Beep! Beep—!
The steady beep of the cardiogram had become something I could no longer ignore, yet somehow had grown used to, the constant rhythm acting as some sort of anchor as my hands moved on their own.
"....."
A faint tingling crept along the back of my scalp as I cut down, my spine straightening for a brief moment.
Guiding the knife downward, I cut through the flesh slowly and carefully, and with each motion, a sharp tingling spread along the right side of my head, making my vision flicker for a brief moment.
From time to time, I’d stop, my hand jerking in weird motions as I tried my best to keep myself focused.
"Doctor, please focus. This is a serious situation. You must remove the growth quickly. We can’t let the brain be exposed for too long."
The nurse whispered to my ear, her hand reaching forward to suction away some of the blood alongside the clear cerebrospinal fluid.
"H-ha."
"Keep going."
Tick. Tick—
Tick!
As the steady ticking of the clock filtered into my ears, I steadied my knife, pausing for a brief moment as I stared at the throbbing piece of flesh before me.
The rhythmic flesh was almost hypnotic, the intricate web of veins and shifting paths drawing my gaze as I forced myself to focus, swallowing down the nausea rising in my throat and calming my churning stomach.
I thought I had grown used to gore, but it was clear that I had deluded myself into thinking so. Perhaps it was also because I felt it with each motion, but I felt something rise from deep within my stomach, threatening to spill at any second.
’...Hold it in. Hold it in.’
Clenching my teeth, I focused my attention on the ’growth’ and started to cut it again. The procedure typically took several hours, but I didn’t have much time.
Cutting down once more, I flinched as my right eye closed.
"Doctor..."
At the same time, I heard the familiar voice of the nurse.
"You don’t have much time. Make sure to remove the growth and close up. We really need to hurry."
"I... need more time. The pat—"
"You have three minutes."
The nurse spoke again, but this time her voice was no longer distant. It was right beside me, close enough to brush against my skin, her breath grazing my right ear as I froze in place, a chill running down my spine.
"...Make sure you take care of it quickly. No rush."
I closed my eyes, trying my best not to drop everything at once and kill the nurse next to me. Of course, seeing that I was in the middle of an operation, that was impossible in itself. The patient’s life was directly tied to mine.
"Doctor?"
"On it."
From the corner of my eye, I fixed my gaze on a specific spot where a dark pool had begun to form. I looked at it for a moment before looking away.
As things stood, I was still operating within the control of the scenario.
This was both good and bad.
Good in the sense that so long as I followed the scenario, I’d be able to leave. Bad in the sense that I was moving as the ’fan’ was willing the scenario to be. In essence, I was predictable.
Just a slight change was enough to turn the entire situation on its head.
A change like...
’Making me do the wrong thing.’
Of course, it was only a slight concern. Gates had their own rules, and after observing for a while, I was certain he could not simply give me false information. If that were the case, I would have been dead already.
Which meant the mistake had to be mine.
His goal was likely to push me into making a mistake, one that would end up killing me in the process. That was exactly why I had to stay focused. The last thing I could afford to do was slip up.
’Focus. I need to remain focused. I can’t let myself get distracted.’
Taking a deep breath, I resumed the operation.
The scalpel steadied in my hand again, though the subtle trembling never fully disappeared.
I adjusted my grip, forcing my fingers to relax rather than tighten. Tension only made things worse. I knew that much. The blade responded better when I stopped trying to control it so rigidly.
The pulsing tissue in front of me rose and fell at a steady rhythm.
The back of my scalp tingled once more as I felt a slow, slicing sensation creeping across it, as if the tissue itself were being cut open. My entire body shuddered in response, small tremors running through me as I tried to block it out and stay focused.
But it was easier said than done.
Every small movement felt as though something was brushing along the inside of my head, a faint, yet invasive sensation that made concentration impossible. The pain was less intense than before, but it was far more unsettling, each touch echoing back through me in a way that made it impossible to ignore.
In a way, it felt as though I was touching my own brain.
"Hoo."
Taking a deep breath, I tried to push the sensation away as I looked at the growth. Slicing down, I knew that I’d feel this one as I braced myself for it.
But...
The pain hit harder than I expected, nearly wrenching the scalpel from my grip as my stomach lurched, the urge to vomit surging violently up my throat.
"———!"
Despite this, I persisted. I clenched my teeth and tried to get through the procedure. I was almost done.
Tick! Tick—
Just a few more minutes.
I was almost done.
"Suction."
I continued to slice through the growth, my movements careful but strained, sweat trailing down the side of my face as I held my breath the entire time, afraid that even the slightest lapse in focus would cost me.
Tick!
The steady rhythm of the clock echoed in the back of my mind, each tick pressing against my thoughts as I guided the scalpel down to remove the final piece of tissue. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, or at least... was.
Just as the blade neared its mark, my head jerked violently, my body moving on its own.
"Uekh!"
Clank!
The scalpel slipped from its path, slicing past the intended spot and cutting into a different area altogether.
My eyes widened in that moment.
"O-oh, shit."
***
’What the hell is this?’
Everything was a mess. From the moment she stepped out of the elevator to the chaos that greeted her immediately after, nothing had gone the way it should have.
"Nurse! Over here, nurse!"
"We need help over here!"
"We need urgent help in this area! Please come quickly!"
Seeing numerous people rushing toward her, Zoey glanced to her right and left, her heart pounding. Blood was everywhere, splattered across the floor and walls, as she hurried into a nearby room. Her eyes immediately fell on the operating table, where several doctors were bent over a patient, stitching them up quickly.
The moment Zoey made contact with the patient, her expression shifted, her body going tense as a sudden tingling spread across her back in strange, unsettling waves.
She stiffened, barely managing to hold back a groan as the sensation intensified.
’Hold it in. Hold it in.’
Looking around, her gaze settled on the doctors, but the moment it did, her body froze. They all raised their heads in unison, their expressions eerily blank as they turned to look straight at her.
Zoey swallowed nervously, but forced herself to stay composed as she stepped beside them and began suctioning the blood away. The soft hum filled the room, steadily, as a familiar sensation crept along her back, making her muscles tense.
Sweat gathered along the side of her face, but she held it in, biting back any sound as she focused on her task.
Time ticked, and the doctors eventually managed to stitch up the patient.
But things were far from over for Zoey.
The moment one patient was finished, a nurse grabbed her by the arm and dragged her toward another room, not giving her a second to recover.
"Ah, wait..."
Exhausted, Zoey wanted to protest, but just as she opened her mouth, the nurse stopped. Her head slowly turned in Zoey’s direction, a smile spreading across her face as she looked at her.
"What’s wrong? Are you tired?"
To Zoey’s utter shock, she found the nurse’s grip to be incredibly strong, making it hard to pull away from her.
Furthermore, feeling the nurse’s gaze, Zoey felt incredibly unsettled as she swallowed her saliva and looked at the nearby clock.
Then—
"No, I... can keep going. I can keep going."
It was 7:45 P.M.
She still had about seven more hours before her shift would finally end.
7:45 minutes to be exact.
Her shift ended at 12:00.
Tick Tick—
Tick!