Read a Chapter Month 4

 Medical fantasy/thriller

EBOOK

Is she willing to pay the price?

Remi's chest painfully constricted as she struggled to breathe. Rushed to the hospital, she received a mysterious treatment due to a medical error, which miraculously stopped the asthma attack and restored her breathing. While she felt healthier than ever before, along with this shocking recovery came strange abilities, and this miraculous treatment may have a price that she’s not willing to pay.

“This book contains no AI‑generated writing. All text was created by the author.”

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The flashing lights of the ambulance illuminated the night as it came to a stop at the entrance of the bustling hospital. The doors flew open, and they wheeled in Remi on a stretcher.

A kind-looking nurse with blonde hair approached them with a warm smile. “Hello, dear, my name is Anna,” she introduced herself before leading them to Bed B.

With gentle hands and a sense of urgency, they carefully transferred Remi onto the bed as Anna immediately began assessing her condition. She listened intently to her lungs, checking for any signs of distress.

As Anna worked, the paramedic gave his report, and she quickly started an IV line in Remi's hand. Meanwhile, a nurse's aide unhooked Remi’s oxygen tube from the tank, connected the tube to the central connection, and attached the cardiac monitor electrodes to her chest.

The heavy curtain that separated the beds was suddenly pulled aside with a loud swoosh. In its place stood a tall man with thick, salt-and-pepper hair. He swept his gaze across the small cubicle before fixing his attention on Remi. Introducing himself as Dr. Schwarz, he took note of the discarded nebulizer pipe lying on her bed before directing his piercing blue eyes to her face and hands. “Let me listen to your lungs,” he said in a no-nonsense tone, holding out his stethoscope.

Remi nodded weakly and struggled to sit up, wincing at the sharp pain in her chest. The doctor placed the cold metal against her skin and listened intently to her lung sounds, his brow furrowing in concern. After a moment, he asked, “How long have you been dealing with asthma?”

“Since...as far back as I can remember,” Remi gasped out between ragged breaths, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. “I take preventive medications and usually use my nebulizer during sudden attacks, but I didn’t have any solution and the inhaler didn’t help.”

The doctor's expression turned sympathetic as he nodded understandingly. “We'll get you taken care of,” he assured her before turning to the nurse.

“It’s my fault!” Emily informed the doctor with tears in her eyes. “Remi is staying with me while her parents are in South America with Doctors Without Borders, and I didn’t know she’s allergic to cats.”

“It’s okay,” Dr. Schwarz spoke in a soothing voice. “We’ll make her better, but I’m afraid, you need to get rid of your cat.”

“It’s not mine, just cat-sitting for a friend, but I’m going to call my other friends right now. I’m sure one of them will take the cat,” Emily said and pulled out her cell phone. “I’ll be in the waiting room,” she flashed a nervous smile at the young girl and hurried out of the room.

The doctor turned to the nurse. “Anna, let’s give her 125 Solumedrol, hook her up for continuous nebulizer, and get a portable chest X-ray as well.”

The nurse nodded and left the room. The doctor smiled, pulled the curtain that separated Remi’s room from bed C, and greeted the patient. “Hi Konrad, are you ready?”

“Yes,” sounded a young boy’s voice.

The doctor stopped for a second, thinking, and then turned back to Remi. “Do you speak German by any chance?” he asked.

Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Remi hesitated before responding. Despite having learned the language from her nanny since she was a toddler until high school, she decided against admitting it upon seeing the doctor's peculiar expression.

“No, but I speak French,” she replied.

“Never mind, I just thought... because of your last name, Hansen,” he mumbled, stepping out of the room and pulling the curtain closed behind him.

That was strange. Why did he ask me if I speak German? Perhaps he doesn’t want me to know what they’re talking about in the next cubicle. Remi wondered, listening to the conversation coming from behind the curtain.

“Are you sure you want it done this way?” Dr. Schwarz asked, speaking in German, and continued. “Don’t worry, the girl in that bed doesn’t understand the language.”

Remi heard a boy's and an older-sounding man’s voices answering, “Yes, we definitely want the treatment.” And the older voice continued. “My son is sixteen, and with cystic fibrosis and a rare blood type, finding a cure or donor is close to impossible. He might have a year left. But with your treatment, he could live a full, healthy life.”

She heard the doctor’s sigh, as he said, “I want to make sure you understand what will happen after the treatment.”

Konrad assured the doctor, “We thought it over very carefully what you said, and I fully understand the benefits. And...” he hesitated. “And I accept the obligation that comes with your treatment as well.”

“We took the necessary precautions as you instructed, and his handler will arrive tomorrow to discuss more details with us. Everything is ready,” The older man said.

“Okay, I’ll be back in a minute,” the doctor replied.

Remi wondered what that treatment was. Poor Konrad. He’s my age, and it sounds like he doesn’t have long to live. That’s terrible. Remi thought, feeling so much empathy for the boy. But why didn’t the doctor say medication or something specific? He repeated the German word behandlung, which means treatment. And because we’re in the hospital, it must be medical treatment.

