Day 16 and 17
Meh a whole day and a bit behind schedule now. Been trying to figure out how to deal with the whole epidemic situation. Hasn't been as easy and I thought it would be.
“On the surface it appears to be a gastro virus,” the doctor explained. “When they’re not vomiting, they’re suffering from diarrhoea. Dehydration has been the primary killer, with exhaustion and starvation.”
Vera nodded and looked around the hospital. There were beds everywhere along the corridors and extra beds in the rooms, even people on the floor. The smell of vomit and faeces, mingling with disinfectant permeated the air. The doctor noticed her looking.
“We’ve tried to separate people as much as possible, but that’s not very easy with only a handful of people to look after them. There are more in the nearby buildings.”
“Wow.”
The doctor grunted.
“Are you familiar with the IV brace?” he asked.
“I’ve had one plugged into me before, but as I was in a coma at the time, I mostly remember it being taken off.”
“Well, now you’re going to learn how to change the cartridge.”
“Okay.”
The doctor took Vera on his rounds, teaching her not only how to change the cartridge in the IV brace, but also how to check the settings. He couldn’t show her how to put one on, however, as everyone had one on already. Halfway through the day, the doctor had to take a seat.
“Are you okay?” Vera asked.
The doctor took a deep breath.
“No, I’m not,” he admitted ruefully. “There are only three other people here still in one piece, and all of us are being run ragged trying to take care of everyone. Exhaustion only makes us more susceptible to the virus. I came here from Red Hills, which has fortunately escaped the virus, because my specialty is in this area. But none of us are going to be able to stand up to it forever.”
“Red Hills?” Vera repeated. “I’m from Terinos Lake.”
“Ahh,” the doctor nodded. “Last I heard from them, they were also free of the virus. Unfortunately, communications have broken down - we have no one to spare to man the facilities. We’ve been sending reports mostly, but you wouldn’t have clearance to see any of them. Or to send them for that matter.”
“That’ll do it.”
After her instruction, Vera spent the day checking the IV braces and changing over the cartridges when needed. All the while getting more anxious.
“The people at Dainwood Point don’t have anyone to do this. They don’t even have the braces on. Please let me go back and check!” she begged.
But instead they made her rest. It was not a very refreshing or long rest, as she was interrupted in the middle of her eight hours. Someone had died.
Lucy, one of the other people still capable of functioning - if barely, was up and about at the time when the beeping woke Vera from her sleep. Lucy barely gave her a glance as she tried to save the young woman in the bed, but to no avail. Lucys’ eyes were dry having already cried herself out for the dead over a week before. Lucys’ only words to Vera was to show her how to take the brace off.
Vera received additional instruction the following day when she and Greg had to refill the cartridges. One would have thought that Greg would have been happy for the help, but he proved to be just as pleasant as he had been on their first meeting.
“Not like that, you stupid girl!”
“Don’t pour in so many nutrients! What are you trying to do? Deplete our supplies in a day?”
“No, no, no! The plants must be grounded up much finer than that before they can be drained.”
Vera quickly began to resent Greg. Unfortunately, the doctor succumbed the same day, and wearily explained to Vera how to put the brace on.
“If… if you insist on going back to Dainwood you must do the hovercraft tutorial,” he told her wearily. “Don’t put in… your fathers’ name… as the instructor… The hovercraft records… progress will be appended to yours and his… records. Put in… tutorial. Will teach… important for your own sake.”
“Okay, I will.”
“First… get Greg to show you which plants… to harvest… for the additional nutrients…” the doctor sighed. “Please… excuse me…”
Vera tried not to wince as the poor doctor vomited violently.
Vera frowned as she plucked the plant in question from the ground, and turned to Greg in puzzlement.
“Are you sure this is it?” she asked.
Greg glared at her.
“Of course it is! It’s what I just showed you, isn’t it?” he snapped at her.
“It’s just that… this is a purgative.”
“A what?”
“The animals -”
Greg snorted and dismissed her.
“Just get harvesting. This plant had most of the nutrients we need and it doesn’t have that stupid mineral they have to remove from our systems every check up.”
Vera pursed her lips, but did what she was told. Still, afterwards when she was grounding the plants up, she was nervous about actually putting the stuff into the IV mix.
“I’m not sure that it’s a good idea,” she tried telling Lucy. “The native animals use it to purge their systems - to deliberately make themselves throw up.”
Sadly, Lucy was far too tired to consider this seriously.
“Hon, how these effect the natives is not a fair indication of how it’s going to affect us, being alien to this planet and all -”
“I know that but -”
“They have the necessary nutrients we need to supplement our own supplies, and the sick need those nutrients to replenish their systems. Don’t worry, we’ve already tested the things.”
Vera was still concerned, but did as she was told.
