The Case of T.P. Wallace
Prologue
Station YozMa (short for Yosemite Mano) Central Hospital is fucking crazy.
If I glance to the right, I can see a teenage boy being rolled into the pit due to the damage on his ankle joints (heaven knows why you shouldn’t ride on your skateboard on the right side of any walkway in YozMa). If I turn to the left, I can see a woman getting stitches because she claims she did not see that deer on the upcoming highway. In my center view, I see a man wobbling his way towards me. I see him fixing his bold attention on only me.
I hear the Chief calling my overused name (I mean, CH get your shit together. There is a large range of doctors in this building, not just Dr. Desai. I’m also half kidding. I love my job. Sorta.), asking if I have time to look at his patient (like the Chief of Surgery cannot diagnose a patient himself). I hear him talking but all I can focus on is the stray man closing the distance between us. I notice the man’s hands are shaking near the sides of his body as he comes into my full view.
The man lifts his chin and asks me, “Can you help me?”
His voice remains ringing in my ears, as I walk over to him with my thinking face on. He looks physically fine and blood is nowhere in sight.
I look over at the Chief and notice that he is consulting his patient himself.
After reaching for a pair, I slap the gloves on my hands and nod at the tense man. I look over his body, trying to find his source of pain. “What’s the problem?”
He stops me from examining his body with a small sigh and a tap on my wandering hands.
“Sir, where are you hurt?”
He reaches into his pant’s pocket and digs for the item. As his right hand reaches for the object, his left hand somehow tries to leave the object where it is. After grabbing what seems to be a small picture, he shows me the image. His normal breathing pattern turns shallow.
“Sir, what are you in for?”
The man pushes an ultrasound image close to my face and says quickly, “I have some damage in my brain.”
If I glance to the right, I can see a teenage boy being rolled into the pit due to the damage on his ankle joints (heaven knows why you shouldn’t ride on your skateboard on the right side of any walkway in YozMa). If I turn to the left, I can see a woman getting stitches because she claims she did not see that deer on the upcoming highway. In my center view, I see a man wobbling his way towards me. I see him fixing his bold attention on only me.
I hear the Chief calling my overused name (I mean, CH get your shit together. There is a large range of doctors in this building, not just Dr. Desai. I’m also half kidding. I love my job. Sorta.), asking if I have time to look at his patient (like the Chief of Surgery cannot diagnose a patient himself). I hear him talking but all I can focus on is the stray man closing the distance between us. I notice the man’s hands are shaking near the sides of his body as he comes into my full view.
The man lifts his chin and asks me, “Can you help me?”
His voice remains ringing in my ears, as I walk over to him with my thinking face on. He looks physically fine and blood is nowhere in sight.
I look over at the Chief and notice that he is consulting his patient himself.
After reaching for a pair, I slap the gloves on my hands and nod at the tense man. I look over his body, trying to find his source of pain. “What’s the problem?”
He stops me from examining his body with a small sigh and a tap on my wandering hands.
“Sir, where are you hurt?”
He reaches into his pant’s pocket and digs for the item. As his right hand reaches for the object, his left hand somehow tries to leave the object where it is. After grabbing what seems to be a small picture, he shows me the image. His normal breathing pattern turns shallow.
“Sir, what are you in for?”
The man pushes an ultrasound image close to my face and says quickly, “I have some damage in my brain.”
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AND IT'S A WRAP :))))I'm sad because it's over but I'm beaming because of how well it turned out! Thanks to Raveena for hosting this contest, to Natalia for the wonderful review, and to everyone who read, subbed, recced and/or commented on this!