Author's note ~ Ready, willing and able. Sort of.
I hope you enjoy.
He trembled from the effort of holding himself upright on his good leg, the throbbing beneath the bandage on his right thigh beating like a drum inside his head.
"I...might need a bit of help." He admitted.
Alby and Newt complied instantly, each pulling an arm around their shoulders and taking Adrian's weight. Hooking their free hands under the man's backside, they lifted him off his feet, and raised him up to the already reaching hands of the boys above. Many hands make light work, and the boys easily pulled the man up onto the grass. Alby and Newt quickly followed, taking charge of their greenie and once again taking his weight, they helped him limp towards the camp - and the med hut.
The gladers, fear for their comrade having abated, headed back to the cook hut to finish their meals. Jeff stayed behind, keeping pace with the slowly moving trio; his own meal would have to wait. Adrian, despite his multiple injuries, swiveled his head back and forth, taking in the surroundings avidly and mentally cataloguing.
...Californian Poppies, wild garlic, milk thistle, dandelions of course, mountain daisies over there, didn't think the elevation was high enough for those...
"It's not much, but it's home. Respect it, follow the rules, and you'll do fine." Alby stated as the small group moved under the cover of the trees. Adrian appeared not to have heard.
...yarrow, that might come in handy. Wild clover, obviously. Bee balm, yes, and club moss. Fiddle head ferns, comfrey, that's nice to see...nice variety in a relatively small area. Should be able to utilize some of this, if need be...
"Hey, Greenie," Alby said, mildly annoyed. "Can you pay attention here? You need to learn the law of the land here. Why are you so interested in the weeds?"
"Hmmmm?" Adrian asked distractedly, turning to look at the dark boy. His eyes were visibly glazed, and sweat had started to bead on his forehead. His body was getting warmer to the touch.
"You're not looking so great, Adrian."
"Feeling a bit the worse for wear," Adrian admitted. "I'll be fine once your medic fixes me up. A couple of stitches, a dose of antibiotics. A truck load of painkillers. Then I'll be right as rain, you'll see-"
Adrian's eyebrows disappeared into his hair line as the boys crab-walked their way into the med hut. He looked around in disbelief, horror growing. A stick and rope shelter, chinks of light filtering through the hastily made roof housed a couple of low branch bunks and a bare dirt floor. Jeff had stepped in first, and was standing in front of a rough wooden table, looking through a dismally small arrangement of little tubs and jars, a couple of small bladed knives sitting in a jumble off to once side.
"THESE are your medical facilities?" He asked in shock. Based on the structures he had glanced at on the way here, Adrian hadn't anticipated a five star hospital experience; he was prepared to "rough it. He hadn't guessed that their "hospital" would be this primitive, though. Visions of first aid done in this room danced in his head, each more terrifying than the last.
I'm going to die. I survived being garroted and bolted to a metal cage, I survived two days with no food or water. These boys are going to "treat me" here, and that is what'll kill me.
"So, uh, lets take a look." Jeff said, the uncertainty in his voice doing wonders for Adrian's optimism.
Yeah, definitely going to die.
The boys maneuvered him onto one of the low bunks, moving out of the way so that Jeff could get started. He ran his finger over the shallow slice around Adrian's throat, picking up a damp rag and cleaning away the blood as he worked his way around. He picked up the same tub of greenish goo he had used to coat the wounds on Adrian's wrists with and was about to apply some to the nasty slice when Adrian stopped him.
"Can I see that for a moment?"
Jeff handed him the tub. Adrian read the ingredient list quickly, looking up at Jeff incredulously.
"This is camphor and menthol in a petroleum and turpentine oil base. It's used for helping clear up stuffy noses. It's great if you have a fucking cold, but it ain't exactly useful on open sores and bleeding wounds." Jeff snatched the jar back with a scowl.
"Oh, excuse me. It's not like I've got any actual training in this. I didn't ask to be the med-jack, they pretty much picked my name out of a hat!"
Adrian pinched the bridge of his nose, his fears fully vindicated. Patience. God give me patience.
"You need an antiseptic, and astringent and a painkiller. Needle and thread, forceps-" At the blank looks from all three boys Adrian swore under his breath.
"I need a needle and thread. Do you have that?" Jeff nodded, swallowing loudly.
"I need a pot of boiling water, a jar of whatever booze you have, a pair of strong tongs, a couple of empty jars. Two handfuls of marigo-the little bright orange flowers with the strong smell, and a few of the tallish pale orange flowers with black centers. And please tell me you at least know what clover looks like, a good bunch of it. You two," Adrian gestured to Newt and Alby, "can you get those things and bring them here?"
"A bit early for you to be giving us orders, isn't it Greenie?" Alby said sarcastically. "Anything else you need? Feather pillow, someone to feed you grapes? Why the shucking hell should we be picking you flowers?"
"Because I now have a pretty good idea as to why I was shipped up here," Adrian replied with acidity, "and if I'm going to help you, first I have to make sure I survive. Water, booze, tongs, jars, flowers. Go."
