The second morning in the village began with yelling

Emily woke fast The barn door was open and cold air rushed in A young girl stood there shaking and out of breath Her dress was simple rough at the edges Her face was pale with panic She kept saying the same word again and again Sister sister sister Please

Emily followed her without shoes Her legs still hurt from yesterday but the urgency in the girls voice cut through everything They ran past animals past stacked wood past low houses with smoke drifting from chimneys The whole place felt real now Not like a dream Not like a set in a movie This was life here A hard life

The girl led her into a one room house A woman lay on a rough bed of straw and wool She was older maybe late thirties or early forties But her skin was gray like ash Her lips were dry Her breaths were fast and shallow Her eyes kept rolling back

Fever Emily thought right away High fever and maybe infection The smell in the room told her more It was the smell she knew too well from night shifts at the hospital Warm sweet sick A sign that the body was fighting something and losing

What happened Emily asked

They did not understand every word but they understood tone The girl pointed to the womans leg The lower calf was swollen red and shiny An old cut near the ankle had split open and was leaking thick yellow drainage

Infection Cellulitis Maybe worse Maybe sepsis

In her world this was IV antibiotics fluids fever control blood pressure watch In their world this smelled like death

Emily moved to the small table and looked around She saw a clay bowl with water A strip of rough cloth An old knife A small pouch with dried leaves No soap No boiling pot ready No clean bandages except the scrap left in her pocket from yesterday

She swallowed Not fear Focus

You need to bring me fire she said Heat Fire Now She made a motion with her hands and the girl nodded and ran to light a small pot The older man who had followed them stayed in the doorway watching Emily with narrowed eyes like he still did not trust her

Emily washed her hands in the bowl It was not sterile water It was not even close But she scrubbed hard She needed to lower the bacterial load Any little bit helped less chance to introduce more germs Do not make it worse Do not make it worse That rule never changed no matter the century

She leaned over the woman and spoke soft Hey Can you hear me My name is Emily I am here to help you I am not going to hurt you You are going to stay awake for me Okay Stay with me

The woman only groaned

Her skin was burning to the touch Too hot Severe fever

Emily turned to the girl She pointed to another bowl and held her hands wide Water Cold water Bring cold water Cloth for the head She placed her own hand on her forehead to show and the girl understood She ran out again

Good Emily thought Cooling measures first Control the fever Keep her from cooking her own brain Keep her conscious if possible

Next step The leg

Emily peeled back the crude wrap The smell hit hard The tissue around the cut was angry red with streaks starting to creep up toward the knee That was bad That meant the infection was spreading fast through the skin and into the blood She had seen this in the ER A small scrape going septic in less than a day It could kill This woman did not have days

Her heart pounded She had no antibiotics Not even basic amoxicillin Nothing She had no IV saline No Tylenol No sterile gauze No gloves

But she had her training and her will and a village that still thought she might be a witch

Emily called to the man You Hold her She showed him by placing her hands on the womans shoulders The man hesitated then moved to the bedside and pinned the woman gently but firmly His jaw was tight His eyes afraid

The girl came back with water and a handful of cloth squares Emily pressed one cool wet cloth onto the womans forehead and another on her neck Good Start bringing that fever down

Now for the wound

She heated the knife over the flame until it glowed This part scared them Both of them backed up fast The man shouted something and tried to grab her wrist

Emily pulled free and shook her head Hard eyes Calm voice I am helping her I am not hurting her You want her to live You let me work

Something in her voice carried authority It was the voice she used in trauma codes when a new intern froze up The man slowly released her

Emily held the hot metal in the air for a few more seconds Let the heat burn away at least some surface germs It was not hospital sterile It was field sterile at best Battlefield sterile She would take it

She poured the hottest water she could manage onto the cloth then cooled it a little and cleaned the area around the wound first She wiped away dirt flakes dried blood pus Her movements were quick steady She talked to the woman the entire time even if the woman could not hear Stay Stay here Stay with me Breathe in Breathe out I need you here

What she did next was ugly work She used the edge of the blade to open the cut a little wider to let the fluid drain The pressure inside needed to release or the infection would push deeper The woman screamed A sound that hit the walls and shook even Emily for a second The man moved in fast as if to stop her but Emily raised her voice Stop Do not move If you move she dies Do not move

He froze

Thick yellow fluid spilled out and ran down the womans leg Emily pressed the cloth hard to collect it then swapped to a cleaner corner of the fabric and pressed again She kept working until the swelling had gone down a little and the skin looked less stretched

Relief washed through her body but she did not let herself relax yet She had to pack it She had to keep it from sealing shut too fast or the infection would trap itself inside and explode again

She looked to the pouch with dried leaves She lifted some of the herb to her nose and breathed in Sharp Bitter Almost like old tea Almost like willow She did not know this plant It could be helpful It could also be poison She could not risk poison

No She would use boiled cloth only Keep it simple Keep it clean Keep it open Let it drain Repeat care Often

She soaked a strip of cloth in the hottest water then let it cool and folded it slow pressing it into the cut just enough to keep the wound open and able to drain She wrapped the calf firm but not choking She tied the cloth in place

Then she turned to the girl again Water Small drinks She motioned cup to mouth Small slow Keep her drinking

Dehydration kills fast in fever Shock comes next Kidneys shut down Heart goes wild Then it is over Emily had seen that arc more than once in her world She would not let it happen here

Minutes passed The woman shook Her breathing was still fast but less shallow Her eyes fluttered She spoke a few broken words almost like a thank you or maybe only a desperate noise

Emily sat back on her heels Her hands were shaking now that the rush had passed Her chest hurt with how hard her own heart was beating She felt light headed She had not eaten since yesterday She had not had clean water either But she stayed sitting on the floor beside the bed one hand on the womans wrist counting pulse steady and low in her own mind

The man stared at her with a different kind of fear now Not fear of danger Fear of awe His mouth moved like he wanted to ask something Sacred Are you holy Are you cursed Are you from some far country sent by a god

Finally he spoke one word Healer

He pointed at Emily Healer

Emily let out a slow breath and nodded Yeah she whispered I am a nurse

Nurse meant nothing to them Healer meant everything She could work with that

She looked at the girl Your sister needs care every hour You keep the cloth on her head wet with cool water You keep her drinking You do not let anyone touch that leg unless it is me Understand

The girl nodded fast Tears were running down her face but now they were different They were not panic tears They were hope tears

Emily stood Her knees almost gave out but she forced herself steady She faced the man I need more clean water I need fabric that is not filthy I need a pot that can boil I need space A table A room where sick people can stay Not in the dirt Not on the floor I need these things

She pointed to the floor of the house then to her own chest then to the village outside She repeated slow and clear I can help your people But I need those things

The man was still staring at her like she had stepped out of the sky He nodded once Slow and deep He said something in a low voice and left the doorway right away like it had become a mission

Emily turned back to the sick woman and sat again The fever still ran hot But the pulse had steadied a little and that tiny sign was enough for now

You are not dying today Emily whispered Not today I will not let you

For a long moment she did not move She just sat there in that dim room with stone walls and smoke from the small fire drifting above them Listening to an exhausted heartbeat Watching a chest still rise and fall

In that moment she understood her situation in a new way

Getting home was not step one Surviving here was step one The way to survive here was simple Make herself necessary If she could become the person they needed most They would not turn on her They would protect her

In the hospital back in Chicago people sometimes called her just a nurse like it was less than a doctor less than important not worth respect Here in this world without blood tests without IV pumps without masks or gloves Here she was not just a nurse

Here she was the difference between life and death

Here she could be more than any doctor they had ever known