Only the heartrate monitors could be heard inside of Henry's room as the hospital floor quieted down for the night. They were beeping rhythmically as Dr. Elias Reuter entered Henry's room in silence, following the impromptu amputation only hours earlier.
"How are you feeling?" Dr. Elias asked his patient as Henry laid in one of the medbays of the Accular, his knub sightly raised up.
"Alright; better than earlier, but not as good as when I woke up this morning," Henry tried to joke, but Elias's face remained unemotional; always business.
The doctor took a seat in the only very worn, backless wheeled chair available, before sliding over to the bed to get a better look at the aftermath of his operation, now fully disinfected and cleaned.
Henry looked away at nothing in particular, a few beads of sweat dripping from his black hair, and into his brown eyes; he was anticipating pain. But as the doctor peeled away the bandages, revealing a very bruised, stitched up, but healing knub with a drainage tube and bag attached to it, he didn't feel any. The doctor lifted up the bag of pink tinted liquid, staring at it for just a moment, and without saying a word, put it back; he was neither worried or disgusted.
"Everything looks like its healing wonderfully. To be honest, you're only one of the handful of people I've used my inventions on." The doctor confidently informed Henry as he wrapped fresh bandages around his leg. "Only thing left to do is to make sure the infection didn't somehow get through." The doctor stood up from his chair, and walked over to the cabinets in the tiny room to search for a Mosquito.
A small device that looks like a glass thermometer, but instead of a rounded tip, it had a very thin, fine needle, that's barely visible. When the needle is inserted into a patient, it collects a small speck of blood which then gets sucked down into the small bit of clear acid on the other end.
If the acid sizzles, that's just the first sign.
Henry, the man who was bit a few times on the leg before it was harshly, yet humanely amputated, smiled weakly, "make it quick. I hate needles." He turned back to watch as Elias sat back into his seat.
The doctor silently informed Henry he was going to stick the pit of his arm, by simply man-handling him, forcing his arm straight.
"This should be nearly painless," he took the cap off the needle, "as long as you don't move."
Fearing for his life, Henry stiffened up, keeping his arm straight as he watched Dr. Reuter carefully insert the needle into Henry's arm for just a second, before having the speck of blood he needed.
As the needle was removed from his arm and tilted up, the two of them watched as a speck of red began to make its way to the pit of acid at the bottom.
Henry held his breath, while the doctor wished it were faster.
Then the red hit the clear acid, turning it a very faint shade of pink, before disappearing.
Henry was not infected, and he let out a loud sigh of relief with a weak, anxious chuckle. "After today, I'm transferring to a different ship. I took this job to stay away from zombies, not be attacked by them."
"You're leaving tomorrow?" The doctor was surprised; Henry may be healing fast, but not fast enough to be able to travel safely alone. "You need to stay at least a week."
"Tomorrow morning," Henry gave Elias a faint smile, as if it helped anything.
The Doctor didn't care if people made stupid decisions and ended up in the hospital. That's more of a paycheck for him. But if that person happened to be a patient already, then he absolutely cared, because then it made him look bad. "I will deny you travel privileges in the system."
The one-legged man frowned, "The idea I could die at any moment here is a bit concerning, and I feel I'll be better off going back home; with my family."
"And what will they think if you show up dead anyways? Having collapsed in your ship from one of the millions of things that could happen with a freshly missing leg!?" Dr. Elias stood up from his chair in anger, and Henry silenced himself immediately; removing himself from the conversation.
"Please, leave. I would like to rest now," was all Henry quietly whispered, a defeated man in many forms. He once again turned his face away from the doctor, staring at a blank wall that only contained more counter space.
Elias huffed, warning the man that he would know if he tried to leave, but Henry said nothing in return, simply pretending the doctor didn't exist.
Before the doctor left the medbay to go to bed himself, and unbeknownst to Henry, though expected, Dr. Reuter told the medical staff to inform him if he tries to leave, and they agreed. "Be sure it's to me only, please."
Dr. Elias is a bit unconventional, but he has a good heart, and they all knew that. They also knew, like him, that despite the risks on board currently, the risks the patient would put himself in just leaving was a lot worse.
He knew he couldn't hold him against his will as a patient, though, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try with every tactic possible to knock some sense into him, without having to physically hit him.
"Mia, can you connect me to Enzo, please?" Elias asked out loud, as he made his way to his room near the medbay.
In his mind he could hear his SableAI, whom he named Mia, respond in a chirpy voice. "Shall I tell him it's an emergency? So, he answers?"
"Please."
"One moment, please, doctor." And only a short second it took before Enzo Amano, Kaori's father picked up.
His frail, but powerful voice appeared in Elias's head like a phone call going directly into his brain. "What's wrong? Have you found any clues?"
"No," He quickly responded so he didn't get the old man's hopes up. "I just need the ship info on Henry, the man that was bit today. He's trying to leave, but I'm trying to keep him safe."
The fragile man laughed, but agreed, though it would take him an hour or so to get him the information; he still had to be sure the guards hadn't seen anything suspicious yet.