Trauma Center: Event Horizon

Angeles Bay… The place where tourism sparks economical peaks yearly and the finance is turned into furthering international heights of medicine. With several hundreds of thousands of people living in this large California city, it is easy to get lost amongst the boardwalk as taxi cabs and pedestrians wonder seemingly aimlessly.

On a particularly rainy day in Angeles Bay, an origination known as Caduceus stayed open and busy despite the otherwise dirty plans from the sky. Known as the most technologically advanced hospital outside of Japan, Caduceus focuses on saving lives of every day patients while facing the forefront of evolving superbugs and terrifying diseases that no ordinary doctor could treat. Many staff members are scientists but the hospital is well equipped with strong surgeons who have been known to stand for hours upon hours and give their patients every second of their time.

For tourists, it was a rainy day and prevented some from visiting the beach. For the doctors of Caduceus it was a busy day as any others. More accidents were taking to the streets and slower response times for ambulances created a large sense of urgency in the hospital. That is, if you worked in the E.R.

Towards the higher floors of the hospital is where research and behind-the-scenes work was taking place.

Leslie Sears, a nurse under the employment of Caduceus sat in her beautiful office. Her legs were crossed and she sat in her office chair which leaned back slightly. There was a phone pressed to her ear and she seemed to be focusing intently. Her Japanese roots were stunning as she was usually regarded as a beautiful nurse by friendly patients, and she received just a touch of American through her parents. Being mainly an E.R. nurse, she wore a pink outfit which consisted of a skirt and blouse all matched perfectly in shading and clung to her body neatly. In the comfort of her office, she looked content.

"Yes." She spoke through the phone. "Caduceus is able to take any emergency patients that overflow from you, Hope."

Hope Hospital is generally a stepping stone for any surgeon who was raised in Angeles Bay or who is looking to learn from local talent. An internship lasting five years is given to any surgeon who comes on where each learn at their own pace. However, on a day like this there were too many accident patients and so some were required to go elsewhere. Angeles Bay Regional Hospital generally takes in overflow from any hospital but they were busy themselves and instead directed the patients to Caduceus.

"Thank you, Ms. Sears. As the head of the Emergency Room of Caduceus, I'm sure you understand how concerning this is." The lady on the other end of the phone said, her voice sounding less intense and more relaxed now.

"Yes, I understand. Any patients that don't have emergency transport can be picked up by our drivers if need be. Keep me updated, Mrs. Landers." Leslie said before hanging up the phone and setting it back down on the housing. From there, she stood up. It was going to be an interesting evening as she now had to inform her Director and Chief of Surgery. With a quick double take from the mirror, Leslie walked out of her office and into the hallway, disappearing out of sight.

X

Between the radiating sound of pagers being made and received and phone ringing, there were many footsteps and voices booming through the hallway as employees both doctors and nurses alike teamed to the busy path of work. Many doctors were talking with patients in their rooms but some nurses were conversing in between destinations.

A tall doctor stood with his left hand in his lab coat pocket and his right gripped onto a wooden clipboard. Attached to said clipboard was a patient file decorated with numbers and logs which he was reading as he made his way up the hallway. There was no big rush yet, but he seemed pretty intense in his reading and even more so on his path of travel, weaving in and out of passing doctors and nurses. It had been raining all day from what the doctor had seen out of the occasional window he passed and random patients would show with injuries coinciding with said weather. Today, he was dealing with a patient that needed special tumors removed from their liver – tumors that they had previously run pre-op procedures on. With one more day before the actual surgery, Derek Stiles studied up as best he could while not pushing off his doctor duties.

About halfway to the lunchroom, he turned a corner and nearly collided with a shorter blonde woman with green eyes. She wasn't moving in much of a rush but Derek apologized nonetheless.

"I'm so sorry!" Derek interjected before connecting the dots on the face. The person he had smacked right into in this very hallway was Angie Thompson, his surgical assistant and best friend. "Oh, Angie. I'm sorry about that."

The blonde woman seemed just as shocked but her frown turned quickly to a short smile as she stopped. "It's OK, Doctor. Why are you in such a big rush?" She said gently. Her voice always came across as serious and demanding as she was often the training wheels for him in their office and a set of helping hands in the operating room. It was very hard to have much of a personal life outside of Caduceus between the two of them.