Unwilling to put off her trip back to Dainwood Point any longer, the first chance she got, Vera headed back to the hovercraft. As the doctor had advised, she entered ‘tutorial’ in under instructor. It then asked her if she wanted tutorial one or two. Vera shrugged and chose ‘one’. ‘Exercise One’ appeared on the screen.
A pleasant alto voice came over the speakers and with orange lights to highlight the appropriate controls it talked her though getting the hovercraft to lift off.
“Excellent,” it told her. “Now we shall land the hovercraft.”
“What? On no we won’t,” Vera said, startled. “I have places to go and people to lool after.”
She tried pressing the button to go forward but nothing happened.
“No, I’m sorry that’s wrong,” said the voiceover. “Please press the button with with orange light.”
Vera glared at it and pressed the forward button again, and again and again. Each time the voiceover repeated it’s instruction. Frustrated at finding the buttons disabled, Vera finally banged the console and conceeded to following the instructions to land the hovercraft. She followed these with pursed lips and not much enthusiasim, although she had to conceed that the tutorial did show her what she had done wrong the first time, such as checking the heigh gauge to see how far off the ground you were.
She landed successfully, although not without a little thump. The voiceover told her she had done well for a first try and now she could lift the hovercraft again. Vera did so, only to have the tutorial instruct her to land again. As before, the rest of the controls had been disabled.
“Oh come on!” Vera complained. “I have to go!”
But desipte her verbal and physical expressions of frustration, the tutorial had her lift and land the hovercraft for almost an hour before Vera shut the engine off in disgust. By that time, Greg was outside, and he shouted at her as she exited.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? We’ve got sick people in there who need attention! This is not time for games!” he exploded at her.
“I’m not playing games. I’m trying to get to Dainwood Point!” Vera shouted back at him.
“Really? Didn’t look like it to me! Now get back inside and -”
“Hey, it’s not my fault that stupid tutorial wouldn’t let me go anywhere.”’
“You shouldn’t be going anywhere! Lucy collapsed while you were out here, mucking about. You’re needed right here.”
“Hey, everyone here still has you and Frank. Dainwood has no one and none of the seven who were alive were being treated - at all. Everyone here has an IV brace, but no one there has -”
“Seven! You’re wasting time to go after seven people? We have -”
“I know how many people we have here! But they at least all have a chance! How can you be so callous?”
Greg grabbed her roughly.
“Let go of me!”
“Stop this foolishness and get... back...” Greg stopped, his whole body shuddering. “To....”
He never managed to say the word “work”, for he was too busy throwing up all over Vera.
“On the surface it appears to be a gastro virus,” the doctor explained. “When they’re not vomiting, they’re suffering from diarrhoea. Dehydration has been the primary killer, with exhaustion and starvation.”
Vera nodded and looked around the hospital. There were beds everywhere along the corridors and extra beds in the rooms, even people on the floor. The smell of vomit and faeces, mingling with disinfectant permeated the air. The doctor noticed her looking.
“We’ve tried to separate people as much as possible, but that’s not very easy with only a handful of people to look after them. There are more in the nearby buildings.”
“Wow.”
The doctor grunted.
“Are you familiar with the IV brace?” he asked.
“I’ve had one plugged into me before, but as I was in a coma at the time, I mostly remember it being taken off.”
“Well, now you’re going to learn how to change the cartridge.”
“Okay.”
The doctor took Vera on his rounds, teaching her not only how to change the cartridge in the IV brace, but also how to check the settings. He couldn’t show her how to put one on, however, as everyone had one on already. Halfway through the day, the doctor had to take a seat.
“Are you okay?” Vera asked.
The doctor took a deep breath.
“No, I’m not,” he admitted ruefully. “There are only three other people here still in one piece, and all of us are being run ragged trying to take care of everyone. Exhaustion only makes us more susceptible to the virus. I came here from Red Hills, which has fortunately escaped the virus, because my specialty is in this area. But none of us are going to be able to stand up to it forever.”
“Red Hills?” Vera repeated. “I’m from Terinos Lake.”
“Ahh,” the doctor nodded. “Last I heard from them, they were also free of the virus. Unfortunately, communications have broken down - we have no one to spare to man the facilities. We’ve been sending reports mostly, but you wouldn’t have clearance to see any of them. Or to send them for that matter.”
“That’ll do it.”
After her instruction, Vera spent the day checking the IV braces and changing over the cartridges when needed. All the while getting more anxious.
“The people at Dainwood Point don’t have anyone to do this. They don’t even have the braces on. Please let me go back and check!” she begged.
But instead they made her rest. It was not a very refreshing or long rest, as she was interrupted in the middle of her eight hours. Someone had died.
Lucy, one of the other people still capable of functioning - if barely, was up and about at the time when the beeping woke Vera from her sleep. Lucy barely gave her a glance as she tried to save the young woman in the bed, but to no avail. Lucys’ eyes were dry having already cried herself out for the dead over a week before. Lucys’ only words to Vera was to show her how to take the brace off.
