Messiah – Chapter 4
There was a flurry of rapid activity running through the Massachusetts General Hospital as the ambulance pulled up at the entrance, it's doors swinging quickly open as the medical personnel lifted the gurney and pushed it out of the vehicle. Immediately emergency staff took over the maneuvering of the wheeled stretcher and pushed it rapidly into the emergency room. On their way to the ER a doctor on duty caught up to the pack and questioned one of the nurses attending to the boy on the stretcher, speaking to her in the usual efficacious speaking method employed by all hospital staff.
"Update me."
"Patient is a twelve year old Cody Martin, one of the casualties from the gas explosion. Unconscious. Heart rate and blood pressure normal, evidence shows signs of smoke inhalation."
"Likely carbon monoxide poisoning then. Any burns?"
"No visible burns."
The doctor was slightly taken aback.
"No burns?"
"None."
That's surprising. Most patients that entered the hospital because of accidental fires almost always had burns of some degree. Looking down at the comatose boy on the gurney he was walking next to, the doctor realized that there wasn't a single scorch mark present anywhere on his visible skin. Even his hair, a particularly vulnerable albeit medically vestigial organ to fire, seemed completely intact.
"Wheel him in."
The white curtain concealing the inner workings of the ER from the waiting area was pushed open by the weight of the gurney passing through it. Immediately the doctor snatched up his stethoscope sitting in the equipment tray and put it to his ear. The nurses attending to the boy quickly attached him to the heart rate meter in order to constantly analyze the situation of their young charge. One of the nurses freed him of his shirt and stood beside him, ready to respond to any sudden emergencies.
What happened next surprised them. At the same moment where the doctor's cold stethoscope was pressed to the boy's chest, the boy's eyelids flipped open, revealing a pair of previously concealed bright blue eyes.
"He's awake, doctor."
"Alright." The doctor listened intently for a few more seconds before withdrawing the instrument. Stepping closer to the boy's face, he looked into the child's fearful eyes.
"It's alright, son. You were in an accident and you're in the hospital. Do you understand me?"
Cody nodded once.
"You have an important piece of equipment over your mouth to help you breathe, so don't try and remove it. I know it's frustrating to not be able to talk, but just bear with it for now, alright?"
Cody nodded again.
"Just stay calm. I need to do a few more important tests to make sure you're okay, so I'm going to have to administer a little something to help you sleep for about an hour or so. Okay?"
Another nod.
"Alright then." The doctor bent down and temporarily disconnected the oxygen's supply, in turn picking up another plastic tube and attached it firmly to the nearby anesthesia machine. He then turned a nozzle on the tube that connected Cody's oxygen mask to the instrument. Within seconds, a mixture of desflurane and nitrous oxide escaped into the tube and entered Cody's nostrils. Within a minute, he had succumbed to sleep.
The doctor slipped on a pair of medical examination gloves.
"Alright then, let's get started."
The entire waiting room, including the people who were deep in sleep, were shaken awake by the sound of the front door rapidly opening and the loud footsteps that followed in their wake. Disoriented, the sleepers woke to the sight of a team of five runners hastily making their way to the receptionist desk, an anxious woman in her mid-thirties at the lead of the pack. Running with all her might, Carey ignored the throbbing in her legs and skidded to a stop at the receptionist desk. Out of breath, she shouted at the female receptionist.
"I need to know if my son is here!"
Alarmed by the sudden hollering, the receptionist's head shot up from her computer and stared blank faced at the angry woman in front of her.
"I'm sorry?"
"Don't I'm sorry me! I just came from the gas accident and I need to know if my son has been sent here!"
"Madam, I'm afraid I can't help till-"
"Be quiet! Just tell me whether or not you've got my son in one of these rooms!"
"I'm sorry-"
"Aren't you listening to a single word I'm saying?"
"Excuse-"
"Listen, missy!" Carey growled at the receptionist, pointing her index finger at the poor lady like a wand, ready to pull a potter and curse her into oblivion. "If you don't tell me whether you've got my son here or not I'll have my lawyers down here so fast that you'll be in the courthouse before you see your next coffee break!"
By this time, the rest of the runners had caught up to Carey and were bent over, huffing and puffing, next to her. Mr Moseby walked up to the desk and placed his arms on Carey's shoulders, feeling somewhat sorry for the innocent woman who had shrunk into her chair at Carey's outburst.
"Carey, Carey, you need to calm down."