"I'm just going to lunch. Also, I'm looking over our surgery tomorrow in advance since you prefer me doing that." Derek said with a nervous chuckle after nearly colliding with his faithful assistant. "You can come with me if you would like?"

A quick shake of the head came from Angie as she turned down her doctor for the first time in weeks. It had become a daily thing for them: go to lunch together and do rounds together. Whatever the reason today, he was going to find out why. "Not today! We have a meeting in thirty minutes."

Suspenseful air hung between the two as it clicked in Derek's eyes that he had forgot about the meeting they had planned three days prior. Patients from South America were being transferred via air today and it was going to be a joint procedure between Derek and Tyler which meant both of them were required to attend the pre-op meeting. Of course, at the same time as his remembrance of said meeting, Angie put the pieces together that the man in front of her forgot yet again about the important event.

"Right…" Derek said cautiously before seeing Angie's face turn from a smile to nothing short of a glare.

"Don't tell me you forgot?" Angie started. "You need to start using your calendar, Dr. Stiles! I have extra notes from the meeting with Dr. Hoffman and Chief Kasal in my desk drawer, grab them BEFORE the meeting."

With the verbal onslaught over, Derek gave her a wimpy grunt in acknowledgement and instead turned around and bolted back towards his office where he would need to grab said notes so he could present actual information at the meeting. Eventually he was going to need to learn how to handle things like a professional doctor.

Or maybe that's what Angie did best for him?

X

"At least Hope Hospital is just right around the corner. I don't really want to be late to the meeting this afternoon." Tyler Chase said while focusing on the road ahead of him. Being the most optimistic while also childish person in the whole building, Tyler was easy an amazing surgeon who went through medical school with Derek many years ago. Ever since then, the two have leaned on each other and supported one another for years.

The blonde doctor looked over at his passenger; his own assistant. Leslie was his sidekick in the O.R. and anywhere outside. She always whipped him into shape and made sure he was on top of whatever assignment they have going. Inspired by Angie's treatment of Derek, Leslie acts very similar to her own doctor, Tyler.

"The patient is a thirty year old female involved in a car versus bus accident. They've performed first aid on the scene but their E.R.'s are overstimulated so we'll be grabbing her in our ambulance." Leslie said, stating the situation for both of them to hear.

The wipers on the front windshield were working overtime, striking away the countless amounts of water that streamed onto it from the sky. The skies were dark due to thick storm clouds and distant rumbles of thunder were also present but faded in sound due to being inside the driver seat of the ambulance.

"Got it. We'll be there in about 5 minutes unless people can't drive in the rain…" Tyler bickered as he hooked the wheel to the right, turning sharply but not fast enough to initiate a slide and the vehicle wasn't top heavy enough to push it on its side. Once the turn was complete, he pressed down on the gas and sped down a two lane street taking the backroads to Hope Hospital in fear of bad traffic due to car accidents and poor visibility.

"Be careful, Dr. Chase." Leslie said coldly. It was likely she was a little scared of all the turning and shifting in weight of the ambulance. It was the type of vehicle that the suspension was tight but loose enough for sharp turns to buckle and shift the cabin around enough to be felt.

"Of course. Careful is my middle name!"

X

The conference room was filling up as dozens of doctors and nurses filled up empty seats and came in and out retrieving files and small snacks. Derek was one of the first people in the room, taking his extra time to review the page that Angie had left for him. Finally, Angie showed herself as well as she sat down next to Derek and opened up a black folder with the patient names on the cover.

"We're just missing Victor, Tyler, and Leslie." Chief Kasal said. "Is Tyler and Leslie back yet?"

Derek looked around the room for an answer but nobody had any sort of indication where he had went except for Angie. Of course, she knew.

"Dr. Chase and Leslie left here about twenty minutes ago." Angie spoke. "They should've been back by now with the patients from Hope."

Skidding around the corner, Victor Niguel appeared but failed to apologize for his tardiness and instead just nodded to Chief Kasal and Director Hoffman who didn't give him a response.

"Dr. Niguel." Chief Kasal said with a clear of his throat. "Did you see Chase or Sears downstairs?"

