1.7 Don’t Think, Feel!
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The night duty! The dreaded shift in every intern’s nightmare. A rough eighteen hour stretch from the end of normal day’s duty to the start of it. Of course there needed to be interns at night. And today, Kaiba Quivers was due for it. This should have been a period of excitement. The evening to midnight problems of HNH were an entirely different beast. But he was in the serology section. The most benign of sections! je drowned in his thoughts tonight, when in fact he would rather just feel.

Night Duty: Serology Section

The familiar machine sat across from him. ELISA, the biochemical analyzer. Kaiba hypnotized in a staring contest. He who flinched first, lost. A giant hole formed from what used to be his mouth. Like a vacuum that sucked all the air in, he let it out in a drowsy yawn. I cannot win against ELISA. 

Of course he couldn’t! Kaiba Quivers was a silly man. ELISA was a cold hunk of a machine. It was inevitable that his eyes gave in first. He blinked profusely as the moisture made them swell in grogginess. This was the state of the serology section during night duty. There was no staff because all the work that needed to be done was done during the day. There were lesser staff to begin with, and this section wasn't as important as the others. That’s just how it was. He should have been in the intern committee by now. He could only imagine what Alexa and Reiko were doing. He was jealous. A sigh escaped his mouth, his feet raised on the table in front; he leaned against the non-existent backrest, hands on his nape. His back started to ache, his legs numbed. He shifted positions. His torso leaned against the table, elbows hung by the edge, feet on the rails of his seat. He stared into the wall so very close to him. What the hell am I doing? The light switch of the section flicked off. It was earlier than usual nights. In fact, it wasn’t even halfway through 5 pm yet. But he decided to call it. 

He looked to the left, the trail that led to the histopath section. It was lifeless, dark and decrepit. Swung his head to the right, the path to the info section; bright, illuminating, alluring. Maybe towards there, there is something to do. Kaiba was presented with two roads, and he chose the road less travelled. Most interns would happily be doing nothing during their night duty. For one, they would be able to sleep comfortably while their co-interns slaved away. A breather from the busy life of an HNH intern. But! Kaiba Quivers was a man of a different breed. He needed work. He needed purpose. But most of all, he needed merit! 

He peeked inside the clinical microscopy section, watching the interns handling copious amounts of feces. I’m not  touching that. He looked inside the hematology department. It contained the business he sought. And it looked to be his chance. With a firm grasp on the door’s handle, he took his first steps into productivity. 

“Intern Kaiba Quivers from the serology section, pulled out and reporting for duty!” Kaiba saluted.

“Are you the QCM?” the staff of hematology, Felix, asked.

“No sir!” Kaiba answered sternly.

The QCM, short for Quality Control Manager, was a job randomly assigned to an intern every night duty. With the benign sections such as Kaiba’s have a higher chance of being rolled. But alas, he wasn’t so lucky. The job of the QCM was simple; they were to act as the section chief of all the interns for the whole night. That was to say, they checked up on anything and everything going on in the sections. Oftentimes, when problems occur, they were inter-sectional. A QCM’s job was important. Oh if only Kaiba was the QCM today, he would have no problems.

“Then what are you doing here?” Felix raised a brow.

“Serology is a rotting hell hole. My talents could be better off somewhere else.” Kaiba stood erect.

Felix looked at some papers, then on to the section, then back to Kaiba. “We don’t need any help. It’s benign tonight. Maybe go check if chemistry needs help.”

“I respect your decision sir.” Kaiba bowed and took his leave.

He expected that answer. The night duty was a fickle mistress. It wasn’t anything like the normal day duty. Most of the staff are young, the section chiefs were nowhere to be found. He clenched his fists, exiting the hematology section. The younger staff were more understanding to the interns. He was sure that if that were one of the veteran staff, he would be given work in a heartbeat!

***

“Intern Kaiba Quivers reporting for duty!” Kaiba screamed into the hustle of the chemistry section.

The staff station there, Donna, just looked at him. She looked to be the same age as Felix, if not younger. If Kaiba remembered it right, she was one of the most understanding staff in HNH labs.

Donna looked at the lab. The interns working, the specimens on the table. Then she looked at Kaiba. “We’re busy, but we don’t need an extra person. Maybe go ask blood banking if they need help?” 

“I want to be here ma’am.” Kaiba looked at Donna dead in the eyes.

For just a moment Donna blushed. She was a woman desperately looking for love. She wore just the right amount of makeup. Her figure was alluring. Her scrubs hugged all the right spots just to leave men wondering in their imagination. But most importantly, Kaiba caught a glance of a book on her desk. The title was: ‘how to find a man in 30 days and keep him.’

 “What?” Donna could hear her heart thump.

“I want you ma’am–” 

Donna’s eyes, intently locked on to Kaiba’s words. She wanted to know what he would say next. Could an intern be the man I’m looking for this entire time?

