The Dead Are Among Us

Amateur surgeon

Dawsons POV**

When I finally got her back to the house, I took her upstairs to the master bedroom and laid her down in the large bed, I propped her up with the pillows in attempt to keep the bleeding from her shoulder under controll, Kaiden trailed behind me watching everythingI did. He was white with fear, "Dawson I'm sorry, I didnt mean for her to get hurt." He pleaded, "She fell off I tried to go back, honest I did. The horse wouldnt stop." He continued. I held my hand up to cut him off. "I need to get the bullet fragments out of her shouder before it poisons her Kaiden, we can talk later, but for now I need your help, Go downstairs and boil a pot of water, bring up some towels and a knife with a wooden handle. hurry." I commanded, He walked down the stairs in a hurry as he repeated the instructions to himself. I turned my attention back to Rylie. I didnt think I'd ever see her again, I was sure that as feisty and brutal as she is, they would have disposed of her because of lack of controll. The thought of someone hurting her burned me with anger. She looked so peicefull sleeping like she was, her bruised angellic face, red from the cold. and why didnt she have on a shirt when I found her? Kaiden had some explaining to do. I leaned up and brushed a lock of dirty blonde hair out of her face, she jumped back slapping my hand away like she was being attacked. "GET AWAY FROM ME CHARLIE!" she screamed, tears shined in the brim of her blue eyes. It pained me to see her so afraid, she was a strong minded person, and she didnt break easily, but I watched helplessly how he man handled her, he beat her right there in front of all them men, none of them rejected him, they're all afraid of him. "Its okay Rylie, its just me, Dawson." I held my hands up in defense. "I wont hurt you." I reassured. "Oh Dawson-" She sobbed as she put her face in her good hand and cried. I moved up beside her and wrapped my arm around her. "Shhhh.. its ok now." "please done let them take me again.." she began to cry again. She was truley terrified of him, I hadnt seen her scared of a damn thing since we met, but this man has struck fear into her heart somehow. I didnt reply, I didnt want her to think I'd risk it all for her, hell, I barely knew the girl. I could't be getting feeling for her. That could easily distract me enough to get me killed, and the hopes of bringing my sister from that hell hole would be lost. "I have to leave.. I-I cant stay here anymore, he'll come for me with more men, I wont have a chance in hell. I have to leave right now!" She began to panick. I grabbed her face into both my hands and looked into her eyes, "Your not well enough to leave Rylie, You need to calm down, if your blood pressure goes up then you'll bleed to death do you understand?" I said sternly, she just nodded her head, sniffling and her eyes calmed a litle. "They wont come for you for about a week, they'll have to come up with a better plan this time." I said calmer now. The thought of them coming back made my blood boil, I would be ready for them next time. Kaiden burst through the door with two towels draped over his arm, a wood-handled flat knife in his teeth, and a pot with a individual burner beneath it, the cord dangling to his feet. "I Got the stuff he said." Eyeing me as if I had been doing something wrong. I released Rylie pushing her gently back into her blood stained pillows. "Whats going on?" she sniffled. I was afraid to tell her what was about to take place, but I knew I had to since she was wide awake now. "We have to remove the bullet fragments from your arm or you'll be poisoned, and your leg, it will have to be put back into place." I said all in one scentence. She looked at the items in Kaidens hands then back to me. "There's some antiseptic utincels in my bag downstairs; stitches, Forceps, and a few packs of gaws. You're gonna need them to stitch the incisions, and the medical tape is under the guest bathroom sink along with the ace bandages and first aid." She knowledgeably stated. "Get that stuff too." I said to Kaiden who was putting the pot of water on the burner plugged into the wall setting on the knight stand beside us. He scurried out of the room leaving us alone once more. "I dont have anything for sleep or pain.." she said with a worried expression on her face. "Let me go see what I can find." I said, stepping away from the bed and down the stairs to the livingroom and into the kitchen. I opened the cabinets in search of the medicine cabinet, when I found it I pulled out the small basket of perscriptioned medicine bottles, the first one read 'MR. ALLAN JONES, TRAMEDOL. I tossed it back in the basket, tramedol is something I was perscribed once when I broke my fingers in 10th grade football. It just wouldnt be strong enough. The second bottle was a child dosage of benadrill, nope, cant use this either. When I seen the oval white pills through one of the translucent orange bottles I grabbed it, moving it in my hand to where I could see the label. 'MRS. SADIE JONES, OXYMORPHENE. "bingo." I said when I read the label, this would put her out of it. I knew one more trick I learned in the marines though, I went to the basement and searched in the freezer they had. I found a bottle of 'sky vodka' a half a glass of this and she'll be just fine, she'll have to chase it with water though. I grabbed a glass from the dish drainer on my way back upstairs, when I walked in Kaiden was sitting on the floor beside the nightstand talking to Rylie, I almost felt... jealouse. I couldnt be jealouse, I dont have feelings for her, I cant, it would get in the way of surviving, but what was this new feeling in the pit of my stomache, whatever it was I didnt like. I didnt want to feel responsible for her, I only wanted to be responsible for me. "I found this downstairs." I said handing her the bottle of pills, she took them reading the label, her eyes got big when she saw the name of the medicine. "I didnt even think this could be perscribed anymore." She said partially to herself, opening the bottle and pouring three pills into her hand. "Whoa now, the perscribed amout is only 15mg. Thats 30." I said wondering if she had misread. "I know, but 15mg is only for mild dicomfort, I think a hot knife digging into my bullet would will be a little more than mild." she said putting an emphasis on mild. "Oh, well you need to drink this with it." I said pouring the glass half way full with the vodka. She didnt reject it, she took it gladly popping the pills into her mouth and downing the entire glass, with no chaser. "You want some water with that?" I asked suprized that she hadnt even made a face after drinking the alcohol. "No, I was kind of a hardcore partier in high school." She smiled her cheeks flushing red. I narrowed my eyes at her in disaproval. Although I was way more of a partier than she was I'm sure of it. I didnt stop at the alcohol. "Its should take about fifteen minuts to really hit me, So wait twenty just to be on the safe side, and if I start to aspirate please hold my head down so I dont suffocate." when she finished that statement I sudenly wished she was the one opperating on me. She was very knowledgable in the medical feils it seemed. "Um.. Ok." I said. None of us really talked as the time went by, I started to notice her pupils growing larger and she began to sway while she sat there, about ten minuts in. "Go ahead and lay back for my Rylie." I sayd soothingly. She slowly nodded her head and leaned back, giving into the medicine and alcohol, she closed her eyes and began to breath very deeply and heavily.