"No. I was actually just talking to an E.R. nurse, they were bitching about an ambulance being gone longer than it was supposed to. Is that them?"

Now it was starting to become worrisome. Tyler and Leslie were notorious for being on time due to her rushing capabilities so it made things even more strange when BOTH are late given the weather conditions. Nobody wanted to say it, but the idea that something happened to them wasn't too farfetched.

"I do know there was an accident towards Hope about an hour ago so traffic may be bad." Victor said, pulling out his patient files for the patients from out of country. "Can we proceed without them?"

"No. Dr. Stiles and Dr. Chase are supposed to be working together." Director Hoffman said in combine with a shake of the head from Chief Kasal. "If one knows more than the other, things could get quite complicated."

"Are you saying we should reschedule? They're coming in today, I don't know how much time we have before they get here." Derek interjected, looking to Angie who didn't actually look too worried for once.

"We should at least wait for them." Angie said. "Perhaps we can call them?"

"Good idea, Angie." Chief Kasal said before pulling out his smart phone from his pocket. With the tap of the screen, the lock was lifted and he began dialing the number for their general surgeon. After putting it to his ear, the wait was short lived as it instantly just went to voicemail which was likely NOT a good thing. Doctors are always required to have their own communication set up at all times.

"Nothing?" Victor said with a sigh. "SOME doctor, no communication."

"I think something could have happened to them." Dr. Stiles said. He hated to be the guy who brought on the idea of a bad turnout of events but if something DID happen, it would need to be a quick response. "I think Kurt in I.T. can track the signal from the ambulance to see where it is right now." Derek said.

"Alright, then. Meeting postponed until we find Chase and Sears. I'll go speak with Kurt Nelson upstairs. Derek and Angie, I need the both of you to get ready for travel. If we find a location we'll need a quick response in case something is up. Victor, make sure to keep an eye out near the ambulance bay in case they show up before we find out where they are." Chief Kasal said. In a situation that required precise thinking and judgement, there was no better man to handle the job than him so everyone nodded with their jobs. It was surprising to see Victor not object for once but Derek took his chances and walked with Angie downstairs.

On their way out of the meeting room and to his car, Derek couldn't help but poking at his assistant's brain.

"Do you think they're OK?" Derek asked.

"I sure hope so. Come on, let's find out."

X

In the heavy rain and gusting winds, the trees were bending at 45 angles and thunder rattled the windows and floor of most buildings joined with bright flashes in the dark gray skies.

Located off the side of a road was smoke and steam coming off of a vehicle. It was a 2019 Ford Focus, flipped onto the roof of the vehicle with broken plastic and metal shredded all over the ditch it was in and the road it came from. Black tire marks painted the roadway even under the pouring rain in correlation with the flipped vehicle. The front half of the vehicle was smashed to the steering wheel and there was no activity from inside.

Several hundred feet away, an ambulance was on its side. For the most part the vehicle was in fact minus paint missing from dozens of spots and a huge dent in the right rear side of the vehicle. Steam also poured out of the engine and there was yet again little activity coming from the ambulance.

Until the passenger door opened partly but not fully. It was aimed up towards the sky so gravity was fighting whoever was trying to climb out. The window was broken, but the door needed to be open to give better escape route.

"Ngh…!" A loud grunt was heard as the door flew wide open and broke, hiding the right front fender of the vehicle and sliding off into the ground with a loud clang of plastic and metal.

Leslie Sears crawled out onto the side of the vehicle but quickly lost her balance and fell flat onto her face, falling unconscious right away. There was blood slowly pooling around her abdomen that she landed on and some scrapes to her face before it smacked into the vehicle's side. Just like that, there was no activity from the area due to it being a backroad that hardly anybody took in Angeles Bay.

This meant that nobody was nearby to hear the accident and nobody could do a thing about the bleeding out body of Leslie Sears and the likely injured body of Tyler Chase.

X

"Stiles, this is Kasal." Derek heard as he picked up his phone quickly. "We got a confirmation on their last known location but… their whereabouts are unknown."

Derek's eyebrows went up and he nearly felt his stomach plummet.

"You mean… We have no idea where they are?" Derek said with a sigh. Angie was next to him and signaled for him to hand the phone over. It would be better this way so she could direct him around easier than he could.

