The Adventure of the Magic Chia Plant

Chapter 12: First Aid

Beth shrieked and cowered down into the sand.  Brent crouched over her, arms covering his head.  He winced as drops of boiling ocean water and shards of shell pelted the skin of his arms and back like a burning rain.  It was a full minute before he gathered the courage to look behind him.  The tripod he'd made had collapsed.  The remains of the giant clamshell, as well as most of the water, had fallen on the campfire,  dousing the flames completely.  Everything was a mess.  Brent looked at the seed in his hand.  Fortunately, he hadn't come near enough to put it in.  He put it in the pocket of his shorts.  

Beth was still trembling underneath him.  Brent patted her head.  

"Bethie, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

She looked up at him fearfully.  "No. Are you?"

"Well, I--"

Now that the adrenaline was fading from the explosion, Brent suddenly started to feel the extent of his injuries.  He looked at his arms and saw several red patches that were already starting to blister.   Several areas on his back stung.  

"Ouch!"

Beth tugged on his elbow.  "Let me see."

He turned around and let her pull his shirt up.  She gasped.  "You have red spots all over the place!"

"They hurt like the dickens."

Beth started to cry.  She knew that the only reason why she wasn't injured was because her older brother had protected her.  

"What do we do?"

"Help me look at Mom's emergency stuff."

Together, they rummaged through the backpacks until they found the first aid kit.  Brent picked through its contents and separated the band-aids, the antibacterial wipes, the cotton buds, and the wound ointment.  That done, he took one of the canteens and poured out a cup of fresh water.  There wasn't a lot to begin with, so they'd have to be thrifty.  He knew from his readings that burns should ideally be immersed in clean fresh water for 15-30 minutes, but that wasn't an option right now.

Brent removed his shirt. "Now Bethie, you have to help me pour the water on the burns on my arms and my back.  We can only use the water in the cup, nothing more.  You think you can do that?"

"I think so."  Beth took the cup and started to drip water on the red patches, her tongue sticking out in concentration.  When she was finished, there was still a bit of water left in the cup.  

"Good job!" Brent praised his sister.  "You can drink the rest of the water if you want."

Beaming, she did so.  Brent took the cup and drank a bit of water himself. 

"Okay, the next step is that you have to dab the water off with the wipes.  Be careful, though.  Don't break the blisters if you see any."

"Okay." 

Beth took a wipe and started gingerly patting the red patches.  Brent tried not to grunt too loudly in pain so that she wouldn't stop. When she was done, Brent handed her the cotton buds and the wound ointment.  "Now, can you put a bit of ointment on the red parts? Be careful not to burst the blisters so dirt can't get in."

"Hokay."

Bethie did well on the wounds on Brent's arms.  However, when she moved to his back, there was a big blister--almost an inch in diameter--near the lower part that she couldn't completely cover with ointment.  Frowning, she squeezed out a bit more medicine on the cotton bud and dabbed it repeatedly on the blister, but then the unthinkable happened.  

"Oh, no!"

Brent already had an inkling of what the problem was.  "What happened?"

"I burst the blister!" Beth was near tears.

Brent sighed.  "It's okay.  It can't be helped.  Here." He got the bandages, cut out a square with the scissors, and handed it to her with the surgical tape.  He was so thankful that his parents were both doctors and that they'd encouraged him to learn a bit of first aid. "Try to cover it with this, okay?"

"Okay.  I'm so sorry!"

"That's alright, Bethie," Brent said comfortingly.  "You're doing a splendid job for a 7-year-old." 

Bethie wiped her tears away and nodded.  She covered the burst blister with the gauze and did a creditable job in taping the sides.  

"Now help me put band-aids on the smaller ones."

By the time the two of them were finished, Brent looked like he'd dived head-first through a hedge of thorns. At least a dozen colorful band-aids decorated his skin.

"That should keep them clean for now," he said with satisfaction, putting his shirt back on.  "Mom and Dad will know what to do when we get back."

Bethie sighed and looked back at the ruined campfire. 

"What are we going to do about the alien's tea?"

Brent shook his head.  "I don't know.  We need Bench.  We solve our problems best when there's all three of us."

For the nth time that day, he wondered where his brother was, and prayed with all his might that he would come back soon, safe and sound.  

What he didn't know was that Bench was facing a terrible danger on his own.