Yeah, I look for drama, yeah, I′m chasing karma
Seen some things that other people can't see
Yeah, I′m on a mission, I don't need permission
Living like I′ll hit a hundred-and-three
I crossed the dimly lit parking lot with brisk steps. Colorful lights flickered across the asphalt at regular intervals, while muted party music drifted over from the opposite side of the lot. The pulsating bass literally made the surroundings tremble.
I stepped quietly into the deserted hotel lobby, which was suffused with sparse moonlight that cast narrow strips of light on the floor. As the door closed behind me, a pleasant silence spread around me. With a clear destination in mind, I made my way through a dimly lit corridor. Meanwhile, my hand slipped into my pockets to pull out the scrap of paper I'd managed to get hold of in today's game. There were jumbled, chaotic lines on it, obviously the scribblings of a child... or a madman.
Nevertheless, I was convinced that I was holding a key in my hands - a key that would give me access to the game masters. On closer inspection, I could make out an implied map with a marker in the spidery drawing - the supposed destination. Or at least that was my assumption, my hope. But no matter how long I looked at the piece of paper in my hand, the location on the map remained hidden from me.
Sighing, I tucked the piece of paper back into my jacket and stepped into the elevator. A quick glance at my watch told me that I was still well on time. Surely Ann and Izumi still had their hands full tending to the injured. According to the rumors of some players, a flood of patients was to be expected today. A huge sports stadium that had collapsed had caused a lot of commotion. The swirling cloud of dust and the deafening noises must have been audible even from a distance. At the time of the accident, however, I was in a game of 5 Spades, far away from Akasaka, where the station had been.
My game today was a pleasant change of pace, especially considering the other players, some of whom had shown promising potential for the Beach. However, I was not usually one of those who recruited new members. Not because I couldn't, but because I preferred to pursue my own goals instead - and one of them led me straight to the corridor where the infirmary has been located.
Even from outside, the patients' wails and cries of pain reached my ears. I paused for a moment as I came to a halt in front of the door to the treatment room. I had not made my decision to come here lightly. In fact, until this morning I was still firmly convinced that it would be best to remain hidden. No one would ever have found out about me - if it wasn't for Mira, who always seemed to know every dirty detail that was going on at the Beach. But this insane lunatic wasn't the reason why I had changed my mind.
It was Izumi.
Shortly before today's meeting, another meeting had been called in which Ann had told us that she, of all people, would be her new assistant in the infirmary. I was surprised at first, because I had least expected it. But when I thought everything through, I came to the conclusion that it could hardly have been better for me. It would be the perfect opportunity to put my plan into practice. The first foundation stone had been laid. Now I just had to build on it...
All eyes in the room were on me as I pushed open the door to the treatment room with a flourish. Unimpressed by the looks of those present, I walked calmly to the disinfectant dispenser. An agonized cough echoed through the room. I quickly took care of the patient by placing him on the floor with his upper body slightly elevated to facilitate his breathing. But the burns on his shoulder led me to suspect that his windpipe might also be affected. With severe smoke inhalation, this could not be ruled out.
Izumi, who had just handed me the tube, stared at me speechlessly as I carefully inserted it into the man's throat. Even without looking at her, I could feel that she was following my every movement closely.
Only my request to bring me a pulse oximeter seemed to bring her back to reality. Her initial lack of comprehension made me impatient for a moment, so I snatched the device out of her hand with a single movement. The result of the measurement was sobering.
"81%. Bring me an oxygen concentrator and 15 liters of liquid oxygen," I instructed her as I tried to keep the patient stable, but his life seemed to be seeping inexorably through my hands. "Quickly!" I added urgently when I noticed that his breathing rate and pulse were increasing dangerously.
Izumi reacted promptly this time and jumped up to carry out my orders. When she returned with the necessary equipment, I was about to grab the oxygen bottle, but she abruptly pulled her hand away from me.
"Get on with it. I'll take over," she agreed with a determined expression. I watched in mild amazement as she quickly connected the oxygen device to the power supply and prepared it properly for the patient. After she had prepared the tube, she handed it to me. I nodded curtly and placed it under his nose. The man's lips had already taken on a worrying bluish color. It was probably too late. My eyes fell on the oxygen saturation reading, which was only moving slightly upwards.
