Part 3
The room is white, clean, and glistening with brightness. The pride of ownership goes overboard as scientists work in their clean, white, glistening lab coats, figuring out the complexity of a new disease, or finding new ways to combat an old one. There are two types of people here, the ones that think they are making honest work, changing the world bit by bit, doing their small part of a bigger whole. And then there are those who think they'll be the ones to revolutionize, beat everything else out of the water with their one big discovery. It was these people who felt like they could control it all.
And it was those who gave everything required to achieve their dream.
Carrie walked across the white room, carrying a vial of brownish-yellow liquid. The plastic coverings tied to her shoes crushed against the tile floor as she set the vial down on a tray. Taking out a needle, she drew some of the liquid from the vial and placed it on another tray. Carrie then took the small bottle to a cabinet and unlocked it. The bottles in the cabinet rattled as she pulled out the tray that rolled out on wheels and cleared a space for the container.
"Is the formula ready?" A nurse asked, peeking her head in. She too was wearing the aforementioned shoe covers. She was also wearing a surgeon's mask.
Carrie nodded and gestured toward the syringe lying on the tray. The nurse nodded and took the needle.
Turning back around, she quickly darted her eyes around the room. No one. She then reached a hand into the cabinet and pulled the entire tray out, trying not to rattle the bottles too much. She selected a green fluid and slipped it into her jacket pocket. Taking another one from her other pocket, she quickly examined it a last time and put it in the first bottle's place.
She pushed the tray back into it's position and locked the door.
"Dr. Redmond?" A voice called from behind.
Trying not to look suspicious, she slowly turned around.
"Yes?"
"Are you Dr. Redmond?" A petite blonde-haired young woman asked.
"Yes, I am." She said. "What can I do for you?"
The young woman looked slightly confused. "I'm the medical student, from-"
"NYU." Carrie finished. She sighed in relief. "Of course. Sorry, it's been a hectic day."
"I'm sure." She said, smiling. "I'm Jane Limbers."
"Carrie Redmond." She said. "You already knew that, of course." They laughed. "Uh, you're a third year student aren't you?"
"Yes, I am."
They started to walk out of the lab.
"What made you decide to sign up for this program? You could've chosen City General, they're a great teaching school."
Carrie brushed a lock of hair back.
"I know, but I was looking more into chemistry and virology. And then I got sidetracked into psychology and when you mix it, you get drug rehabilitation. Or at least, I had an interest in it. My sister is a nurse and my mom is a doctor also so it runs in the family."
Jane smiled, and one hand toyed with the sleeve of the crisp new lab coat she was given.
'Well you'll do just fine." Redmond said. "Have you had a tour yet?"
Jane shook her head. "It took me a while just to figure out how to get here." She said, grinning. "This place is like a maze."
"Yeah, it is. We'll take the elevator up to the lobby and start from there." Carrie said. Her beeper went off. She checked it really quick and frowned. Stopping in front of the elevator door, she picked up a phone mounted on the wall and punched in a number.
"Yes, did someone call for me?" She asked.
A few muffled replies on the other end.
"All right, thank you."
She hung up and smiled at Jane before proceeding to the elevator.
"One thing you should know is that there's phones in every hall, residential or not. If you don't already have a pager, the front desk hands them out. You're on a private line; so start memorizing the number of the doctors' pager numbers. And there's one code for the front desk."
The elevator hummed as they were transported.
"I thought students didn't get pagers." She said.
"Well we let our students interact more here. The standard things like IVs and history are already transported from a previous doctor or hospital. Since we deal in drug rehabilitation, students can do more research and get a more hands-on experience."
They reached the first floor and the doors opened. The flow of nurses, patients, and doctors was fully revealed.
"The first floor is administration and offices. If you need to talk to a doctor, and you can't find them on duty, they're probably in their office. The doors to the left lead to the doctor offices. Come on." Carrie turned to the right and slid her access card into a slot on the left.
"Every research area requires a key card. We have ones that work on each floor, but students are only allowed ones that work on the individual department they're working on. This is the toxicology department. Our head toxicologist is Dr. Irvin. He's a grumpy old man, but he's a great doctor. Lots of experience. The nurse on call is generally Mary, but on Wednesdays and Fridays, Lee is working."
