like all kinds of sets and various household items.
I undid my seatbelt and slid back into the aisle. I could remember first aid and CPR training from summer camp. The anatomy I had learned from textbooks I could only hope would be useful to me now.
“It’s okay.” I tried to reassure both of us.
Whatever fears I had looming in my mind disappeared with the effort of the task in front of me. The scissors were easy to operate, and with them I removed Charlie’s shirt. If the situation were different, I might have enjoyed that very much, but I couldn’t give myself the luxury of thinking on those things now. Having an assignment gave me the ability to be unbiased and focused. I ran through the first aid safety checklist in my head and put on a pair of dusty latex gloves after I scrubbed my hands with scorching hot water in the restroom. It seemed like such a stupid thing at this point, but it made me feel sturdy and professional, so much unlike myself that I was even borderline confident.
Small strips of loose fabric from his t-shirt had somehow managed to get caught in the smallest fragment of the wound. With the most careful precision I think I’ve ever maintained, I removed those loose threads. Ben flicked on the single passenger light above us and sat back down. With the newfound light, I could see his injury appeared to be fairly orderly in terms of its shape. I didn’t know much, but I did know that anything jagged wouldn’t allow the wound to close properly.
Ben went back to talking with Yuri and I went back to work. I cleaned the area with a mild disinfectant, also checking the expiration date, and being careful not to aggravate the injury further. Every so often I would glance up at Charlie’s face. I didn’t want to think about why he was still unconscious and why every so often the core of the abrasion would gush with fresh blood. I taped down sterile gauze pads with an equal amount of pressure on both sides to try and keep the bleeding down. From there, I enclosed the wound in a tight bandage. It wasn’t great, but it would have to do for now.
“Wherever we’re going does have a doctor, right?” I said to no one in particular.
Ben nodded seriously. “Everything will be taken care of.”
I stood up and wandered into the aisle. “Is there any water around here?”
Eager to be active, Polo unbuckled himself and headed to the back of the jet where he made a ruckus of noise.
“Water? Water? Anybody water?” He frantically started tossing the bottles to everyone. I was lucky enough to catch one just before it landed on Charlie’s head.
Yuri caught one of the wild throws. “Polo, you’re the ugliest flight attendant I’ve ever seen.”
We all smiled, but it wasn’t very heartfelt. Charlie was still unmoving, and as pale as anything I had ever seen.
I sat back down beside him and unclasped the water, forcing some into his mouth. Even though he coughed reflexively, it was good to hear some kind of response from him. Every few moments I made him drink a little more.
I rested my hand against his chest and continued to periodically feed him water. His eyes were sunken in and dark against the white of his normally tan complexion. But that wasn’t what bothered me. What truly disturbed me was his lack of response to my touch. I brushed my hand against his cheek, his forehead, and silently prayed for the flutter of an eyelash or the twitch of a lip. But the only movement came when I forced him to drink.
I began whispering in his ear. “Did you know that tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur? Did you know that the average person blinks about twenty-five times per minute?” I brushed the hair from the side of his face and leaned against his shoulder. “Did you know the human heart beats 100,000 times a day?” I choked on my own words. “You still have lots and lots to go today.”
“How long until we get there?” I asked Ben.
He looked to Reid for an answer. “You’ll have to ask that one.”
“We finally caught a break,” Reid answered. “No reports of bad weather, going as fast as we can. Should be there in about fourteen hours.”
Fourteen hours? And that was a short amount of time? I tried not to seem disappointed, but I couldn’t