Page 14 of ReBOrB

Siluthien Hell!

Reb remembered listening to the doctor at the medical center. As he explained to the Andaran why the man couldn’t remove Cameron from their care. She’d been bitten by a tiny Iceactic spider. The creature’s deadly venom caused her internal organs to fail. The doctor had said they reversed most of the damage, but she needed continued treatment or she would die.

No. The doctor said she needed a final treatment. What if she needed more?

Reb jumped to his feet and carefully repositioned Cammy on her back, straightening her arms and legs. He needed to do a complete scan.

Cammy still didn’t respond.

As the Master of Biology—Reb studied all living things. All the native plants and animals, all the alien lifeforms. He knew by looking at them what they needed for optimal health. When they were healthy, he could figure out what animals and sentient beings needed to eat or drink. He understood what soil conditions plants required. And figured out which creatures preyed on other creatures for sustenance.

When a being wasn’t healthy, when they were sick or injured as Cammy was, Reb could do a surface scan from several yards away and know they were sick. If he planned on helping someone heal, he needed to do a more comprehensive analysis to figure out what treatment was necessary. A detailed scan would let him know if diet changes would help, or if a specific herb or medicine needed to be ingested. Sometimes he would see the patient needed surgery or other high-tech treatments.

A full scan required his undivided attention. His energy drained, often dependent on how close to death the person was. The time he’d spent hiding in the medical center watching over Cammy had allowed his psyche to study the human body. He now knew Earthers needed sunlight, hydration, and rest to be in optimal health. He knew that compared to many humanoids in the universe, the time it took them to heal was slower than most.

ReBOrB sat beside Cammy on the bed. He faced her feet, deciding to start the full body scan there, assuming her greatest issues would be from the waist up. That would be true if this coma-like state sprang from an allergic reaction to the yama—or from failing to heal the spider bite or the head injury. But he didn’t want to miss anything, so he’d start at the bottom.

He didn’t expect this to be so hard. Reb knew he needed to examine her, but he found himself smiling at how cute her toes were. How dainty her feet.

Closing his eyes, taking a few deep, cleansing breaths, he let his ability to see Cammy’s skin, muscle, bone, and blood… fill his mind. This time, when he opened his eyes, her cute toes did not sidetrack Reb. Instead, he watched the blood flow in her veins. Looked at the way the bones in her feet connected to her leg, knee, and hip. Her stomach…

It wasn’t the yama. Cameron had digested the fruit just fine. She had a bit of queasiness, but it didn’t come from the fruit. Her internal organs were good. Healthy, with just a hint of damage from the Iceactic spider venom. But it was healing without issue and didn’t need help from him.

When ReBOrB raised his gaze to her head, time stopped.

Moments later, he gasped for air, not realizing he’d ceased to breathe. Here was the problem. Fear blinded him for a moment. Until he realized he’d closed his eyes. Not wanting to see.

Forcing them open, he studied the damage. A vessel in her head was still bleeding. Filling her skull with so much blood, it shifted her brain off center. Pushing it to the side, squeezing it into a smaller space. Not only was the brain pushed to the side, but blood saturated all the tissue. How had they missed this?

He couldn’t look away.

Reb felt Cammy’s headache. It was all-consuming. Making her nauseous. If this continued, she would have seizures. Already she had trouble using her legs and arms. They were weak. Unsteady. If something wasn’t done, her body would decline rapidly. The coma-like symptoms would become a true coma she would never wake from. The head injury was killing her.

Reb sat very still. Waiting for his powers to kick in. For the therapeutic knowledge to fill him. He wanted to know what skills he could use to heal her. To repair the damage and accelerate her return to health. Maybe the herbs he’d gathered at the farmer’s cottage would help? Or something from the forest surrounding them?

Wasn’t there anything he could do?

Chapter Nine

ReBOrB

He didn’t have anything but the most basic first aid and a few medicinal herbs from the farmer’s home. Reb propped up the head of the bed, added pillows, and elevated Cammy’s head. Then he covered her with blankets.

With the bed propped up and away from the wall, he could get to the supply cabinet without climbing across her body. Reb planned to make a tea from the herbs. It wouldn’t heal her, but the warm liquid and brain-specific herbaceous plants might help her regain consciousness.

He needed her awake enough to understand her choices.

Reb pulled out the small mat used to heat water and simple foods. Quickly, he filled a cup with heated water and the herbs. Once the liquid was dark enough, he used a small dropper from the emergency medical kit they had on board. This kit was mostly bandages and ointments. There was a single shot of medicinal pain reliever. And the dropper that would help him administer both the tea and water to Cammy. For as long as she remained unconscious, he could help her hydrate. Right now, that meant tea.

It seemed to take hours to get Cammy to swallow the entire cup of medicinal herbs. It didn’t taste or smell bad, but she wasn’t swallowing on her own. Reb would get a dropper full of liquid in her mouth, and it would leak out between her lips. Until he held them shut with one hand and rubbed her throat with the other.

Then she would swallow, and he would repeat the action. He figured it took about one hundred times for the small cup of tea.

Once she swallowed the tea, he sat by her side and waited. Having her head propped up, along with the herbs to relieve cranial pressure, should help her regain consciousness. Even if it were only for a few moments. Reaching out, Reb picked up Cammy’s hand. He held it in his, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. He couldn’t take his eyes off her face. Reb used a touch of his power and willed her to wake up. It crushed him that he didn’t have enough healing ability to help her more than this.

A short time later, Cammy sighed and mumbled, “That feels good.”

“Can you open your eyes, Cammy? Can you drink more of the tea and talk to me for a bit?”

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