Carrie pushed the door open and they entered a spacious lab equipped with different pieces of equipment. A brain suspended in formaldehyde sat on the counter, it's pinkish flesh surrounded by yellow.
"Dr. Irvin? Mary?" A middle aged curly haired woman entered from an entrance to an adjoining lab.
"What?"
"There you are." Carrie said.
"I was in the other lab organizing the samples. Dr. Irvin went out for lunch."
Carrie frowned, remembering that she still saw his car outside. But she shrugged it off.
"This is Jane Limbers, the new student."
Mary broke out into a wide smile. "Welcome to River Springs." She said.
"Thanks." Jane said, smiling back.
As they left the first lab, they entered the second one, where Mary resumed her work.
"This is our second lab, there's a lot of other equipment here. That metal slot back there is a pulley system that we had since 1952. It's just an easier way to transport medicine from floor to floor. But we only use that occasionally."
Jane nodded and her eyes diverted from the pulley to a door to her right. It was protected by the key card slot also.
"What's in here?" She asked. There was no window and there was no indication of what it led to. It was just a door.
"Oh that, that's a control center for the environmentals, sprinklers, you know. We keep most of the doors here protected in case there's any patients that pass through. Our residential halls are on the first floor only. Our teen center is located in the West Wing, and the adults generally come together in the South Wing. Elevator access is denied beyond those points. You again, need special codes to be able to get to the lab floors."
Jane nodded, making mental notes as fast as she could. "Then how come there's a toxic lab here?"
"We built it here for convenience. We decided that if the patients were only allowed to be on the first floor, then it would be a hassle transporting them up to the upper levels. If they require further testing, which is rare, then we can take them up. We use the toxicology lab mostly to check up on the patients."
"So the patients here are strictly residential?" Jane asked, looking at Dr. Redmond.
"Most of them are. It looks like an office more like a lab, doesn't it? It's designed to resemble the comfort of home. Our main labs are further up and those are entirely sterile with hygienic rooms and everything." She laughed. "Here, we can be as messy as we want."
"So am I working with patients or research?" Jane questioned.
"Well that depends." Carrie said. "Which one would you like?"
***
The room is white, clean, and glistening with brightness. The pride of ownership goes overboard as scientists work in their clean, white, glistening lab coats, figuring out the complexity of a new disease, or finding new ways to combat an old one. There are two types of people here, the ones that think they are making honest work, changing the world bit by bit, doing their small part of a bigger whole. And then there are those who think they'll be the ones to revolutionize, beat everything else out of the water with their one big discovery. It was these people who felt like they could control it all.
And it was those who gave everything required to achieve their dream.
Carrie walked across the white room, carrying a vial of brownish-yellow liquid. The plastic coverings tied to her shoes crushed against the tile floor as she set the vial down on a tray. Taking out a needle, she drew some of the liquid from the vial and placed it on another tray. Carrie then took the small bottle to a cabinet and unlocked it. The bottles in the cabinet rattled as she pulled out the tray that rolled out on wheels and cleared a space for the container.
"Is the formula ready?" A nurse asked, peeking her head in. She too was wearing the aforementioned shoe covers. She was also wearing a surgeon's mask.
Carrie nodded and gestured toward the syringe lying on the tray. The nurse nodded and took the needle.
Turning back around, she quickly darted her eyes around the room. No one. She then reached a hand into the cabinet and pulled the entire tray out, trying not to rattle the bottles too much. She selected a green fluid and slipped it into her jacket pocket. Taking another one from her other pocket, she quickly examined it a last time and put it in the first bottle's place.
She pushed the tray back into it's position and locked the door.
"Dr. Redmond?" A voice called from behind.
Trying not to look suspicious, she slowly turned around.
"Yes?"
"Are you Dr. Redmond?" A petite blonde-haired young woman asked.
"Yes, I am." She said. "What can I do for you?"
The young woman looked slightly confused. "I'm the medical student, from-"
"NYU." Carrie finished. She sighed in relief. "Of course. Sorry, it's been a hectic day."
"I'm sure." She said, smiling. "I'm Jane Limbers."
"Carrie Redmond." She said. "You already knew that, of course." They laughed. "Uh, you're a third year student aren't you?"
"Yes, I am."
They started to walk out of the lab.