"Prepare a bed. We need to elevate him," I said to Izumi, who was still staring at me like a fawn in the headlights. She blinked, overwhelmed, and shook her head.
"All the beds are taken. We have no more space."
"Then provide space!" I snapped at her. "Or do you want him to die?"
She pressed her lips tightly together as if she had to stifle a snotty reply. But she seemed to think better of it and stood up instead, her questioning gaze directed at Ann, who had obviously been listening to our conversation with half an ear.
"There's another empty room with two folding beds on the opposite side of the corridor. You can set it up here for now. Then we'll see."
A trace of determination had returned to Izumi's eyes as she nodded and immediately set to work. Meanwhile, I examined the man for further external injuries, slowly unraveling his T-shirt. Some of the burnt areas were so badly stuck to the fabric that it was a challenge to detach it from his body. When Izumi returned with the humble folding bed, we lifted him up together.
"I need tweezers with a swab, isotonic saline solution and bandages," I said as I peeled the last shreds of cloth from his skin. Only now that the wound was exposed did I realize the full extent of the burn. The oxygen gauge was steadily creeping upwards.
Izumi's hands were shaking as she came back to me with the necessary instruments and saline solution.
"Would you like me to put the whole bottle on him?" I asked with a skeptical sideways glance at the materials she had placed on the tray. "A bowl would be helpful."
She smacked her forehead and giggled sheepishly.
"Oh yes, damn it. Coming right up," she whirled around. Shortly afterwards, a deafening clang echoed through the room and the metal bowl almost landed at my feet.
My gaze froze her body almost instantly. As she was about to bend down to pick it up, I became momentarily annoyed:
"Bring me a new one. Intact!" I insisted.
She gave a reluctant growl and glared at me almost angrily before turning back and running to the cupboard again. I could still hear her muttering loudly on the other side of the room. She was probably about to wish a curse down my throat.
It took almost two hours before the examination room was finally quiet and all the patients were taken care of. Izumi sank exhaustedly onto one of the stools and Ann peeled herself out of her white coat before her critical gaze slowly wandered over to me.
"I can't deny that I'm surprised, Chishiya. Was that a confession today when you came here?"
I slipped my gloves off and carried them into a trash can with a flourish.
"I did what was expected of me. No more, no less."
"You've been here for more than three weeks and you never thought it necessary to mention that you had medical knowledge. You knew I was in desperate need of help. You lied to my face when we spoke at breakfast the other day. And last but not least, you betrayed the Beach. You're a council member, Chishiya," she said, as if that would make things a lot worse.
My hands went into my jacket pockets, unmoved.
"As far as I remember, I was still on time. It was 11.22 p.m. when I got here," I defended myself, shrugging my shoulders and putting on an innocent face.
I'd never seen Ann angry before, but when she was, you could tell immediately by the way she drew in a noisy breath and narrowed her eyes into slits.
Izumi sat silently next to us and seemed to follow our conversation almost spellbound.
Ann didn't answer, but turned to Izumi instead:
"You're allowed to go, Izumi. Thank you for your help. I'll see you again tomorrow after breakfast," Ann said curtly.
"Are you sure you don't want me to help. I cou-"
"Please go now! It's been a rough day, so get some rest."
Izumi nodded reluctantly.
"Okay, good night, Ann!" Her eyes slid to me briefly, indecisive and with a hint of defiance in her voice as she opened her mouth, "Bye."
Then she turned and let the door slam shut noisily.
How sensitive she is.
"Yes, good night, Ann. You look like you could do with a good night's sleep," with these words I turned to the door to leave the room too.
"Stay here!" Her cutting voice made me pause in the middle of my movement.
I really wasn't spared anything.
With a theatrical sigh, I turned around again. Ann had crossed her arms emphatically in front of her chest. Her features were set in concrete.
"You'll answer a few questions first. Truthfully!"
"Can't we sort this out tomorrow? I've just had a very exhausting game of spades and then all the patients... I'm really tired," I explained in an exaggerated manner.
"No, we're talking now!" she objected in a cutting undertone.
"Fine, if you insist."
I let my hands slide back into my jacket pockets.
Ann stepped closer to me. Her death stare would probably have brought even the military squad to its knees. She crossed the room slowly, careful not to lose sight of me for a moment. With her way of unsettling people with her aura, she would have made an excellent investigator, I had to give her that. But to intimidate me, she had to do more than sneak around me like a tiger and give me threatening looks - that just amused me.
