Chapter 7, Episode 50: Battles Fought in the Hospital
As the sun began to break over the horizon, Ryoma came rushing into the hospital grounds and found them overflowing with people. An endless line of carriages led out the gate, constantly moving and depositing the injured. The doctors who lived in the city had evacuated here, assessing the incoming patients for the severity of their injuries.
Ryoma spotted a familiar face among them. “Hector!” Ryoma called. “I’m here to help!”
“Get prepped and head into the exam room! Doctor Maflal’s there!” Hector said.
“Got it!” said Ryoma. “Hudom, pass on what we talked about to Hughes and the others. Please help them there the best you can!”
“On it!”
As directed, Ryoma went into the hospital. He headed towards the locker room, passing through the lobby and hallways crowded with the injured people of Gimul, bearing through their pain with gritted teeth. Staff and volunteers nearly had to shout directions at each other over the endless influx of patients. Ryoma hastened to join in as quickly as possible.
“Aaaargh!”
“Hold him down!”
“We can’t stem the bleeding!”
“Healing magic! Stat!”
Ryoma, now wearing sterile scrubs and a lab coat, walked into the ward where they were treating the worst of the worst. Doctors’ orders boomed through the ward, accompanied by agonized screams; the floors were gruesomely smeared with bloody footprints.
“Ryoma! Over here!” Maflal called from one of the exam rooms. “The next patient will be in here soon. Administer appropriate healing magic. I’ll direct you on the application. There are just so many patients—I’m counting on your help.”
“Understood,” Ryoma said.
In a matter of seconds, a bloodied, unconscious man was brought into the room on a stretcher as a man called out behind him, “C’mon, boss! They’re gonna treat you! You’re almost there! Hang in there, boss!”
A deep cut crossed his upper left arm, and an arrow—broken off to make transporting him easier—was stuck in his right thigh.
Maflal and Ryoma quickly assessed the patient and moved to treat him.
“Wait a minute!” The man who’d called after the patient earlier now clung to the door of the ward, being held off by hospital staff. He was an utter wreck. “Let me through!” he cried.
“We can’t let you in here!” one of the staff replied.
“Why’s there a kid here?!” he persisted, pointing at Ryoma. “Don’t tell me the kid’s gonna treat my boss! I know you got other patients too! But at least have the real doctor take care of him! Please!”
“Don’t pay him any mind, Ryoma. I’ll take care of it. Start with the right leg, please,” Maflal said.
“Yes, Doctor.” Ryoma reached for the instruments needed to treat the patient.
The man at the door began thrashing against the staff. “Wait!”
“Calm down,” Maflal commanded. “We treat every patient to the best of our abilities. He is no exception.”
“Then why won’t you treat him?!”
“Now, I need to stop you from interrupting his treatment.”
“Stop that kid, then!”
“Right thigh is treated,” Ryoma said. “Moving on to the left arm.”
“Treated?!” the man shouted again, outraged by the presumptuous declaration. Then, he saw the arrow lying by his boss and no sign of the wound left on the patient’s thigh. Once Ryoma had moved around the stretcher, the man had full view of him healing the deep gash on his boss’s left arm, right before his eyes. All the hospital staff in the room and even the distraught man, medically untrained though he was, could see how unbelievably fast Ryoma operated. Now he almost collapsed onto the ground from relief, and he had to be caught by additional employees who had rushed onto the scene to help with the irate man.
“Did you calm down a little?” Maflal asked kindly and with authority.
“Wh-Who is he?” he asked.
“A boy I’ve been mentoring,” Maflal answered. “Are you a craftsman?”
“I’m his apprentice. Carpentry,” the man said.
“He is still in training,” Maflal said, “but brilliant with healing magic. He’s probably the best at healing injuries out of all of my residents. I understand your concern for his age. I assure you, we are treating your mentor in the best way we can.”
The carpenter’s apprentice blinked his teary eyes a few times before pleading, “Thank you! And...I’m sorry. I saw him bleeding really badly, and I lost my cool. I’m really sorry! I can see he’s in good hands now.”
“Left arm treated,” Ryoma announced. He went on to cast a spell to heal the patient’s physical energy as he confirmed the dose of fast-acting hematinic prepared by his station. By this time, Maflal had returned to treating patients too.
Even after the carpenter’s apprentice had been escorted away from the ward by hospital staff, triage after grueling triage awaited the doctors. Still, Ryoma had calmly and swiftly given the carpenter treatment through the interruption, and Maflal had stood up to the man while still taking his concerns to heart. Amidst the tension in the building, the staff, patients, and their families had felt a sliver of reassurance watching the two doctors in action.
■ ■ ■
Ryoma and Maflal continued treating patients until they lost count of how many they’d seen. Now, while there was still an influx of patients, the situation at the hospital had calmed down somewhat.
“Excuse me,” a doctor called. “Doctor Maflal, Doctor Ryoma—why don’t you take lunch while we have a little lull?”
“Time flies, doesn’t it?” Maflal said. “Thank you. Let’s go, Ryoma.”
“Yes. Thank you for holding down the fort for us,” Ryoma said to the doctor who had come to replace them.
Maflal and Ryoma went to the table in the break room of the hospital, only to find the other residents congregated there.
“Hello,” Ryoma greeted them.
“Are you all on lunch too?” Maflal asked.
“Yes, sir...” Hector said, more gloomy than usual.
“The other doctors gave us first break,” Clarissa added.
Tint was chowing down his lunch while Isabella was working through hers with meticulous table manners, although her ruffled hair and the sweat on her face indicated her exhaustion.
Maflal took a sandwich from the serving platter. “Good thing everyone’s here. I know we’re on break, but let’s share any information we have now. Especially if there are any spots that may be low on manpower or supplies, we should address that sooner than later.”
