Trauma Center: A Guardian's Resurgence

Book 1: Perilous

Chapter 2: A New Doctor

[Clinic Tent]

Adel Tulba started adjusting to his newly treacherous schedule in Camp Zakara. With limited amount of doctors in the village it was hard for Dr. Stiles to keep level with the influx of patients backed with low health standards. Of course, this meant a large quantity of patients landing on Dr. Tulba's lap. Good experience means rough times and this was the start of such an occasion.

The clinic had been open for an hour now and Adel had already seen three patients. Diagnosing quickly was his speciality along with bedside manor on the people he was raised around. Although, telling the Zakara people that he was from the Dal tribe was not on his to-do list, he reassured all of those afraid of an attack that there was no threat since the war was more-or-less over.

For today, the clinic tent was fairly busy. Following his experience with Dr. Stiles and the operation on the patient's calf, Adel saw a large absence with Derek. Assuming that he was seeing patient after patient, Adel didn't think too much on it and instead picked up a pamphlet holding more information about Derek and Angie. He assumed that these were placed here for people that were unaware of their past.

"Three years ago...

The medical terrorist organization, Delphi, created a lethal disease they named "GUILT." They used this infectious disease in an attempt to plummet the world into crisis.

However, a specialized medical organization, Caduceus, was called into action. Created to challenge unknown or intractable diseases, Caduceus halted the terrorist scheme. And at the heart of their team Stood a doctor who carried the fight against GUILT to the end…

...Derek Stiles."

Only once Adel finished reading did he notice the blonde nurse organizing a desk in the same room and a brunette doctor collecting drinks of water before ultimately his next patient arrived. Suddenly, he felt like he was just idling and felt the need to apologize.

"Dr. Stiles! Nurse Thompson, I'm sorry, I was just reading this and… I don't believe it! You two are the legendary duo that defeated GUILT!?" Seeing the eyes of both surgical staff members look up to his own and a smile appear on Derek's face pushed him to continue. "I never should have spoken to the both of you so lightly…"

Derek chuckled shot a glance over to Angie. "Legendary is… pushing it a little. Remember that we couldn't have eradicated GUILT without the help of our colleagues as well."

"Adel…" Angie started with a return glance at Derek. "Try not to flatter Dr. Stiles too much. A doctor should never lose his cool, but he has a tendency to get… swept up in the moment."

Derek put a hand behind his head and laughed nervously.

"Y-You think so?"

A shrug and suggestive head nod went against his will before Adel laughed.

"What I want to know is… what brings you two to this camp?" Adel asked, walking over to the both of them.

"Well, Dr. Tulba, we're on a mission to treat any intractable or any severe disease that we come across." Derek said before looking over at the clock. He had about ten more minutes before his next patient was going to be expecting him and he was thoroughly enjoying this conversation as opposed to the past few months of relentless conversation between himself and Angie. "I'm assuming you've heard of the new illness arising here, correct?"

Adel nodded. "Costigar is constantly battling zoonosis. In this case, I hear that it causes severe tissue damage and scarring which is… often fatal."

Derek nodded in agreement. "Our top priority here is to treat and report back on this mysterious disease…" He stopped and snatched a snack bar from his and Angie's desk. "However, more or less unfortunately, there haven't been any encounters with anyone who shows symptoms of it… which is why we're here volunteering to run the clinic."

"I didn't think we were taking on an apprentice." Angie said with a smile. "Seeing as we are woefully understaffed… we're lucky to have you!"

"It's an honor and… I'll do my best!" Adel chirped; receiving a laugh from Derek. The few minutes after passed by quickly before Derek was about to leave the office for his next patient. That's when the entrance of the clinic tent flapped open and a five-foot-four american woman entered the room. She had a brunette colored Bob hairstyle with long bangs in the front shifted to the right. The name tag on her left side read, "Sylvia Warenburg," and the title, "Counselor," rested underneath. She wore an orange tank top that was made of silk and very thin, and she showed some amount of cleavage but due to her breast size, it wasn't something she could help.

"Is it true that we have a new doctor here?" Sylvia chirped as she walked in and set her shoulder bag down on a table. Her voice was very unique and oddly calming, even to Adel who found himself face to face with another new face here in Camp Zakara.

"Ah, hello Sylvia!" Angie welcomed her colleague into the clinic with a smile.

"Good morning, Angie!" Sylvia exclaimed before resting her eyes on the new surgeon who was standing next to the fridge. "Ah! This must be him. Everyone has been talking about you!"

Adel went to take in air to give a response but Angie cut him off.

"... You sure are quick when it comes to gossip, Sylvia." Angie started before standing and walking to the middle of them. "This is him, he'll be working with us from here on out."

Angie turned to face Adel joined by Sylvia who extended her hand out in a very professional hand shake. "W-well… my name is Adel Tul-- Dr. Adel Tulba. This is my first week here…"

Sylvia chuckled and broke off the hand shake. "I'm Sylvia Warenburg. I work here as a counselor."

In all of his experience, Adel never knew counselors were necessary in the medical field. The surgical prowess and assistant nurses made sense but… a counselor?

