Change Horizons: Three Novellas Read Online Free Page B

considering such nonsense made her turn on her heels and walk inside. There was work to be done and she was not about to let a druid, no matter how charismatic, influence her into adopting that way of thinking.
    The shrill voice of a woman in one of the examination areas broke her out of her reverie. “No. No! Ilias!”
    Gemma began to run.

Chapter Three
     
    Gemma rushed into the examination room. She barely registered Tammas sitting slumped on the floor, overcome by deep, heaving sobs. On the examination table, Ilias’s little body lay pale as several medical professionals hovered around him.
    “What’s wrong with him? Is this my fault?” Tammas whimpered.
    “What happened?” Gemma pulled out her medical scanner and ran it over the still boy. “He needs a life-support unit. His circulation is shutting down. Move, people.”
    “We…they’ve not been unpacked yet, ma’am.” One of the nurses looked up, her eyes huge.
    “Oh, for stars and skies,” Gemma said with a growl. She pushed the closest people aside, bent over the baby, and placed her mouth over his nose and mouth, blowing in two gentle puffs of air, mindful of his tiny lungs. “Who knows how to do compressions by hand on an infant?” she barked as she began the procedure with three fingers.
    “I do,” a calm voice said from behind. Ciel stepped up to the table and took over the compression.
    Gemma was grateful to have someone calm and collected around as the staff was running around trying to figure out where they’d stored the crates with the pediatric equipment. After a few minutes, Gemma ran her scanner again. “I have a faint pulse, but so far he’s not breathing on his own.”
    A wail from the floor brought her attention to Tammas, who had nearly dissolved in tears. “Can someone assist the boy’s mother?” Gemma said out loud. “She doesn’t have to sit on the floor and she shouldn’t see this.” In the corner of her eyes she watched one of the male nurses pick up the crying woman from the floor and carry her out of the room.
    Suddenly Ilias coughed weakly and soon he gave a faint cry, not unlike the continued wails of his mother from the other side of the wall.
    “Here. We have the pediatric crates—he’s breathing?” Another nurse stared at the child and then at Gemma. “That’s amazing.”
    “Basic CPR,” Gemma said, not impressed. “Don’t they teach you this at nursing school on Gantharat?”
    “Nursing school?” The nurse blinked. “I haven’t gone to school for this. In my family we learn from the older generations. We have no special courses for nursing.”
    “Oh, Gods, that’s insane.” Gemma shook her head. “Well, come over here and I’ll show you how to put the baby on the ventilator. He’s breathing, but he’s not strong enough to sustain it for longer periods until his blood volume and dehydration are dealt with.” Gemma pulled out a brand-new pediatric ventilator and placed it around the child’s chest, neck, and scalp. “I assume you weighed and measured him as part of your routine?” she asked.
    “Yes. Yes, I did.” The nurse looked relieved to have done something right.
    Gemma showed the young woman how she should calculate the settings and punch commands into the computer console to set the ventilator to fit Ilias. She had her repeat the procedure, and to her surprise, the nurse did it flawlessly.
    “Good job. Now, assign someone to monitor him the first hour. If he’s stable after that, you can look in on him once every fifteen minutes.”
    “Yes, Doctor.” The young nurse nodded and Gemma cringed at the awestruck look in her eyes. She wasn’t unaccustomed to admiring looks and words from younger medical professionals since she enjoyed a certain fame within the SC border. It was still rather embarrassing, though, since placing a baby on a ventilator was something everyone learned within the first year as a medical student.
    “Let’s go find Tammas,” Ciel said, placing a hand on