 player. Maybe the music would soothe her? Her head felt so light, and her bed was so comfortable...
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:15 pm
Within a minute, he had several news reports of the riots breaking out in Smalltown. Nothing definitive yet, though. Apparently they were going to send in the National Guard from the opposite side of the state. He looked over at Liz to tell her, but she was out cold. "Poor girl."
He stood up and walked out of the room, to lock the door. He didn't want to be ambushed and have a madman kill the girl in her sleep.
Stopping at the kitchen table, he got out the motorcyclist's wallet and began skimming through it. He pulled out fifty bucks of cash and stuffed it in his pocket before looking at the driver's license. No family pictures.
"No one to be waiting at home for him."
A movie ticket, a membership card for the NRA, a supermarket discount card, an insurance card and two credit cards were the only things left in his wallet. He plucked them and put them in his own before tossing the old wallet in the trash.
He walked back into Liz's bedroom and proceeded to type "How to ride a Motorcycle" into the Google search-bar.
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:29 pm
Scotty searched around the clump of trees for something to give to squirrel, but found nothing.
"Well Rocky, I guess this is where we part ways. Maybe I'll be back to speak with you later. It's not likely that I'll get in the emergency room. If only I had someone willing to pick me up or give me a ride somewhere..."
With those words, he made his way toward the parking lot of the hospital.
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:45 pm
A few minutes after David had settled in, he could hear his friend's breathing become swallow behind him. She whimpered in her sleep and trembled as if she were cold. Her skin was pale and cool to the touch. If he approaches her, she address him as her roommate "Lisa".
"Lisa? Lisa, I'm sorry. I'm sorry..."
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 9:45 pm
"Liz, I'm not Lisa." He said simply, turning to look at her. He stared for a moment before realizing she was shivering. He rushed to her side and felt her forehead.
"That's... not good. Liz, you okay?" He lifted her feet and tossed a pillow under them, lowering her head in the process. "Liz?"
She blinked her eyes open. The bag of peas had fallen off and the swelling had gone down on her right eye some, but neither of her eyes would focus. She pulled her earbuds out and looked to where she thought he was.
"...David? Could you..turn the fan off?"
He was worried, now.
"The fan isn't on, Liz. Are you okay?"
"Oh. No. I'm cold...what's my pulse? Are my legs up?"
"Yes, they are." He put his fingers to her neck. Her pulse was thready and fast.
"Oh. My blood pressure...the hospital's...? That's right." Her thoughts were random as she rambled on about water but not drinking it, but they seemed to make sense to her. She set the pea packet on her chest and closed her eyes.
"Liz, focus!" He shouted.
Liz's eyes opened immediately. She tried to sit up but her head fell back, dizzy. She ran her good hand through her hair and tried to focus on him, on his face. "...Just...water. I'll be fine. Water? Gatorade..."
He bolted out into kitchen and into the fridge. Snagging a purple Gatorade, he grabbed his jacket and raced back into her room. She tried to sit up and reach out for it at the same time but realized the two would be contradictory given her available arms.
"Here, I'll hold it for you," he said, helping her sit up. He offered the bottle to her lips.
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