"You're a… counselor?'

Sylvia closed her eyes and giggled. "The people here in Camp Zakara require treatment for mental wounds just like physical ones! The unrest in this area has caused some… exhaustion to the children and adults alike…" There was a dramatic pause before she cleared her throat. "You don't happen to be a native of this country do you? Can you speak Costigese?"

"Yes, I can--" Adel was cut off by a very jittery Sylvia. She was likely under the influence of caffeine.

"Great! You'll be able to help us with interpretation!" Sylvia exclaimed. "Our interpreter, Mr. Levy, is going on vacation soon and in the back of my mind I was worried about what we would do without him…"

Derek, who up until now, was enjoying his last few swigs of coffee, finally interjected.

"I don't know about that…" He said out loud, not really sure about his own volume. Sylvia, Adel, and Angie looked over in his vicinity. "There's just still so much to do around here."

Sylvia put her left hand on her hip and frowned while Angie couldn't help but agree.

"Don't be so stingy, Dr. Stiles!" Sylvia whined, earning a chuckle from him as her frown faded into a passive smile. It was then that Adel realized that she was just kidding around. In his thoughts, Sylvia turned to face him once again and smiled.

"That can't be helped… but I hope you will help out in your down time." She said. "I would be happy to counsel you in return!" With that, she grabbed her bag and escorted herself out of the entrance of the room. Adel was left in his thoughts for a short period of time. It appears that his home country was indeed more busy and packed than he theorized. It was only a matter of time before he had to swim in work.

"Is she from America as well…?" Adel asked nobody in particular.

"Yes." Derek responded, hearing his watch timer go off signaling that it was time for his next patient. "She's very good friends with Angie, actually they went to college together. She tends to come to the clinic for no reason but overall she's very helpful around here."

With that, he disappeared across the tent to see his next patient before appearing again leading his patient towards one of the empty sections for exam rooms.

Adel looked over to Angie.

"Boy… this camp seems to be receiving care from all over the world. This zoonoses must be serious…"

Angie looked up from her laptop. Throughout the whole time she had been interacting with her laptop. He didn't get to see what in particular she was working on but it looked serious and she was very determined to continue.

"Yes, but what's most important here is for doctors like yourself to be able to do what Dr. Stiles is doing, seeing patients in quick succession." Angie said, with a smile.

"I agree… I look forward to the day that I can work as fast as him… I'll do anything I can do to help out!" Adel exclaimed, balling his fists with determination.

"Then, to get you started on that!" Angie exclaimed before hopping off of her stool and over to the end of her desk. She pulled off five patient charts and handed them into his arms. Adel was surprised by the workload and struggled to not drop them. "Here is your share."

"H-Huh!? There are so many of them!" Adel exclaimed, nearly dropping them as Angie added one more to the load.

"Don't worry!" Angie exclaimed, holding her hands behind her back. "I will help you. Why don't you call in your first patient to exam room two, and I'll meet you there in three minutes?"

Adel started sweating but nodded and saw her off as he was left alone in his thoughts.

"I've always wanted to be a doctor… and this is my chance to give back to my community. I can't let Dr. Stiles or Nurse Angie down!" Adel exclaimed as he parted the tent opening and called out for his first patient.

This was his beginning.

The road to the future as a doctor of Costigar was going to be a rough one. But, with the right amount of training and guidance, Dr. Adel Tulba was confident that he would someday be as good as the prodigal surgeon himself, Dr. Stiles.

[Clinic Tent, two hours later]

Derek caught a break after seeing nearly ten patients in a row. It was rapid fire delivery such that kept him on his feet and made his blood pump. With his level of skill he was more than confident that he could perform basic exams, give treatment and even schedule surgery for those who need it. All of these were things that Adel would soon do which would likely lighten the load on his shoulders.

"Dr. Stiles." Angie intervened on his thoughts with a call of his name from across the room. She must have just returned from assisting Adel with some examinations and consultations.

"Yes?"

"Dr. Tulba learns pretty quick! I think he'll be an excellent addition to our team here." Angie said with a smile. For being professionally optimistic, it made him feel reassured that she felt that way about his new apprentice.

"He's very observant. I look forward to teaching him more as the future goes on." Derek agreed, taking a big gulp of his coffee before setting the drink down on the counter. Angie sat down beside him and wiped a small stream of sweat off of her forehead without feeling grossed out or watched by Derek. Years working together and traveling the world meant she was fairly used to hard work and his supervision.

"You're going to be a great teacher, I can tell already!" Angie exclaimed, seeing Derek look over at her with a surprised look.

"You think so…? I've never had an 'apprentice' before." Derek said before chuckling. "I guess I just need to be as professional as possible."

"Right! Don't worry, you just need to remember how Dr. Kasal taught you back at Hope Hospital."

[To be continued…]

Chapter two! This one has always been hard to write as there's no real operation and all that the episode consists of is talking and then the lead up into the next episode. I tried to make it longer than the game made it, (only like forty straight seconds of reading…)

I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to review!