Should I use a blowgun now? Angelina squatted, facing her patient while searching for the best position to shoot a tranquilizer dart into his shoulder.
However, Ramaik stared at her with an unreadable look, making her gulp. Cold sweat ran down her back. Even though the woman had handled various wild animals, trepidation still dominated her feelings.
"Be brave," Fonda said with sparkling eyes as if amused to watch the scene before her. "He never hurt a female."
Angelina looked at the tiger man with skepticism. Although he seemed harmless and injured, Ramaik was indeed a strange figure.
Fonda stood on the side of the wall near the grate door. She put her thumb on a small machine similar to a light switch. The sound of metal clashed as the red glow of the mini lamp on the handle of the metal door changed green.
Angelina furrowed her brow in confusion. Will we take Ramaik to the operating table? But where was the wheelchair? It will be more effective if Nixon help us. After all, that man was much stronger than the power of two women.
"Get in," Fonda ordered her partner.
"What?" Angelina widened her eyes in shock. Did that crazy woman want to lock her in there? With that strange creature?
"Get in, or I'll shoot you."
Angelina gasped when she saw a small gun pointed at her stomach. "W-what does that mean?"
Fonda jerked her head towards the open bars. "This method is more effective. I will let you out after you give him treatment. However, I will shoot if you are still here within ten seconds."
Angelina screeched in terror and darted into the cage, carrying all the medical supplies right when the mentally ill woman shot a bullet that dashed inches away from her left arm.
Angelina inhaled the scent of gunpowder mixed with faint blood. Her eyes tried to find where the bullet had lodged when the sound of metal closing startled her.
"Why did you lock it? Open it!" exclaimed her in terror. Angelina put the items in her hands onto the floor and tried to push the barred door with all her might. I hadn't even drugged the creature yet!
Angelina remembered when Bowo beat his partner in the cage and made her heart race. I'm going to be dead in a matter of seconds. "Open this door!"
"Silence!" scolded Fonda with a glare of annoyance. "This is just standard procedure, so we can prevent the beast from escaping."
Fonda inserted her gun in her pocket. She walked to the closet to grab a file before sitting on a plastic chair with her legs crossed. "Hurry up and finish your work."
"B—but he still awake!" Angelina squealed in frustration. She turned her head towards Ramaik. That creature was still watching her with his stomach pressed against the floor.
Angelina got goosebumps. She looked back at Fonda and whispered, "This is not the proper procedure for conducting an examination."
"So, it would be better for you to sedate him instead of screaming like a madwoman, right?" Angelina summoned her common sense to action as she listened to the mockery.
Angelina remembered if she had put the blowpipe containing the anesthetic needle in the medicine box she was carrying.
Therefore, she used her left foot at ease to move the object closer before kneeling.
Nonetheless, she kept eye contact with her patient, although he idled from his position.
Angelina ruffled the inside of the box for a few moments until she got the object she needed. Gulping, she realized she needed to determine the optimal position since veterinarians could only target their patients' shoulders, forelegs, or paws.
I need to get closer. Angelina observed around for the best location before her eyes widened.
The giant cage was similar to a room for humans. Angelina found a door on the wall near Ramaik and another door on the right side.
"Hurry up! I have a movie to see," Fonda grumbled.
If she had been unconcerned about her husband, Angelina would have been more willing to blow the contents of the blowpipe at that heartless woman than at her patient, who was in excruciating pain.
Angelina took another glimpse around and concluded. The only way to sedate the creature was to kneel before him.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
The creature is in a weakened state. He is unable to hurt me. Angelina tried to strengthen her own heart.
She pressed the tip of the blowpipe to her lips. Angelina ducked down to retrieve her medical kit before crouching near the creature.
She was ready. The shoulder of Ramaik was visible. She was about to blow the anesthetic needle before a sudden realization hit her.
I should ask his permission.
She removed the blowpipe from her lips. Despite her trepidation, the woman tried to speak nicely to her patient, who was barely blinking. "I—I have to check your wound. D—Do you mind?"
Surprisingly, Ramaik responded by closing his eyes. The Inyiak—tiger man—slowly breathed while another weak roar escaped his lips.
Angelina felt pity for him. He is indeed a human being!
With that belief, Angelina decided to postpone drugging her patient, although her lips clamped the blowpipe just in case. She inched forward without realizing that her left lap touched his left arm when she inspected the injured area.
