Chapter 87: He Heard Me
Lara rose unsteadily to her feet, her legs trembling from the prolonged strain of kneeling on the hard ground. The makeshift bed, an arrangement of tattered blankets and a thin mat, sat unusually low, forcing her to remain in a crouched position for what felt like an eternity.
The dim light flickered around her, casting shadows that danced across the room.
"Bener." She called.
"Can you boil water? Please put it in a canteen."
Most soldiers she saw were using gourds to carry water. She used bamboo tubes. She noticed that the Norse siblings, the lieutenants, and the generals were carrying metal water canteens, which she estimated to carry one liter of water.
"How’s my brother," Bener asked from the outside. His voice was laced with worry. He had seen his brother’s condition and prepared himself for the eventuality that his brother would not make it.
"He is in a coma," Lara said, trying to mask the choke in her voice with the indifference that doctors would have.
She took her bamboo tube water supply, added salt and sugar, and used cotton to moisten Asael’s lips. She could not force water on him. She wished she had an IV or an injection but in this era...
Lara sighed deeply. All she could do was wait. She removed her surgical gown, which still reeked of ethyl alcohol and hung it in the pole that supported the tent. She dabbed it with alcohol earlier in her attempt to make it sterile as soon as possible.
"Bener, Aramis. I’ll catch some sleep. Try to rest, both of you." She raised her voice as she lay down the mat beide Asael’s bed.
Silence enveloped the inside of the tent.