Behind Every Great Man…

Chapter 1: Seraph

From the desk of Dr. C. Hornsby –

October 7th

I fear the worst has happened tonight. We lost our famous Jane Doe patient number 5284-A after months of extensive research. I implore you that it was not my decision to keep her here. The hospital thought it would prove to be quite the thing we needed for additional funds from the committee. But she was never one to be kept locked up and experimented on. I must start from the beginning if you are to understand the importance of this letter.

You see, Jane Doe was brought to the hospital's doorstep by fate. It was before the fall of Shinra and the great dilemma that followed suit. Jane Doe was left alone at the doors with nothing more than a SOLDIER uniform and an ID number that never checked out. I spent countless hours trying to locate the ID number through Shinra's databases but have found nothing. Her heart was still beating even though she was badly injured the doctors on call in the emergency room took excellent care of her. However, I feared that she would remain in a vegetative state and I was half correct.

I was assigned to Jane Doe's charts after Dr. Morrissey took over. She was the brightest colleague I ever had the luck of meeting and I was ecstatic to be working alongside her. She had come about Jane Doe as a side project after learning that Shinra had experimented on her. Note that it was a year after Midgar was almost destroyed that this research had been done. For over a year, Jane Doe rested in a coma…that is, until the night of March 23rd.

Violent rains had struck our city and parts of it were being flooded. Midgar's citizen's rushed into our little sanctuary for protection from the weather. The halls were littered with people and everyone was scurrying around like little bees. Most of the medical staff had taken on other duties for the night but Dr. Morrissey asked me to stay inside the observation room so that I could look over Jane Doe. Now, I understand that you've never visited this hospital so I will tell you now that anyone housed in the observation room can see into the hospital room but they cannot see in. It was from this vantage point that I noticed a young man with blonde hair escorting a child down the hallway. He paused beside the large glass window that lets passing staff check in on the patient. He stared at her for what seemed like minutes until a loud siren shrieked through the halls. They were evacuating the hospital. He breathed upon the cool glass and wrote a word down in the foggy area. It simply read: Seraph. I scribbled it down as fast as I could and ran out of the observation room in hopes of interrogating him. But he had disappeared within the crowd. The moments that followed are critical.

I swear, I had only been out of the room for a few seconds when I heard Jane Doe's vitals go off. I dashed inside to see her lean body convulsing as if she were having a seizure. Her fingers scratched at the air and her long, chocolate colored hair was tossed from side to side. Finally, as I heard the Dr. Morrissey's team come barreling down the hallway, Jane Doe's eyes opened. Before me was the most ethereal set of eyes I had ever seen. To describe them would do them no justice. They were a mixture of the deepest oceans and the bluest skies. I can only pray that there is a crayon that mimics that shade of blue. Those mesmerizing eyes gazed at me until they were blocked by the bodies of doctors trying to figure out why her body was reacting the way it was. It wasn't until she had calmed down and went back into her vegetative state that I realized it wasn't me she was staring at; it was the foggy word on the window.

The next several months were filled with all kinds of excitement. Dr. Morrissey claimed that she had figured out what Shinra had done to the woman but she couldn't document anything without proof. I once asked if she would let me in on her little discovery but she panicked and claimed that it would put me in danger if I learned the details of Jane Doe. Everything about this patient was a mystery. And it was a mystery that the committee was willing to fund.

From time to time, Jane Doe, who I believe is actually named 'Seraph', would have her little fits. They were sporadic and violent and often times, they would leave one of the residents injured. But it's not these fits that I desperately pen these words about. It was tonight. Everything that could possibly go wrong did.

I had started my shift at nine to recover Dr. Morrissey. I had spent many weeks trying to convince her that exploratory surgery was out of the question for Seraph. My only argument was that this was a human being, not a guinea pig submitted for scientific study. How wrong I was. We argued for several minutes, not even noticing the nurse making her rounds with Seraph. Every night she would come in, check her vitals, and change her IV. It was completely normal. Dr. Morrissey pushed her way into the observation room, ending our discussion for the time being. I should've followed her.

A loud crash came from Seraph's room and I eagerly ran inside to see what the calamity was about. The nurse blushed and bent down to pick up the metal bowl she had dropped. I asked if everything was okay.

"Yes," she replied. "It's just so strange. I laid down Jane's Doe's hand on the bed, turned around to check her fluid bag and when I turned back around; her hand was lying across her stomach. I swear Dr. Hornsby…I swear that I laid it on the bed." I assured her that it was nothing and to continue her routine. I pulled a chair up to watch just in case.

This is where my story takes a turn for the worse. It was later that night and I found myself nodding off. I hadn't slept much the past few days and the soft hums of the life support machines were a soothing lullaby. The nurse came in for her last rounds of the night and smiled sweetly as she shook me awake. I watched her move around the bed so that she could reach Seraph's fluid bag. For some reason, my eyes dropped back down to the patient's sleeping form. My heart sped up as those magnificent blue eyes seared into my own. She was awake. Her oceanic orbs glared daggers into my chest and I prayed that it was my imagination creating the foreboding image. The nurse moved back into my line of vision and I tried to look around her to see if Seraph was still awake. Her eyes were closed. I moved slowly towards the button by the two way mirror that allowed communication.

