Tom's screams resonated through the town. They grew louder when he was moved from the tarmac, leaving behind a pool of blood that had spread with the rain. Will had given me a single look, one that spoke of concern as each yell had the possibility of drawing the Infected closer.
Someone in the crowd had suggested putting a towel in his mouth to muffle his pain and I hadn't hesitated when they'd handed me the white cloth. Will's belt tourniquet was only a temporary solution as he was carried to the Med House, his wound continuing to seep blood and leaving a trail on the ground.
His body sunk into the sofa and his blood began to soak the pale fabric. The last person to leave the room was Will who closed the living room door shut behind him. I stayed, watching as Em dove around the room frantically grabbing whatever she could.
"Could you open that door?" she asked me as she knelt beside Tom. I did as she asked and went back to sit opposite.
The wound was deep and oozing thick, red blood. She pressed at the gash and Tom gasped, clenching his teeth. His skin was like a piece of sliced meat, fleshy and loose. If I hadn't ever seen an Infected, I might have thrown up at the sight. With an Infected, you could convince yourself they couldn't feel but the bright red against Tom's skin stood out in the room like an alarm, demanding to be seen.
Em pulled a bottle of antiseptic from the cupboard and Tom squeezed his eyes shut as she began to unscrew the cap.
"You're not going to like this," she warned.
"Shit," Tom groaned. "It's going to sting, isn't it? Could you just give me a countdown or something first so I can prepare?"
"Sure..." Em replied, moving his arm above an empty bowl. "Three... Two-"
She poured the antiseptic over his skin and the cloudy red liquid dripped into the bowl.
"Fuck!" he hissed, pressing a palm to his face. "You didn't even get to one."
"I think that was the point," I stifled a laugh.
"Fuck off, Ben," he snapped. "Don't you have somewhere else to be?" Tom's narrowed stare dropped from mine as he caught sight of the needle that Em held between her thumb and index finger. "You're kidding, right?"
She shook her head. "What other choice do we have here?"
"One with no needles?" he almost pleaded.
"Sorry," she said, adjusting her position beside him. "This is the only way."
He screamed again as the point pushed through the wound, coming through the other side. The thin thread followed behind it, looping over his skin as Em went in, again and again, pulling the sticky flesh together. When the last stitch was secure, she pulled the last strip of bandages from the roll and held it over the wound.
"Ben, could you give me a hand?" she'd asked, looking toward the sofa where I sat. "Just hold that there tight while I tape it."
"Sure," I said, pressing my fingers against it. "Where did you learn this?"
"Uh... I didn't?" she grimaced.
"Ow," Tom moaned again, pulling an arm over his face to cover his eyes.
"Oh, be quiet," Em replied with a scowl. "It's not even that bad."
"Not that bad?" he almost shouted. "Did you not see how much blood there was?"
She rolled her eyes, ignoring him as she continued to work on his arm. Her hands taped more strips of tight fabric around his skin and secured them with blue tape. I looked to Em when I knew Tom wasn't looking and raised a questioning brow.
Not that bad?
She shook her head and widened her eyes, urging me not to say anything.
"There you go," she said to Tom. "That should help to keep it clean. Just be careful with it and try not to move it so much. I'm really not sure how good those stitches are."
"Thanks, Em," Tom replied with a pained smile, admiring her work. "I knew that metal on the platform was a bad idea."
I frowned. "No, you didn't. You were the one who put it up there."
He only shrugged as he lay his head back against the arm of the sofa. "Nobody told me not to do it."
I rolled my eyes. Something told me it wasn't worth arguing.
"How's it going in here?" Apollo asked as she stepped into the room. The smell of blood and disinfectant was overpowering and it was clear she noticed. "Anything I can help with?"
"Oh, I don't know," Em exhaled with a smile. "The new A&E is going really well."
Lo almost chuckled as she moved over to Tom, admiring the fresh bandage.
"You know, I'm starting to think we need a waiting room or something to make it feel realistic. Make the customers feel comfortable, that sort of thing. I was thinking some fake plants and magazines could really work in here."
"I don't think you want to encourage new customers," Apollo smiled. She moved over to another man who sat with his leg outstretched. "Has he had antibiotics today?" she asked as she peeled away the bandage on his leg. The wound was seeping a pale coloured substance and dark veins had begun to converge around the area.
"Not yet," Em told her. "I was just about to. Would you mind giving that a clean first?" she asked before turning toward me. "Ben, could I talk to you outside for a minute?"
"What about me?" Tom interjected. "Am I supposed to just stay here?"
"Do you plan on going anywhere else with that arm?" Em remarked.
Apollo moved to clean the man's leg and I followed Em out the front door. She clicked it shut behind us and it was as if the exhaustion immediately took over her face.
"What's up?" I asked, concerned.
Her head shook. "I'm not a doctor, Ben. I don't know if I can keep helping the people that come to me... I never studied medicine. I feel like I'm just making it all up as I go along."
I rested a hand against her shoulder. "Isn't that what we're all doing here?"
"I mean it," she said. "If that wound gets infected, I have no idea what I'm going to do... What I'm even supposed to do."
"Tom will be sensible," I tried to reassure her. "It won't get to that point." I glanced behind her to the front door, to the house which was full of injuries.
"It shouldn't," she replied. "But I have to be ready for the worst and I have to prepare Apollo for that too." Her head began to shake and her eyes mirrored with a layer of fresh tears. "You've already lost Jake and Zoe... I don't want to be responsible for you losing someone else too."
"Come here." I tightened the grip on her shoulder and pulled her body closer to mine, resting my head on top of hers as she nuzzled into my shoulder. "We'll be okay," I told her. "It's going to be alright."