Hi, this is the continuation of Fire and Ice, where the survivors face a new threat...
Fire and Ice
Chapter 4
…some you lose
Matt coughs up more blood, not as thickly as before. His breathing is shallow and laboured, as he is placed on the bottom bunk in the bunker. He is feverish; his skin looks as though it has been drained of colour. Jack begins to cut away his blood encrusted red t-shirt with scissors, as the convulsions stop again. Jack watches him carefully.
A solitary Sayid watches from the doorway, not saying anything. He and Connor have carried Matt here on a made up stretcher. Connor right now is getting the medical equipment from further down the corridor. An echoing of footsteps mean he's got everything he's been asked to get. Jack continues to cut away.
He stops, in horror. Instinctively he turns away as Matt has another violent spasm. Blood sprays onto the white walls. A few moments later he is still. Matt is still breathing, but this time it is weaker than earlier. Jack looks at Matt's chest, covered now in black and purple lesions. This is serious. He whispers to himself. A hand on his shoulder awakes him from his thoughts. "How is he?"
"We operated on your son. The procedure went well." Professor Shepherd whispers. A relieved mother buries her face into her husband's shoulder. "He's going to be ok; he's being taken to ICU. You can see him soon." In the distance, a trolley is being wheeled out of the operating theatre, nurses surround it like bodyguards. A few feet behind, Jack follows them, he too he is relieved. The father shakes Professor Shepherd's hand firmly before they walk off. The trolley with an very weak eight year old boy passes by, they immediately follow. Professor Shepherd watches them, relieved, he stares down at his hands, they are trembling, he forces them to stop. He looks up, his son is staring him in the face.
"I swear to god, one more time." Shepherd looks at him with a cold detachment, his eyes are vacant. The nurses that are in the corridor know to get out of the way.
"We work well together Jack." He smiles, he tries to pat him on the shoulder. Jack blocks him. "You're young, idealistic, never lost a patient yet. Trust me Jack!" Shepherd calmly and coldly speaks. "You're out to save everybody. I'm afraid your life will not be like that!"
"If I do it won't be through my incompetence!"
"There's nothing I can do more than make Matt more comfortable!" Jack's voice is clinical, detached, and emotionless. Sayid and Connor watch Matt, both share Jack's concern.
"What about the kit in the medical room?" Connor asks.
"It won't help."
"Why?" Sayid looks at Jack.
"Matt's dying of hemorrhagic fever. I reckon he's got less than two days!"
Jack grimly smiles. They are two of the bravest and most intelligent men he has known all his life. Yet they could not have gotten out of there fast enough. Matt is awake, lucid. He is breathing. Jack sits across from him, wearing a face mask. Matt raises his head.
"Matt are you ok?"
Matt tries to focus his vision. He shivers; his skin is slick with sweat mixed in with pustules of blood. Matt drops his head onto the pillow. Jack readies a syringe with morphine.
"I don't think so." He murmurs. "I think I'm dying."
Jack turns away. "Am I dying Jack?"
"How is he?" Jack watches the little boy, his name is Max, sleeping. His parents at his bedside recognise Jack. "He is fine, The other doctor says he is doing fine!"
For a kid whose spleen has just been removed, I guess that's ok. Jack politely smiles.
"Won't you stay a while?" The mother asks. Jack shakes his head. "I have my rounds, I'll pop in later!"
The father beams a very proud smile. "You and your father are good men!"
Matt sighs as Jack injects more morphine into a vein, unfortunately the bleeding from the injection doesn't stop. He places the syringe in a plastic bucket to be burned later
"Yes."
Matt closes his eyes. "I feel like my body is on fire. What's happening?"
"I think you have a hemorrhagic virus."
"Like Ebola – I saw the Dustin Hoffman film."
Jack nods. "Yes. Have you been bitten by something, eaten something?"
"I've felt feverish for a couple of days now. I've never been anywhere other than were we're told to go!"
Matt shakes his head. "I mean I've eaten and drunk the same food and water we all have." His voice is now edgy and panicky. His breathing is rapid. Blood trickles from his nose.
