Search for the Phoenix: Phoenix Series Book 2 Read Online Free PDF Page B

he could feel a thin trickle of blood running down to his eyebrow. He looked at his bloody sleeve, and then wiped his forehead, being careful not to pull off any of the butterfly bandages. His perspiration had caused the bandages to lose their grip and, in spite of his care, they slid around as he wiped. The wound opened, and the bleeding increased.
    The cases were waiting outside his apartment door when he arrived. He dragged them inside. After shoving them into the foyer closet, he headed for the bathroom. The gash was wide open again, the bandages dislodged and slack. Grabbing a clean washcloth, he applied pressure to the wound before moving to the living room and sitting next to the comm unit. Not wanting to explain what had happened to just anyone, he placed a call to Megan.
    “Hey, Nolan, what’s up?” came Megan’s voice when she answered.
    “Are you alone?” Nolan asked.
    “Yes, why?”
    “I need some help. Are you any good at stitching?” he asked.
    “What, you need a button sewn on or something?” she said with a laugh.
    “No, no, I mean stitches. You know, sewing shut a wound,” he said. He pulled the washcloth away and tilted his head so she could see the cut.
    “Oh, that looks terrible, Nolan! Don’t worry; I’m an old pro at that. I should have earned an honorary medical degree for all the times I stitched up John,” she said. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Keep pressure on it.”
    “Thanks,” he said and ended the call.
     
    * * * *
     
    Nolan awoke with a start. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was. The bloody washcloth was on the couch next to him, and blood had run down his face. There was a knock at his door. He got up and opened it.
    “Oh, Nolan, I told you to keep pressure on it!” she said as she stepped in and set her medical bag by the couch.
    “I fell asleep,” he said.
    “With a head injury like that, you need to stay awake,” she said.
    “I didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter.”
    “What happened?” she asked.
    “Don’t ask. Can you sew me up?”
    “I can do better than that,” she said. “Come into the bathroom and let me wash the blood off.”
    Several minutes later, Nolan returned to the couch holding a fresh washcloth to his head, and lay down. Megan knelt on the floor next him. Opening her medical bag, she pulled on some gloves and then took out a small bottle. Nolan’s eyes were closed, and he was trying to prepare himself for the needle stabs he was expecting.
    “Keep your eyes closed and relax,” she said.
    He felt a drop of some cool liquid fall into the gash, and then her fingers gently pushed the wound closed. After a few seconds, there was another drop of liquid.
    “What is that?” he asked.
    “Medical adhesive,” she said. “It’s a lot more pleasant than stitches.”
    He opened his eyes, and they immediately started to burn. “Ow!”
    “I told you to keep your eyes closed!” she said. “The fumes irritate your cornea.”
    Tears were streaming from the corners of his eyes and running past his ears.
    “Almost done,” she said, “and I didn’t glue my fingers to your forehead,” she added with a laugh.
    “Can I open my eyes now?”
    “Not yet. Let the glue finish curing,” she said. He listened as she put her supplies back into the bag and zipped it closed.
    “Thanks, Megan. I couldn’t call anyone else. I would have had to explain what had happened,” he said.
    “You’re welcome,” she said. “I won’t ask how it happened. Now, you just rest for a while. I want to make sure the bleeding has stopped. Otherwise, it may build up behind the glue, in which case it will either rip open the wound again or become a hematoma. I don’t want either to happen, so you’re going to need to take it easy for a few days. No strenuous activities or heavy lifting. Anything that increases your blood pressure is a risk right now.”
    “I’m going to space in two days,” he said. “I have things to do to get