***

The nurse felt sorry for Remi. Poor kid, only sixteen. She knows what it means to gasp for air. And the boy in bed C... why must young kids suffer like that? she thought bitterly, entering the med room. She pulled the drawer open, grabbed a syringe, and then took out a small box from the medication cabinet that was labeled Solumedrol 125 mg. She poked the needle through the rubber cap, drew the liquid from the small bottle, and then injected it into the other bottle with white powder in it. She mixed it well and drew the clear liquid back into the syringe.

***

Meanwhile, Dr. Schwarz entered bed C with a prepared syringe in his hand. "You never told me why a simple IV injection couldn't be administered at home," the boy’s father said, his voice laced with worry.

Dr. Schwarz sighed, his face a mask of solemnity. "As I told you," He began, "his heart will stop for a few seconds after I give him the treatment. Therefore, I will turn off the alarm to prevent any unnecessary commotion from the code team rushing into the room. Ideally, his heart should restart on its own, but there is always the possibility that it will not, and we will have to restart it. This is why I need the code team close by, and this is why I need to do this in the hospital."

A tense silence hung in the air as father and son processed this information. The steady beeping of the monitor seemed to grow louder, filling the small hospital room with an eerie sense of fear and anticipation as the doctor reached up, turned the heart monitor off, and picked up the syringe.

“Doctor Schwartz to bed A STAT!” The urgent voice through the intercom stopped his movement. He put the syringe back on the bedside table, wrenched the curtain between the cubicles, and nearly knocked the nurse off her feet by pushing the table out of the way. “Sorry,” he yelled, and to get to Bed A faster, he ran across Reni’s cubicle, yanking the curtain that separated her bed from Bed A.

Anna's hand trembled as she clutched the syringe, her heart racing. With a sharp inhale, she dropped the syringe onto the table, not caring about closing the curtain between the two beds. She didn't waste any time as she sprinted after the doctor.

“Hi,” the skinny, sick-looking young boy with an Oxygen tube coiled over his face smiled at Remi. “What a commotion, huh? I’m Konrad by the way.” He greeted Remi in English.

“Hi, Konrad, I’m Remi. Yes, typical ER buzz,” she smiled back.

“You’re not from around here,” he said. I haven’t seen you before.”

“No, I live in the Bronx. I’m just staying with my aunt for a few weeks.”

“Nice to meet you, Remi,” Konrad said. Maybe we’ll see each other again. It’s such a small town, I’m sure we’ll bump into each other.”

“Yeah, it’s small, but I love it here. The mountains are so beautiful.”

“See you around,” Konrad said when he spotted the nurse walking toward Remi’s bed.

“Are you ready?” Anna asked Remi as she reached for the bedside table and picked up the syringe. She closed the curtain between the beds.

Remi was familiar with the effects of steroids. When Anna injected the medication into her IV line, she was expecting a headrush and a feeling of warmth all over her body. But this time she felt something different. As soon as the medication entered her bloodstream, she felt a pleasant tingling in her body as it spread. She was curious and followed the spread of the drug from her hand to her arm then to her chest, head, belly, and then her legs. She felt warm, but not as much as other times.

Before she could ask why it felt different than other times, they heard another urgent intercom call and Anna ran out of the cubicle. Remi felt drawn and tired. The tingling passed quickly, and she started to feel better. Taking a careful deep breath, she happily noticed that the tightness of her chest had completely eased up, although it was unusual for the medication to take effect so fast, she was happy to feel the almost instant relief.

“Is everything all right with that patient?” Remi heard Konrad’s voice from the next bed, speaking German.

“He’ll be okay, don’t worry,” the doctor replied. “Let’s get your treatment going. Are you ready?”

“I’m as ready as I’d ever be,” Konrad said, his voice sounding cheerful but with an undertone of worry.

Remi heard the light rustling of bedsheets and the doctor’s voice. “All in. Now, we wait. It takes a few minutes before your heart stops. Don’t worry, it’s not going to feel too bad.”

Emily entered the cubicle and plopped down on the chair. “How do you feel?” she asked Remi.

“Surprisingly well,” Remi mused, taking off the nebulizer mask, smiling. “I don’t even need this anymore; my breathing is so good that I could run a marathon.”

“Thank God!” Emily sighed. “I was so worried and so sorry. It was my fault.”

“Please don’t worry, Aunty Em! You didn’t know. Cat dander is not on my allergy list because we didn’t know either.”

“Well, there is some good news. Cathy, from my volunteer group, is picking up Midnight today. She will care for the cat until Marley is in the hospital, and we’ll stay in the guest house until I arrange a thorough cleaning of the main house. The cleaning company is great, they will get rid of every piece of dust and cat dander in the house.”

Thank you!” Remi smiled at her aunt when suddenly, she felt a painful thud in her chest as if her heart flipped and bumped against her ribs. Everything turned dark in front of her eyes, and her mind sank into nothingness.

The loud alarm of the monitor made Emily jump, and she frantically scanned the screen which showed a flat line instead of the rhythmic heartbeat. She pulled the curtain open and screamed. “Help! Somebody help us, her heart stopped!”

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