EMBERS (Gladiator II)

I | The Healer of the Arena

"The fight is over!"

The loud call of the guard echoed through the crowded room and I let out a nervous sigh. The gladiators would be here soon—those who had survived the day's fight, at least. All I could do was stand at my medical station and twiddle my thumbs until they did. There was no point in guessing who had made it or not; I would find out in a few moments.

Suddenly, five men bursted into the cramped room, each quickly intercepted by a nurse and escorted to a respective station. The breath hitched in my throat as Crixus was lifted onto the table, groaning in pain.

"What happened?" I demanded, as he clutched his side underneath his armour. The nurse remained beside the cot, waiting for me to instruct her to take action. "Crixus?" The man groaned again. I turned to the nurse. "We need to get his armour off."

The nurse nodded and rushed forward to remove the bloody, sweat-stained plates from the gladiator's body. Meanwhile, I spun around and began mixing a salve from the herbs in my collection. Myrrh, rue, honey... Anything I could find that would soothe whatever painful  trauma was underneath Crixus' breastplate.

"Okay." I whipped around, my eyes immediately drawn to the nasty gash that stretched from Crixus' nipple to his hipbone. Gladiator fighting was no joke. Whatever sword had pierced this man's skin had caused significant damage. I only hoped I could fix it. I handed the nurse a rag and she put it in between my patients teeth. "Bite this," I instructed, scooping up the potent paste I had just mixed. "This is going to sting."

I gave the injured man no time to prepare, before I slapped the salve onto the wound, spreading it across the bloodied, torn skin, and trying my best to ignore Crixus' tortured screams that were muffled beneath the rag.

"Okay." I wiped Crixus' sweaty forehead, as I finished applying the medicine onto his skin. He let out a shaky sigh, his breathing becoming shallower and shallower. "Hey, stay with me, okay?" I shook his shoulder harshly. "Crixus?"

The nurse hovered beside me, her face nervous, but the constant death we faced each and every day had more-or-less desensitised us to the true awfulness of it. "What do we do?"

I leaned down and put my ear beside Crixus' mouth. His breathing was so shallow, but it was there. He was alive. "Keep an eye on him," I instructed the nurse, who immediately situated herself by the man's head. I scanned the room for anyone else I could assist, my eyes immediately falling on an older man, sitting on the cot a few stations over.

"Gaius!"

The old man looked up as I approached, a tired smile forming on his weathered face. "Adriana. How are you?"

"I'll be better once I get you all patched up." I leaned forward to examine the ugly slash on his forehead. He let out a humorous chuckle. "How bad does it hurt?"

Gaius shrugged, immediately wincing regretfully at the movement. "Not too bad. I've survived worse."

"Well..." I retrieved a water-soaked rag and began to press it into the wound, cleaning it. "You'll live to fight another day." Gaius didn't reply. "Are you okay?"

The older gladiator just shook his head, with an exhausted sigh. 'i'm getting too old for this." I through the bloodied cloth on the work bench and held up a bottle of vinegar for him to see. He grimaced. "If you must."

He tilted his head up and I unscrewed the lid on the bottle in my hand. Then I gently pulled back Gaius' hair, to expose the wound completely, before pouring a couple of drops of the cleansing liquid onto the jagged, red line. "And... all done."

"Thank you, Adriana." Gaius let out a breath of relief as the pain from the vinegar dulled. "You are truly too good to me."

"Don't be ridiculous," I retorted, screwing the cpa back onto the bottle. "I've been in your position, remember?" Gaius nodded solemnly. "I want to help you."