Chapter 72

Chapter 72

Ill be able to escape safely. I just need to go to the hospital and get treated. Dont worry too much. I should be spewing hopeful words like these to make sure the patient doesnt get anxious, but the lies felt stuck in my throat. Lee Jihyun looked at me and said,

I want you to set the bone now.

What Im doing isnt a professional procedure so there could be nerve damage, vascular damage, habitual dislocations, muscle or bone damage

I didnt formally study how to do this but I picked some things up from a friend who was an orthopedic surgery resident. And I saw someone reset a dislocated shoulder before in the past. If I do some quackery here I might get sued when I leave. But if Jihyun and I both make it out and she sues me, I must be doing pretty alright.

Jihyun drew a cross on her body and left shoulder before interrupting me decisively in a whisper.

Right now.

I turned my head and saw Yoo Geum-yi finally taking off Kim Ga-youngs jeans, so I nodded. I held Jihyuns shoulder and arm and hesitated before finding the right words.

Open your mouth very wide and shout Ave Maria three times.

Jihyun looked at me for a few seconds before answering.

Ave Maria. Ave Ma Arrggghh!

There was a crunching noise as the bones snapped into place. Fortunately her mouth was open so she didnt bite her tongue or clench her teeth. Pain is a personal thing that no one can shoulder for you, whether its of the body or mind. Its truly the most awful private property a person can possess. Since we dont have our lovely friend Painkiller right now, Ill have to leave Jihyun to endure her agony while I go check on Kim Ga-young sitting next to her.

Kim Ga-young was missing flesh about the size of two thumbnails on her calf. It seemed the bedframe had gouged it out when she crashed into it, leaving an abrasion and contusion. Fortunately there didnt seem to be any exposed bone, fractures, or protruding fragments on the surface. It just looked like torn skin and muscle oozing blood.

I opened my bag and pulled out a towel that had been under the sleeping cats body. The cat, body flipped over, looked at me reproachfully as if in protest but I ignored its gaze and quickly closed the bag again. Sorry. A bit busy now. And when I pressed the towel to Ga-youngs leg, I made sure to use the side that hadnt touched the cat. The gauze soaked up the blood rapidly. Ga-young let out a small breath. Yoo Geum-yi looked around and said,

The laundry room is just a little walk from here. And theres a shower room next to it too. Lets go there. You both have injuries, and your clothes are soaked.

As soon as I heard those words, I became aware of how my clothes were sagging wetly against me. I was shivering without realizing it. Like I did with Jihyun earlier, I told Ga-young to try standing. Supporting herself on me, Ga-young gritted her teeth and stood on both feet. She didnt even groan. While Jihyun would have cursed up a storm, Ga-young had kept her mouth clamped shut since leaving the dorm.

Normally in situations like this, even if the injury isnt a fracture you still treat it like one. But lacking any resources here, what treatment can I provide? On top of that, Im a dentist. Im only about 70% useful without my handpiece.

Alright No point wasting time looking for splints here. There probably isnt anything around this hallway anyway. I nodded at Yoo Geum-yis suggestion.

Ill leave Ga-young- ssi to you. Ill support Jihyun- ssi .

Any good news?

.None, unfortunately.

Jihyun rubbed her left arm with her right one before speaking.

Lets head to the west building evacuation pod first, like we originally planned. We got delayed here but if we can escape through the pod, we take it. If not, we move somewhere else.

We have to reach the west building evacuation pod port to get out of here anyway. Please. Please! Please let the pod be intact! Just this once, dont let the dream come true!

Alright. If we cant escape from the pod port, well decide then where to go next.

As soon as I said that, Kim Ga-young walking ahead sighed quietly.

I was so stiff from the pain earlier I couldnt move at all, but now after some rest I can walk again even though it still hurts.

That would be muscle rigidity from the shock. Near-death experiences can induce shock too. It reminds me of the R.I.C.E treatment for contusions I learned a while ago. Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation . We at least got some brief Rest . No need to apply the other steps here, I just want to go straight to a hospital. Were we supposed to do this treatment within 24 hours?

In everyday life theres rarely a need to apply this stuff. In Korea if the injury is bad you just go to a hospital ER, and if its not serious you visit an orthopedic clinic that opens at 8 AM to get fixed right up. Its like magic how the doctors there can return your body to normal. Rubbing the ridge of her eyebrow with her thumb, Yoo Geum-yi hesitated before asking Kim Ga-young walking ahead,

Did you see anyone from the marine life center?

No I didnt. I only heard voices from the seafloor pollution center people. How about you all from the research center?

It was destroyed. I heard missiles blew it up, do you know anything?

First time hearing that. I was asleep and got woken up by people screaming as they all came rushing out of the dorms. I was stuck in there the whole time. No water flooded in and no one was shrieking anymore, just running footsteps I could hear. It was so, so scary you know? And wanna know what was weirdly funny about that situation? Even then some person went around searching each dorm room one by one.

..To look for people?

Kim Ga-young gave a bitter smile at Yoo Geum-yis question before saying quietly,

Seemed like they were ransacking. My neighbor researcher had a safe and I kept hearing it go beep beep with the password entered wrong. When were about to die, some people dont value their lives huh?

Ga-young then sighed again. Massaging her shoulder with the opposite hand, she made an effort to relax the stiffened muscles while speaking,

So I started screaming for help. And the guy was like whats the password, how would I know it? When I told him to open my door and Id tell him, he just swore at me and left.