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Old 04-15-2017, 01:43 PM   #137
Icelander
 
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Iceland*
Default Action Heroes Never Have to do Triage

While on the phone with Taylor, Dr. Anderson looks around him, at the wounded or drugged people from Homeland Security, the still shaken Cherry Bell, the confused Dr. McKinney and the furious Townsend.

Dr. Anderson: “I still have patients up here, Taylor.”
Taylor: “Ya figure any o’ them gonna die in the next few minutes, doc?”
Anderson: “Perhaps not, but you would hardly wish me to leave Ms. Bell unattended. I suspect Mr. Townsend would demand I disarm her if I proposed to leave her up here.”

Townsend nods an empathic affirmative at that. Bell doesn’t seem to care that’s she’s the subject of the conversation, but from the way she grips the pistol grip of her M16A2 while pointedly ignoring everyone, the prospect of disarming her is not inviting. Taylor squeezes the phone and momentarily looks away from Pat Whittaker, who is laying out stuff from the first aid kit Taylor brought. Then he raises the handset to his face again, voice carefully uninflected.

Taylor: “I suppose you might could take her with ya, doc. If’n she’s still out of it, she might as well be useless down here as upstairs, an’ if she’s not, she oughta be able to hold gauze an’ wipe packets.”
Anderson: “I am sure Ms. Bell can be of great assistance to us.”
Taylor: “Y’all best hurry up now.”

Dr. Anderson looks enquiringly at Cherry Bell. She shrugs and steps out to accompany him. As she does, Agent O’Toole arrives in the doorway again.

O’Toole: “Doc! There’s something really [fornication]-ed up going on here! I found a guy who’s just staring out a window, won’t respond to anything I do. It’s some wicked freaky [excrement], for real! Just stares out like he’s in another world, or something.”
Dr. Anderson: “Did this person look like he was in immediate danger?”
O’Toole: “I don’t know. I think it’s the [fornicating] Warden. I mean, the Administrator formerly known as the Warden. He’s in a corner office where it says ‘Chief Administrator’ and ‘Dr. Vernon Findlay’ on the door.”
Anderson: “Well, if he is calm and his condition is stable, I will be right by to evaluate him after I deal with those with immediate life-threatening injuries.”
O’Toole: “Yeah, yeah, sure, doc. Hey, if you pass by the former hostages, maybe you could try and find someone to take care of [excrement] like the fire in C Wing?”
Anderson: “I will mention it.”
O’Toole: “Hey, no pressure. The [fornicating] building is only on [fornicating] fire! I’m sure I can deal with it while also clearing this floor, providing security to our wounded, talking to the [fornicating] Coasties and doing other [excrement] no one else seems to be doing, like disarming all the guards.”
Anderson: “Excellent. I will send anyone who volunteers to help directly to you.”

As O’Toole covers his face and goes to the security system controls to check if the sprinklers in C Wing work, Dr. Anderson and Cherry Bell walk down to the second floor of the front central building before going down the corridor to the rear building, where most of the former hostages are still in the staff room. Townsend and Dr. McKinney walk with them and while Dr. Anderson fetches his crash kit, Dr. McKinney asks if anybody is injured.

Anderson checks on Emma King and on seeing her much improved, asks her to help McKinney and any orderlies in preparing an OR in the infirmary for a burn victim and seeing about moving any other injured people to a real medical facility. Anderson also asks anyone who wants to help, but doesn’t have medical training to report to Agent O’Toole.

After this, Anderson and Bell walk back the corridor and once they are in the front building, to the stairs that lead down to the first floor. Anderson takes a look at the SRT guard who was carrying a precision rifle and the guard who took a beanbag to the face while at the top of the stairs. Both are conscious and appear out of immediate danger. O’Toole has cuffed them both and Dr. Anderson decides that he can leave them while he goes downstairs to check on more serious injuries.

The fleshy guard lying at the base of the other stairs that lead down to the corridor seems to be conscious as well, but he’s been placed in a sideways position and apparently suffered a seizure. From what Dr. Anderson can tell, the seizure has passed and the vital signs are strong, but the man is very confused.

Guard Marty Simpson: “Who are you? What happened?”
Dr. Anderson: “Relax. I am Dr. Anderson. You have had a bad fall down the stairs and might have broken some bones. I am going to give you a painkiller before we try to move you.”
Simpson: “Anderson? Are you a doctor at Manhanock?”
Anderson: “I was. Now I am with Homeland Security. What is the last thing you remember, Mr. [reads name tag] Simpson?”
Simpson: “Uh, it’s all sort of a blur. I guess, my rounds? Or maybe going to bed? What day is it?”
Anderson [while injecting morphine]: “Friday, the third of February.”
Simpson: “Oh, then I don’t remember today at all. Or yesterday. Anyway, I’m supposed to be off duty this weekend, should have left this morning on the ferry…”
Anderson: “Try not to worry. Temporary confusion and memory loss is common when you have suffered a bad fall. Just relax and I will let you know when we are ready to get you on a stretcher.”
Simpson: “Thanks, doc. That’s much better, you know. Real great stuff, that painkiller.”

