Free Scarlet Angel by C. A. Wilke

the bag and released it,
letting it fill back up with air.
    She took the bag and moved toward Neil’s head. As
she squeezed the plastic sack, Doctor Smith retrieved a small
device with two wands.
    He placed the two wands on the patient’s chest and
sternum. “When I say clear, back away.”
    She nodded.
    “ Clear!”
    Neil’s muscles twitched. The doctor held the
patient’s wrist. “Okay, his heart is beating again. Keep up with
that bag and don’t stop.”
    The doctor spent the next hour reconnecting the bits
of tissue he could inside Neil’s wound. He finally declared there
was not much else he could do.
    “ You’re done? That’s
it?”
    Doctor Smith produced a fat aerosol can from his
bag. “Not quite.”
    “ You’re going to cover him in
shaving cream? What the hell kind of doctor are you?”
    He laughed. “Not quite. This is a special mix of
antibiotics and growth hormones. Exposed to the air, it dries into
a skin-like surface. The seal prevents infection better than
stitches.”
    “ Oh. Wow, that’s cool.”
    “ Yeah. But underneath is where the
real magic happens. The growth hormone encourages cells to
reproduce at an accelerated rate. With this, he’ll heal in a
fraction of the time.”
    Scarlett was stunned. She watched with wide eyes as
he filled Neil’s wound with white foam. In just a few minutes, the
surface of the foam transformed into a semi-clear skin. “That’s
incredible!”
    “ Yep. Oh, you can stop
now.”
    The doctor cleaned the rest of the area around the
wound and started bandaging Neil’s chest. Once the bandages were in
place, he pulled off his red-stained gloves and wiped his brow.
“Well, he suffered a lot of trauma. He should have gone directly to
a hospital. Though, I suppose given his profession that’s not
likely. He is very lucky the round missed his major organs. He lost
quite a bit of blood, but all in all I think he’ll be fine.”
    Scarlett let out a deep sigh. For the first time
since Neil walked through the door, she felt like she could
breathe. “Oh, thank God.”
    The two gently moved Neil into his bedroom. She
leaned over his unconscious form as the doctor left the room. He
returned a moment later with several clear bags of fluid.
    “ I’m going to stay until he wakes
up. It should only be a few hours. There is a chance he won’t, but
that’s pretty unlikely.”
    Scarlett was thankful for the company. With the
chaos of her life before, and now Neil almost dying, she wondered
if there would ever be a sense of normalcy again.
    Doctor Smith strolled back into the living room and
moved to sit down on the black couch.
    Scarlett grabbed a couple bottles of water from the
fridge and sat down beside him. “Thank you so much Doctor, for
saving him.”
    “ Oh no, you saved him just as much
as I did. If you hadn’t kept your hand over that wound he would
have bled out before I got here.”
    He held the bottle to his forehead. The condensing
water ran from the plastic surface to his forehead and down his
face. When he shifted his position, his jacket fell open. Inside,
was the black shape of a gun.
    Scarlett’s heart skipped a beat.
     

Chapter 13
Brush with Death
    Sometimes we learn more from the places or people we
least expect, even if it is from our own selves.
    * * *
    Scarlett tried not to stare at the gun. She twisted
in her seat and the couch’s black leather squeaked at her movement.
Even after the doctor shifted and his jacket hid the firearm again,
she struggled to keep her eyes anywhere else.
    “ So, being this kind of doctor
must be dangerous.”
    He twisted the cap off his bottle of water and took
a swig. “Oh, somewhat. But it’s only part of what I do.”
    “ Really?”
    “ Yes, I used to be a full-time
surgeon. But I lost my license and, well... then I discovered I had
other talents.” Doctor Smith leaned back.
    “ Talents... Like him?”
    “ Yes, talents much like our friend
in the other room. Though, we operate in different circles,