Fracking Apocalypse - a ZNation 10K/Tommy Fanfiction

S8E05

S8E05

Doc POV

Getting the equipment they needed into Citizen Z's future Z-TV broadcast station took a grand total of fifteen minutes given all the help they had from volunteer citizens. Getting it all up and running properly and sanitizing everything took another twenty. Hastings had left Murphy in the ambulance with her EMT while she directed people on where she wanted what and designated a room for the operation. Rita's leadership skills also helped to keep everyone moving in an orderly and timely fashion and Doc could see how she'd been able to keep a functioning and thriving apocalyptic community going for so many years.

He hadn't mentioned to her that two of her people had been on the list of hostages George had read him. He knew how she'd react and he didn't want anything to cloud her mind – especially when she could really do nothing more than pace outside with George and get frustrated about it. She'd learn about Eric and Mariah soon enough anyway, right now she was in her element and he wasn't going to be the one to break her flow.

Once everything was in its place to Hasting's liking she radioed the EMT to bring Murphy over with Danny's help. Minutes later the unconcious pale red man himself was wheeled in on a stretcher and Hastings turned to Doc and nodded before they both washed up as best they could.

He felt like a real doctor in a spare set of Hasting's scrubs, face mask, surgical cap and gloves that went to his elbow. He felt like he had just finished med school but unfortunately didn't have much time to bask in the feeling before he and Hastings went into the last minute O.R. to try and do what they could for Murphy.

"It'll be hard to determine if there's any bone fragment in his brain tissue without an EEG, PET, MRI or CT scan." Hastings explained as she removed the bandage wrap they'd put on him in the ambulance. The excess blood had drained and the hole was scabbed and had clotted. "Some kind of scan that could give us any more information to go off of."

"And what about any residual pieces?" Doc asked as the EMT entered as fully dressed as they were and rolled over a tray of tools from the ambulance and infirmary that had been sterilized. Hastings shook her head as she grabbed a scalpel and prepared to make the first incision.

"It's not just the pieces, it's the bleeding they've caused."

"Well how can you stop that?"

"Not with stitches, not in the brain tissue. I'll mainly be tying things off." She said as she cut across the side of Murphy's skull and the EMT worked to tend to the fresh blood so the doctor could see what she was doing. "But if I can't stop the bleeding there's a good chance that all of this is for nothing and he'll be dead in twenty four hours."

Doc swallowed nervously before getting his head back in the game. Emotional attachment to a patient always ended badly, to help Murphy he'd have to look at him as just a patient and not his friend.

"Okay, what do you need me to do?"

"Get those sutures ready." She nodded to more equipment on another table. "I'm going to have my hands full with removing the dislodged portion of his skull, I'll either need your hands to hold open this incision or assist in tying off the bleeding arteries and tissues."

He took a deep breath and rolled over the second table of equipment and braced himself to do some pretty knarly things to a brain. And Murphy's brain no less, there was information in there he'd picked up from Merch, Sun Mei and who knew how many other zombies and blends?

"Uh, doc, there's something you should know about this brain." He began, making Hastings pause and look at him, "There's more than just his thoughts in there. It's also everyone else he's connected with, the zombie mind control voodoo and everything he picks up from eating other brains." He shuddered, "Thinking about that last one still gives me the willies."