Just as my finger graced the button, I noticed the slow movement in my peripheral vision. Seraph's lean body was raised up out of bed and stalking behind the nurse. Her chestnut colored hair fell in long lengths down her shoulder as an arm extended out towards the scalpel lying on a tray. I shouted out to the nurse but I was too late. Seraph was quicker than lightning as she hugged the nurse to her body and shoved the blade towards the nurse's neck. Her eyes darted from the mirror to me and chapped lips moved to form words.

"Push the button." I was in complete shock. She had been comatose for so long! Her limbs shouldn't even be able to hold her weight and yet she was lighter on feet than a ballerina! I gulped and pushed the button. "WHO AM I?" Dr. Morrissey stuttered for a few seconds before answering her.

"We don't know. Dr. Hornsby claims your name is Seraph." My eyes jerked towards the mirror. She was going to put this on me? My anger subsided as the girl clutched her head in pain. She yelped out and stumbled to the floor. I motioned for the nurse to leave and she didn't hesitate. A small line of blood had soaked the stark white collar of her uniform. Seraph began to scream out and her tight fists pounded against the tile floor. I could only predict that memories were flooding her brain. Her hospital gown crawled up her thigh and every vein in her body could be seen. I made a few steps towards her in hopes that I could calm her down and explain her situation to her, but security was already busting through the doors.

The first guard pushed me into a corner and stood in my line of sight. The other two guards took a position near Seraph. I couldn't see the scene unfolding before me, but I knew that my patient was stronger than most. The first guard was sent was across the room, his body mangled up by the life support equipment. The second guard and the man in front of me took new positions and I could finally see Seraph in her physical glory. The first man shot a few rounds in her direction but her speed was immaculate. Each bullet was dodged so perfectly that I couldn't bear to blink. Before the guard knew it, Seraph was in front of him, slicing his hand in just the right motion so he could not hold his gun. The way she had handled the scalpel, it was as if she had handled fine blades all her life. The tool in her hand wasn't a doctor's cutting tool, but a fine katana carved from the finest steel. To watch her wield that blade was like watching an eccentric dance. Her head rolled to the side, sending the final guard a look of warning. He ran out.

She walked up to me like a feline huntress. Her long, lean legs were graceful like a dancer's but the dance she had just executed was no ballet. This was a trained artist and she knew full well what she was capable of. When she spoke this time, her voice was soft and held a certain lightness to it.

"The man in the corner is unconscious. His suffered a broken collar bone but he'll live. The second man is suffering a pretty large wound. The blood needs to be stopped for I accidentally cut a vein in his wrist. You see, I'm a little out of practice. But stop the bleeding and he'll be fine. Dr. Hornsby, I…" The alarm system began to sound and I feared the worst. I quickly cut her off and sent her in the direction of the nearest exit. She tried to explain that she needed to find someone but I wouldn't listen. My biggest concern was getting her away from this place, lest she want to end up being experimented on. She fled the building and I gawked as she scaled the large brick wall surrounding the perimeter. When I turned, Dr. Morrissey was standing behind me, a look of horror pasted upon her face.

"What did you just do?" I cleared my throat and prepared myself for an argument.

"That woman does not deserve to spend a life with needles prodding her body." Dr. Morrissey stared past me, her breath speeding up.

"I fear that we have just unleashed a monster upon our city, Dr. Hornsby."

Under normal circumstances, this would be the end of my letter but the world has been turned upside down. Dr. Morrissey confided in me last night that she had proof that Shinra was behind the creation of Seraph. When I asked to see the proof she claimed that it was too dangerous once again. I left the conversation at that but this morning, she didn't come in. I passed her office and it was atrocious. Papers littered the floor and the entire place had been ransacked. There were several blood splatters across the wall and I fear that she gave her life for that proof. I was convinced she was dead until I received a letter in the mail today. It simply read:

Behind every great man is an even greater woman who influences him.

She's the angel of death, my friend.

I later broke into Dr. Morrissey's office and pulled up some files on Seraph. I can't understand the code that my coworker must've broken but I now know that she was planning a research based project that enlisted the help of some genetics experts who had worked for Shinra. The chemicals listed were incomprehensible and I silently thanked whatever forces that had stopped the project in its path.

But I'm terrified, my friend. I'm terrified because Seraph may have been something more sinister than I had anticipated. I fear that I did indeed unleash a monster onto my poor city. This is my last letter to you for I can hear the nurses chatting with some men down the hall. They wish to speak to me about Jane Doe. What if my fate has been secured by the organization that created my dear Seraph? I ask of you only that stop whatever monstrosity I unleashed and if you can't, then find somebody who will.

Sincerely,

Dr. Hornsby

The aging doctor pushed the letter into a crisp envelope and sent it down the mail chute. It would be delivered within moments but he knew that time was of the essence and every second was essential. He leaned back in his leather chair just as he heard the click of his office door being opened by two large men dressed in black. He smiled knowingly and opened his desk drawer.

"I know what you're here for but I've deleted everything. Nothing else remains on Seraph." The larger of the two men stepped forward, pistol pointing towards the doctor.

"You're wrong, Doctor." A single shot was fired.