"What did you do before you came to Borderland?"
She stopped in front of me now and watched my every reaction very closely, as if I were a criminal being questioned by her. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to keep lying.
"I was a 12th semester medical student."
She raised an eyenbrow.
"That's not exactly what I would have expected from someone like you," she commented.
I grinned smugly.
"Someone like me, huh? You mean someone who's only interested in myself."
"You certainly don't strike me as someone who wants to help people. So why did you help Izumi? Why did you take the risk of being executed as a traitor just to save her life?"
There it was - the question I didn't have an answer to.
I shrugged my shoulders.
"Boredom, I guess."
Ann furrowed her brow.
"Seems more like an aversion to sticking to rules to me."
"I just felt like it. Do you always need a reason?"
"That doesn't sound like you, Chishiya," she remarked, and I hated the fact that she was right. It really wasn't like me to act erratically and illogically. When I had brought her here, I hadn't had a clear goal in mind, at most subconsciously. But that was different now.
"Is that all then?" I asked, ignoring her last comment.
"No," she said sharply. "Why did you only show up here now? You could have faced the Beach long ago."
A small, arrogant smile flitted across my face.
"Well, I wanted to make sure the drama peaked properly beforehand. You know, for effect."
Ann's expression darkened.
"Is this actually all a joke to you?"
I tried to back off a little, partly because it seemed that I had already tried Ann's patience.
"I'm here now. That's the only thing that matters, isn't it?" I skilfully avoided her question.
"So you're going to take the job in the infirmary?"
"It's not as if I have a choice. I have little desire to have my brains blown out by Niragi. I don't begrudge him this triumph."
Ann didn't seem entirely satisfied with my answer.
"I want you to come here tomorrow morning around nine. We'll discuss the work schedule then."
"Right, are we done then?" I asked, because I didn't want to be subjected to this interrogation any longer.
"We are," she said curtly. I turned to leave once more. "Good work!"
My lips curled into a small grin before I left the infirmary behind me.
Everything had gone like clockwork so far. The foundations had been laid. Phase 2 could start by tomorrow.
◇
Ann was already waiting for me when I went to the infirmary the next morning. Her mood seemed somewhat calmer than the day before, but the dark shadows under her eyes betrayed a restless night. In all likelihood, she had continued to tend to the patients who were still under medical observation.
She looked up and forced a lazy "Good morning, Chishiya" from her lips. "Izumi is already here. I've assigned her to monitor the patients and keep an eye on their vital signs. You could give her a hand with that. In the meantime, I'll report the new circumstances to Hatter."
Ann scrutinized me. Her features were alert despite her tiredness. I crossed my arms thoughtfully in front of my chest and nodded.
"Good, we'll manage."
"I suppose I can save myself the trouble of showing you the ropes. It certainly looked like you already knew where everything was yesterday."
There was a silent reproach in her words and I had to admit I found it hard to suppress a roll of my eyes.
"I'll be fine, Ann."
"Great. Since I have to play today, I wouldn't be back to check on things until the afternoon. I hope I can rely on you both."
"Of course you can. We'll hold the fort here until you get back," I replied with a hypocritical smile.
She was already turning to leave, but paused once more to turn back to me.
"Oh well, it would be nice if you used our available resources sparingly, otherwise I'll have you assigned to the next supply squad," she added before letting the door close.
I knew exactly what she was alluding to, because the day I had brought Izumi in to treat her injuries, I had helped myself liberally to the infirmary's supplies - especially Propofol and Fentanyl. I knew that Ann only used anesthetics in moderation because they were rare in this world and we didn't have the slightest idea how long we would have to hold out here.
"Your orders, sensei," I muttered with an ironic undertone when Ann had long since disappeared.
For a brief moment, I almost regretted my decision to reveal myself. I wouldn't be getting rid of my job in the infirmary any time soon. However, there were several aspects that spoke in my favor. My eyes wandered over to the large safe. As soon as Ann trusted me enough, she would hopefully reveal the numerical code to access the particularly valuable medication. Then I could finally make the explosives I needed for my little craft project. But before that could happen, I had to gain Izumi's trust. That was my top priority at the moment.
I opened the door to the next room and found her there, completely absent-minded, sitting by a patient's bed. When I entered, her eyes shot to me and she hastily jumped up from her seat.
