(This is an entry for the
Halloween Story Contest 2023
. It's a bit unusual, but I love to hear from my readers. Please rate and comment. Note I am NOT a medical professional, nor have a complete idea of how the USA's medical system works. I'd prefer not to hear how medically wrong I am from persnickety people online. Thank you)
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Jax hurried down the icy interstate in the dark October night to the next town---if there was a next town. Jax knew Wyoming had vast unpopulated distances. It could be hundreds of kilometres to the next town--which was true. But, right now, Jax couldn't think about distance. He had to think about warmth and safety—the two things he needed most on this harsh and foggy autumn night.
Fucking stupid long-haul trucker kicked him out of the cab as soon as Jax had finished giving him a blowjob in the freezing weather. The trucker had been disgusting, too---Bloated and bilious. Ancient and hairy. Still, it was what Jax had to do to survive. Jax had never done well in school; He'd aged out of Foster Care. There were no opportunities for him in Tampa, Florida. Quite frankly, his life in Florida sucked.
Jax clutched his cheap and thin coat around him tighter, in an effort to get warm, not that it made much difference in this cold weather. Now, Jax was making his way to sunny California. He was fairly sure he could find work there and hopefully happiness for the first time in his life. Jax had no money, so he was getting to California by hitchhiking.
The rides he hitched on weren't happy families going to Disneyland. They were mostly long-haul truckers away from their wives who expected "something." Jax would just have to remember that in the future---he should arrive at the destination before the blowjob. Now, where the hell was he? It was so dark, foggy and icy.
Flashing lights, screeching brakes, and ambulance sirens were the last things Jax heard. Jax didn't remember the penitent driver explaining to the cops in a panic that Jax had "come out of nowhere." Jax didn't remember being lifted into the ambulance and transported to a small rural hospital.
Jax woke to a searing pain in his leg, darkness and the jarring sounds of medical equipment. Something was wrong. He couldn't see! He couldn't see! He couldn't see! He couldn't find the page button to call for a nurse. Still, his sixth sense told him there was someone nearby.
"Hello, is anyone there?" he called into the darkness, hoping for an answer.
"Oh good... you're finally awake. You've been out for nearly fourteen hours---I was just bringing you some water. I'll call the doctor." said the soft but caring voice.
"Doctor? What happened? Where am I? Why can't I see? Why can't I see? Why can't I see?" questioned Jax in a panic. He had a million questions, but the voice had left him alone in the darkness.
Dr. Stills was on the route to becoming the chief surgeon of the small rural hospital. A doctor didn't get to be a chief surgeon by helping people...especially a woman doctor. A female doctor couldn't be seen as having a kind heart or being motherly. She got there by making the most money for the hospital at the lowest cost. They had a bottom line to stick to. Dr. Stills wanted nothing more than to be the chief surgeon!
Dr. Stills had known, upon looking at Jax, that he was a penniless drifter. He wouldn't be able to pay his massive medical debt. Seeking profit, Dr. Stills wanted Jax treated as quickly and cheaply as possible. Then Jax could be kicked out the door. It was only practical, after all. The hospital needed to make a profit. Dr. Stills needed to be a chief surgeon one day!
Dr. Stills wasn't going to see Jax in Room 308. Not when she had paying patients to attend to! She could let the nurses deal with him. The nurse working tonight was fairly good. He could manage.
"Doctor, the patient in Room 308...the one who was in the terrible car accident, is up. He says he can't see," stated Ryan.
"Nurse, the man is just suffering from temporary blindness, a broken leg, blood loss and a concussion. The temporary blindness will probably go away in a few days, and the leg will heal. The hospital is almost at maximum capacity. I'm dealing with more serious patients. I recommend rest, pain medicine and blood transfusions. That will be all." said Dr. Stills. She abruptly dismissed the nurse and gave no more thought to the patient in Room 308.
The nurse returned to Room 308 with what the doctor had prescribed and set it up. He wished he could do more----but that would be against doctors' orders. After all, was only a nurse. He had to follow a doctor's orders, even when he thought the patient needed further care.
"Hello--- who's there? Are you the doctor? What's happening? I can't see you, but I can hear you!" said Jax, who was growing more panicky. Where was he? What had happened to him? Why couldn't he see? He was frightened and had nothing but questions.
"I'm setting up the equipment to get you better. The doctor says you have temporary blindness. It should subside in a few days. I've treated your arms and wounds---the doctor wants you to leave tomorrow. What's your name?" questioned the nurse.
"Jackson Nash...but everyone calls me Jax. What's your name?" asked Jax. Leave tomorrow? He was in terrible pain. He still couldn't see! Why did his life always turn out like this? Jax wondered what he was going to do. He had nothing and no one in this world. He was an island to himself, without a penny to his name!