The boys turned and walked out the door without another word. Once out of earshot they exchanged a brief and angry conversation.
"What the hell is going on with this guy?!" Alby griped. "He's been talking for all of what? An hour and he's already barking orders. Probably thinks because he's older he can just waltz in here and take charge."
"I don't think so," Newt muttered, brow furrowed as he considered. "He seems to know a bit about healing and medicine. Maybe we'll benefit from having someone who can do more than just slap a bandage on and call it a day."
"Something about this smells rotten; he knows why he was sent here? Yeah right! I'll figure out what's going on with that shank, you can count on it!" Alby insisted. He stormed away to the food hut to get the water, tongs, jars and booze. Sighing over his old friend's reaction, Newt hurried back to the field to get the flowers. Within minutes the boys met back up at the door to the med hut, Frypan joining them and carrying a large pot of boiling hot water. Jeff and Adrian looked to be in deep conversation when the boys came in, both glancing over at the interruption. Jeff's face was almost as pale as his patient; a notable feat given his dark complexion. Adrian motion them over to the bunk he was sitting on.
"Alright boys, let's get started."
The boys set everything on the bunk beside the man, stepping back to watch with curiosity. What was he going to do with a handful of weeds and some boiling water?
Adrian quickly separated the plants, clover and poppies into one jar, marigold in another. He used an extra jar to dip steaming water out of the pot, filling the two jars almost to the brim so that the vegetation floated. He dropped the round end tongs and a small knife into the pot of water, and poured a goodly splash of home made liquor into yet another jar, dropping a threaded needle into the amber liquid. He moved briskly, talking as he worked.
"Listen up. I understand that you've probably been making do with what you have, but you haven't been using everything at your disposal. From what Jeff here has told me, you mostly rely on supplies sent up to you, right?"
"Well yeah, we don't really have much of a choice there. We've got to work with what we're given." Newt muttered.
"The thing is, you haven't been. You've got this whole pharmacy at your finger tips, and you probably haven't done more than tromp all over it while you've been here. If you want to use your resources wisely, look around you, not just at what you've been sent. Think, try, test your surroundings. This," he lifted the jar of steeped marigolds, now turning a rich golden color, "is an antiseptic and an astringent; it can stop bleeding and sanitize - kill germs to prevent infection. That," he pointed to the other jar, "helps to clean the blood, fight existing infection, and is a fairly decent pain killer. Alcohol or boiling water also sterilizes, it's good for cleaning tools before you use them. You need to do more than just wrap a chunk of cloth around a gaping hole for it to heal properly. It needs to be treated topically and internally, be cleaned, stitched, and worked on with clean and sterile tools."
The boys exchanged confused glances. "How do you know so much about this?" Alby challenged, trying to hide the fact that he was fairly impressed at the helpful new knowledge.
"Advanced studies in botany, biology, years of researching anthropology-"
"Wait," Frypan cut in, astounded. "You remember? You remember your life outside of here?"
"Every minute of it. And I'm sure you'll have tons of questions for me, as Jeff has given me a brief break down on how things are around here. I'll gladly give you any answers I have, but it'll have to wait. I'm of no use to anyone, dead."
Handing the marigold solution to Jeff, Adrian tilted his head back to give the boy clear access to his throat. Working quickly and thoroughly, Jeff cleaned the wound. Removing the bandages from Adrian's wrists, Jeff performed the same actions on the ugly gaping wounds. The other watched, transfixed, as Adrian picked up the needle and thread. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he slid the needle into the torn flesh of the first hole, making small neat stitches that closed the hole. He cut the thread with the knife, and efficiently closed the other three holes. The stitches made with his off hand weren't quite as tidy, but they'd do the trick. He nodded to Jeff, who was ready with fresh bandages. In no time, the newly cleaned and stitched wounds were wrapped in white linen. Looking up at his audience, he winced slightly, thinking of the next step.
"That was the easy part. The next bit it a tad more...intense. Anyone with a weak stomach, step out now."
Adrian sliced through the old bandages on his thigh and reached for his belt buckle, undoing it briskly. In one quick movement, he had slipped the pants under his behind, pulling them down to his ankles. He toed off his boots, pushing the pants completely off his legs until he sat in his underwear, otherwise naked from the waist down. The damage was immediately apparent. A vast gaping off center hole in his upper thigh was murderously red, swollen, and leaking a thick greenish white pus. Frypan gagged a bit, spinning around and hurrying out of the room, followed by Alby, his face ashen. Newt turned his face away, but pride prevented him from following the other two. Besides, he felt a little...responsible for the new shank.
Author's note ~ Just an FYI. The techniques and medicinal herbs that I'll be using throughout this fic are, in fact, based on historically accurate information. For example, Marigolds do indeed make an antiseptic wash, Californian Poppies are a mild pain killer. Learning is fun!
R&R, if you so chose.
~Ruby