Patient Twelve

Chapter Thirty-Eight

 Ben drove home without any music. His gaze jumped around the entire ride, and he kept checking over his shoulder. He did not slow down, and we were thrown around the car as he drove over the rough terrain.

The headlights were the only thing lighting up the dark forest. I was praying that I would see a series of red and blue lights flashing behind us, but it never happened.

The bottle was tucked in my sleeve. My knuckles ached because of how tight I was holding the end of the sleeve. I didn't want the bottle to bounce out and roll away from me because of Ben's chaotic driving.

When we pulled up to the cabin, Ben grabbed the duffel bag from the backseat. I hurried out and followed him into the cabin. He dropped the duffel bag on the couch and ripped off his scarf. I watched him as he peeled the layers of clothes off of his sweaty skin. He unravel the soiled gauze off of his torso.

I gasped when I saw his patch of scales. The skin was bright red and swollen. It was leaking thick yellow pus that had spread to cover a chunk of his pale skin. Ben looked up when he heard me. He unzipped the bag and started sorting through the bottles that he had stolen.

"Get me a glass of water," he said. "And a warm towel."

I pulled off my sunglasses and hat before I went into the kitchen and poured him a glass of water. I set the glass down on the coffee table. Ben sat down and swallowed two of the pills from one bottle. I went into the bathroom and grabbed one of the towels. I ran it under warm water before ringing it out. I slipped the bottle out from my sleeve and tucked it in one of the bathroom cupboards behind a collection of shampoo bottles.

Ben was leaning against the couch with his eyes closed. His one eye peered open when I sat down beside him. I handed him the towel, and he washed the pus off of his scales and skin. He gritted his teeth every time he touched his inflamed skin.

"I still think you should go see a doctor," I said.

Ben rolled his eyes before going back into the duffel bag. He pulled out a tube of cream. I took it out of his hands to see that it was another antibiotic.

"You know using too many antibiotics is dangerous," I said.

"I'm aware," Ben said. "But we're kind of in a desperate situation."

I let out a deep breath before getting up off of the couch. I washed my hands and grabbed the last roll of gauze.

Ben had finished cleaning his scales when I sat next to him again. I squeezed some of the cream onto my finger, and I ran it across his abdomen. He cried out in pain. He grabbed my wrist and pulled my hand away.

"Be careful," he said.

"You're the one who wanted me to put this cream on," I said.

"Yeah, but you don't have to be so rough."

I raised an eyebrow. "Rough? I am barely touching it."

Ben let go of my wrist. I let my finger graze across his skin. The cream was cold, but I could still feel the heat radiating off his skin. I wiped the mixture of the remaining cream and leftover bits of dried pus on the towel. He leaned forward and I wrapped the gauze around his body.

When it was all finished, he leaned back against the cushions on the couch. He combed his sweaty strands of hair back, and off of his forehead.

"How long do you think it will take to work?" I asked.

"I should feel better in a couple of days," he said. "Alexis had an infection once. It cleared up the next day, but it wasn't as bad and she had IV antibiotics."