(I'm sure people are starting to wonder; why do I write these fics?
Simple. Because no one else really does.
Most fics I see are "Cybil/Greg visits Greg/Cybil post-GUILT operation," "Angie freaks out before Derek's operation," "Derek having nightmares about his dead father..." You get it. Things that are relatively obvious.
Not that I don't like those fics; but I always wonder, how do those things happen? And what would happen if they(they being the people) got involved in something outside of Caduceus or Hope Hospital? In short, I write these fics in an attempt to expand the relatively narrow horizons.
Wow. Remind me to never write intro notes on Sunday mornings. XD
One final note... the beginning of this chapter is full of fifty-dollar phrases. DISPROPORTIONATE APPENDAGES.
Characters(except Nurse Hollet) © Nintendo
Nurse Hollet © Me, Spazzmistic)
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Hope Under Attack
Chapter One- Infection
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"Ultrasound."
Dr. Kasal took the surgical instrument, trying to locate the hidden GUILT body.
"There you are..." he muttered as its long shadow appeared under the surface of the stomach. "Scalpel."
The GUILT body wriggled out through the small incision that Dr. Kasal made; its disproportionate appendages propelled it forward across the organ as the parasite emitted poisonous gases.
"How long until you think this outbreak is under control, Nurse Hollet?" he asked as the dark-haired scrub nurse readied the general serum.
"Hopefully not too much longer," she commented, handing the filled syringe to Dr. Kasal. "It's a good thing that the treatment serum is similar to salycitate, isn't it? It's easy to recreate..."
"...which means that this strain is easy to treat," Dr. Kasal finished her thought, injecting the serum into the GUILT body. It trembled, then dove back under the surface of the stomach, secreting toxic fumes.
"I'll need the antibiotic gel and the ultrasound..."
"I'll treat the poison; just worry about finding the GUILT, Doctor."
"Alright then."
As Nurse Hollet applied antibiotic gel to the poisonous clouds, Dr. Kasal used the ultrasound once again to attempt to locate the parasite. Upon finding its shadow...
"Scalpel, Nurse Hollet."
She abandoned treating the toxins. The sharp tool was quickly handed to Dr. Kasal, replacing the ultrasound.
The GUILT was drawn out of hiding. It pushed itself around the surface of the stomach.
"Here's the serum, Doctor."
Dr. Kasal took the syringe, once again injecting the GUILT with the red-tinted serum. The parasite grew still...
"Nice job, as always, Dr. Kasal," Nurse Hollet smiled as she handed him the forceps. He chuckled as he took the surgical instrument, carefully picking up the dormant parasite.
"I'm just doing my job, Nurse Hollet... no need for--"
The GUILT twitched; it suddenly began thrashing violently, toxic clouds emanating from its body as it panicked...
"Gah!" Dr. Kasal inadvertently dropped the GUILT back into the patient, clutching his right hand. "Sunuva--!"
Nurse Hollet acted quickly; she grabbed the antibiotic gel and poured a liberal amount onto the parasitic entity. It writhed, then collapsed, moving no more.
"That was strange..." she murmured. "Are you alright, Dr. Kasal?"
"Y-yeah... I'm fine. It just shocked me, that's all."
"Alright... we still need to take it out of the patient, Doctor."
Dr. Kasal slowly released his hand, then cautiously picked up the GUILT body.
"Good riddance," he muttered, disposing of the GUILT body. "What's the Chiral Reaction, Nurse Hollet?"
"Chiral Reaction is negative, Doctor."
"Alright. Let's close him up."
Dr. Kasal quickly sutured the initial wound.
"Do we have more gel?"
"Of course. Here you go, Doctor."
The wound was quickly sanitized, then bandaged. Dr. Kasal handed the roll of bandages back to Nurse Hollet.
"There we go," he grinned. "Operation successful. Let's get him out of here--"
"Wait... Doctor, these bandages. Look."
There was a fresh blood stain on the otherwise clean bandages. Dr. Kasal quickly glanced at his right palm...