"I don't want to die." He shouts.
"What the?" A startled Jack jumps in his seat, he has fallen asleep reading Desmond's diary and notes, so far nothing, no clues to what Matt has got. A familiar "Friendly" female face greets him. Sun.
"You were asleep, I didn't wake you." Sun whispers. "I look after him with Hurley!"
"Hurley!" Jack exclaims. Hurley walks in, wearing as much rubber and latex as he deems necessary. Any other time the effect would be comical. He says something muffled. Pauses, then slides down the face mask. "I read about Ebola in a magazine once, thought it was pretty gross, but hey Matt's a friend!"
Jack leans back as Hurley cautiously walks into the room were Matt is asleep. "Thanks Hurley!"
Hurley gives a thumbs up.
"The more intelligent you are, the more things frighten you!" Sun watches. Jack sighs in agreement. "That's the truth!"
"Mr and Mrs Tannasee. I regret to inform you that your son, despite all our best efforts died of major organ failure brought on as a result of his injuries. I am very sorry." Jack's voice is cold, emotionless. The wailing from the mother is the most awful noise he has ever heard, she collapses to the floor. The father watches numb with shock. This is a bad dream, he must be thinking.
Jack lets the nurse's deal with them, turns and walks away. His father is watching him. They stare at each other for what seems like an eternity, before he turns and walks away down the corridor.
Max was alive this morning. We talked about soccer.
Congratulations Jack, you lost your first patient. He says to himself in a mocking voice.
"He started coughing up that black phlegm stuff a couple of minutes ago." Hurley says in a state of shock. Jack starts to clean up around Matt's mouth. His eyes are lifeless. Jack shines a torch into them. There is no reaction. He then checks Matt's wrist for a pulse. There is none.
"Hurley, Matt's dead."
The time is 16:42. Jack covers Matt with a blanket. His body would need to be burned along with all his clothing and bed linen.
"He said something about water." Hurley whispers. "Black water!"
Jack looks at Hurley. Too little too late.
Here we go again; it's the island book club with Lana and me. Connor groans, as he sees Lana strides toward him. He fails very badly in trying to not notice her.
Somebody else notices Lana and Connor together. Kate stops gazing at the toy plane. Eve is with Claire looking after Aaron. Lana laughs, and slaps Connor playfully on the back, at one of his jokes no doubt.
"Matt's dead." Jack sits down next to her.
A detached Kate is still staring at Connor.
"That's a shame." She replies, with no emotion. "What did he die of?"
"I don't know, I just don't know."
Lana lies seductively in front of Connor. Licking her lips, and flicking her hair. She's coming onto me. Connor smiles politely. She's just a lonely girl, a foreigner lonely, with nobody to look after her. Why not?
"So what is it with you and Kate?" Lana smiles.
"It's a long story." Connor winks.
"We've got plenty of time!" Lana winks. "It's going to be a cold night!"
"I'll get a fire going, and Sayid, Shannon, and Vincent can join us . It'll be really cosy!"
Lana laughs. "You certainly know how to wow a girl."
Kate glares at them. Lana shouts over to Shannon, who joins them. Sayid brings over some branches for the fire that Connor is preparing. Vincent muzzles up beside Shannon. Claire brings Aaron over with Eve, who jumps onto Connor's lap laughing. This is just great, campfire, all we just need now is…
Charlie with his guitar joins them.
"That's going to be some party."
"You've left Hurley alone with Sun." Jack nods.
"I think they could do with the company!" Kate gets up and walks away.
Jack gets up and walks down to the campfire. Connor and Sayid make room for him.
Jess stops what she is doing. Her head is pounding. She stumbles just as Kate walks past.
"Are you okay?" A concerned Kate sits her down. Jess nods. "Just dizzy." Kate hands Jess her water bottle. Jess opens it and takes a gulp. She goes to hand it back to Kate. Kate waves it away. "You keep it."
Jess coughs again. "You want me to get Jack?"
"No I'm okay."
To be continued…
