by Sage du Toit
Sam went back out to the truck and grabbed the cats and their food and took them inside to an empty exam room. She set them up with litterbox, food and water. She then brought the chicks in to a different room and removed their cover and expanded their crate out to the full expansion. She made sure they still had food and water in their feeders and the she went to look for the pharmacy.
She had her flashlight in one hand and her pistol in the other as she searched. There were signs that pointed to the pharmacy, making her search easy. However, once she found the pharmacy, she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to get in. The door was locked and the window only had a small hole for passing the medicine through. The hospital wasn’t so advanced as to have key cards, so that meant there could be a key somewhere that would unlock the door. That meant she would have to check the corpses in the area, which was something she didn’t relish doing.
Down the hall from the pharmacy, she found a nurse station with two bodies on the floor. She took a deep breath and searched the pockets of both nurses but didn’t find anything. However, when she turned the second body over, she was surprised and a little grossed out when she saw maggots on the body.
She continued to look through the hospital for someone that would have a key to the Pharmacy. She finally located what looked like the janitor’s body and it had a big keyring full of keys. Along the way, she noticed several other bodies with maggots as well as a few flies along the window seal in one of the rooms. She was glad to see at least some insects had survived after all. She knew they had a vital role to play in nature, even if they were pests.
She took the keys to the pharmacy and went through them one by one until she finally found the right one. She carefully searched through the shelves and put several different bottles of pills in a carrying tray she found on the counter. She took two different types of antibiotics and pain pills. She also took two different types of injectable antibiotics.
She found her way back to the surgery and found they were still working on the wound. She asked how it was going and Tom shook his head, he said he flushed the wound out and could see the bullet so he had removed that first, but there was a lot of necrotic tissue and he wasn’t sure how far down he would have to cut to get it all out. He shook his head again and told Oscar that they might have to amputate the arm to keep it from spreading and becoming septic. Sam could tell that Tom did not want to make that decision. Losing a limb, especially in the world as it was, would not be easy. Sam didn’t know what made her bring it up but she told him about the flies and the maggots she had seen on the bodies. It was the first time she had seen insects, other than the bees they had at Fort Jackson.
Tom froze with his scalpel just as he was about to start cutting and looked up at her. He put his scalpel down and placed gauze over the open wound and told Oscar to stay with Craig and asked her to take him to the bodies where she saw the maggots and flies. Sam was a bit taken aback that he would leave surgery to go look at some gross maggots.
She led him down the hall and showed him the flies in the window and the bodies that had maggots. Tom carefully examined the flies and the bodies with the maggots. He grinned at her and said, “This may sound gross, but I think these maggots can save Craig’s arm!” He asked Sam to take him to the pharmacy and she showed him the way.
He searched around the pharmacy until he found what he was looking for, he showed her a specimen type jar that was marked with a label that read ‘Medical Maggots’. He explained that those maggots were all dead, but the ones that were alive in the hospital had probably come from maggots that were being used to treat someone’s necrotic wound. They had survived and grown into adult flies and continued to breed using all of the dead bodies as breeding grounds. He told her he would make a bet that if they went into the area where all the patient rooms were, they would find tons of flies! He said that before they left, he wanted to go open some of the doors and windows in that area so the flies could get out and repopulate the world.
He looked around the same area of the pharmacy until he found a packet that was labeled as a maggot cage dressing. Taking one of the carrying trays he took several of the maggot dressing packets. They left the pharmacy and went to the room next door that was marked as medical supply. He had her hold her flashlight up as he selected several different sizes of gauze, tape, saline and tweezers in a sterile packet. They went back out to the hallway where the dead bodies were and he handed her the carrying tray, taking out some of the gauze. He wet the gauze with the saline and tucked it down into a clean specimen cup and then opened the tweezers. Sam watched in fascination as he carefully picked the smallest maggots off the bodies and placed them on the gauze inside of the cup. Sam held the flashlight for him as he carefully picked up each tiny maggot. Once he was satisfied with the number of maggots in the cup, he put the lid on it.
They took everything back to the surgery room and Tom washed up again and told Sam to wash up as well. Oscar asked them where they had been, he said he was getting worried. Tom told him that he had a way to treat Craig’s arm, that would hopefully save it. If it didn’t work, then they could still remove the arm. Tom rinsed the wound and then patted it dry with fresh gauze. He asked Sam for the maggot cage dressing and she carefully opened it up. He had read the instructions that were printed on the package earlier so he already knew what to do. He traced the outline of the wound and then cut the center of the dressing out to match the wound. The dressing had a peel off back that uncovered a sticky backing which he then applied carefully so that the wound showed in the center of the dressing as he held the top part back. He made sure it was all flat and pressed down and then he asked Sam for the cup.
When Tom opened up the cup and removed the gauze from inside that was covered with about two hundred maggots, she heard Oscar gag. She looked up at him with her eyebrows raised and tried to hold back her smile. She was more fascinated by this process than disgusted, but not everyone could handle maggots.