The residents shared a look before Isabella spoke. “I’ll go first. While there are many patients awaiting treatment, the influx has slowed down. Also, only a small percentage of them are severely injured. I’ve been told that most of them are not in life-threatening condition by any measure. We haven’t gotten around to treating them, but we’ve been handling the traffic of the severely injured so far, with the help of the evacuated doctors who work at the hospitals and clinics throughout the city. If anything, we need more people and supplies to deal with the mildly injured. Wouldn’t you say, Clarissa?”
“Yes... The external doctors have offered to help us with them too, and treating them is not an issue in itself. Only, there’s a long queue, and everyone’s on edge because of what’s happening to the city. We pretty frequently have some outbursts from those who have been waiting too long. We have enough supplies too. The cleaner slimes launder the bandages and sheets as we use them. We also boil surgical equipment to sterilize it, but the whole process is quick and easy enough.”
“Plenty of medicine as well...” Hector said. “In fact, we have so much stock that the other pharmacists asked me how we managed it. Ryoma made plenty of herbs with his magic and weed slimes, and once we verified that we could use what the medicine slimes secrete, we stockpiled a lot of batches. Barring some catastrophe, we’re not running out.”
“I’m more concerned with the supplies available at the shelters. There should be more evacuated medical personnel there performing treatment,” Tint said.
Ryoma recalled what he had seen during his firefighting. “I’m not sure if it will come to this, but I’m concerned that this situation is going to drag out. The constabulary should have been told this as well, but several attackers who’ve tried to sabotage the firefighters have confessed that they were ordered to injure as many people as possible. That they weren’t ordered to kill anyone, and had no intention to.” This information drew shocked looks from the other five. “I don’t mean just two or three of them either. But I’m not taking their word for it entirely, since it could just be an excuse they came up with or were ordered to give once they were caught.”
“But you don’t have enough reason to write it off either.”
“No. If their confessions are to be believed, those orders came from the very person who orchestrated this attack. Whoever they are, I somehow doubt they’re doing this out of concern for human life. Not killing gives them a better advantage... I think they’re trying to wear out the manpower and supplies required for rescues and treatment.”
The look in the doctors’ eyes grew severe. As professionals who had dedicated their lives to saving others, they burned with indignation. Tint’s face had even turned bright red, visibly outraged by a foe he could not yet put a name or face to.
“It won’t be a problem if I’m just overthinking this, but I can’t shake the feeling,” Ryoma said.
“Planning for all possible outcomes is crucial to practicing medicine too. Take our stockpile, for example. If we hadn’t planned for something like this, we would be struggling to come up with those supplies now,” Maflal said. “Let’s see how many supplies and injured are at each shelter. We can share some of our stock with locations that need it, and I’ll ask again if the shelters can treat the mildly injured. Not to present it as a trade-off, but the supplies should make it easier on them to take in those patients. That should allow them to be treated more quickly than insisting they be treated here.”
As Maflal made the suggestion, he looked to each of the others, asking with his eyes if anyone had any counter arguments. None were made. “I’ll reach out to them, then. I’ll be back as soon as I can, but don’t wait for me to keep treating our patients.” He took another sandwich for the road and swiftly strode out of the break room.
“I appreciate the speedy reaction, but has Doctor Maflal gotten any rest...?”
“Don’t worry about him, Ryoma. He has far more experience than we do, and this is something that has to be done. Sounds like you were doing great out there.”
“Thanks to you—and these guys.” With a smile, Ryoma stroked the heal slime on his right shoulder. “It’s humbling to work alongside real medical professionals.”
There were a few factors that allowed Ryoma to participate in treating the severely injured: healing magic and magical potions with effects that were unimaginable by Earth standards; a short-term tutelage under Doctor Maflal that had focused on trauma care; and, most of all, the use of Slime Vision, which allowed him to precisely examine wounds.
“With or without the help of any slime, you should be proud of yourself, Ryoma!”
“The other doctors were surprised at how adept you are at your age.”
“You’re definitely better than me at incisions and extractions... Do you have any tips for me?”
“Are you feeling all right, Ryoma? I know you focus only on the patient’s affected area to lessen the strain on you, but it still can’t be easy.”
“Thank you. I’m just doing what I can with the tools I have. As for incisions and extractions... I know how to use a blade, and I’m not sure if I should be comparing the two, but I’ve had a lot of practice on wild game I’ve caught in the woods. And I’m feeling okay. I can’t say I’m not tired, but I used to be in this state semifrequently. If I have to, I can pull two or three all-nighters in a row, and I have magic recovery potions. Worse comes to worst, I just need to cast healing magic on myself to keep going as much as I need.”
“I don’t think you’ll have to go that far... Speaking of—Ryoma, you’ve been out since we called on you, right? You ran into me out front.”
“Yes. I’ve been firefighting and dealing with saboteurs.”
“For how long?”
“Since right after the first explosion last night.”
“Were you sleeping when it started?”
“I’ve been taking power naps,” Ryoma simply said, and reached for another sandwich.
Once the four doctors realized Ryoma wasn’t kidding, they shared a look.
He’ll be out cold before we know it, they thought.
The doctors gently explained to Ryoma that he shouldn’t burn himself out, despite the dire situation in the city, all the while silently resolving to lead Ryoma by example. On top of their concern for Ryoma, they considered him a fellow apprentice to Doctor Maflal. They couldn’t let him work himself to the bone to treat these patients on his own.
Ryoma was reassured by their kindness when their brief reprieve came to an end.
“Excuse me! Many of the constables are injured and inbound! Please prepare for their arrival!”
“Got it!”
Another long battle at the hospital was about to begin.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login