𝙵𝙻𝙴𝚂𝙷 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙱𝙾𝙽𝙴 | 𝚃. 𝙾𝚃𝚃𝙾 𐂃

Chapter 27

"I need to cut through the abdomen wall, then the uterus." Perspiration trickled down Cristine's forehead and neck. Despite the shade, the warmth festering was unbearable. The stench of the fly infested infected didn't help either, but Cristine tried to ignore it and clenched her dominant hand around the knife, tip pointing along the washed out and wrinkled skin. The dark of her eyes focused on the bare stomach with a vivid concentration. Taking a few deep breaths in short intervals, the steel of her Bowie knife stilled completely.

A steady hand.

The sharp tip split the skin two. Cristine ignored the dark, clotted liquid that seeped through the incision. Blinking quickly, she did her best to ignore the smell, girding her focus. One wrong move and she'd cut through arteries and that would be the end of Kathy's life. Her mind emptied and thoughts calmed. Cristine didn't even feel the heat around her anymore, her audience didn't exist during the procedure. With the abdomen opened, Cristine's made another side-to-side incision through the location of the uterus. A sharp exhale later, the protective membrane where a conceived baby would be located ruptured. The moment the sack spilled, Cristine couldn't take the smell anymore and sat back on her hunches.

From her side, Alicia mirrored Cristine's actions and muffled her nose with the back of her hand, face green and pale. But she flicked her in the direction of the ruptured membrane where the uterus was located. Closely inspecting it, Alicia reflexively glanced at the half a dozen corpses from the corners of her eyes. The procedure on then 'failed' and meant the patient would be dead from excessive blood loss. "Next comes stitching the uterus and stomach." Alicia handed Cristine a thread and needle and watched the gloved hands start to push the needle through the wrinkly skin to fasten everything back together.

"It looks alright?" The confused voice of Hailey stated before looking at Alicia for clarification. "I mean that's it right?"

"She applied the theory correctly, yes." Alicia nodded in agreement with Hailey's observation. However, the traces of concern on her face didn't convince the youngest Gerrard sister this meant. Giving her friend a look, Alicia wiped the top of her sweaty head with her upper arm. "It's still a corpse Hailey. Cutting through it now is easy since the uterus is empty. Also, the procedure is risky given that the first time Kathy got a C-section it was because there were complications."

"Like?" Hailey inquired for clarification.

"Like her needing a blood transfusion," Cristine's muffled voice from under the face mask sounded slightly scratchy and both Alicia and Hailey looked at the finished stitching work. It was a neat, clean line. Pushing herself to sit up straight, Cristine undid the bloody dark brown gloves from her hands and pulled her mask from the bottom of her face. "Kathy's being monitored and she has a history of high blood pressure, which means she's even more susceptible to have a difficult time delivering the baby."