Tom gently placed the gauze and maggots over the wound and it covered it almost perfectly. He removed a strip of paper that was covering the sticky part of the flap he was holding back and then smoothed it down over the bottom part of the dressing. They could see the maggots wiggling around under the netting that was the top part of the dressing. It would keep the maggots in place over the wound. Tom took a thick layer of breathable gauze and placed it over the dressing and taped it lightly around the edges.
He looked up at Oscar who was still standing there stunned. Oscar said, “What the hell man? Why did you just put maggots on him! That’s disgusting!”
Tom and Sam both laughed at his reaction, and then Tom explained how these are special maggots, they only eat dead tissue, not live tissue. And they should also help the wound heal faster. He told Oscar to trust him, it wasn’t like he had much choice.
Tom looked through the medicine that Sam had brought back from the pharmacy earlier and selected one of the injectable antibiotics and administered a dose through the iv. He checked Craig’s breathing and felt his temperature. He said Craig was find and would probably be out for a few more hours. He had given him a high dose of pain medication when he put in the iv. He had also numbed the arm with a local anesthesia, so he wouldn’t be feeling any pain in the arm until much later.
Craig appeared to be resting well to Sam, he didn’t look pale and sweaty anymore, so that at least was an improvement. She waited for Tom to finish writing out some notes on a paper he had found. She looked over his shoulder and saw he was making notes on how much and what type of medicine he had given Craig and when. Sam suddenly realized that they were going to be delayed again, at least until Craig was well enough for them to leave them.
Sam glanced at the times that Tom was writing down and was surprised to see that it was already after 6 pm. She glanced at her own watch to confirm the time. Oscar was sitting in a chair next to Craig’s bed with his head resting on the side of the bed. Sam placed her hand on his shoulder and he looked up at her. She a
sked him if he was hungry and he nodded yes and told her that he hadn’t wanted to leave Craig alone, so he hadn’t been able to go out to loot for more food. He said the last time he ate was a package of crackers yesterday. Sam told him it was ok, they had food they could share.
There were two lanterns in the room and Tom took one and walked with Sam out to the truck. They took the basket of food, their bug out bags and sleeping bags and went back inside to the room where Sam had put the cats. Lucky was laying on the exam table and the kittens were all still out running around the room chasing the toys that Sam had put out for them. They left their bags and sleeping bags with the cats and took the basket of food back to the room where Oscar and Craig were.
Sam passed out the premade sandwiches and water to each of them. They sat quietly and ate. Oscar finished his sandwich first and Tom told him to get another one out of the basket, assuring him they had enough. Oscar took another one out and asked Tom if he wanted another, but he said no. When they were done eating, Tom asked Sam if she wanted to come with him to check out the rest of the hospital, and of course she said yes.
They put their headlamps on so their hands could be free. They quietly walked through the halls of the hospital, checking rooms, looking for the patient rooms. They found the cafeteria and looked through the kitchen. There was plenty of canned food and other non-perishables to feed them all for several weeks if they had to stay here. Finally, they came to a hallway that lead to another building and as they neared the end of the hall, they both stopped and listened. They could hear a low buzzing sound. There was a vertical window on the door and when Tom shined his light through it, they saw a swarm of flies on the other side. They decided not to open that door.
They backtracked and found a door that went outside. They turned off their headlamps and went outside to the cool evening air. Sam took a deep breath; the hospital had been stuffy and smelled of decaying bodies. They had somehow gotten use to the smell, but to breath fresh air was much better!
They followed the outside of the building and found an entrance to the back building that they were assuming were the patient rooms. There was a set of double doors going into the building and when Tom shined his light through a window next to the doors, they could see the swarms of flies. Sam checked the doors and they were both unlocked. She smiled at Tom and they each took a door. She asked him if they should cover their faces, in case the flies tried to swarm them. Tom said that was probably a good idea and they took out their gas masks and put them on.
Sam counted down from three and they both opened their door at the same time. They pulled them wide open and the swarm of flies from inside came pouring out. It was a thick black cloud. Sam was glad she had her gas mask on, they were all over the lenses and she could feel them on her arms through her shirt. They both pushed the doors wide open and put the door stoppers down to hold them open. Tom grabbed Sam’s hand and pulled her back toward the front of the building, where they had come from.
Once they were out of the swarm of flies that were coming out of the building, the flies drifted away and off of them. They both watched as the black cloud of flies continued to stream from the building and fill the night sky. The moon was still over half full so they could see the wave of flies as they coursed like a dark ribbon in front of the moon and away into the distance.
Chapter 25
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4 March 2021
Meadville, MS
After releasing the flies last night, they had moved the cats into a bigger room that had two clean beds and a private bathroom. They found another clean hospital bed for Oscar to sleep on for the night and wheeled it into the surgery so he could stay with Craig. Tom had told Oscar to come get him if Craig woke up and needed more pain medication.
Sam was surprised in the morning when she realized that Oscar had not come to wake up Tom, but then she saw that Tom was already gone. She was normally a light sleeper, so she was very surprised that he had been able to leave the room without her hearing. She checked on the cats and gave them more food and water, then cleaned herself up in the bathroom. The shower was cold, but she was thankful that she could take one.