"She's out, go ahead and put the knife into the boiling water, and hand me the towels and items you got from downstairs." He did as he was told. I began to assort the tools in the order I would be using them,on a towel beside Rylie's motionless body. I lifted her torso gently and placed a towel under her left shoulder. "Lets start with her leg. Grab her thigh and hold it tight." I said peeling the covers back revealing her black leggings. "Hold on, I wont be able to see what I'm doing with these on." I said peeling the pants down her legs and off tossing them on the floor behind me. Kaiden looked at her, an embarassed look on his face. "Calm down its just legs." I shot at him. Why did I feel like this? He got a grip on the leg that was clearly out of place and I felt the burning feeling in my stomache. I cant keep getting distracted and not finish the task at hand. I grabbed her calf muscle and readied myself. "Ready?" I asked "Yeah, I'm ready." Kaiden said nervously. I snatched her leg and a sickening 'POP' made me cringe along with kaiden who's face turned pale. "I think I'm gonna be sick." He said running to the bathroom beside him. I heard a gagging noise for a few moments, and he returned red faced wiping his mouth. "Okay, sorry. I'm good now." He said weakly. "Are you sure? I'm really gonna need you to be focused for the next part." I said. "Yeah- Yeah I'm sure." He responded. I cut the makeshift bandage off of her shouder with a pair of scissors I found downstairs, then pulled it off slowly, it was stuck with dried blood and pulling at her already wounded skin. When I finally got the bandage off I took a towel and wet it with some of the vodka, I cleaned the would carfully as it began to bleed again, then with my hands I began to feel for the fragments, they shouldnt be hard to find, I felt three that were deep inside her shoulder, then another that I pulled out with the forceps that was only one that was visible in the open wound. "Help me lift her so I can feel in the back of her shoulder for any loose fragments." He did as he was told. I only felt one, that could be taken care of quickly because it was just under the skin. I used the scalple to make a very small incision, the piece of metal fell onto the pillow and I swept in to the side, and continued to put a small sqare gaws on the cut and tapeit securly. I laid her back onto the pillows, blood now covering the left side of her cheetah spots bra, It was going to be impossible to work past it, I slid it over her head revealing her rather impressive breasts, Kaidens mouth droppd open. I quickly covered her with a towel, jealousy burning in my gut. His embarrassed eyes shot to mine, I gave him a very disaproving look. "Lets try to be proffessional about saveing her life right now, okay?" I said with a little to much anger seeming through my gritted teeth. "Sorry." He stammered. I Made three incisions removing each peice of metal and tossing them onto the nightstand with the others. Her bleeding was getting a little scary, I was begining to not be able to control it as much. "Put a lot of pressure right here." I said, noticing the color fading from Rylie's face.

I put the final stitchs into the last incision spot and a wave of releif washed over me. "There." I huffed breathing out. That was something that I never want to have to do again. I put the gaws where they were needed after cleaning her arms and stomache of the blood, then I carfully wrapped the ace bandage under her armpit and over her shoulder, in hopes that it would stay in place and keep the bleeding to a minimum. I then wrapped her knee in the bandage, it would take some time for the muscles to heal enough to fully support itself. "What now?" Kaiden breathed heavily. "We wait." I said.