Goretober day 4
Words: 944 Contains: Infection, amputation Characters: Hector, Ronny (@feral-mouse) AO3 mirror (send kudos if you like!)
It was a shame that he couldn’t reach his patients for a few days, but he learned to savour the time they spent together. A while apart made each session all the more special. Hector hauled open the heavy door to his lap and stepped through, excited already to begin.
This time, he only had one specimen. Huddled up in the corner of his cage, Ronny still had a few bandages in varying shades of red. Hector sauntered over and yanked the chain on his collar so he pressed hard against the bars, and studied the wounds as best as he could.
Ronny was already alive, trying his best to scuttle away. His insults fell on deaf ears, but he was noticeably more sluggish today. Hector noticed he was considerably warm.
A few small incisions on the shoulders, one long but shallow one on the back. A few along the toes from where he’d pulled out the nails. Matching bandages on each hand from the fingers he’d removed, and one wrapped over his lower left leg.
He didn’t like the look of that forearm. Hector stood and retrieved his syringe, pulling Ronny tight to the bars again to inject into his neck. When he went limp, he carefully opened the cage and cuffed his arms before he undid the heavy metal collar around his neck. He dragged him to the table and hauled him up, tying his shoulders and legs down first before daring to untie his arms. He was methodical and thorough, ensuring that he would always have the upper hand.
Once he had his patient immobilised, he didn’t wait for him to wake. He removed the bandage from his leg to have a closer look. Just as he’d suspected. A rather nasty infection. Hector cursed himself for not paying closer attention, and began to plan an antibiotic regimen for him. He tapped his fingers together as he thought to himself.
Perhaps this would warrant… he hummed a little and shook his head. He’d been wanting to try out his new tools anyway. This was a prime opportunity. It was necessary.
By the time he’d readied his tools, Ronny was awake again. “Bastard- I’ll make you regret this-” He grunted and struggled but it barely rocked the table.
Hector placed a hand on his bare chest, and shushed him. They locked eyes for a long second.
Then, he moved to plan his cuts. He marked just above his knee with a pen, paused, then re-marked it a little higher.
It took until he picked up his Liston knife for Ronny to realise what was happening.
“Don’t you fucking dare.” He wiggled harder.
If he kept moving like that, it could jeopardise the surgery. Hector gritted his teeth in irritation.
He leaned forward and wrapped his hand around Ronny’s neck. “If you keep struggling like that, I might remove more than intended. We wouldn’t want that, hm?” Hector leaned in closer and tightened his grip. “Wouldn’t want me to slip.” He had a grim look on his face.
Then, quick as a flash, he was back to his task. He picked up his knife again, and clattered with some tools on his rolling table. He tied off a tourniquet just above the markings, and then he was ready.
Each cut was precise. The initial bite of the blade made his patient shiver, but Hector was able to work around it. He reached the major artery of the leg and tightly ligated it before severing it.
By now, his patient was screaming. As lost as he was in the work, it provided a low-level irritation that he couldn’t handle. He straightened up and retrieved a rag, which he stuffed into Ronny’s mouth. “Be quiet now.”
Having to re-wash his hands and re-don his gloves was equally annoying, but he was able to get back to his task sure enough. As he transected the muscles, he was able to appreciate just how deep the infection went. He’d surely need to wait a while before completing this.
Judging by the slight pale look to Ronny’s face, he wasn’t certain if he’d remain awake for the final part. So, Hector prepared his cocktail of drugs. It was risky, especially in such an operation, but he decided it was worth it to see if he could break through his defiance.
Epinephrine and methamphetamine, with an appreciable amount of saline to counteract the blood loss. He set up the drip, but didn’t open it immediately. He readied with his oscillating bonesaw - one of his favourite tools, by far. He opened the drip and then prepared for the final part.
Until now, Ronny had remained remarkably still, but the sound of the tool starting up caused him to move again. Hector had peeled away enough flesh such that he would be more than capable of completing the removal, so he simply leaned on his leg as he brought it down.
It took a while, of course. Much quicker than a manual saw - he couldn’t risk that here - but the sound of the tool against bone mixed with the howls of pain from the other man. It created a wondrous chorus. Hector grinned under his mask.
After the separation, Hector untied the lower leg. He applied bone wax to the end he’d cut off, and prepared drains for the remaining infected portion. He’d have to return soon to complete this.
Ronny was just about awake. Hector took off his mask to grin at him, and then switched out his IV for a blood transfusion.
“That was impressive, even for you” Hector muttered as he snapped off his gloves and petted Ronny’s hair.