Nasferas: The Begotten

10

"Misha, I need your assistance," Ralia called to her sister while she directed the men to lay Treylor down on the med bed. The reverent group followed her lead.

Her baby sister made a timid entrance into the Med Room. "I'm not sure I'm ready for this yet, Ralia."

"You can do it. Put some gel sleeves on and help."

Misha rolled her eyes, took the fluid from the shelf, and rubbed it over her hands. The sterilized gel crept up to her elbows. Misha had a distant look. One Ralia knew all too well.

"You'll be okay. Now, hand me the tissue cutters. You do remember what they are?"

Misha nodded and gave Ralia what she needed.

This wasn't going to be easy. The intense heat had charred the material, blistering every inch of his skin. Not a regular blister like you would expect from a partial thickness burn but blisters in the form of welts. Large uneven bubbles under the skin. In that kind of heat, you don't get burned from the outside in, you burn from the inside out. The internal damage would be tremendous. Treylor's breaths came in agonal gasps. Ralia placed a breathing flap over his throat. It infiltrated his windpipe, expanding his lungs into a normal shape. This brought him to a reasonable respiratory status.

Aleese held his gloved hand. The look of anguish on her face busted Ralia's heart. Could she even tell her cousin her betrothed may not survive much longer? No. It wasn't an option. She needed to do everything in her power to keep Treylor alive.

Ralia worked slowly and methodically, removing each piece of the blast suit. Misha showed great instinct and disposed of the cloth Ralia lanced from Treylor's skin.

"This is the most advanced case of space blistering I've ever come across," Ralia said under her breath but knew everyone heard. She commenced laser-lancing the pustules one by one. The procedure didn't break the blisters. Each boil evaporated from the inside, which flattened the skin in the area treated. Still, this wouldn't help any of the internal damage.

"Here's the last bit. I'm going to need that." Ralia held her hand out to Aleese.

"My trust is with you, my dear cousin. Will he live?"

"I honestly couldn't tell you, Aleese." She began degloving Treylor's hand and thought about what could be done. Surgery is out of the question. They didn't have the equipment or the know-how to do an internal debridement. Then it donned on her.

"I think the safest thing we can do ... is put him into cryostasis. Then we'll see what we can do to help him when we wake." To her surprise, the glove came off with little effort. The dark-ashen hand beneath had been spared, the skin intact.

Aleese kissed his hand. "Come back to me, my love. I don't know what I'll do without you. I swear, if you don't come back, I will claw, bite, and kill to find you in whatever afterlife calls. Then I'll drag you out by your ear. So you see ... It's in your best interest to live."

Ralia and Misha finished with Treylor's bandages and had the boys take him to the other room with Aleese and Tarisha in tow.

When they began the Med Room clean up, coms throughout the ship chirped to life.

"My family," Moroo said.

The depth of his voice terrified Ralia.

"Please prepare for slumber. I will meet you there in a bit."

By the time Ralia and Misha returned, the lot had re-settled.

Moroo sauntered through the door and stood. He looked like a proud coach after a major victory. "I had Treylor moved into my settle."