'Damn it, Marco, breathe! Breathe!' Adam said as he was desperately massaging the boy's chest, but to no avail.

Soon, the emergency generator turned on.

Adam turned the heart-lung machine back on, but to no avail – Marco's heartbeat was still gone.

'No! I'm… I'm too late… I'm too late… I'm too late…'

'It's never too late, child'

'Yeah, easy for you to say! You weren't the one with your first patient dying in front of you!' the boy said and wiped his tears away.

'It wasn't too late to save him, Adam. Even after you made that mistake, you still could have saved him. Only your own feelings stood between you and his life'

'Professor Sartre… I've always wanted to be a doctor! I've always wanted to save lives! And now… It turns out I'm too weak for that? Then what's the point of my life? I've lost my purpose!'

The man smiled.

'You can still save lives, Adam. I saw it, in your eyes… Before you lost control. You can be a great surgeon if you put your fear away. You must not fear that you won't save the patient. You must be happy that you will'

'Professor… I don't understand…'

'Some day you will. And then, you will be ready to become a real surgeon'

'Heh… But of course…' Adam laughed. 'I almost forgot why I'm here at all… Why I'm doing this… Professor Sartre… I think I misunderstood your words… But I see now!'

He turned to the unconscious boy.

'Hey, Marco, guess what! I'm going to save you! And no one is stopping me! Let's begin the operation!'

Adam quickly looked under the bed and took out the emergency surgery kit that was usually put there for situations just like this one. Not many rooms had it, but the man thanked all gods when he managed to feel it.

'Wow, they even have a defibrillator here… Clever devils' he said as he turned the device on. He heated it up and pressed against Marco's chest.

Unfortunately, he was still flatlining.

'Come on, I know I'm not too late, COME ON!' he said and increased the voltage, then tried again.

*beep*

*beep*

'YES! That's what I'm talking about!' he said and sterilized the boy's chest, then used the scalpel to cut it open.

It wasn't easy to operate in these conditions, but there was no other way, as going outside before all infected were taken down would be suicide.

Not to mention, Adam found it alright, since there were rubber gloves and antibacterial soap inside the surgery pack.

'Hmm… Wait a second…' Adam said as he noticed the swollen heart. 'But of course! I may not be able to eliminate the need for a transplant, but I'll buy him some time!' he said and made a cut.

The man drained the liquid that immediately poured out, and then sew the wound.

'Of course… Blood blocking your heart's blood vessels… Why didn't I figure it out earlier' he said and made another cut.

Since there was no ultrasound in the kit, Adam was forced to feel around the child's heart in order to find where the vessels were blocked exactly, as cutting even an inch away from the precise spot would cause severe hemorrhaging.

After about three or four cuts, the man took a deep breath.

'Man, that's hard…' he exclaimed and touched the heart all around, but couldn't find any other blockings.

'Ha… I did it? I DID IT!' he laughed, then quickly closed the wound and bandaged it. 'HA-HA! You owe me one, Marco…'

Adam smiled.

'Or rather… I owe YOU…'