"Goddamnit... it cut me!"
"Here, let me see it."
As Dr. Kasal extended his hand towards the nurse, she soaked a gauze pad with the antibiotic gel. She then carefully scrubbed the wound clean, until she was certain that it was sufficiently sterilized. Putting down the gel-soaked cloth, the young nurse finally wrapped his hand with clean bandages.
"You know, we should only be bandaging the patient, Dr. Kasal," Nurse Hollet commented, smiling briefly. Dr. Kasal laughed.
"Yes, we should be. Sorry about that; now, let's really get him out of here."
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Greg was definitely not at the top of his game.
Two days had passed since the operation; on the first night, his right side had begun to pain him. On the second day, he felt weaker, more easily worn out; Greg just chalked it up to lack of sleep due to a busy work schedule.
And today, on the third morning, he was in so much agony, getting out of bed was excruciatingly painful. Not that he really had the strength to get up...
Greg didn't pull himself out of bed until nearly seven forty-five, after just lying there for twenty minutes; it took him a half an hour longer than usual to get ready for work, and he didn't get on the road until nearly nine o'clock.
At nine fifty, Greg was parked in the Hope Hospital parking lot, taking an aspirin before preparing himself for a long, painful day of work.
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Something was wrong.
Dr. Kasal drank some water as he sat in his office, slowly filling out paperwork.
Obviously he was ill; he wouldn't be in so much pain if he was healthy. He was also certain that he wasn't suffering from hypochondria, not now, not this time...
What Dr. Kasal couldn't be certain of was his condition.
Appendicitis? No, the pain was far too widespread. PBC? ...that included jaundice as one of its symptoms; his skin wasn't yellowing at all. Pancreatitis was a possibility... but highly doubtful. He wasn't feeling nauseous...
He frowned slightly.
Perhaps this was the downfall to being a doctor; refusing to admit when you weren't sure of your diagnosis... Even so, Dr. Kasal promised himself that he would go to see a physician as soon as he could...
"Excuse me, Dr. Kasal?"
He looked up to see Nurse Hollet standing in the doorway, lightly clutching a letter in her hands.
"Another patient has been admitted with the unidentified GUILT strain," she spoke. "Also, she had this letter with her when the ambulance brought her in..."
She entered the small office, handing the paper to Dr. Kasal. He took it, glancing briefly at the writing.
"...what the hell is this?"
"What is it, Doctor?"
"Ah... nothing. Don't worry about it, Miss Hollet. ...put the patient on the operating schedule. Let me know when we have the OR."
"Yes, Dr. Kasal."
Nurse Hollet left the room, leaving the door slightly open. Dr. Kasal read the letter more thoroughly.
To destroy mankind,
Nature rises against him.
Working together,
the true order is restored.
...what the hell was this nonsense? The true order is restored, what was that supposed to mean? Absolutely nothing...
"...wait..." Dr. Kasal slowly read it again. "Working together... the true order is restored... is this--"
The right side of his abdomen suddenly erupted in pain. His hands immediately clutched his side as he doubled over, crying out in agony; the room began to grow dark...
No, no, no, this couldn't be happening, how could this happen--?!
When Nurse Hollet returned to Dr. Kasal's office ten minutes later to inform him of the operation time, she found him unconscious on the floor, his skin rapidly losing color...
"Dr. Kasal!!"
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(End Chapter One.
Ha, cliffhangers are awesome... well, for me anyways, because then you're always wondering what happens next. unless the story is totally predictable. Then it's just... why even bother?
Oh wow, Sundays are really bad days for me to be writing author's notes. I ramble a lot, don't I? Just like Nurse Fulton... only she actually usually has a point to make. La di da...
Ahem. Why don't I just call him Dr. Kasal or Greg the whole story through? Because he's not Dr. Kasal when he's not working, and on the job, only Dr. Hoffman calls him Greg.
And what kind of car does he drive? Why, a silver Corvette, of course. Tee hee.
Review please! Next chapter should be up soon!)