ENTRAPPED

“I GUESS WE HAVE UNFINISHED BUSINESS”

As I stepped into the hospital amidst the heavy rain that showered uncontrollably, I couldn't help but notice the darkness and chatter in the bustling corridors.

It was for a fact that my vacation was over. I hurriedly made my way through the hallway as I could tell from the crowdedness that there were lots of emergencies.

“Good morning love” I say to Shin, my colleague and friend who works at the same department as mine.

“Hey, babe, you sure came in early” she teased me as she smiled and gave me a warm hug- heaven knew I needed it after the ordeal I passed through to get to work.

“I'm sorry, it's just…” I could barely finish my statement before the shout from the hallway caught our attention.

“Emergency! Emergency! Emergency! Doctor!” The voice resounded across the entire room as it got louder while the person approached the room.

Without waiting for any appearance Shin and I rushed towards the door to see who called out.

“What's going on?” we both asked the man who looked worn out as if he just escaped a serious car accident.

“Save my wife, please. Save her” the man said as he grabbed my hands and knelt down in tears while stuttering.

“Take us to her” Shin replied immediately as we hurriedly walked to where we believed his wife was based on his leading.

Just as I was about to check her pulse, my wrist was grabbed by someone- “You need to deal with this now” the voice of the person who grabbed me said.

“Dr. Robin, Sir, what's going on?” I asked as I stuttered as a result of shock of his action.

“An emergency came in and the patient requires an operation now. I'm heading to the other operating room to take on a patient with a tumor.” he replied as he dragged me out.

With each step, my heart raced, a familiar adrenaline rush flowing through my veins. Whatever it was, I knew it was a critical one for Dr. Robin, my Chief, to look for me himself to carry out the operation.

I remembered the patient which I was about to check on but was calm as I recalled Shin was there with me. She was definitely going to do her best.

“Go to the Room C OR, I believe they're all there”, Dr. Robin said as he left to handle his own patient.

“Yes Sir”, I replied inaudibly as I took in a deep breath trying to prepare myself for what was ahead of me.

“Sophie” I heard my name and in split seconds could tell that it was Shin as I turned towards her direction.

“Hey, you done?” I asked her as I felt excited on seeing her.

“Yes, she's under Nurse Sharon's care” she replied as she approached me.

“Where are you headed to?” she added.

“Room C OR. Dr. Robin assigned me there”. “You're coming with me right? I need you, Shin” I added as I held her hand and used my best charm- my gloomy eyes on her.

“Sure, Sophie. Where else would I be when you're in an OR. Let's go” she said as she held my hand as we made our way to the operating room.

“What's going on?” I asked as I looked around trying to catch my breath and get a hold of the situation. “Where's the patient?” I asked again in between my breathing.

“He's already in the theatre, he needs to undergo surgery immediately, or else we will lose him”, Parker, a colleague of mine, responded as he made his way to the seat at the front of the theatre.

With different types of emotions flowing in me, I exhaled deeply as I sat down close to Parker and leaned forward, supporting my stance with both hands.

“Diagnosis?” I further asked as I couldn't contain my curiosity.

“A type of Intracranial haemorrhage”, Shin responded as she walked towards us with a paper in her hand which I took from her immediately and scanned through the sheet of paper in split seconds with Parker as he took a peek.

“What's going on?” Parker asked as he took the sheet from me as I gazed into thin air and tried to collect my thoughts.

“Right! Subdural hematoma, but is this usually caused by external injuries, basically head injuries. Has he complained about any?” I asked immediately as I moved my gaze from Shin to Parker to Zayn, expecting an answer.

“Yes, he has, but just once and after that, he didn't complain about it”, Zayn, a junior doctor in residency replied as he fixed his gaze on me.

I have faced countless emergencies before, I mean it's one of the reasons I became the best at Emerald Hospital but this one felt different.

As we stepped into the theater, the scene before our eyes sent a chill down my spine.

Doctors and nurses moved in what seemed like a rowdy order but clearly was in respect to attending to their duties, with their faces etched with grim determination.

But I caught what seemed like a familiar face amidst the chaos. Our eyes met briefly as I could somehow perceive the strong but savory scent of his perfume from quite a distance.

And for some weird reason, he bore his eyes into mine with some looks that seemed to be as if he had recognised me but I was caught off by the tap on my shoulder by Dr. Parker, as we headed to the patient.

As the team fought to save the life of our patient, tension filled the room with great force. We tried our best to ensure he survived.

“We did it!” Parker exclaimed as we rounded up everything in the theater and our patient was alive.

“Good work, everyone” I said to the team as we all exchanged complimentaries while working out of the theater.

One could tell how exhausted we all were as we stepped out from the theatre.

And the worst part of it all was the fact that the day had just started.

As I walked away from the theater I found myself face to face with him once more.

This time there was no emergency to distract us from the palpable tension that stirred up between us.

“Miss Brooks,” his subtle but deep voice broke the silence as his gaze pierced through my eyes and skin as I watched him study my body.

“Uhmm, hello,” I stuttered as I replied, trying to get my act together even though I knew that he was fine!

“Wait a minute,” I held out my hand to signify what I meant. “How do you know my name? Have we met before?” I asked him as I grinned in confusion as to how he knew my name.

“I never knew you had a profession as this. Who would have thought?” He added as he walked towards me with his gaze still fixed on me.

Shit! He was the one from the bar. The bastard who threw money at me to strip before him.

My eyes darkened as I recalled where I knew him from. How did he end up here?

“Hmmm…you recall. I guess we have unfinished business?” He said as he grabbed me by my wrist and took me outside.