"How can I calm down when the staff in this hospital are so goddamn inefficient!"
Zack, who was standing near to the desk, widened his eyes in disbelief at the sound of his mother swearing, Maddie's hands reaching his ears too late. Mr Moseby turned his head to look at the two pre-teens and the rest of the flabbergasted waiting room sheepishly before turning his attention back to the angry mother.
"Right, Carey, I think, I think…" Mr Moseby scrunched up his facial features to augment his last word. "I think you need to tell her Cody's name first."
There was an awkward silence as Carey began to realize the embarrassing situation they were in. The receptionist peeked from behind the file she had sitting in front of her as a shield and spoke meekly.
"That's right, Madam, I need your son's name to check if he's being attended to."
Carey flipped her hair back and forced on an expression of fake nonchalance, one that failed terribly in the midst of the crushing silence that now permeated the room. Trying her best to brush over her previous eruption, Carey snapped on a bad poker face and lowered her voice.
"My son's name is Cody Martin. He's twelve years old, and has blo… white hair." Mr Moseby shot her a confused look at this point. "I received notice from the police officers at the gas explosion near Central Boston that he was involved in the accident and was brought to this hospital. If you would please…" Carey's inner frustration at not being aware of her son's condition was now boiling through to the surface. "Please tell me if he's here."
The receptionist, having gotten over her earlier shock, now tapped at the keyboard rapidly as she keyed in the boy's name. Scanning the monitor, she found what the exhausted mother in front of her needed.
"Your son is currently in treatment at the E.R. The system says that the doctors are currently conducting a few routine tests, but that he is no danger. He'll be moved to room…306 in about fifteen minutes."
The group breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of the good news. Bob threw an arm around Zack, who's breathing was now much lighter than before. Carey, however, was not entirely satisfied with the information.
"Thanks for saying that he's safe, but is he hurt? How was he involved in the fire? Did he get burnt anywhere? How is-"
Mr Moseby cut her off and directed her away from the desk before the receptionist could shrink under the weight of the questions again. He sat her down onto one of the waiting room's seats, and the rest of the group congregated around them.
"Carey, don't worry too much. We'll ask the doctor attending to Cody once the checkups are done. I'm sure he's perfectly fine."
Carey then narrowed her eyes.
"That's what you said just now at the hotel when I was worried that Cody was caught in the fire."
Mr Moseby loosened his tie and smiled shamefacedly.
"I was wrong then, Carey. I'm sorry."
Carey smiled.
"No, I'm sorry, Mr Moseby. I shouldn't be blaming you for anything. It's just that…I'm so worried!" Carey shoved her face into her hands in frustration. "You'd think Cody would have the sense to keep himself out of trouble-"
"Don't worry, Mom." Zack leapt onto the adjacent chair and hugged his mother, for once ignoring the fact that his "man pride" would be hurt with both Maddie and Bob watching beside him. "I can sense that Cody's fine. I mean…just now I was feeling sick because Cody was getting hurt, but now I'm feeling perfectly okay. In fact, he's sending me good telepathic vibes right now."
Carey couldn't help but smile at her son's childish attempt at cheering her up, while knowing that deep inside, he was feeling the same level of anxiety as she was feeling. Zack had always been good at concealing his emotions. She wrapped her own arms around her son and squeezed.
"I know, honey. I know."
The doctor removed his mask and scrubs as the medical examination was concluded, feeling satisfied. Most emergency calls involving fire did not yield good medical results; however the patient he had just been attending to a few minutes ago was surprisingly healthy, much to his relief.
As he stepped out of the examination room, a colleague working in his department walked up to him and smiled.
"Good morning, Doctor Burke. How's the patient?"
He returned the smile with one of his own.
"He's doing fine, Doctor Geller, and a very good morning to you too."
"Will you be going to the staff lounge?"
"Actually, I'll be waiting here for a while. I received a page from my assistant earlier that the boy's mother had arrived in the hospital and is on the way up here to see him. I assume she's anxious, so I think it's best if I'm here to brief her on her son's status."
"Good, then you can help me tell her what both a press member and a member of the police department spoke of her son a few minutes ago."
Doctor Burke arched his eyebrows in surprise as his colleague retold the tale.
"How is he?"
The group had finally arrived at the third floor, and was anxious to know the details of Cody's situation. Doctor Burke stood in front of the examination room, facing the group with a smile on his face. He spoke directly to the mother of his patient.
