Chapter 35

Episode 35 Possession (2)

My shoulders felt heavier than usual. Whether this was all because of those crazy ghosts or just chronic fatigue, I couldn't tell.

‘Anyway, I’ve got a secret weapon now.’

Comforting myself that way, I returned to the Station. A hell of backlogged charting was waiting for me. I was spending meaningless time tapping away on the keyboard.

Just then, the phone installed in the center of the Emergency Room rang. Everyone's eyes focused there. The most senior Nurse, who was closest, picked up the Handset. Her Expression hardened in an Instant.

"Yes, Emergency Medical."

"…."

"…Yes, a male in his 30s. …Understood. Multiple pile-up on the highway… vehicle rollover… What about Consciousness?"

The Nurse's Voice grew faster and more urgent. Everything stopped at the Station.

"Vitals at the scene? Yes… yes… understood."

Putting down the Handset, the Nurse shouted so loudly that the entire Station rang out.

"TA Patient ETA 9 minutes! 34-year-old male, vehicle rolled over due to a chain collision on the highway, and extrication reportedly took some time! Consciousness is obtunded at the scene, Blood pressure 80 over 50, pulse 140! Abdomen distension observed, and left thigh deformity suspected!"

At that One word, the Emergency Room started getting busy again.

"Clear Bed 1 in the Resusc! Get the Trauma cart out!"

"Call them! Tell them to prepare the portable X-ray right now and come down!"

"The ICU is empty, right? You checked the messages properly, right?"

The Emergency Room transformed into a Battlefield in an Instant. Shouts burst out from everywhere, and medical staff ran around busily. I stood blankly for a moment in the center of that Chaos.

Someone hit my Shoulder hard. It was Fellow Park Se-young (Male).

"Get your Mind straight. Put on your lead Gown first."

"Ah, yes!"

I rushed over and put on the heavy lead vest. Over it, I layered a plastic PPE Gown and wore a face shield. In an Instant, my whole body became damp with sweat.

When I returned to the Resusc, a team had Already been formed. The team leader was Park Se-young (Male). Airway was 4th-year Sung-hoon Yoo (Male). Circulation was 2nd Year Resident Nam Joo-hyun (Male). And I, along with an Intern, was designated as spare parts to handle all sorts of odd jobs underneath them.

"Dividing roles. Sung-hoon Yoo (Male) is in charge of Airway management and cervical spine protection. Nam Joo-hyun (Male) will secure Lines in both arms and check bleeding points. As the team leader, I will oversee the overall Situation and do the ultrasound. Han Hyeonjae (Male)."

"Yes, Teacher."

"When the Patient comes in, you and the Intern cut all the Clothes first. And when I give orders, make sure you understand them quickly. Got it?"

"Yes! Understood!"

In this kind of massive trauma patient management, a 1st-year Resident is not a solver. Just hands and feet that must move the fastest and most efficiently. Accepting my role, I stood by the Resusc Bed and waited only for the Patient to arrive.

9 minutes felt like an eternity. Finally, from far away, the Ambulance Siren sound was heard. The Automatic Door of the Emergency Room opened, and the Ambulance crew rushed in pushing the Stretcher, shouting like a Scream.

"Blood pressure dropped once more during transport, reaching 70!"

The Patient entered the Resusc. It was a Horrible sight. His whole body was covered in dirt and blood, and his left Leg was twisted at a bizarre angle.

"One, two, three!"

The Ambulance crew and we joined forces to move the Patient from the Stretcher to the Resusc Bed. At the same time, everyone began to move in perfect order according to their pre-assigned role.

While Sung-hoon Yoo (Male) shook the Patient's shoulders to Check Consciousness, I started cutting the Patient's Clothes with the Intern. As the clothing soaked in blood and sweat was torn away, the Patient's body was revealed. The Abdomen was distended, and his whole body was full of dark blue bruises and abrasions.

"Breathing sounds are good on both sides!"

"Secured an 18-gauge Line in the right arm! A Blood Vessel cannot be found on the left!"

"I'll secure the other Line through the femoral vein!"

At the same time, Park Se-young (Male) held the ultrasound probe in his other Hand and placed it on the Patient's belly.

"Ah… Morison's pouch… it's ruptured."

Everything proceeded at a crazy, fast pace simultaneously. I Just for processed mechanical tasks that a 1st-year Resident would do, such as wrapping the Blood Pressure Cuff around the Patient's arm and clipping on the Oxygen saturation Monitor following instructions.

As the Patient's Blood pressure kept falling, Park Se-young (Male) finally shouted.

