The old man ran through the dense sea of foliage. Branches from plants unknown to him battered his face and snagged at his robe.
To make matters worse the old man realized that tiny creatures where now pricking at his skin, injecting him with who know what matter of poison. Their marks visible in the form of large blisters all over his body. Yet such a fate was still preferable to what was coming for him.
He had heard them merely moments before. It was faint, yet their unmistakable wrathful cries still echoed into his ears as if they where just behind him. He had thought that they wouldn't be able to enter the portal. But he was wrong. There was only one explanation as to how they were able to follow him. "They must have a mage with them," he thought.
He kept running until he heard the familiar roar of a waterfall in the distance. He had been in this world for days now, and the flask he had brought with him was all but empty. He followed the noise but he felt himself getting weaker with every step. "It must be the poison," he thought. His body shivered uncontrollable and his head burned with a rhythmic intensity. Yet despite everything he managed to make it to the foot of the waterfall.
He knelt down clutching at his staff for support. He splashed his face, and looked up to see three figures swimming just below the waterfall. "Who the hell are you!" said one of the figures. The old man turned to run but his body finally gave out, and he collapsed on the ground.
"Come in Dr. Hill, please come in Dr. Hill!"
I lazily walked towards the two-way radio that sat on my desk. As I picked it up all sorts of scenarios flashed in my head. Everything from major lacerations to simple cuts and bruises. However, judging by how Javier, the youngest of the group was reacting, my guess was on somewhere near the former. "What seems to be the problem boys" This time Gabriel, the senior of the group responded.
"You won't believe this but we found someone out here" "What do you mean you found someone, a native? I waited a couple of seconds for a response but got none. Gabriel, i don't need to tell you how dangerous it is to make contact with any native tribes in the area. We have no idea just what kind of dis- "Its not a native Samantha, just trust me on that one. I think he is suffering from malaria. I was mildly annoyed at his use of my first name instead of my title, but I shrugged it off. "Who is he then...doctor. We don't know, he just collapsed in front of us while we where out surveying.
"What the hell would someone be doing in the middle of the Amazon Rain-forest," I thought. "We're only a couple of miles from the outpost so please be ready." "As if," I muttered, and grabbed the med kit from under my desk and walked down the stairs and towards the entrance. "What can you tell me about him, what's his age what are his symptoms, is he still conscious? The radio went silent again for a couple of second until Gabriel responded. He's an old man, I'd say late fifties. He still conscious, but extremely delirious. He keeps mumbling gibberish.
"I can see why he thinks its malaria" i thought. He was more than likely right but there was no way to know for sure until i saw him for myself. I waited 15 minutes outside of the "outpost." It was nothing more than a 30ft by 30ft two story building, with only two broken windows in each floor. It was raining and the battering of the rain on the cheap metal roofing made it impossible to hear anything coming.
Until finally I saw movement among the dense forest. "Is that you" i said through the radio. "Yeah that use, get ready." Gabriel responded. Gabriel was the first to step out into the clearing. At a glance he seemed healthy enough, for a 52 year old. Both Javier and Mark came out at the same time with the mysterious old man. His arms dangling around the neck and shoulders of both men for support. It wasn't the state of the man that surprised me the most. I'd seen much worse during my almost twenty years as a freelance medical doctor. It was what he was wearing that took me by surprise. He wore a ragged green robe that covered his entire body up to his wrists and ankles, riddled with holes both small and large. In his left arm he gripped tightly a huge eight foot staff that dragged as he was carried forward. This man also had the largest beard I had ever seen. Reaching up to his belly. Which is quite large considering the man appeared to be around 6ft 4in. A rather peculiar large brown satchel bag hanged around his waist. Overall the man dressed like he was ready to tackle the environment of a Comic-Con Convention, Not the harsh conditions of the Amazon Rain-forest.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
"We'll he's definitely no Amazonian native tribesman." I said. "Yeah no kidding" said Gabriel
The old man saw me and spoke "You must be the healer these men have been talking about. Are you capable of drawing out the poison from my body, what sort of magic do you practice?
I took his words as a cause of the fever, and helped carry him inside. "Put him down there," I said pointing at Javier's cot bed. As if on cue Javier started to whine. "What the hell! Why does it have to be my bed!" "Am I going to have to sleep on the floor?" "You're young, you'll be find! Growled Gabriel. "I swear kids these days." I'm not a child, I'm 28 for crying out loud!
We all stopped listening to him and put the old man on the cot bed. "Get that that stick away from him, I said, "it'll only get in the way." "We've tried" said Mark, but the old man refuses to let go of it.
The old man began to yowl. "Their coming for me, their coming to eat me alive!" Gabriel, Mark, don't let him out of that bed. Javier, get me some ice packs, this man is burning up." Javier did as he was told, and disappeared upstairs. I pulled up his robe. Underneath he had nothing on except a loincloth. He was riddled with hundreds of mosquito bites. "If this man had been bitten any more he'd be needing a blood transfusion," I jokingly thought. I immediately got my latex gloves on and started to put him on iv fluids, antibiotic, and anti-parasitic medication. Javier came down with several ice bags and I distributed them across his body. The old man groaned but he did not seem to complain.
Several hours passed and the old man was fast asleep. There was nothing more I could do for him. All I could do was wait for the fluids and medication to do its thing. Mark and Gabriel had long given up on trying to get the old man to let go of the staff. Even in his sleep he had an iron grip on the thing. All the Geologists, except Javier where now upstairs discussing the real reason we were hear. Something having to do with oil deposits. It wasn't my area of expertise, nor a subject I had any interest in knowing about. The only reason i was hired was to take care of any medical needs the group might have. Javier got busy making his bed on the floor for the night. While I started to inspect the old man's body, patching up the many scabs, bruises, and cuts that he had. I also noticed his underwear, which was nothing more than a loincloth was covered in urine and feces. "Do you have any spare underwear Javier. I said "What?" What's wrong with his?" He groaned. "Its filled with shit and piss, is what's wrong with it." I said angrily.
Why does it have to be my underwear. Why not yours? "Are you seriously suggesting I put panties on this man." He tilted his head, as if acknowledging my point. "Alright, Alright, just give me a minute." While Javier went upstairs, supposedly to get me my clean pair of underwear. I put on a fresh pair of latex gloves and began to dispose of the loincloth and cleaned him up the best I could.
It was as I finished and looked up that I saw that the man was now wide awake and starring at me. He scanned me slowly up and down as if he was seeing me for the first time. He looked like he had never seen a women wearing shorts and a plain white t-shirt before. He then suddenly began to shout at the top of his lungs.
WHORE! "What? I said. Sir you need to stay ca- "I won't be tempted thrice again by your ilk." I could hear footsteps from upstairs from the guys coming down to see what was going on. "I don't have any coin with me so go away! " The old man raised his staff pointing the top end of it at my face. Sir I was only trying t- I stopped as I saw a blue light emanate from its tip.
All I could remember after that was feeling like I was floating. Followed by a sharp pain in the back of my head. That was the last thing I registered before I blacked out.