"Your son is fine, madam. Most victims of fires such the one that had just occurred come to the hospital with burns, but I was pleasantly surprised and am glad to say that your son was not affected by any such burns. As of now he is unconscious due to the general anesthesia we had administered, but he should be awake within the hour."
Carey nearly collapsed into Mr Moseby's arms as her body shook with relief. Beside her, Zack refused to let any of his questions slide as he resolutely spoke in his mother's place to the doctor standing in front of him. He spoke his question in a tone of determined seriousness.
"What else do you know?"
Doctor Burke was surprised to hear the voice, and looking down, realized that he was looking at a boy who was nearly identical to the patient had just attended to, with the exception of the golden blond hair on this boy.
"He was, however, affected with a significant degree of smoke inhalation. The tests we have run on him yielded positive results, thankfully. As of now, we have placed him on nebulized heparin and acetylcystine treatment. He seems to be pretty healthy, so we expect to be able to discharge him within two to three days."
Zack didn't understand the medical-sounding words that came out of the doctor's mouth, but he seemed satisfied by the answer he had received. Carey looked at the doctor and smiled her first genuinely happy smile for the hectic morning.
"Thank you, Doctor."
"You're very welcome, Madam."
Mr Moseby placed his arm around Carey and smiled warmly.
"There you go, Carey! Cody's fine! You had nothing to worry about."
"I know, I know." As the adrenaline drained from Carey's bloodstream, a wave of exhaustion from her physical and mental exertion took over her body. "Though, I still can't believe that Cody got himself into such big trouble this time. I'll need to give him a firm talking-to when he wakes up…"
"If I'm allowed to interject," The group looked up at the doctor still standing at the entrance to the examination room. "You might want to reconsider your decision to scold him after I've told you what my colleague informed me about just a few minutes before your arrival."
"What do you mean, doctor?"
The doctor spoke his next sentence with a twinkle in his eye.
"Your son is a hero, madam."
"I beg your pardon?"
"From what I've been told from a colleague, who got this piece of information from police officers at the scene of the accident, your son was spotted by civilians running into the burning building and later emerging with a comatose young girl on his back. It was extremely likely that she would not have survived if not for his help." His smile widened. "The thought of a young man who would risk his own life to save another in such a precarious situation is one that gives me faith in our younger generation."
Jaws were dropped as the group of five took in the doctor's words. Doctor Burke placed his hand on Carey's shoulder and spoke again.
"Therefore, for his sake and mine, please don't reprimand him when he wakes up."
Doctor Burke picked up his clipboard from a seat next to the examination room and turned around.
"I'll be back to check up on him in a few hours. Have a good day, Ms Martin."
Cody winced as a bright light was shone into his eyes. Struggling to shut his eyelids, he was slightly affronted when the nurse forcibly separated them as she checked the dilation reflex of his pupils. Seemingly satisfied that his eyes have been tortured enough, she withdrew the flashlight.
Much to Cody's relief, the next instrument the nurse touched next was the oxygen mask still strapped firmly to his face, which she removed. About to thank her, Cody found himself coughing involuntarily. The nurse picked up the pre-prepared glass of water beside his bed and pushed it into his hands, watching him drink the liquid gratefully.
"Thank you." Cody thanked the nurse as he wiped the water residue off his lips with his sleeve.
"You're very welcome, sweetie, but don't thank me so quickly. You'll have to put this thing back on in about two hours to continue your treatment." She shrugged apologetically as Cody's face fell. "The doctor told me that you're quite a trooper, though, so your treatment might be shortened."
"Oh." Cody looked down at the blankets on his bed and fiddled with the fabric. Slightly disoriented from the anesthesia, he was unclear as to whether he had dreamt the past few hours. "What exactly happened to me?"
"You were caught in a fire, but you made it out in time. You didn't get burnt, thankfully, but you did inhale a dangerous amount of smoke, which was why you passed out and why we brought you in."
So it did happen.
Cody looked up at the nurse. Almost immediately, more seemingly irrelevant science facts flooded into his head. Before he could stop himself, he blurted out his next lines.
"Carbon monoxide poisoning, then? Did the treatment consist of nebulized heparin and acetylcystine?"
The nurse paused her writing on the progress sheet at Cody's bed and looked at the boy sitting in the bed in front of her, surprised. He was looking at her with a completely innocent look on his face.
"It did. How in the world did you know that?"
