Part Eleven - 'If' He Lives...
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
::zoom in on a girl w/ headphones, jamming to Dark Lotus:: "Pain is sexual. Ah. Strapped down, but wait, I can still move my head around! I got about four inches between the back of my head and the metal gurney bed. A broken bone is piercing my brain and -- ooh! – I just hammered it in!"
::realizing people are watching and takes off headphones::
Sorry everyone. I know this took forever and while I may be good at writing, I suck at updating them. Now, considering I have about eight stories that only have one chapter posted but are really four chapters long… Yeah. I can't type. Jilli SLOOOW typer, bad typer. (Ewwies) Okay, as you all know, I'm a sucker for pain and you guys know I love it. (I'm horrible, who cares?) Oops, be right back. Anyway, on with the story.
::comes back later with blood on her shirt:: Sorry, forgot I had a 'patient' in the basement:: Oops! ::hides doctor's kit by kicking it behind her:: my lame attempt at humor. (Weak but who cares. I make myself laugh.)
DISCALIMER: I don't own anything except Lauriela (Mwa ha ha ha ha!) Sorry, I'm sane… ::puts a pot on her head and starts dancing on the table while singing a strange song about Inuyasha::
THANKS EVERYONE FOR REVIEWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ::hands all the readers chocolate:: Keep reviewing, I'll keep writing! (may not post, but I'll keep writing!)
"Iolaus, wake up," a sweet, musical voice whispered.
The slight blonde cried out in his fever-induced sleep. The nightmares had started almost as soon as he had completely lost consciousness. Random images from his past came back to haunt him. His father, prison, Ania.
The most recent events; such as Hera's plaything succeeding with sinking its venomous fangs into Hercules flesh
He cried out again and tossed restlessly beneath his blankets.
"Iolaus, you have to wake up," the voice said, "The world still needs you. Hercules still needs you."
"Ania?" he murmured, confused.
"No," the voice sounded puzzled; "I'm Lauriela."
Lauriela? The name sounded familiar.
Something soft touched the hunter's cheek and instinctively he leaned into it. There was so much pain. He just wanted to sleep forever, but the woman said otherwise.
He slowly forced hie eyes open and waited for them to focus on the raven-haired beauty kneeling next to the bed staring at him with her brilliant green orbs.
His own eyes widened.
"Y-you're… talking?" he managed to say.
She nodded. "Mmm-hmm. Hercules asked me to stay with you while he went to get the healer."
A body-wracking shudder ripped through Iolaus' body, accompanied by a low, shaking moan.
"Stay awake, your friend will return soon."
"I can't keep my eyes open…" his head throbbed in tune with his ankle, not to mention the rest of his body.
His side felt like it was full of acid and was going to explode. That whole side of his body, he felt, was going to fall off. All his bones ached horribly and all he wanted to do was sleep the pain away.
"Tell me about your Ania."
"You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen," he mumbled, almost incoherently.
Another agonizing spasm ripped through his burning body, making him whimper against his will.
"I know it hurts, but you must stay strong. If not for yourself or the world, do it for your friend!"
Iolaus' slim frame went stiff, and a he couldn't stop the bone-chilling scream that ripped past his lips.
Finally, he could resist no longer and his eyes closed as he fell into the blessed darkness, away from the pain.
Lauriela held a cloth against the bleeding holes in his sides, fighting back tears. Iolaus' body was burning badly and chills wracked his body.
'Iolaus, you must pull through this,' she pleaded silently.
The door burst open, making Lauriela jump in surprise and smother a scream. Hercules stormed in, dragging the healer behind him, who was carrying a medium-sized sheepskin bag.
He was bitten by that…beast in the forest. You said you were working on a cure," he said, panic edging in on his voice, "Iolaus got hurt on the battle to protect your village, now you have to help him!"
The chubby man glanced at the hunter, who was tossing restlessly in new fever-dreams and started ordering everyone in the room.
"Lauriela, go get some water and set it to boil," the girl immediately ran out of the room, intent on her given task, "Hercules, I strongly suggest you get a fire going."
The demigod took an armload of wood from next to the hearth, some tinder from the drawer ((A/N: for argument's sake, the innkeeper keeps tinder and flint in a draw for his guests to start a fire in the fireplace.)) and quickly had a roaring fire going.
"What next?" Hercules asked; Freck had stripped Iolaus of his medallion and vest and was examining the bites seriously.
"The wounds are too wide to stitch close. Put his sword in the fire, we'll need to cauterize them," replied the healer, unbuckling the sword-belt and tossing it to him.