Vera received additional instruction the following day when she and Greg had to refill the cartridges. One would have thought that Greg would have been happy for the help, but he proved to be just as pleasant as he had been on their first meeting.
“Not like that, you stupid girl!”
“Don’t pour in so many nutrients! What are you trying to do? Deplete our supplies in a day?”
“No, no, no! The plants must be grounded up much finer than that before they can be drained.”
Vera quickly began to resent Greg. Unfortunately, the doctor succumbed the same day, and wearily explained to Vera how to put the brace on.
“If… if you insist on going back to Dainwood you must do the hovercraft tutorial,” he told her wearily. “Don’t put in… your fathers’ name… as the instructor… The hovercraft records… progress will be appended to yours and his… records. Put in… tutorial. Will teach… important for your own sake.”
“Okay, I will.”
“First… get Greg to show you which plants… to harvest… for the additional nutrients…” the doctor sighed. “Please… excuse me…”
Vera tried not to wince as the poor doctor vomited violently.
Vera frowned as she plucked the plant in question from the ground, and turned to Greg in puzzlement.
“Are you sure this is it?” she asked.
Greg glared at her.
“Of course it is! It’s what I just showed you, isn’t it?” he snapped at her.
“It’s just that… this is a purgative.”
“A what?”
“The animals -”
Greg snorted and dismissed her.
“Just get harvesting. This plant had most of the nutrients we need and it doesn’t have that stupid mineral they have to remove from our systems every check up.”
Vera pursed her lips, but did what she was told. Still, afterwards when she was grounding the plants up, she was nervous about actually putting the stuff into the IV mix.
“I’m not sure that it’s a good idea,” she tried telling Lucy. “The native animals use it to purge their systems - to deliberately make themselves throw up.”
Sadly, Lucy was far too tired to consider this seriously.
“Hon, how these effect the natives is not a fair indication of how it’s going to affect us, being alien to this planet and all -”
“I know that but -”
“They have the necessary nutrients we need to supplement our own supplies, and the sick need those nutrients to replenish their systems. Don’t worry, we’ve already tested the things.”
Vera was still concerned, but did as she was told.
Unwilling to put off her trip back to Dainwood Point any longer, the first chance she got, Vera headed back to the hovercraft. As the doctor had advised, she entered ‘tutorial’ in under instructor. It then asked her if she wanted tutorial one or two. Vera shrugged and chose ‘one’. ‘Exercise One’ appeared on the screen.
A pleasant alto voice came over the speakers and with orange lights to highlight the appropriate controls it talked her though getting the hovercraft to lift off.
“Excellent,” it told her. “Now we shall land the hovercraft.”
“What? On no we won’t,” Vera said, startled. “I have places to go and people to lool after.”
She tried pressing the button to go forward but nothing happened.
“No, I’m sorry that’s wrong,” said the voiceover. “Please press the button with with orange light.”
Vera glared at it and pressed the forward button again, and again and again. Each time the voiceover repeated it’s instruction. Frustrated at finding the buttons disabled, Vera finally banged the console and conceeded to following the instructions to land the hovercraft. She followed these with pursed lips and not much enthusiasim, although she had to conceed that the tutorial did show her what she had done wrong the first time, such as checking the heigh gauge to see how far off the ground you were.
She landed successfully, although not without a little thump. The voiceover told her she had done well for a first try and now she could lift the hovercraft again. Vera did so, only to have the tutorial instruct her to land again. As before, the rest of the controls had been disabled.
“Oh come on!” Vera complained. “I have to go!”
But desipte her verbal and physical expressions of frustration, the tutorial had her lift and land the hovercraft for almost an hour before Vera shut the engine off in disgust. By that time, Greg was outside, and he shouted at her as she exited.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? We’ve got sick people in there who need attention! This is not time for games!” he exploded at her.
“I’m not playing games. I’m trying to get to Dainwood Point!” Vera shouted back at him.
“Really? Didn’t look like it to me! Now get back inside and -”
“Hey, it’s not my fault that stupid tutorial wouldn’t let me go anywhere.”’
“You shouldn’t be going anywhere! Lucy collapsed while you were out here, mucking about. You’re needed right here.”
“Hey, everyone here still has you and Frank. Dainwood has no one and none of the seven who were alive were being treated - at all. Everyone here has an IV brace, but no one there has -”
“Seven! You’re wasting time to go after seven people? We have -”
“I know how many people we have here! But they at least all have a chance! How can you be so callous?”
Greg grabbed her roughly.
“Let go of me!”
“Stop this foolishness and get... back...” Greg stopped, his whole body shuddering. “To....”
He never managed to say the word “work”, for he was too busy throwing up all over Vera.