My kingdom for a migraine pill... [Fong]

" With words I've been betrayed, you respond and let them fade, and I just won't let you bring me down. You can see what I know and I know somewhere there's a sorry heart. "

LIAR, LIAR, DON'T CRY ON MY
SHOULDER, YOU PLAYED WITH FIRE
— christina grimmie    

Midnight. And Sindala Dalal, better known as Bones by the people in Area D, was finishing his medical rounds. It was all in secret, of course - no way that the JTF would allow him otherwise to do his job as a doctor. A pro-altered doctor to boot.
He still didn't understand why people had wanted him to keep altered imprisoned while he was himself against the whole idea. There were innocents in there, who hadn't deserved to be thrown in a world full of violence. He saw far too many young people who were lost and disoriented. Who survived with luck for a few weeks and then were killed off by accident or simply because stronger ones wanted to.
It saddened him and made him wonder if Darwin wasn't true after all. He believed in god, firmly, but couldn't help but think sometimes that, just maybe, Darwin had found some truth with his evolution theory.

He was climbing down the stairs of a building. On top of it, a small family had taken refuge. And the children were not faring well with their powers. Tranquilizers and soothing words were the only thing he could give to them - but he knew that it wasn't enough.
It wouldn't surprise him that some day, one of the kids would snap and commit suicide or kill everyone around him.

And then he could hear the groaning. He was passing by a door where apparently a barmaid was living in. Sindala, had he not sworn to himself to try to help all altered in any possible way he could, he would've passed the door, reasoning that he had not been asked to help.
But, despite it being illogical, the man knocked at the door. No one answered, but moaning. Maybe something else was going on in the room? Sindala decided to ask the neighbors...Who showed her nose up right on the moment he had been about to knock on her door.

"Whatcha want?" she snarled at him.
The woman looked up and down at him and then sneered, recognizing the sole non altered doctor that would want to touch the mutated humans of the island.
"Y'd better take care of that woman." he told him while nodding towards the door. "She's been bitching and moaning in pain for days. And I need my sleep."
And on those words, she slammed the door shut, leaving a slightly surprised Sindala behind. The Egyptian shrugged and walked back to the door of his potential patient.

This time, however, he simply entered. The door had been left unlocked. He closed it behind him, allowing the door to click so that the inhabitant of the room knew someone was there.
The room was a mess. Sindala had to push furniture aside to approach the bed that was at the other end of the room, holding a pale woman.
Quickly, the blond grabbed a chair and placed his bag on it. She was sweating profusely and bruises stood out clear on her body. If she had noticed his presence, he couldn't tell. But there was no way that he was going to leave now.

"Miss." he called out for her. "I'm a doctor. Please allow me to help you. My name is Sindala Dalal. But if you prefer, you can call me Bones."
He took his wrist watch off and went looking for a glass. His stethoscope had been taken from him, so he had to pull old tricks out of the box.
"Could you please tell me where you are hurting, Miss?" he asked, insistence ringing in his voice.

— made by ayu of btn

" With words I've been betrayed, you respond and let them fade, and I just won't let you bring me down. You can see what I know and I know somewhere there's a sorry heart. "

LIAR, LIAR, DON'T CRY ON MY
SHOULDER, YOU PLAYED WITH FIRE
— christina grimmie    

He sighed. He had treated soldiers before, in the war, who were traumatized. They had been even more jumpier than her, pointing their guns or other weapons at him. He had even had a grenade launched at him - luckily, the man had forgotten to pull the ring out of it. And thus lady, clearly, was also in a state of semi-delirium and reality.

He noticed bruises on the inside of her arms. A druggie, no doubt. And from what he could see now, while being closer to her face and with a bit more of light, she had bruises and bags under her eyes as well, pupils dilated and most likely a dry tongue while over salivating.
She was trembling on her legs and would most likely topple over if he fought her. But, it wasn't in his nature to do so and thus simply fished his card out of his pocket.

