The plaintive clap of leather on linoleum echoed down the empty hallway, the stark white walls and hard angles of the corridor honing each of the doctor’s footfalls to match the sharpness of her growing concern. Muffled voices and the electronic cries of monitoring equipment filled the gaps between each step. A pair of double-action doors were all that stood between her and the chaos unfolding within the operating theater beyond, but despite her rapid pace, the adrenaline coursing through her veins stretched time to a razor’s edge and made barely a hundred feet seem like miles.
The doors burst open, and a stooped surgeon backed into the hallway, peeling a blood-spattered apron over his head as he turned. An exasperated sigh froze in his throat as his eyes met those of the force of nature sweeping down the hallway toward him.
The doctor didn’t flinch. “Report.”
The surgeon’s mouth worked, but didn’t make a sound until after he swallowed. “The subject-”
“Dr. Akilah.”
“O-of course.” He sheepishly bowed his head. “Dr. Akilah is stable, but her condition is still critical. She’ll need round the clock monitoring for the next 48 to 72 hours.”
The doctor turned left before reaching the double doors, pushing open a different door and marching up a set of curved stairs leading to an observation lounge overlooking the operating theater. She didn’t hold the door or wait to see if the surgeon would follow, but he hurried along behind her regardless.
Below them, an army of surgeons and nurses scampered about the spacious theater, clearing used tools and resterilizing the field around a young woman lying prone on a metal table. A dizzying array of tubes and wires criss-crossed her body, connected to machines arranged almost haphazardly around her. A thin white sheet covered her to the neck. A misshapen lump of gauze lifted the sheet off her chest.
The doctor frowned. The young woman’s head had been recently shaved, and hundreds of tiny sensors had been attached to her bare scalp. “If she has even a WHISPER of brain damage-”
“All brain activity is normal, but we’re keeping her sedated while we perform a more thorough evaluation.”
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Her frown remained. “What happened to her?”
“Dr. Akilah’s bioprosthetic mitral valve was approaching the end of its lifespan. My team had her on an in-depth care plan that included weekly checkups and a strict diet and exercise regimen.” He sighed, pulling off his gloves with a snap of latex. “It failed two years before our projections, and in spectacular fashion, no less.”
“I see nothing spectacular about this, doctor.”
“Forgive me, Dr. Voss. A poor choice of words.”
She twirled a finger.
“A massive tear in the artificial valve damaged the heart itself. We replaced the old valve with a temporary mechanical one, but the damage to the heart… it’s irreversible. We could get her a new one-”
“Too much red tape, and we don’t need that kind of scrutiny. Not right now.” Dr. Voss shook her head. “We’ll have to move up our time table. Keep the doctor under sedation, and do everything you can to slow the progression of damage. Prioritize brain function to the exclusion of all else. Round the clock care. You and your team have no other responsibilities from this moment forward, am I clear?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“It’s ‘Doctor’,” she barked, and the surgeon visibly shrank. Voss wiped a hand across her damp forehead. “And do something about this heat. I don’t want that heart working any harder than it has to.”
Dr. Voss swept back down the stairs, leaving the surgeon there looking down on the chaotic operating theater. She hoped he didn’t see the flicker of worry cross her face before she could flee the room. She hoped he didn’t detect the tremor in her voice as she delivered her final order. She hoped he didn’t see the fear glistening in her eyes.
All those years of hard work was on the verge of being for nothing. How many futures now rested on the uncertain survival of the problematic genius clinging to life just a few feet away? How many lives?
Time had betrayed them. There was nothing left now but to rush headlong toward destiny.