"Chief, this is Angie. What is their last known location?" Angie took over, her voice shaky but present. Derek was going to drive because Angie couldn't fear AND drive without causing some sort of danger to the both of them.

Once the location was confirmed, Angie and Derek proceeded with their drive, with him pressing down on the gas and just barely speeding away from Caduceus towards their last known location which was only a few minute drive from the hospital. The whole drive felt like torture to the both of them even though they didn't say a word. The knot in their stomach grew as they veered closer and closer to their destination.

Finally, they turned onto an empty road and saw vehicles off the road flipped and to top it off, they spotted the ambulance they were missing flipped onto its side with steam fuming from the engine.

"Doctor!" Angie shrieked as Derek sped the rest of the way to the ambulance, passing by the other flipped vehicle. At about fifty feet away, he slammed on his brakes and stopped close by the ambulance and hopped out.

"Tyler! TYLER!" Derek started yelling at the top of his lungs while approaching the rear of the ambulance which was missing one of the doors while the other was bent dramatically.

Angie came as well but quickly noticed Leslie unconscious on top of the vehicle with a large pool of blood surrounding her. The blonde nurse climbed up onto the side of the vehicle and began examining Leslie while her stomach twisted violently.

"Leslie! Leslie, can you hear me!?" Angie shrieked as she rolled her friend onto her back. Leslie was pale in the face and her temperature felt colder than normal but it was hard to tell if it was due to the rain and wind or if she was losing enough blood to be lethal. However, Angie second guessed herself when she spotted the even larger pool of blood pooling around her abdomen on the other side of her prone body. "Oh god…! DEREK!"

Derek grabbed his flashlight from his pocket and put the end of it into his mouth to provide a pin light view into the vehicle. Immediately he spotted blood pooling on the side of the interior with Tyler's body slumped over the damaged patient bed, and blood dripping off the metal of the frame. "Tyler! Hey!"

A slight groan came from Tyler as he attempted to raise his left arm to reach out to Derek but was unsuccessful and his arm fell limp. This was a semi-decent sign as this meant he was still alive but it wasn't guaranteed as to how long.

Grabbing Tyler's arm and slinging it over his shoulder, Derek struggled to retrieve Tyler from the vehicle as his lab coat snagged onto a broken piece of the vehicles frame and he lagged behind for a moment. Meanwhile, Derek heard Angie shriek for his name.

"I'm here! I got Tyler!" Derek started as he limped his way over to his own vehicle. It felt like one step backwards with each two paces forward due to the heavy weight he was pulling and the soaking wet clothing. The sad point was not knowing if the liquid soaking into his clothing was water or blood. Once he got to his vehicle, he laid Tyler across his back seat of his vehicle and examined his body. Quickly, Derek ripped off his best friends shirt which revealed a large hole in his lab coat and scrubs… and skin.

Surgical scissors hung from his abdomen with blood beginning to pool on his waist before dripping onto his car seat. The stains were the lowest on his mind as he noticed that the blood was darker meaning it likely pierced a vital organ somewhere along the way. Judging by the depth and angle of the entry it was likely his liver, which would kill him in a short time if he wasn't quick.

Behind him, Angie was still screaming his name although he didn't hear it. Angie was struggling to keep the bleeding from Leslie to a standstill. An irregular shaped laceration was across her stomach which ran deep enough to partly expose a small portion of her ribs, with a small piece sticking one centimeter out of her body. Still, Angie pressed on by taking off her blouse which revealed her black T-shirt underneath. Tying the blouse around Leslie's stomach, Angie did her best to soak up the excess blood while checking for any other injuries. Little did she know, they both needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible.

"DEREK!" Angie screamed at the top of her lungs as she heard footsteps approach her from behind.

"I'm calling for an ambulance! Tyler is in critical condition! How is Leslie!?"

"She won't last the trip! We need to operate IMMEDIATELY!"

Derek felt his throat grow tight as he realized the life of his best friends were now in his hands and he was going to have to pull off a miracle.

… And that was before they even checked on the other accident patients.

(Wow! It sure has been a while since I've written a Trauma Center FanFiction! I'm planning on updating this one in the upcoming days to show what happens to our Caduceus buddies! Stick around!)