It stated his name, that he was part of the JTF, but most of all, it indicated that his job was being a doctor and not a killer. And that sufficed him.
"I am not joking around. If I don't help you soon, not only you will keep on going through hell, but also die of an early death."
He rose an eyebrow at her.
"And it would be illogical for a fighting young woman like you to simply go down that path."

And with that, he pocketed his card back and stepped forward - fast, grabbing the pipe and forcing it down. The military training did help him with self defense. And he'd rather not have his heart pierced.
"Now if you excuse me, Lady, it is time we settle you back on your bed."
And with that, he pried the pipe out of her trembling fingers, throwing it aside and grabbing her arm, hauling it over his shoulders. Having done that, they moved slowly back to the bed.

"What is your name, Miss? Do you have one you go by?" Sindala asked softly while he allowed her to settle down. "Or would you rather not tell me?"

— made by ayu of btn

" With words I've been betrayed, you respond and let them fade, and I just won't let you bring me down. You can see what I know and I know somewhere there's a sorry heart. "

LIAR, LIAR, DON'T CRY ON MY
SHOULDER, YOU PLAYED WITH FIRE
— christina grimmie    

Sindala decided not to argue with the woman. He knew that it'd be useless and that she was in no state of mind to even react properly to his arguments, how valid or logical they may be.

He also discovered, once more, that startling altered was a bad idea. She surprised him with a fierce change of emotions as well as a sudden drowsy feeling.
Sindala swayed on his feet and grabbed hold onto the chair. So she had mental powers? His brain, that was usually well arranged and at peace, seemed to be a mess now, trying to grab hold on its commands. It was interesting...but he would like to be warned next time if he had to experience such a thing.
It hurt.

Feeling feminine hands having a hold on him and guiding him to the chair to sit down, he allowed her to do so. Better allow the patient to make the first, friendly physical contact in her case. Or she might panic once more. And cause another of those psychic accidents.
He patted her on the hand, sign that he was fine and smiled. He was sure it looked crooked, but the pain of the sudden intrusion was already fading into a dull throbbing.
"Please excuse me about the rash action, Miss Helena." he excused himself.

Sindala placed his head between his knees and breathed deeply in and out, allowing oxygen coming back to his brain properly, as well as giving it some time to recover from the dizziness.
Then, a minute later, feeling much better, he rose up, once more.
"Some do not die from lacking their daily dose, but you could have died from stumbling over your own feet and hurting yourself against a piece of furniture, or worse."
He nodded into the direction of the pipe and stood up. He picked his glasses up from his nose and rubbed them clean on his white coat.

"Please take your shirt off and lay down on the bed." he ordered her. "And breathe deeply through your nose once I place the glass on your chest. I need to listen to your heart and lungs."
He wanted her to undress herself - he planned on doing so himself at first, but considering her reaction, he opted against it. Allowing her to do it on her own was a sign that he was not going to touch her inappropriately or going to hurt her. She needed to feel at ease, to trust him.
Once that was done, he placed the open side of the glass on her back and pressed his ear against it. It wasn't ideal, but he had read that some doctors in the past had used that method when the appropriate material lacked.
"Do you have a kettle, or something in which I can heat water up?" he continued, once he was done. "As well as some old pieces of fabric, or an old shirt I could use?"

— made by ayu of btn

" With words I've been betrayed, you respond and let them fade, and I just won't let you bring me down. You can see what I know and I know somewhere there's a sorry heart. "

LIAR, LIAR, DON'T CRY ON MY
SHOULDER, YOU PLAYED WITH FIRE
— christina grimmie    

Yes. He had noticed how nervous she was - most likely a result of her lack of drugs. Her brain and instincts as well as senses were most likely on hyper drive, giving mixed signals. But, keeping on that subject would be useless.
Instead, he waited for her to ready herself while he put some water to heat up. Luckily, she could pay for gaz, water and electricity in this room. Some of his clients lived on charcoal or wood. Or worse, nothing. Making his job more complicated.

