Pulse➵Glenn Rhee

01

Edited.

"Thank God you're here, Rae! Sarah took a sick day and now I have to cover for her in the lab. Something about the flu," a short Latina with little patience said. 

I punched in my time card. 

I asked, "She got the flu? It's not flu season yet, is it?" Stephanie followed me to the counter, where I got my charts. I scanned through my patients' files. "I have a few flu and post op patients and I'm in trauma for the morning. What do you have?"

Stephanie sighed in annoyance, "Just a buncha of people with runny noses all day." Her face contorted up in disgust when she continued to scan her charts. "Ugh, these people are wasting my talents on curing boils and cleaning up puke! I could use a drink after work. "

"Sounds like fun, Steph." I laughed when she discreetly flipped me off. I turned away from the counter and started off down the hall.

The morning in trauma was busy, with EMT's bringing in people in stretcher after stretcher, but it was nothing out of the regular. After my lunch break, I checked on today's patients. 

I lightly knocked on the door of Room 217 and walked in. "Linda Brooks?"

The middle-aged woman nodded and slightly smiled. I continued, "Your charts say you have flu-like symptoms and an infection on your forearm from-"

"Someone bit me. He came out of nowhere and just attacked me. I got away though," Linda explained, sweat drenching parts of her green shirt. "Like a zombie," Linda added. 

Her forearm was wrapped in gauze but blood was soaking through. I placed the thermometer in her mouth and saw it was 105 ° Fahrenheit. She was most likely hallucinating the part where a person attacked and bit her. 

Although, you never know. Maybe people in Savannah were trying bath salts now. 

"Okay, Linda, I'll be checking in on you regularly and see how you're fairing. For now, let's try to bring down your temperature and change your wrap."

I gave her antibiotics and placed a dampened a towel on her forehead. Meanwhile, I was making small talk. 

When I unwrapped her forearm, I saw a teeth marks. She wasn't hallucinating, I realized. 

Great, bath salts have actually made its way into Savannah. My mind would be scarred after treating people whose faces were chewed off. 

I cleansed her wound and re-wrapped it in gauze. 

"I'll be back later," I said. Linda nodded and smiled.

***

After taking a much needed break, I started doing my roundabouts to patients rooms. When I got to Linda Brooks's room, I found that she was not there. The IV's were loosely hanging and the bed sheets were thrown on the floor. I noticed the light peeking out from underneath the bathroom door. I walked over and knocked.

A few groans.

I repeated it a few more times. "Linda, are you all right?" I turned the door's handle to find a very pale Linda Brooks. The smell of body odor and decaying flesh immediately hit me. I staggered backwards, coughing out the horrible smell. Linda's eyes were so cold, so bleak, so devoid of humanity. "Linda, let's get you back to bed."