Angelina turned on the flashlight, illuminating the part of his back.
It looks like the stitches are neat. There is no infection, but I have to check more.
"L-listen. I have to check your wound," Angelina stammered. She removed the blowpipe from her lips to explain the condition. "That is why I have to inject the anesthetic, okay?"
The Inyiak just gave a weak roar without any aggressive tone in it. Angelina waited a few seconds with bated breath before she took the sound she heard just now as consent.
"I—if then I—I begin." Angelina narrowed their distance even more. The effect of anesthesia was more effective if the patient relaxed and complied.
Maybe next time, I will only use an injection. Angelina concluded. The woman palpated his right shoulder to determine the injection point before ducking and blowing the blowpipe.
Ramaik roared in pain as his head drooped. Angelina observed the regular breathing movements of the Inyiak for a few moments. She had to admit that the words were correct.
This tiger-man is not a threat.
Angelina stopped trembling. She turned to Fonda and said, "I should wash my hands before I treated him."
"You can find the bathroom through the door in the middle," Fonda explained in a casual tone. "There's also a metal basin if you need it."
Angelina rose from knelt. She walked as instructed and opened the door.
*****
Angelina observed the two-by-two-meter bathroom interior while washing her hands. Other evidence is that Ramaik was more human than an animal. The creature could shower, use the toilet seat, and brush his teeth.
However, she stopped looking around as she dried her hands with a small towel in the bathroom and then walked out.
*****
Angelina knelt next to the sedated Ramaik. She put on gloves, took a swab, and turned on the flashlight before removing the anesthetic needle that pierced the shoulder and cleaning a speck of blood.
After placing the used needle, swab, and gloves in a medical waste box, Angelina began to observe and trace the area around the wound on her patient's back with her index, middle, and ring fingers, looking for signs of possible infection.
The stitches were dry, with no swelling, redness, tenderness, or suppuration.
"Dr. Fonda, I need the temperature, breathing rate, and heart rate record," Angelina said during her examination.
"Thirty-eight to thirty-nine degrees Celsius, at rest, with a breathing rate of 10 breaths per minute and a heart rate of 40 beats per minute. Blood pressure is higher in the right arm, averaging 120/80 mm Hg. He has received the tetanus vaccine and completed immunization," Fonda replied. She retrieved a pen from her chest pocket and asked with a demanding tone, "I am waiting for your report."
Angelina pouted. She tucked Ramaik's long hair behind his ear, then picked up the flashlight that was still on from the floor.
However, her breath caught. As it turned out, the back of Ramaik's ears was like a tiger's, covered in black fur with a white spot in the center.
Soft, like a cat's ear. Angelina thought as she touched the ear.
"Doctor Angelina, please stop harassing the patient and focus on your duties."
Angelina felt her cheeks burn because of embarrassment. She took a digital thermometer and applied it to Ramaik's ear.
"38.5."
Angelina pulled up her left coat sleeve to reveal a watch on the wrist and set it in stopwatch mode. She rotated Ramaik's left palm facing upwards.
She pressed the tips of her index and middle fingers against the base of her patient's thumb, then began counting for a full minute. "Peripheral pulse 42 per minute."
Angelina counted the number of breaths exhaled by her sleeping patient. "Ten breaths per minute, regular."
She then took out a digital tensimeter before placing the cuff on her patient's right arm. She then pressed the button until the cuff balloon expanded before shrinking automatically. The numbers on the screen moved until they made a beepsound.
"Blood pressure 100/60, rather low, most likely due to the anesthesia."
Angelina removed the cuff from Ramaik's arm before organizing the equipment into the treatment box. However, her instinct felt that someone was watching her. She looked at her patient and gasped.
A pair of amber eyes with rounded black pupils had now reopened and were observing her. "N—no way. Y-you should still be—"
"Finished? Come here. I'll open the door," Fonda said. Angelina startled. She realized that Fonda was already standing by the door and addressing her with a saturated voice.
Angelina's gaze collided with Ramaik's for a few seconds. However, she broke eye contact by standing up and walking in haste toward the open door.
A low roar made Angelina turn her head for a moment. However, something surprising made her blink. Was he smiling?
"Doctor, do you intend to remain there?" Fonda's sarcastic question effectively snapped Angelina out of her stupor. She promptly exited the cage before Fonda could lock the door.