"What made you decide to sign up for this program? You could've chosen City General, they're a great teaching school."
Carrie brushed a lock of hair back.
"I know, but I was looking more into chemistry and virology. And then I got sidetracked into psychology and when you mix it, you get drug rehabilitation. Or at least, I had an interest in it. My sister is a nurse and my mom is a doctor also so it runs in the family."
Jane smiled, and one hand toyed with the sleeve of the crisp new lab coat she was given.
'Well you'll do just fine." Redmond said. "Have you had a tour yet?"
Jane shook her head. "It took me a while just to figure out how to get here." She said, grinning. "This place is like a maze."
"Yeah, it is. We'll take the elevator up to the lobby and start from there." Carrie said. Her beeper went off. She checked it really quick and frowned. Stopping in front of the elevator door, she picked up a phone mounted on the wall and punched in a number.
"Yes, did someone call for me?" She asked.
A few muffled replies on the other end.
"All right, thank you."
She hung up and smiled at Jane before proceeding to the elevator.
"One thing you should know is that there's phones in every hall, residential or not. If you don't already have a pager, the front desk hands them out. You're on a private line; so start memorizing the number of the doctors' pager numbers. And there's one code for the front desk."
The elevator hummed as they were transported.
"I thought students didn't get pagers." She said.
"Well we let our students interact more here. The standard things like IVs and history are already transported from a previous doctor or hospital. Since we deal in drug rehabilitation, students can do more research and get a more hands-on experience."
They reached the first floor and the doors opened. The flow of nurses, patients, and doctors was fully revealed.
"The first floor is administration and offices. If you need to talk to a doctor, and you can't find them on duty, they're probably in their office. The doors to the left lead to the doctor offices. Come on." Carrie turned to the right and slid her access card into a slot on the left.
"Every research area requires a key card. We have ones that work on each floor, but students are only allowed ones that work on the individual department they're working on. This is the toxicology department. Our head toxicologist is Dr. Irvin. He's a grumpy old man, but he's a great doctor. Lots of experience. The nurse on call is generally Mary, but on Wednesdays and Fridays, Lee is working."
Carrie pushed the door open and they entered a spacious lab equipped with different pieces of equipment. A brain suspended in formaldehyde sat on the counter, it's pinkish flesh surrounded by yellow.
"Dr. Irvin? Mary?" A middle aged curly haired woman entered from an entrance to an adjoining lab.
"What?"
"There you are." Carrie said.
"I was in the other lab organizing the samples. Dr. Irvin went out for lunch."
Carrie frowned, remembering that she still saw his car outside. But she shrugged it off.
"This is Jane Limbers, the new student."
Mary broke out into a wide smile. "Welcome to River Springs." She said.
"Thanks." Jane said, smiling back.
As they left the first lab, they entered the second one, where Mary resumed her work.
"This is our second lab, there's a lot of other equipment here. That metal slot back there is a pulley system that we had since 1952. It's just an easier way to transport medicine from floor to floor. But we only use that occasionally."
Jane nodded and her eyes diverted from the pulley to a door to her right. It was protected by the key card slot also.
"What's in here?" She asked. There was no window and there was no indication of what it led to. It was just a door.
"Oh that, that's a control center for the environmentals, sprinklers, you know. We keep most of the doors here protected in case there's any patients that pass through. Our residential halls are on the first floor only. Our teen center is located in the West Wing, and the adults generally come together in the South Wing. Elevator access is denied beyond those points. You again, need special codes to be able to get to the lab floors."
Jane nodded, making mental notes as fast as she could. "Then how come there's a toxic lab here?"
"We built it here for convenience. We decided that if the patients were only allowed to be on the first floor, then it would be a hassle transporting them up to the upper levels. If they require further testing, which is rare, then we can take them up. We use the toxicology lab mostly to check up on the patients."
"So the patients here are strictly residential?" Jane asked, looking at Dr. Redmond.
"Most of them are. It looks like an office more like a lab, doesn't it? It's designed to resemble the comfort of home. Our main labs are further up and those are entirely sterile with hygienic rooms and everything." She laughed. "Here, we can be as messy as we want."
"So am I working with patients or research?" Jane questioned.
"Well that depends." Carrie said. "Which one would you like?"
***