"Where's Ann?" she asked with a brief frown as I closed the door behind me.
I raised an eyebrow at her.
"Good morning to you too," I replied with a smug grin on my lips. "Looks like you'll have to make do with me for now."
Her expression looked a little contrite, as if I had just robbed her the hope of a pleasant day.
She forced herself to smile cheerlessly.
"Well, it's going to be super fun. I can hardly wait."
She didn't even bother to hide her sarcasm.
"Well, I'm not exactly thrilled to be working with a medical dilettante either, but I have to take what I can get, right?"
Her lower lip pushed forward slightly.
"Yes, I suppose we all have to," she returned with a hint of bitterness. Her teasing undertone was hard to ignore.
I stepped a little closer to the unconscious patient I had saved from suffocation yesterday and took a look at his vital signs. The oxygen saturation had returned to 95%.
"He seems to be recovering. Has Ann changed the bandages yet?" I wanted to know from her, because it didn't look like she had.
"Not that I know of." She reached for a clipboard lying on the windowsill and frantically flicked through a few notes. "Well, she didn't write anything down, apart from the ibuprofen treatment for the pain."
I nodded and pulled a pair of gloves from the dispenser to take care of it.
"Bring me some bandages and antiseptic ointment. Silver sulphadiazine would be good," I asked her, already starting to remove the old bandages from his skin.
"Okay, what if I can't find that?"
I sighed.
"Chlorhexidine works too."
I saw her busily making notes.
"Silver sulphidine and chlorhexidine," she repeated several times like a mantra as she turned away from me.
"Silver sulphadiazine," I corrected her in a sharp voice, but Izumi had already disappeared from my field of vision.
"Silver sulphidine and chlorhexidine," I could still hear her mumbling as she left the room.
I rolled my eyes involuntarily and shook my head.
When I finally had a clear view of the wound, I inspected it more closely. The damaged shoulder still showed considerable redness and swelling in some places.
"We need to keep an eye on his wound. It could become infected," I said when Izumi returned to me after a while. I took a skeptical look at the ointment she had fetched. It was chlorhexidine. That was a success.
She grimaced at the sight of the exposed wound.
"Looks really bad. How would we know if it was infected?" she asked with a worried but curious expression.
"Accumulations of pus in the wound, local swelling and overheating as well as fever and nausea," I explained calmly as I applied the ointment generously but sparingly enough to avoid upsetting Ann again.
She nodded thoughtfully and then watched me with interest as I worked, but I also noticed how her eyes kept lingering on my face. A quiet but barely audible chuckle beside me made me look up at her with a furrowed brow. Her cheeks were a little puffed out and there was a pinched smile on her lips.
"I didn't know my work would amuse you so much."
She held the clipboard in front of her mouth in amusement to hide her giggle.
"It's not that," she said in a half-choked voice.
I furrowed my brow a little and waited in silence for her to explain.
"Just the fact that, after everything, you're now working in the infirmary after successfully avoiding it so far. It just gives me a little satisfaction, you know?" she purred with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Ann didn't look too pleased."
I was a little taken aback by her words because, to be honest, I hadn't thought she was that gleeful. From what I knew about her, I had thought she was more of a boring, over-correct goody-goody who was always careful to adhere to social norms.
"You'd better make sure your satisfaction doesn't go to your head! Otherwise your carelessness could cost someone's life."
My punishing look quickly silenced her and wiped the grin off her face.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," she grumbled, tightening her mouth into a thin line.
"Better watch me so you can learn something."
She was silent for a while, watching me carefully as I applied the bandage to his shoulder.
"You said the other day that you're not a doctor," she began hesitantly.
"That's right," I said without interrupting my work.
"Then what did you do befo-"
Her question was abruptly cut off by a piercing monotonous beep. The familiar sound of the heart monitor immediately made me jump up reflexively and rush to the bed on the other side of the room. Izumi froze briefly before following close behind me. When I reached the patient, I saw him writhing in uncontrolled convulsions and gasping desperately. His face was contorted in pain.
"Make sure he doesn't hurt himself," I instructed her. She gave me a panicked look and seemed momentarily overwhelmed by my instruction before I turned away from her and stormed out of the room. "I'll be right back."
"Chishiya," I heard her call after me in a shrill voice.
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