Josef waited patiently for Alexis to return. He gritted his teeth when a wave of pain
threatened to overwhelm him. The surgeon
had told him to press a bundle of white cloth into the wound on his leg while
he went for supplies. That was minutes
ago. It felt like hours, but without
options, Josef waited.
Finally the door swung open. Alexis
carried nothing new but strode confidently to his patient and, after dipping
his hands in a bowl of steriliser, pulled aside the swabs and Josef’s
hands. A brief spurt of bright red blood
splattered his face and the ceiling without dissuading him. He resumed
exploring the wound, clamped a perforated vessel and expertly bound it with a
ligature. Accompanied by Josef’s pained
grunts Alexis flushed the wound and quickly stitched torn flesh. Sighing he shook his head, turned and made
his way back to the bar. There would be
more injuries to treat.