ferox | f. castle | 2

IV.

"The only medicine I need is you."

IV.

"David!" I shout as I hop out of my car, he ushers me over to where Frank is laying across the table in the kitchen as a man checks his heartbeat with a stethoscope. Frank has an arrow sticking out of his chest and I have to stop myself from freaking out.

"Who are you?" I ask, he seems to be helping Frank so I try my best not to sound hostile. I grab Frank's hand in mine and push some of his hair back from his forehead. I've never seen Frank like this, the closest was at the hospital when he got arrested but this was different. We're not in a hospital and his eyes are closed.

"I'm guessing you're Emma." The man says as he puts the stethoscope back around his neck.

"How-"

"I'm Frank's best friend. Curtis." He puts his hand out and I shake it.

"Thought Frank didn't have friends." I sigh and look down at him. Curtis laughs and then he looks at Frank and gets serious again.

"Look, his temperature at 104, he's septic. We need to get this arrow out of him." He explains to me and David.

"Okay, what do you need us to do?" I ask him, ready to do whatever necessary to help Frank.

"You two are going to have to hold him. If I pull the arrow out it will cause more damage." He hands me a pair of gloves seeing as I was closer to the wound, I slip them on right away.

"So how are you going to get it out?" David asks but I look down at the wound and take note that Curtis wants us to hold him.

"He's going to pull it through." I state. Curtis nods at me and I nod back. Me and David help Frank get situated on his side and then we help steady him, he's a lot heavier than he looks which is saying something especially considering David is helping me hold him up. Curtis already had gloves on as he goes to grab a scalpel, I see a few other medical tools as well and I take note that this man could be a doctor. David starts to moan as he sees what Curtis is about to do.

"David, keep your shit together." I tell him and he clears his throat and nods but still cringes at the sight. Curtis slides the scalpel in slowly and drags it down, blood starting to ooze out. David looks away and starts to pant. I make sure to hold Frank tighter in case David faints because he's starting to look green. Curtis finishes with the incision and grabs some type of tweezers and starts to dig around. It is displeasing to look at but blood and gore never turned me away. Although, David looked even worse.

"I got it." Curtis says as he starts to pull back the tweezers and the arrow comes out along with it. He tosses it in a tin and then hands me gauze.

"Hold this on the wound." I take it from him and press it against the front side where the arrow was just lodged. Curtis then pours alcohol on the incision and then grabs a medical staple gun and starts to close it up.

"Are we done?" David looks nauseas and steps back as we help Frank lay on his back again.

"Yeah. Now all we have to do his cauterize the wound." Curtis starts to run a surgical tool over the flame of a lighter.

"Oh god." David puts his hands on his head. I turn to face him.

"David, walk away." He wasn't helping anyway, especially Curtis by getting anxious because a bit of blood. He swallows hard and walks over to his computers and sits down in his chair. I take Frank's hand after I take my gloves off as Curtis presses the tool to the hole in Frank's chest and I hear it sizzle. He then pours alcohol on the wound again and then presses a bandage to it.