"I'm okay... I think. I just feel like I'm burning up..."Robert shook his head at the man's words and sighed quietly. If his words were supposed to be reassuring, they most certainly weren't. He reached up to steady the man. Well, not up so much, he was only two to four inches shorter than the man he guessed.
"Yeah, I just probably need some rest. But... There's a lot more people out there who need our help, and a lot that needs to be taken back out." Robert thought he'd turn green at the words. He'd managed to push the thought of the corpses to the back of his mind by busying himself with helping others. He certainly didn't want to think about dragging corpses out and burying them or disposing them in some way.
"There are other people who can handle that. Just rest and get better so you can come back and help." Robert assisted the man until they reached the cafeteria where he dropped off the man at a table and brought back some bottled water and half-filled his dry-bag with cool recycled water. There wasn't any ice, unfortunately, else he'd probably have attempted to cool the man down with a bit of it. He left a bottle in front of the man, and another two bottles with the lanky man and the passed out woman before leaving with an armful of water bottles for the rescuers.
Back at the entrance, he silently handed out water bottles and wet towels to the rescuers before he began to work again. It seems that the two from before weren't the only ones affected. Some of the rescuers were beginning to look just as bad, and were burning up too. Not all of them had the sense to stop and rest either, it seemed. He had to drag a few of the rescuers inside first. He didn't bother bringing them all the way to the cafeteria this time. As there were less hands available, he was more and more worried about becoming efficient.
It didn't take long before he was dragging corpses back outside. The stench was getting through the cloth around his face and he thought he was going to be sick. The streaks left from emptied bowels as he dragged people out again didn't help either. He'd need to clean that up. He didn't think it would be good for people to be trekking through this kind of stuff. He ran off to fetch a mop and some cleaning supplies and mopped up a clear area and began dragging corpses along the sides of the shaft to the outside. At least there'd be a relatively clean, clear path down the middle.
He worked feverishly at emptying pockets, divesting the dead of jackets and buttons and anything that seemed as if it would be easy to clean, was clean, and/or was usable. Fabric was going to be a commodity later, but he couldn't bring himself to go that far just yet. Sweat dripped down into his stinging eyes and he wiped it away with his sleeve.
Damn if it wasn't getting hot. He paused to check his skin to see if he was dealing with heatstroke too, but his skin wasn't red like the others. He still thought it would be better to pause for a drink first. His eyes scanned the people outside. The ones he could see seemed to be very much dead. He could afford to take a break, right? Instead of heading to the cafeteria, he went to the communal showers. He scrubbed his hands thoroughly at the sink before kicking off his shoes.
He left them near the entryway and then turned on a shower for a quick rinse off, still fully clothed. He was glad his clothing dried quickly. He rinsed his camp towels in the shower and turned the water off again in a little over a minute. He spent some effort to try to wring as much water out of his clothing as he could. He didn't want to leave drips and puddles all over the hallway outside. Only after he'd wrung out as much as he could did he stop to drink from his water bottle. He'd stand here for a little longer and wring out his clothes one more time before he headed out.
With the cloth around his face down, he could more easily smell the stink of sweat and corpses on his body. With a great show of willpower, he managed to force down the water without choking or spitting it out when the smell registered. He carefully capped the water bottle, and slowly slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor.
He'd been handling corpses. He'd seen people die today. The only thing that kept him from burying his face in his knees and crying was the corpse stench on his body. He'd have to go back out there. He should head back out immediately. He just, he just needed a little time.
And I don't think I can really go back to tabletop gaming. Work takes up a lot of my time and free time in between and after is almost always spent here for roleplay or for sleep.
