Brynna

Whipping Wounds

   After about 40 minutes of staring at the ceiling, feeling sick to my stomach, I decided to check up on Brynna and since it's not a secret anymore I might as well get some answers. I wander down the halls, still in shock,reeling about what I've learned is these past days. I make it to the sick room, which is good because I feel like throwing up. I take a deep breath at the door, trying to prepare myself for what comes next. I steel myself and walk in.
   The scene is worse than I expected. Mum is handing Dad some towels and rushing to the closet to get more, Dad is trying to stop the blood flow, it's not just a stream either, the blood Is oozing out of her faster that Dad can press a towel onto the wound, and even when he does, it just soaks through in a manner of seconds, I look at Jenny, and it takes me a while to process what she's doing, the the realization hits me like a truck, Jenny is restraining Brynna. Who is arching back, crying out. I dash forward, 

"Stop it!" I cry, "Stop it! You're  making it worse!" I grab Dad's arm, forcing him to stop. Brynna stops writhing, but now the bleeding is worse, and she's still crying out. Dad gently shakes me off. 

"we have to clean them." he says in an even tone. I step back and take in the whole scene, it makes me feels sick to see it, the white sheets and bedspread are now a dark crimson with blood. There is so much that it's dripping to the floor and creating small puddles, Brynna herself is a mess, she's writhing in pain again, and sweating all over, she's past moaning now, but is crying out, floating somewhere between conscious and unconscious, life and death. Her hair and body is sticky with fresh and dried blood, I take a look at the wounds, and nearly throw up, They're deep, really deep,  oozing blood, and... black around the edges.

   "Why are they black?!" I cry out, frantic, jumping back. "Are they supposed to look like that?!" Dad pauses for a brief moment and looks deep into my eyes, before saying slowly and carefully,
   "The whip that was used to make these, was poisoned."
Just then, as if on cue, Brynna screams and convulses violently, ripping free of Jenny's hold, and finally, as if from a small mercy, goes unconscious, breathing raggedly. Mum runs in, ignoring me, handing more towels, with stuff on them, to my Dad, just as I fall to my knees and start to sob. I drag myself into a little plastic chair near the bed, ignoring the blood in it, and hold tightly to Brynna's hand, just then she cries out and then sinks back into her stupor. Mum and Dad start cleaning out the deep, wide gashes, which causes Brynna to start moaning in pain, Jenny looking very shaken, almost sick, says,
   "I'm going to go see if the Tardis knows a cure, for... whatever poison is in her." And walks out. Mum and Dad look at each the and nod, I want to yell at Jenny to stop, she's just looking for an excuse to get out. but i hold my tongue. Dad goes back to cleaning the wounds. Mum looks at me and says very softly,
   "Brooke, Dad and I are going to need you to be very brave right now." I nod my agreement. Not really taking in the words anymore, just agreeing, then I realize what she's said.
   "Why?" I ask. "How could things be worse than the are right now?"
   "Well," She replies, "we need to medically staple the wounds closed, and we can't numb them, because we don't know how the poison will react with the number. So it's going to hurt her. A lot." I blinked.
   "Okay. " I said, still a little choked up, "why do you need me to be brave?"
    "Because," Dad said, "when people are in pain, they go to the people closest to them, so it's likely, Brooke, that she's going to call out for you." I nod.
   "Okay," I breathe "I can do this." I decide not to look while Mum and Dad put the staples in, but I can tell when they do by Brynna's immediate whimper and moan. Then another, then another, and another, and another, Brynna gives sort of a high wail, and starts shaking. I glance at my Mum, "are you done?" I ask. Mum looks up at me with a grimace,
   "Only with the first one." she tells me. I glance down and quickly count the gouges, there are 17! Dad starts with the next one, and Brynna starts gasping in her sleep, with each staple, she squeaks, by the third cut, she starts moaning my name. she sounds small. maybe even pitiful.
   "Dad," I say, "why does it hurt her? Don't they, in human hospitals like the ones Martha works in, they put patients to sleep and it doesn't hurt them to have surgery, why isn't that working with Brynna?" Dad looks at me for a minute before answering.
   "I think, that it has something to do with the poison, it's very strong, and we're not sure what it does, so we can only guess."
   "But Dad," I reply, "how do you know it's so strong if we don't know what it is?" The answer comes quickly this time.
   "Brooke, I want you to look at the staples that are in her back. Look really close." I slowly force myself to look at them and immediately figure it out. I gasp. the poison is melting away the staples! They were smoking!
   "Oh my Tardis!" I say, "how do we stop it!?" My Mum replies, 

"we don't know sweetie. we... we just have to wait and see." that's enough. I snap.

"YOU STOP RIGHT NOW!" I yell at them "You guys aren't even trying! Look at her...LOOK AT HER! She's dying! And you guys don't even care!" I can hear my dad calling after me, words of comfort. But I'm gone. I don't care anymore.

As I storm past the console room, I see Jenny nodding off in the captain's chair. she snaps awake when she glimpses Me.
   "Hey Dad, Mum." I hear her say. "I think I found the poison, but I haven't found an antidote." they start to converse and I glance at my watch, 4:27 A.M?! I leave to go to bed. The next afternoon, at roughly 2:00, Brynna wakes up.