Vanish (ONC Finalist)

9. Stitches (Part 2)

"'Doctor'?" Marius sounded confused.

"Yes, a doctor, medic, you know—someone trained to do this sort of thing."

"Oh. You mean a healer?"

"Yes, that's it, a healer," agreed Aled, realising they had just met their first language barrier, which was pretty damned amazing when you thought about it. He was now almost certain he had been transported to another version of Earth, a parallel or even divergent world. How else could he explain the fact that Marius spoke English, albeit with a strange accent? It couldn't possibly be a coincidence.

"The nearest healer is days away! I'd rather you do it. You have a knife, don't you?"

Aled flinched at the image that conjured up.

"I don't want to risk it," he replied firmly

"And how do you suggest I get to a healer? Like this?" asked Marius, waving his arms around, suddenly angry.

Startled, Aled took a step back before he saw the fear lurking behind the anger. He realised Marius had a point. How on earth was he going to find his way anywhere with his eyes shut? And it wasn't as if Aled knew where he was going either. If they had been on Earth he could have popped him in the car and driven to the nearest hospital. But they weren't.

Marius was right, it was going to be up to Aled to remove the stitches, whether he was nervous about the procedure or not. He had to stop acting like a coward.

"You're right. Let's find somewhere to sit down out of this sun and I'll have a shot. If you're certain, I mean."

"Thank you," said Marius, more calmly.

"I don't suppose you have any water with you?" asked Aled, looking dubiously at his half empty canteen. "I need to wash the blood off first."

"No, sorry." Marius bit his lip. "But I do know where we can find some. Much as I dislike the idea, perhaps we should go back into the tunnels. There was water down there, just a few yards back."

"Right," said Aled. "Sounds like a good plan, better than wandering about up here in the heat, in any case. Just hang on a moment and I'll tie the rope back around the tree."

"You have the strangest sayings, Aled," commented Marius as he waited. "'Hang on'! I can guess what it means, but... Where do you come from? What Hold?"

"A little place. You probably haven't heard of it, it's a long way from here," replied Aled as casually as he could. "There, that's got it. Come with me, and I'll help you down," he offered, taking Marius by the arm.

A few minutes of scrabbling and they were back inside the cave. Aled seated Marius safely on a limestone outcrop before studying his surroundings. He hadn't had time for a proper look around the last time. They were in a rocky tunnel rather than a cave. The floor was uneven, studded with rocks and it looked to Aled as if the roof had collapsed at one point, allowing the light to break through. He took out his torch and climbed carefully over the debris, wondering how on earth Marius had managed without being able to see, until he came out into a wide cavern. Creamy white stalactites caught the light from his torch, hanging down from the ceiling like a bed of needles, while chunkier columns dotted the floor, reaching upward. As Marius had said, a dark pool of water filled one side of the cavern.

Aled crossed over to it. To his relief the water was flowing, slowly but surely. Not a stagnant puddle then. The water looked clear and clean enough as far as he could tell in the torchlight and gamely, he scooped up a handful to drink. It tasted delicious, cool and minerally. He filled his canteen with water and returned to Marius. Ideally, Aled knew he should boil the water first but he simply didn't have the equipment available.

First, he washed the grime and blood off Marius' face carefully with water and his handkerchief, being as gentle as he could. Then he took his First Aid kit from his belt and turned Marius' face to the light. "Now this might sting a bit," Aled said as he wiped the other man's eyes again, this time with antiseptic, then took out the scissors. "Hold as still as you can," he murmured, slowly easing the point of the blade under the black thread, pressing into the skin.

Marius flinched at the cold touch of metal.

"Sorry."

"I know it's hard, but you have to hold still while I do this."

Aled took his chin firmly in one hand while he snipped with the other. Snip. Snip.

Dots of red blood appeared on Marius eyelids, but Aled clenched his teeth and ignored them. If he stopped now he might never start again.

Seemingly hours later, though in reality it was only minutes, it was done. The ugly stitches were gone.

"Hold still a bit longer," said Aled as he smeared antiseptic cream over the tiny wounds with some cotton buds. He took a deep breath and tidied away the First Aid kit with hands which were suddenly shaking now the job was done. "Look down first, away from the light. Your eyes might be sensitive for a while, then try to open them," he said.

Marius bent his head, then very slowly opened his eyes. Neither man was aware they were both holding their breath.

"Well?" asked Aled, desperately hoping for good news.

Marius looked up at him, his face filling with joy for a split second before his expression changed to one of furious outrage. His fist came up as hard as a hammer and knocked Aled flat on his back. "What the fuck are you playing at?" screamed Marius.