Dr. Anderson notices that two other guards lying in the corridor have regained consciousness. One of them is holding his head and groaning, but the other is making a whimpering noise as he tentatively feels around his face and the ruin of his destroyed eye. Anderson grabs his wrist before he touches the gore-filled eyehole or the exposed nerves hanging from it.

Dr. Anderson: “Take care there. You might risk an infection if you touch it.”
Guard Walker: “Whaz tha… Oww! Where’s Warden Tyrrell?”
Anderson: “No longer in command. May I see your eye?”
Walker: “You’re that doctor we were looking for. Are you… are you one of them?”
Anderson: “I am Dr. Anderson. What do you mean by ‘them'?”
Walker: “You know, lizard people!”
Anderson: “I am not, Mr. Walker. I just want to clean your wound and prevent an infection. I can also give you a painkiller, if you want. I would strongly recommend one before I treat you.”
Walker: “Sure. I’m captured either way, aren’t I?”
Anderson: “I am not certain how that works. So far, no one seems to be under arrest. Warden Tyrrell’s actions were criminal, certainly, but I am not interested in finding out who was forced or tricked to help him and who helped him willingly and knowingly. I am just trying to treat the injured.”

At this point, Walker spots Cherry Bell at Dr. Anderson’s side. He recoils in fear and raises a hand to protect himself.

Walker: “Get her away from me!”
Anderson: “She was going to help me, but if you do not wish her to touch you, she will not. Ms. Bell, if you would perhaps help Mr. Taylor instead?”

Cherry Bell takes some supplies out of the crash cart and goes over to Taylor and Patrick Whittaker, who are treating the mercifully unconscious guard, Fred Pierce, the one holding a flashbang when it went off. Whittaker stares at her in some confusion. Taylor is focused on what he is doing, cutting away burnt fabric from Pierce’s blackened flesh, and does not look at Bell.

Whittaker: “Hey, wait, aren’t you a patient here? What are you doing with weapons?”
Cherry Bell: “I’m not your stupid patient anymore and I can…”
Taylor [interrupting]: “Ms. Bell done been moved by order of Homeland Security an’ she ain’t a patient at Manhanock no more. She had to use them weapons for self-defence, but she gonna put them back jes’ as soon as ever’thing’s secure.”
Whittaker: “Are you sure that’s safe, man?”
Taylor: “Ma’am, wouldya be willin’ to lay down yer rifle while ya help us treat Fred here?”
Bell: “Damn it, Chase, I ain’t some stranger old lady!”
Taylor: “Okay. Sherilyn, couldya please lay down the rifle now? It’ll be in the way anyhow.”

Cherry Bell angrily loosens her patrol sling and almost throws her assault rifle down. Angry or not, she proves to be an adequate assistant and Taylor manages to stabilise Fred Pierce and ready him for transport. Dr. Anderson has finished with Walker’s eye by then and determined that the man next to him is not badly injured.

Taylor: “That’ll be all I kin do for him, doc. I figure he needs surgery an’ the other burnt guard in the sickroom over yonder too.”
Dr. Anderson: “Dr. McKinney is supposed to be arranging for orderlies to transport anyone who needs it to the infirmary, where we are going to prepare an OR.”
Taylor: “How’s Tyrrell?”
Dr. Anderson: “Well, I have not gotten to him yet.”
Taylor: “Aww, crud. He’s over yonder [points], in that there room. I guess you ain’t comin’ with me, then.”
Anderson: “Where are you going?”
Taylor: “Find all them people who done hid under G Wing. Them tunnels ain’t safe nohow.”
Anderson: “You might be right that the tunnels are not safe, but you are not in any condition to keep running around like this.”
Taylor: “Who else is gonna, doc?”
Anderson: “At least take Ms. Bell with you.”
Whittaker: “I’ll help. I mean, if I’m allowed to.”
Taylor: “Sure, you can help, Pat. Can he come with us or is there somethin’ more pressin’, doc?”
Anderson: “Well, Agent O’Toole did mention a fire…”
Taylor: “Lord Almighty. We ain’t done nothin’ ‘bout that yet? Okay, Pat, there’s a fire in C Wing. Find volunteers to put it out an’ check in with O’Toole upstairs.”

Taylor instructs Dr. Anderson, Pat Whittaker and Bell in setting their radios to a new frequency for their use. He tells Anderson that if he needs medical assistance for any of the people down in the tunnels, he’ll call him on that frequency, which should be passed on to O’Toole, but not mentioned to anybody else. Then Taylor looks at Bell, strapping her weapon on her again and checking the magazine.

Taylor: “You comin’?”
Bell: “I guess.”
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Last edited by Icelander; 05-02-2017 at 04:09 PM.
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