When she walked out into the hallway, she felt a slight breeze and wondered where it was coming from. She checked on the chicks that were still in the exam room she had put them in, giving them more food and water. They were up and peeping, wandering around the inside of the crate. Then she went to the surgery and found the room was empty, even the two beds had been moved out. She decided to check the cafeteria, thinking they might be there getting food. She wandered down the long hallway and saw that all of the doors had been opened and the bodies that had been in the building had been removed. The men had been busy. She finally found Tom and Oscar, they were both wearing protective gloves, gowns, and masks. They were carrying a body wrapped in sheets out to the back of the hospital. She couldn’t see where they were putting them, which was good, it meant no one would be able to see from the road either.
Since they were busy doing that, she decided to go find Craig and check on him. She recalled seeing one door that was closed. She quietly opened the door and saw it was a room similar to the one that she and Tom had stayed in last night. Craig was on the bed closest to the window. He was asleep, but it looked like he had a fresh gauze dressing over his wound. She checked him for fever and found he was still a little warm to the touch, but at least he wasn’t hot. Just as she was about to leave, she saw his eyes flutter and he turned his head, looking around.
He licked his lips and she asked him if he was thirsty and he lightly nodded his head. There was already a bottle of water with a straw sitting on the table next to his bed. After taking a few sips of water he seemed to come around a little more. He said, “Where am I? How did you get here?” He looked around the hospital room, “Where’s Oscar? Is he ok?”
Sam reassured him that Oscar was perfectly fine and explained to him how they had found him and Oscar. He looked down at the bandage on his arm and started to touch it, but she stopped him. He said that his arm felt weird, like something was moving and lightly tickling him. She wasn’t sure how to tell him about the maggots. Luckily, Oscar and Tom came through the door at that moment. They had removed the protective coverings they had been wearing.
She smiled at the men and said, “Look who’s finally awake!”
Oscar’s smile was one of relief. Tom came over and asked Craig how he was feeling and he expressed concern about the weird feeling on his arm. Tom explained that he had a severe infection that had become necrotic and they were treating it with maggots to hopefully keep him from losing the arm.
Craig took the information much better than Sam thought he would. He just looked down at his arm and then flexed his fingers. He thanked Tom and told him that the last thing he remembered was thinking that he was going to die. He was sure that Tom had saved his life and that whatever treatment he thought best, he was alright with. He also said he was glad to know he wasn’t going crazy, because it felt like his skin was crawling!
Everyone laughed and Sam asked if anyone was hungry and they all said, “Yes!” with great enthusiasm. Tom told her to go ahead to the cafeteria and see what she could find and they would follow soon. He wanted to help Craig out of bed and make sure he was ok to walk, then he would come help her.
When Sam entered the cafeteria, she saw they had also removed the bodies from there as well. Luckily there hadn’t been many and after all this time, they were pretty much just dried husks. The few flies that had gotten into this part of the building had feasted on the bodies and helped to reduce the worst of the smell that was usually left behind.
Sam went into the kitchen and checked to make sure the gas was still working on the stove, luckily it was. She didn’t enter the walk-in refrigerator and freezer, she knew everything in there would be putrefied, she searched the hospital pantry that was full of large cans and boxes of food. It was the typical foods she had seen in
other large facility pantries. She picked out a large can of soup and a box of crackers.
She had the soup on the stove heating, pot of water boiling to make coffee with and another pot of water boiling to make tea. Tom came in with their bag from the truck that had some of their cooking supplies with. Sam happily removed their coffee pot and transferred the heating water to the pot and added coffee. She didn’t bother using their own supply of coffee, the hospital had plenty.
He looked to see what she was cooking and then gave her a hug. She asked him how Craig was doing, and he said he was up and walking but very weak, so they had found a wheelchair for him to ride around in until he was stronger. Oscar was helping him to take a shower right now, they had taped a plastic bag around the arm to keep it from getting wet.
Sam was glad that he seemed to be doing better, but she was also worried about when they could get back out on the road, after all, they had just left yesterday and were already delayed again! When she mentioned it to Tom, he said he had been thinking about that too. He knew the maggots needed to stay on the wound for at least 48 hours and depending on how it looked after that, they might have to put more on it. He said he was worried that they had used maggots from a corpses body, even though he had rinsed them with saline, he wasn’t sure how safe it was. It wasn’t like he had a choice though.
He explained that he wanted to put something else out for the flies to lay eggs in and get clean maggots. He said he was even thinking of building some type of fly cage so he could take some flies with them so they could have a reliable supply of maggots if they needed them. Sam wasn’t sure how they would do any of those things, but she also knew that if Tom set his mind to it, he would figure it out!
Sam was stirring the soup and suggested that maybe he should go to the library and see if he could find a book about flies, they might have something that would help him. He hugged her from behind and said that sounded like a great idea. Sam leaned back into him and enjoyed the quiet moment they were having, just standing in the kitchen together. It didn’t last long, they heard Oscar and Craig coming into the cafeteria, both of them laughing as Oscar pushed Craig in the wheelchair. She was glad to see they were in good spirits. She still wasn’t sure what to think of these two, they were technically escaped convicts, but the world was different now. Their past mistakes didn’t matter much anymore, at least they weren’t violent criminals.