Cody blushed as he realized what he had just blurted out. "I read about it in some old medical books."
"Old medical books…wow, Cody." The nurse placed her hands on her hips, impressed. "You're pretty knowledgeable, aren't you? Do you want to be a doctor in the future?"
"Maybe." Cody couldn't stop himself from grinning. "I have this dream to be the first doctor lawyer in space."
The nurse smiled.
"What ambition! I'm sure you'll achieve your dream if you work hard enough. Of course, perhaps you're already well on your way to achieving it, if you already read medical books."
Before he could stop himself, Cody unwittingly let out a loud yawn. The nurse frowned in response.
"Am I really that boring, Cody?"
Cody waved his hands in front of him, horrified at what he had just done.
"No, no! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"
"Don't worry sweetie, I'm just kidding." The nurse grinned widely. "The treatment makes you a little drowsy, it's understandable. Right, since I've finished the checkup, I'm going to let your friends and family in to talk to you, okay? I'll have to see you in about two hours with this annoying thing again, unfortunately." She held the oxygen mask in her hand.
"Okay, thank you very much."
The moment the nurse stepped out of the room, a group of five highly enthusiastic visitors came pouring into the room, having waited for hours, as he lay unconscious. Cody was nearly thrown out of his bed as he felt his mother's arms envelope him in a bone-crushing hug, joyous tears leaking out from beneath her eyes.
"Honey, I was so worried!"
"Mum!" Cody tried to push his over-enthusiastic mother away, but to no avail. "Mum…can't…breathe!"
"Mum, you're gonna kill him!" Zack pulled at his mother's shirt urgently, causing Carey to quickly loosen her grip. Mouthing an apology, she settled with planting a flurry of kisses on her son's cheek, much to his chagrin.
"We were very worried for you, Cody." Said Mr Moseby, who was watching the scene from beside the bed with slight amusement.
"That's right, Cody." Maddie spoke up. "You really gave us a scare back at the hotel. We had no idea where you were!"
"Zack was most worried." Bob decided to take the opportunity to chime in. "You should have seen how badly he was shaking back at my house when he thought you were in trouble-"
"Bob!" Zack glared at his friend, affronted. "I thought we made it clear to not tell him that…"
"Thanks for the concern, everybody, and sorry I made you guys so worried." Cody smiled apologetically, before smirking. "And Zack, you were worried for me? I feel so blessed to have such a thoughtful brother!"
"Don't get too used to it, my nerdy little brother." Zack punched Cody's arm lightly, before speaking softly in a significantly more concerned voice. "I'm glad you're okay, Codes."
Cody smiled.
"Thanks, Zack."
Carey, having finally gotten over her few hours of separation anxiety with a good dose of hugging and kissing therapy, finally found her voice again. Grasping Cody's head firmly in her hands, she looked into her son's eyes.
"I understand that you wanted to help somebody, honey, but don't you ever pull a stunt like that again. You'll give all of us heart attacks."
"I know, and I'm sorry, mum." Cody then remembered the reason for his being in the hospital. "Speaking of which, how is she?"
"She's perfectly fine."
All heads turned to the door as a woman, dressed in a grey suit jacket and matching long pants, entered the room, a notebook and pen in her hands. Following her was a man dressed in a chocolate brown windbreaker and black sunglasses. In his hands was a large camera.
Mr Moseby immediately stepped up to the pair, waving his hands in front of them.
"I'm sorry, sir and madam, but this is a private room."
"I know, I know." The woman then shook Mr Moseby's outstretched hand, much to his surprise. "I just wanted to talk to the boy who saved that little girl resting just a few rooms away. I've got one side of the story, but now I just need the other."
Carey, sensing something was amiss, immediately walked up to the woman. The man stayed at the door, his camera braced in his hand.
"I'm sorry…you are?"
"Oh, did I not mention? Do pardon my terrible manners." The woman leaned in to shake Carey's hand, and with the other hand, she withdrew a lanyard from within her suit jacket, the plastic containing a card with the word "PRESS" in large font and capital letters. She flashed a wide smile, showing off two rows of perfectly white teeth.
"Estelle Willick, Boston Herald."
Author's Note – That was pretty fun to write! As some of you might have already guessed, the influence of the press will be highly significant in the development of the story, so as a little hint I'd suggest you don't ignore the Boston Herald too quickly.
Reviews appreciated.
~SUITELIFEFAN