"Bring 4 packs of O-type PRBC right now! Skip the cross-matching and start transfusion immediately!"

The Intern ran off. After a short While, the blood packs filled with red blood arrived, and transfusion Started rapidly into the Patient's veins.

The Patient needed emergency Surgery. A general surgery Call went out, and the Operating Room began to be prepared. We were Just for a role to keep the Patient from dying until they could go up to the Operating Room.

10 minutes, which felt like an hour, Flowed by. Finally, the surgeons arrived.

"Let's go up!"

Dangling all sorts of tubes and monitors, without even getting a CT scan, the Patient headed toward the Elevator. The Elevator doors closed, and the Patient Disappeared from view.

Phew.

Returning to the Resusc, tension loosened, and strength drained from my entire body.

"So hectic."

Leaning against the Wall, I muttered softly. No one died. The Patient left our hands alive. I retraced the Scene from a moment ago.

Yes. Even with a trauma patient of this scale, they can be sufficiently cared for within the capacity of our Hospital and our team, so would I ever really need that Possession skill I have? In that kind of team play, what could I even do by suddenly awakening as 'Mes of the God (Male)' by myself? Rather, I'd just become a nuisance who disrupts teamwork.

'As if a Day to use that skill would ever come in my Doctor's Life.'

With a smirk, I began to pick up the trash dropped on the Floor. Cleaning up the Resusc was empty and exhausting, as always. The Traces of the desperate struggle to hold onto a person's life just moments ago were now Just for blood-stained gauze, empty IV fluid bags scattered on the Floor, and pieces of alcohol swabs giving off a sharp Scent.

When I threw off the sweat-dampened PPE Gown and lead vest, my shoulders, which had been crushed by the lead vest, throbbed.

"Oh, my shoulders."

The muscles of my entire body screamed, but I didn't feel bad. Rather, a strange sense of fulfillment washed over me. We did it. Moving perfectly in Each position, we pulled up a fading life.

Yes, this is the power of the System. A well-structured team, not a single genius, saves the Patient. There seemed to be no room for an alien and powerful skill like Possession to creep in.

'As if a Day to use that skill would ever come in my Doctor's Life.'

With a smirk, I tied the mouth of the last remaining trash bag. This is just a very expensive insurance policy. One that you should hope never to use in a lifetime.

Just then.

"Aaaah!!"

A sharp Scream burst out from the Triage desk near the Emergency Room Entrance. It wasn't the Sound of a Siren or the shout of an Ambulance crew. A pure, raw Scream.

Everyone at the Station reflexively turned their heads that way. With the Emergency Room Automatic Door wide open, a Man was staggering inside. He was wearing work clothes, looking like a construction worker, and his Abdomen area was soaked dark red. Holding his stomach with a pale Face, he couldn't take more than a few steps before collapsing right onto the Floor with a dull thud.

"Someone…! Please save this guy! He… he!"

Another Man who followed him in shouted, practically wailing.

"What is this! There was no ETA!"

Park Se-young's (Male) Voice Split the Emergency Room. There was no Time to prepare. A disaster arriving without warning. It was Chaos itself.

"Don't panic! For now, lay him down in Resusc Bed 2 immediately! Is it empty?"

"Yes, Teacher!"

"Sung-hoon Yoo (Male), Nam Joo-hyun (Male), Han Hyeonjae (Male)! You guys put your lead gowns back on! Right now!"

Oh, what a life.

Swallowing my complaints inside, I ran back to the Resusc. I hung that damp, heavy lead vest I had Just thrown off back over my shoulders. It felt like returning to Hell.

Resusc Bed 2 was absolute pandemonium. Nurses were hurriedly moving the Patient to the Bed, and shouts erupted from everywhere.

"Patient has almost no Consciousness! Barely flinches to stimuli!"

"Pulse 140!!"

The exact same team from earlier gathered again. However, the atmosphere was 180 degrees different. Anxiety and panic were written all over everyone's faces.

"Han Hyeonjae (Male)! Take the Intern and cut all the Clothes first! We need to see what injured him!"

At Park Se-young's (Male) Shout, I snapped out of it and grabbed the scissors. As we cut away the work clothes matted with blood and dirt, the Patient's Abdomen was revealed.

And we All gasped. On the Patient's Abdomen, there was a gruesome wound easily measuring nearly 2cm to 3cm in diameter. The area Around the wound had turned black, and a dirty piece of cloth was tangled in the wound, likely from a rushed attempt to stop the bleeding.

"A rebar… they said he was stabbed by a rusty rebar at the construction site!"

Along with the busy Air of the Emergency Room, my brain came to a temporary halt.