“Please hold the situation. Apply pressure bandage and make sure to control the breathing. I am on my way.” Joseph said, and they both hang up.
Joseph immediately get dressed. He grabbed an apple, took a bite and finished the rest while driving. Fortunately, there’s no traffic during those time, so it was just a 30-minute drive from their house. He went directly to the ER and saw that Dr. Johnson is doing CPR to a patient. Joseph knew that it’s the patient that he was talking about a while ago.
Joseph checked the record of the man. He has two gunshots in his left abdomen, and the ambulance picked him up where the young girl from yesterday and her parents had a shot. The man is not the police but has a Springfield XD-S on his hand when medical staffs recovered his body. To his surprise, it has 9mm Parabellum Bullet. The same bullet that he got from the little girl, and killed her parents. What if he’s responsible for firing gunshots to the young girl’s parents? He dismissed the thought when he heard Dr. Johnson shouting.
“We have to operate the patient and remove the bullet!” Dr. Johnson said to Joseph.
“I am ready,” Joseph said.
“But Steve is not yet in here. The man can only hold a few hours. I’m afraid the bullets are causing him to drop his blood pressure.”
“What do you mean he’s not in here? I thought he’s supposed to be on duty?” Joseph asked in surprise.
“We’ve been trying to call him, but he won’t answer his phone.” One of the attending nurses said.
“We can’t operate him without Steve. He’s the only remaining Anesthesiologist of the hospital.” Dr. Johnson said.
Joseph found himself and the rest of the team in another life-threatening situation. He knew that there isn’t a possibility to operate the man because they could lose their license. He just risked his yesterday. The man wasn’t responding to the Intravenous fluids and CPR until the life monitor showed straight lines quickly than they’ve imagined. Dr. Johnson tried another round of compressions and rescue breaths, but the man won’t show any response. Another cycle of CPR, but the life monitor still showed straight lines. Dr. Johnson was breathing fast, and he knew that there’s nothing he can do to save the man’s life.
It was later that morning when Joseph finished his rounds and was able to discharge some of his patients back to their families. He went to the cafeteria to take a break and drink a coffee. Dr. Ames was also there, and it seemed like he’s in deep thoughts.
“Good morning, Dr. Ames. Penny on your thoughts?” Joseph greeted him although they had a heated argument yesterday. They both know that it’s part of their job. Dr. Ames just smiled at him.
“It seems that everything is getting worse as the day goes on.” Dr. Ames sounded worried.
“The people, the government, the hospital, our town. Do you think it’s still safe for us?” Dr. Ames continued.
Joseph took a sip of his coffee, unsure of how to respond Dr. Ames.
“At times like this, we have nothing to do but have faith. We have to strengthen our mind, and believe that everything will be alright.” Joseph tried to lighten up the mood.
“I envy your faith, Dr. Brave.” Dr. Ames sounded awful.
“By the way, can you look after my patients until Monday? I have to be with my wife. She suffered depression and trauma after she saw a kid died on the street.”
“What happened?” Joseph was shocked.
“She was driving her way home when two men bumped into a poor kid. It was around seven in the evening. The men were trying to get something from the kid, but he refused to give it to them. To her surprise, one of the men hit the kid on his face. Then the other one stabbed the kid with a knife for about six times. My wife was so afraid when things heat up, so she turned off the engine. She was shaking when she got home, and she couldn’t speak until now.”
“I am very sorry to hear that Dr. Ames. Please do everything that your wife needs. I will cover your patients until you get back.” Joseph assured him. He was hesitant because Dr. Ames sounded like Dr. Carlton, but he just agreed and understood his situation.
Joseph decided to visit Denise in the ICU, the little girl he saved yesterday. She’s still on ventilation, but Joseph is happy to see her recovering fast. He remembered Dr. Steve.
“What must’ve happened to him?” Joseph thought. He still hasn’t heard from him yet. A few moments after, the light starts to flicker several times until the whole hospital went dark. Joseph checked the hall, and it was nothing but darkness. The auxiliary power was switched on after a few seconds, and now he can see the red lights of the emergency signs. Joseph checked the other patients in the ICU, and it was a relief that no one was affected. He decided to see Mr. Jobs and ask about the situation.
Along the way, Joseph bumps into Janette, one of the nurse and who secretly likes Dr. Steve.
“Hi, Janette. Have you heard anything from Dr. Steve, yet?” Joseph asked.
“No, why?” She asked in a concerned tone.
“He still hasn’t reported yet, and he’s not responding our calls,” Joseph said. His concern is that Steve decided to move out of the town, or worst something must’ve happened to him.
“No, I haven’t talked to him. We’ve been busy attending the patients.” Janette sounded tired.
“Are you alright?” Joseph asked.
“Dr. Brave, I feel that I can’t handle my double shift. And now, we just had power interruption. My co-nurse and I don’t think could handle the situation anymore.” Janette confessed to Joseph.
“I understand, Janette. Now is not the time to be hesitant. The hospital needs people like you.” Janette didn’t say anything.
“You can take a break, or lessen your loads. I’ll talk Mr. Jobs about it. We’ve gone a long way, so can you please stay?” Joseph almost begged. Janette tried her best to respond, but the best that she could do was to nod.
Joseph is in Mr. Jobs office who looked unpleasant.
“What happened to the power?” Joseph asked without hesitation.
“One of the electrical wirings was affected by the recent riot. I called the electricity provider, and they are now fixing the issue.” Mr. Jobs said.
“For how long?” Joseph asked.
“With the current situation, it might take months. ”
“Months!? Can we hold that long? Maybe we can push them a little bit more?” Joseph said in surprise, but Mr. Jobs remained silent.
Joseph finally understood why Mr. Jobs looked uneasy. He knew that it might be the beginning of the end. They looked at each other, both unsure of whether they have enough supply until they fix the issue. Joseph sigh sharply, and he remembered Janette.
“Nurse Janette is taking too many patients. Is there a chance that we delegate some to other nurses?” Joseph said.
“I’ll see what I can do because everyone has full loads.” Mr. Jobs assured.
“Things are getting worse, but please let’s not give up. Dr. Brave.” Mr. Jobs genuinely asked Joseph. There was a hesitation on Joseph’s part, but they’ve sacrificed a lot.
“I won’t,” Joseph assured.
CHAPTER FIVE
It was another busy noon at the White House in Washington. Several reports coming in that the President is still unstable, and that it might take longer than expected before he can finally recover. The President suffered a Blast Lung injury that damaged his blood vessels in his respiratory organs. Doctors are also looking the possibility of having brain trauma because of the shock waves and overpressure of the bomb.
With the recent bombing, other Cabinet Members started to feel unsafe, and some of them planned to move out of the White House. The security advisers of the Vice President even suggested leaving the place because it’s just the beginning of more intense attacks.