"Nice to meet you, Jax. I'm Ryan. I'm your nurse," said Ryan. He was glad that his shift was almost over. If he had to be around Dr. Stills any longer. He would lose control of his wolf---he would snarl at her or punch her! That would really fuck things up for him and his pack, to say the least.
Ryan knew he was already pushing things by working here at the hospital. His Alpha had talked to him several times about pack security, responsibility and yadda yadda yadda. Ryan had thought his Alpha had gotten too comfortable in his position. He'd forgotten werewolves were supposed to be a part of the world---not aloof and alone.
"Only women become nurses; what are you, a girl?" had been the first thing his Alpha told him when Ryan started pursuing his nursing degree. Still, Ryan knew he had to get out in the world. He had to be a part of it and live life. He didn't reveal the pack, of course. Ryan loved them. He just moved to a bigger town where he could be free. He had to leave the stiff, draconic ways. So Ryan left his pack and only "checked in" with his Alpha once a month.
Now Ryan was tending to Jax, his latest patient, in Room 308. Jax was alone in his misery--sobbing his heart out. Jax was blind and in extreme pain. He had no money and a precarious future. There were a million reasons for him to cry. Jax's tragic life was crashing over him like a tidal wave.
Ryan filled a cup with water and a straw and got some pain medication. Ryan gently urged Jax to sip the water. Jax was worn out and did so without protest or struggle. Jax was barely able to swallow from the swelling in his face.
"You'll get better soon. Just wait and see..." said Ryan. So he was lying...a bit. He couldn't let Jax despair. Jax was a fellow creature of the earth. When the EMTs had first brought Jax in, Ryan never imagined he'd be so battered. Jax's entire body was covered with bruises and dried blood. Humankind's brutality did not surprise him anymore, and he felt himself aching with empathy for this man...who was barely more than a boy.
Ryan gently cleansed Jax's wounds and washed away the dirt and dried blood. The water ran brown with Jax's caked-on blood for a while, but at long last, Ryan was satisfied. Ryan dried him off with one of the towels, wrapping his long, cinnamon hair to keep it from dripping. Then he wrapped Jax in a blanket and laid him on the bed. Then Dr. Stills had briefly taken over, setting the broken leg.. (She didn't want to spend time or resources on an itinerant patient.)
That had been hours ago. Jax was still despondent and crying. Ryan took Jax in his arms and drew him close, holding him close despite the fact that Jax was under casts and bandages; it felt like Ryan had a lithe, delicate body. Jax sobbed as he told Ryan of his many months on the road, the trauma he'd endured there and in foster care and his dream of California, where he could hopefully find a better life.
Jax told Ryan about being hit by the truck on the road and having nowhere to go and no money. Jax also cried because he hadn't seen Ryan. He just wanted to see this person who was taking care of him. This nurse was so kind and comforting. He smelled slightly of the woods and rain. There was something wild about this nurse. When Jax was with Ryan, everything seemed to be alright.
Ryan knew he needed to get Jax better treatment, for his life hung in the balance.
Ryan rang his fingers through Jax's long, tangled cinnamon hair, petting him comfortingly.
"It'll get better. You'll see," Ryan said when Jax had finally settled a little. Ryan didn't know how, though. Dr. Stills had plans to kick Jax out of the hospital. Jax was "taking up a bed unnecessarily." Wealthy patrons deserved that bed.
Ryan knew Dr. Stills would be true to her word. Kindhearted Ryan couldn't let Jax be adrift. So he did something forbidden. Ryan transferred some of his own blood into Jax. His wolf magic would heal Jax and let him see again. Blood typing didn't matter. Ryan's blood only healed.
Jax drifted off to sleep. He was feeling better but assumed it was the pain medicine. Being treated by a renegade werewolf's blood was the last thing on his mind.
It had been a beyond terrible shift. Ryan needed to cool off. He morphed into his wolf form and ran back to his dingy apartment. It had been wrong and against wolf laws to do the transfusion. Ryan knew it had been wrong even as he did it. Still, Ryan felt he had an ethical responsibility both as a nurse and wolf. Jax was a creature of the world. Ryan had a duty of care. Didn't he?
Ryan arrived at the hospital the next day. He wasn't that surprised to find Jax sitting up in bed and able to see. But Ryan's wolf blood was a salve, not a cure. Jax still had a broken femur, broken ribs and bruises. Fortunately, his vision had returned. This was enough for Dr. Stills. She kicked Jax out of the hospital despite the severity of his injuries.
Jax had no money. He was taking up a bed for paying patients. His leg would eventually heal. It wasn't Dr. Stills's problem what happened to Jax. She was just doing what was best economically for the hospital and advancing her career.