As he was doing this clandestinely, material lacked. He couldn't take big things from the base and wasting alcohol all the time while he could use boiling water would be stupid. It had a few more risks, yes, but they were minimal. Not to mention that he heard another doctor was out there, an altered. If there was need for it, he could always have that one being called instead.

"While you are lacking your dose of drugs, your heart and lungs will accelerate. Depending on how much, their actions and movements can become irregular and eventually block in a state of hyperventilation, cardial arrest and sometimes even into something worse. Knowing what your status is could indicate me what to prepare for this night. Now lay still and breathe."
He lowered the cold hollow side of the glass on her abdomen, placing his ear against it, moving it from time to time. Then, after a few minutes, he placed the glass away. He then went for her pulse, placing his fingers firmly on her jugular and looking at his wrist watch, counting the seconds.

"How much a day?" he asked finally, once he had done those tasks. "And what if you can precise."
The water was almost at boiling point. He went looking for some pieces of clothing, going finally for a ripped shirt that was in a corner of the room.
The state of the room told him that it must have been weeks since the girl had started fighting. He admired her spirit, but would've liked to scold her carelessness. Most likely, her daily doses weren't all that high, allowing her to survive this long. But had this kept on going any longer without help or assistance...

"They give me material to help their forces. Not to heal altered. My material is taken from the reserves without permission. If I take too much, I'd be found out and executed."
He ripped the old shirt into pieces and cleaned it quickly under the cold water before dropping them in the boiling water. And then he picked them up with his bare hands, quickly wringing them out and then walking back to his patient.
"Bare with this. I need you to relax. This will help."
He placed the compresses on the old needle points, having the warmth they emanated relax the muscles just a bit. He placed some others on her chest and stomach, hoping to have her breathing calm down at least - he didn't need her to block her lungs off before of not being able to exhale properly.

He then opened his bag and ruffled through his material. He had anesthetics, painkillers, narcotics, anti-biotics and stomach purges...He glanced at his operation material and decided to ask for a blood sample of hers later on.
"We'll be here all night together. I don't have much to help you, but I can make sure your time tonight passes as smoothly as possible...Without making the risk of you dying raise."

He went back to the ripped shirt and dropped the next batch of clothes in the kettle, after he had filled it with new clean water. Boiled or not, the shirt had been on the ground and most likely dirty. He better not risk it to give her an unintentional infection.
"Tell me about something happy. And don't scratch yourself, no matter what. Even if it hurts or burns, don't touch it."

— made by ayu of btn

" With words I've been betrayed, you respond and let them fade, and I just won't let you bring me down. You can see what I know and I know somewhere there's a sorry heart. "

LIAR, LIAR, DON'T CRY ON MY
SHOULDER, YOU PLAYED WITH FIRE
— christina grimmie    

Heroin, one gram. Could've been worse. How many junkies hadn't he met who had swallowed mixtures of everything chemical they could get their hands on? He had seen soldiers going off with worse than LSD and then coming to his tent with having nightmarish hallucinations that made them claw at their own throat.
The stress, the hormonal and chemical state of the body sometimes did strange things. Not to mention that, every year, stronger drugs kept on showing up, some of them darker than others...

"Then think about something that relaxes you. Anything. If seeing blood relaxes you, think about it." he told her stoically, taking out a needle and some muscle relaxant.
It was the best he could give her. He didn't have the necessary material to take care of her here. Had he known, he would've tried something better, but...
Sindala calculated the doses he had left. One every three hours he guessed. Maybe two hours, if he managed to lower the necessary dose in the end of the night. But in either case, he doubted she'd make it to her work in the morning. Which ever job it was, she'd be exhausted, too slow and weak to even really stand up. He wondered if she'd be even able to get up from the bed.

