12.08.98; 02:17; Somewhere beneath castle Wyvern:
"BEEP... BEEP... BEEP."
There were definitely better ways to wake up than this.
"BEEP... BEEP... BEEP."
There were definitely better times to stand up than this.
"BEEP... BEEP... BEEP."
There was definitely no choice for him.
Groaning Moore raised from the bed, looking around just to see his beeper on the bedside table shining red and ringing like mad while jumping around.
this is worse than night-shift by in a hospital Moore though, grabbing his trousers and searching for his shirt
Having pulled it over he searched for his shoes, but since he didn't found it on the first look he moved in his slippers and fastened out of his room, racing to the elevators.
The elevators showed both to be parked at the lowest level of the highest building in New York. While he raced to the doors of the staircase he asked himself again why he was doing this job.
No holidays in any days ahead, standby duty all night... oh yes and the danger of becoming a target of remnants of the Quarrymen and other people who weren't so pleased about his job.
all this just because of an article in the Medical Review about the possible anatomy of gargoyles which luckily met their real anatomy very exactly Moore cursed why have I even accepted Xanatos's offer?
The simple truth was that after this article the chief of the hospital had dismissed him without notice because he seemed a cause of danger for his patients. To top it, his wife had left him, suing him on everything he owned, winning the process since the judge had discovered a heard for her.
so when a man with blond hair and a stone hand, stood in front of your door, offering you a job you couldn't resist Moore thought while racing further up the steps at least he pays enough
As Xanatos had pointed out, he was not just the doctor of the clan, but even so of him and his family, especially his son... most of all his son.
Moore sometimes watched Alexander Xanatos running... and floating around while playing with the gargoyle hatchlings. According to this and his checks, he knew that the child possibly would never have any problems by health, as far as he could say this by a practically mystic being.
if every part of this job would be so easy
With this thought and somewhat of out of breath, Moore pushed the doors open, entering the traditional part of the castle.
A gargoyle stood ahead of him, seemingly waiting for the elevator to come, doubtlessly waiting on him.
The gargoyle, with red-coloured skin, white hair and a white beard turned to him.
"We need you at the medicine station doctor!" he told him urgently.
"Oh..." Moore replied sarcastically and still out of breath "Really?"
"Yes," the gargoyle replied, not noticing or not wanting to go in on the sarcasm in the doctor's voice. "fast!"
With this the gargoyle turned around, racing down the floor, an cursing doctor following him. Fast they came to the medicine station, where Moore seemingly was waited for already by a bunch of gargoyles.
"Who is hurt...." Moore asked them, again out of breath "...and how?"
"An elder," an somewhat older gargess explained "one of his leg's causes him pain."
Moore nodded, even when he wished the gargoyles would relay more on names sometimes and went into the station while the bulk of gargoyles stayed outside.
Very thankful for this, Moore went through two large swinging doors, entering the heart of the medicine station, containing six beds and various ultra modern machines of which other doctors sure dreamed of while they slept.
One of the beds was currently used by an elder gargoyle indeed, Hudson Moore believed to be his name. His younger mate, holding his claw and the clan leader Goliath with the clan's healer stood beside him, looking worriedly on him.
Coming closer Moore noticed that the elder gargoyle held his right upper leg close to his body, his face being a grimace while he tried to control his pains.
"What happened?" Moore asked the gathered, while he arrived at the bed, looking on the leg which didn't seem to bleed.
"We don't know." Deborah replied, looking up from her mate "I and my mate talked and suddenly he grabbed his leg..."
Moore nodded.
"Hudson," he began, addressing to the gargoyle whose name he remembered again "I have to take a look on it."
The old gargoyle nodded, taking away his right claw of his leg and clutching the bed instead.
Moore didn't need to look long at the leg, before he discovered a small but long scar, running length the upper leg.
"As he anyhow hurt his leg in the last nights?" he asked the surroundings.
On this the gargoyles threw at each other a knowing look, but before Moore could ask them what this meant, Goliath turned to him.
"Eight nights ago the leg was stabbed by a sword." he explained.
"And you didn't thought about informing me?!" Moore asked all of them upset.
"It was a very difficult situation." Goliath said "And the leg seemed to fine after a day of stone-sleep."
"It wasn't lad..." Hudson told them through large concentration under pain "I felt some pains before, but never like this...."
"And why haven't ye told me?!" Deborah asked, him furiously.
"I hoped it would go away..." her mate replied with the try of a grin.
"Oh ye stubborn old ox." Deborah rebuked him, even when in a tone which seemed more fitting to a love statement.
"Sometimes there were broken wings which hadn't healed correctly during the day." the clan's healer, a female who hadn't taken a name, noticed. "But the leg seemed to have healed correctly so far."
"Then we have to look deeper." Moore noticed, taking a machine or wheels through the room besides the bed. "Let's see if this ultrasound machine works not just by eggs."
With a tube, placed on the machine beside the monitor, Moore spread some gel on the right upper leg and activated the machine.
"Can't ye give him some painkilling medicines?" Deborah asked the doctor, sick of seeing her mate suffer.
"Not before I know what causes this." Dr. Moore replied, pressing the probe against the leg "Else it may make it worse... Jesus!"
Moore starred in shock on the monitor, while the others did the same, but without recognizing very much.
"What is it?" Deborah asked, starring onto the monitor but not recognizing much.
Moore turned some buttons near the monitor and at once it cleared, revealing the three dimensional image of a transparent leg, transparent until...
"The black mass in the middle," the clan's healer began "what is it?"
"It looks like cancer." Moore replied.
"What?" Deborah asked.
Hudson groaned, due in pain and in shock while Goliath and the clan's healer just starred on the doctor horrified.
"I said it looks like this," Moore told them, while he starred at the monitor, as if to calm them down, just to continue "but it grows too fast."
"How fast?" Hudson demanded to know, as if to underline Moore's words, his pains seemed to grow in this moment.
Moore looked down on the old gargoyle, completely serious.
"We have to operate at once..." Moore explained "or you might lose the leg."