Hercules caught it, unsheathed the blade and thrust it into the hottest part of the fire, just as Lauriela blasted through the door with the water, a few cloths and a pot stolen from the kitchen. She poured the water into the pot and set it on the hook, swinging it into the hearth, all in one smooth motion without stopping.
"Now what?" she demanded.
Freck nearly stopped mixing hie medicine when he heard her speak.
"Take care of that head wound and his ankle. It must have been re-injured during the fight."
The woman grabbed a cloth and soaked it in the heating water, while Hercules saw to his ankle.
Every gasp or agonized moan nearly broke the strong man's heart.
Freck finished mixing everything together and added a bit of water to the cup, turning the herbs and powder into a thick, soupy drink.
"C'mon, boy, you need to drink this," he said, even though Iolaus couldn't hear him.
The healer tried to get his mouth open, but nothing was doing.
"Hercules, prop him up and get his mouth open."
Lauriela was already at the man's head, so she supported the hunter's upper body while the demigod pried open his mouth. Freck began pouring the concoction down. Iolaus coughed and sputtered the liquid down, managing to swallow most of it.
"Okay, Hercules, go get the sword out of the fire," he ordered, helping Lauriela ease the injured man back down.
The demigod went and did as he was told.
"Was that the antidote?" he asked.
"Hopefully, along with some painkillers," the healer replied, "If he can fight off the venom through the night, he should be okay. Right now though, we have to get these wounds cleaned."
Hercules could only stand there, staring at the red-hot blade dreading and knowing what he would have to do. He watched as the healer cleaned out the massive bites.
"You, bring that over here."
Iolaus let out another moan of agony loose, bringing him one more step closer to being conscious.
"Try to do it while he's still out of it.
Lauriela finished cleaning the blood from his hair and took both his hands to keep Iolaus relatively restrained.
The demigod swallowed hard before pressing the red-glowing blade against the hunter's skin with shaking hands.
A blood-curdling shriek or pure torment split the air, accompanied by the sick scent of burning, searing flesh.
The blonde writhed, struggling to get away from the object of torture. Lauriela leaned down and whispered soothing words to him, stilling his frantic movements.
She looked up and nodded for him to continue. Hercules steeled himself for another scream, then lowered the blade again.
'I think I'm going to be sick,' he thought when the stench of sizzling flesh thickened in the air.
Hercules tossed the sword down when the deed was done and sprinted to the discarded bucket, where he became violently ill.
Dizzy and sick, Hercules glanced at his deathly pale friend who lay on the bed shivering uncontrollably.
"As I said before, I haven't tried the antidote yet, but if, and that's a big 'if' he survives the night, then he should be fine," Freck explained.
Now that the bites and head wound were properly taken care of, the healer could concentrate on the blonde's other injuries.
The swelling in Iolaus' right shoulder had increased considerably, and his upper and lower arm was bent at an odd angle, indicating a dislocated shoulder and a shattered arm.
"Hercules?" Freck succeeded in getting the demigod's attention and he got it undivided.
"Hercules, his arm is broken and his shoulder is dislocated," he explained, "As we both know, you're stronger than me, so you'll have to set them."
The younger man nodded to show he understood this and the fact that he would be causing his best friend even more pain.
He stood up from the floor, walked over to Iolaus' right side and braced himself for a moan or scream.
Gently but firmly, he grasped his friend's swollen shoulder, then, looking at Freck, who nodded, shoved the joint back into its socket with a sickening pop that turned his stomach. The only thing that any of them heard from the burning form on the bed was a soft, shuddering moan.
Then quickly as he could, Hercules set the other two bones, wincing when Iolaus let out another pained moan.
The healer splinted the whole arm; from the shoulder, to the beginning of the hunters fingers, then went on to clean and treat the minor scrapes and cuts that covered the poor man's body, stitching up the larger gashes that needed it.
Since the ribs were broken, Freck decided to kill two birds with one stone by bandaging the bite wounds a little tighter than he usually would, keeping the cracked bones in place.
"As I said twice before, Hercules, I've never even attempted to try this anti-venom yet, but your friend is strong and if he makes it through the night, he'll make it," Freck explained grimly, not wanting to get the demigod's hopes up.
So, all they could do now was wait out the cruel night…
And hope the Golden Hunter was strong enough to resist the inviting arms of Celestia.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, I know it was a long time, but I hope this makes up for it! REVIEW!!!
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Jillian