And then the woman was just, trying to raise up from the bed, propping herself up on one elbow and was asking him-
What? Oh, no, no, no. She misunderstood him clearly. He rose up from shuffling through his bag, needle and small bottle ready. He was not seeking out any sexual favors - besides, if she had done that job, only God knew what for illnesses she could have. Not to mention that he was a virgin and that if he wanted to loose that, he'd do it with a woman he loved and would marry eventually.
Sindala wouldn't settle for less.

Not to mention that if he was honest, he found it degrading for a woman and man to even enter such activities. Especially on the one who bought such services.

"I don't charge my services. All human beings should have the right on free medical services. It is not logical for a doctor not to help the sick and injured." he finally replied after exhaling slowly. "But if you insist, I wouldn't mind using a pillow for tonight and be allowed to smoke, with the window of the room open of course."

That was his price. He would have to remain awake all night, keeping on checking on how she would be faring - a little bit of comfort and stress reliever wouldn't go amiss.
He grabbed some cotton and poured alcohol on it. He held firmly her hand down and placed a garrot on it. Slowly, Sindala touched the crook of her elbow, finding a vein and then prepped the muscle relaxant.
"Had I known I'd have you as my patient, I would've gotten better material. But right now, most of what I carry would be or useless or too strong for you. The best I have right now, is a muscle relaxant. I cannot put you to sleep sadly, because otherwise you might simply not wake up."

Sindala grabbed for her arm again, fingers tracing the vein and placing the needle in place.
"Inhale while I prick you, alright? It'll lessen the pain of your over-sensitive nerves."
And when he got her answer, he injected her the medication. In a matter of fifteen minutes, she should feel it work - which was when he could judge if he could give her a pain killer after all.
If Helena would almost fall unconscious, then no and he would hope she would fall asleep on her own - which wouldn't be all too bad. If it didn't, he'd administer that to her. And hope she would sleep, which would most likely happen.
If she slept, he'd have to wake her every three hours to have her drink water with some sugar in it - the energy to fight would be in that and then he'd give her some regular water so she wouldn't dehydrate by accident.

"My bad if you misunderstood once more my intentions. I'm no good when to express my thoughts or emotions...And, I'm not interested in women."
A lie. But one that would help him for now.

— made by ayu of btn

" With words I've been betrayed, you respond and let them fade, and I just won't let you bring me down. You can see what I know and I know somewhere there's a sorry heart. "

LIAR, LIAR, DON'T CRY ON MY
SHOULDER, YOU PLAYED WITH FIRE
— christina grimmie    

"Your money and daru won't allow me to buy anything more than my daily cigarettes. So keep that for the future."
Sindala placed a hand on her forehead, seeing if she wasn't running any fever. But aside from the seat on it, the skin felt just a tad cold to the touch. He grabbed the cover that was kicked at the end of the bed and spread it over his patient. It was ragged and it would be a good idea if she got something more comfortable. But that, was up to her.

He patted her head, ruffling her hair a bit and made sure that Helena was properly tucked in. It'd be a shame if she caught a cold. Later, when he woke her up, he'd be able to remove some of the sweat that had gathered on her.
Sindala took the wet rags with him as well as the bowl of water now cold water and cleaned it all up, taking his time to also wash his hands. Then, as if he was at home, he started picking the things off the floor and set the furniture back in place, as silently as possible.

Keeping himself occupied, he looked at the resting form of his patient. He wished that some day, everything would be fine and that separations between altered and humans would disappear. Most of them still reacted the same to the medication, as if nothing had changed in them.

Once he was done and had put everything back in place and given it a small touch of cleaning, Sindala went off to the window, along with 'his' chair. He opened it and inhaled the fresh spring air - it smelt better than in Cairo, he guessed. At least, pollution was sort of minimal here, on Area D.
He lit up one of his cigarettes and leaned back, preparing himself for a sleepless night.

Haaaah, he wished he had gotten the pillow he had asked for.
The chair was uncomfortable to sit on.
"Sleep tight, Miss Helena."

— made by ayu of btn