them, there were no grave yards in Underwood, you were either burnt or sent into the wood, their bodies were never found as they were sent into the trees of death, there was nowhere to mourn the dead kinfolk of Underwood, unless it was a memory.
David was fifty four, greying hair, a sturdy fit man with a kind face that people took an instant liking to, all his teenager years he trained for the job he loved, now he hated it, there were no real medicines in Underwood, pain killers, first aid equipment and penicillin was about the stock of it, if people got something more than a headache, a rash or a cut, then there was really nothing he had to treat them with, he could fill them up with dope as there was plenty of that grown in underwood, the fields behind the centre were full of it, that was the only pain relief he did have other than the paracetamol, they would have to die in pain or face the wrath of the woods, he had thought one time of ending it all, his life seemingly one long nightmare as people came into his surgery with ailment after ailment, and he had no treatment to give them, he wondered how many people had got hooked on cannabis as he prescribed it for pain relief, but in recent years things had got easier, it was as if the people of Underwood were becoming immune, the surgery was quiet now, sometimes not a single patient in one day, the population had decreased, but it was still an unlikely statistic, he looked again at the list of people he was about to see today, he scrolled his eyes down to Lily and his body shuddered as he thought about the worse part of his job, he had not done it for a while now, but telling an innocent 16 year old girl she was pregnant, when she probably can’t even remember having sex, cut him up inside, a time that should be filled with joy was replaced with tears and fear, every time he felt like taking the baby from the young girls body, but the consequences were too high, even if it was probably the better thing to do, one day he would do it, do what was right and dam the consequences, dam Underwood.
Nathan was first in, he didn’t want to go in on his own and clung to his mother, but when he saw the kind face of the doctor it reassured him a bit, it was the first friendly face he had seen since arriving in Underwood, then the doctor invited his father in with him and Nathan felt a lot better for it, the doctor took the height and weight of Nathan on scales that looked 40 years old, he asked Peter some personal details about the boy, just mundane questions, Peter answered him, thinking it was best to play along with the system until he can fathom how to get out, the Doctor never spoke to Nathan direct, but the doctor could notice and sense his vulnerability which concerned the doctor, he tried to give him a reassuring look and smile and sent him out into the waiting room to be with his mother and sister.
‘Make sure he eats well and build those muscles up’ the doctor told Peter as he filed the first of his papers,
The statement seemed an odd one to Peter as if suggesting he didn’t feed his children, then a terrible thought came over him ‘ what if I can’t feed my children’ his stomach was in knots and he began to sweat,
‘Why on earth would you say that’ he asked,
The doctor thought about it for a while, it seemed the best advice he could give, under the circumstances men with skills and strength were an asset to the community, those who were weak and showed no promise, David Harris shivered when he thought of it, he wished he had said nothing at all.
‘It’s the best advice I can give you’ he told Peter,
‘Can you tell me how I can take him out of here?’ asked Peter ‘that would be better than any medical advice’ he added with sarcasm in his voice.
The doctor looked sheepish as he took his stare from Peters,
‘I’m a doctor’ he told him ‘I can’t help you with anything else, he measured and weighed him, asked him the same routine
David was fifty four, greying hair, a sturdy fit man with a kind face that people took an instant liking to, all his teenager years he trained for the job he loved, now he hated it, there were no real medicines in Underwood, pain killers, first aid equipment and penicillin was about the stock of it, if people got something more than a headache, a rash or a cut, then there was really nothing he had to treat them with, he could fill them up with dope as there was plenty of that grown in underwood, the fields behind the centre were full of it, that was the only pain relief he did have other than the paracetamol, they would have to die in pain or face the wrath of the woods, he had thought one time of ending it all, his life seemingly one long nightmare as people came into his surgery with ailment after ailment, and he had no treatment to give them, he wondered how many people had got hooked on cannabis as he prescribed it for pain relief, but in recent years things had got easier, it was as if the people of Underwood were becoming immune, the surgery was quiet now, sometimes not a single patient in one day, the population had decreased, but it was still an unlikely statistic, he looked again at the list of people he was about to see today, he scrolled his eyes down to Lily and his body shuddered as he thought about the worse part of his job, he had not done it for a while now, but telling an innocent 16 year old girl she was pregnant, when she probably can’t even remember having sex, cut him up inside, a time that should be filled with joy was replaced with tears and fear, every time he felt like taking the baby from the young girls body, but the consequences were too high, even if it was probably the better thing to do, one day he would do it, do what was right and dam the consequences, dam Underwood.
Nathan was first in, he didn’t want to go in on his own and clung to his mother, but when he saw the kind face of the doctor it reassured him a bit, it was the first friendly face he had seen since arriving in Underwood, then the doctor invited his father in with him and Nathan felt a lot better for it, the doctor took the height and weight of Nathan on scales that looked 40 years old, he asked Peter some personal details about the boy, just mundane questions, Peter answered him, thinking it was best to play along with the system until he can fathom how to get out, the Doctor never spoke to Nathan direct, but the doctor could notice and sense his vulnerability which concerned the doctor, he tried to give him a reassuring look and smile and sent him out into the waiting room to be with his mother and sister.
‘Make sure he eats well and build those muscles up’ the doctor told Peter as he filed the first of his papers,
The statement seemed an odd one to Peter as if suggesting he didn’t feed his children, then a terrible thought came over him ‘ what if I can’t feed my children’ his stomach was in knots and he began to sweat,
‘Why on earth would you say that’ he asked,
The doctor thought about it for a while, it seemed the best advice he could give, under the circumstances men with skills and strength were an asset to the community, those who were weak and showed no promise, David Harris shivered when he thought of it, he wished he had said nothing at all.
‘It’s the best advice I can give you’ he told Peter,
‘Can you tell me how I can take him out of here?’ asked Peter ‘that would be better than any medical advice’ he added with sarcasm in his voice.
The doctor looked sheepish as he took his stare from Peters,
‘I’m a doctor’ he told him ‘I can’t help you with anything else, he measured and weighed him, asked him the same routine
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