“–to guide me in the chemistry section,” Kaiba said.

“How?” Donna looked down to her book. She tried to remember the words written in it. The words that would tell her what to do in this exact situation.

“You have a nice body ma’am–” 

Donna’s face continued to be consumed with warm petals. A gush of wind flew past her as she looked at Kaiba. A circus of cherry blossoms danced around her heart. She looked directly at Kaiba’s eyes.

“–a nice body of work for a woman as young as you are. It is something I wish to aspire to. Guide me to you.”

“I’m sorry Mr. Quivers, but this… this is not allowed. Maybe after you graduate from the internship program we can have this conversation again.” Donna muttered. Her voice filled with hesitation. After all, she was still staff and Kaiba merely an intern. No matter how strong he came on, this is not the right time!

“That would be too late by then,” Kaiba bluntly replied.

His words impaled stakes into Donna’s heart. I did it again. She lost another man. She wondered if she could have done this any other way. But there was no time for that. Kaiba’s back was already fading away from her!

“Wait!”

Kaiba stopped, waiting, for those sweet words of ‘you can help in the chemistry section’ to come to his ears.

“We can talk more about this after the night duty if you’d like. Breakfast?” Donna suggested.

Kaiba didn’t even glance back at her. “No thank you ma’am. I’ll see if blood bank needs help.”

Donna hung her head. Kaiba’s words demoralized her spirit. A woman only desperately vying for some affection, when found, she would always utterly reject. This was the life of the staff, Donna. Her lifeless eyes watched yet another man walk away from her.

***

“Intern Kaiba Quivers reporting for duty sir!” Kaiba shouted into the blood bag filled room.

“Hm?” the staff stationed there, Sai, looked at Kaiba with curious eyes.

“Good evening sir Sai, I am at your disposal.” Kaiba bowed.

Sai continued to look at him. He held out two fingers and casually moved them back and forth from his lips. His eyebrows moving up and down with it.

“I don’t smoke sir.” Kaiba bluntly replied.

Sai only continued to look at him. He took a sip from his imaginary cup. His eyebrows continued to move profusely up then down.

“Drinking water is important sir. Make sure you drink a glass every hour for optimal performance,” Kaiba bluntly replied.

“Tsch.” Sai looked to the side. “There’s no work for you here then.”

Kaiba looked at the busy blood bank section. The interns in disarray. It looked like the staff tonight wasn’t directing them, let alone helping them.

“Then maybe you should help them sir. It looks like the interns are having a hard time.” Kaiba quipped.

“Are you telling me how to do my job, Quivers?” Angst in Sai’s tone.

“Not at all. It was merely a suggestion,” Kaiba replied.

Sai brought out a shot glass from under his drawer. “Why don’t we have a drink then? That’s also a suggestion.”

“Alcoholic beverages aren’t allowed in the lab sir.”

“Yes, no.” Sai nodded. “Only if they find out.”

“I’ll report you.” Kaiba’s face was blank.

“What if I file a demerit first then? You like the sound of that?” Sai shrugged.

“I see. I’ll be taking my leave then.” Kaiba turned around. 

He needed to flee this place quickly. Alcohol had severe effects on him. It unleashed all his inhibitions. Getting buzzed wasn’t worth the price of staying in the blood bank section. It wasn’t even a sure thing that he would be allowed to help out. Sai is a dangerous man.

“You can pick up on things!” Sai laughed. “Come back if you just ever want to ‘talk’.”

Those words sent shivers down Kaiba’s spine. There was a crazy sexual energy that emanated from this man called Sai. His radar sounded. It was the sirens of an imminent threat. I must leave!

***

“Intern Kaiba! Reporting for duty ma’am!” Kaiba reported to the section chief of information, Dorothea.

“You got nothing to do in serology?” Dorothea asked.

“Yes ma’am.” Kaiba stood firmly erect.

“Alright you can stay here.”

“What?” Kaiba screamed.

“What?” Dorothea was confused.

Kaiba cleared his throat. “It is nothing ma’am. I am glad to be of service.

“I’ll assign you to the extraction team. They could always use some help.” Dorothea ordered.

It was that simple. If Kaiba Quivers had only beelined himself to the information section, it would have saved him a lot of conversations. It would have given more time to work!

Finally, He was tasked with something less menial. He was now in the extraction team. Needless to say the hours flew by. In what seemed like days was only an hour in the serology section. What seemed like minutes, were indeed hours in the information section. This was the first contact with all specimens for the lab after all!

“So, why didn’t you extract the blood?” Dorothea asked an intern.

“I did ma’am but the patient took out the needle himself. He told me I failed and I should get the staff instead,” the intern replied.

Dorothea glanced at the clock. “You do realize that  patient is a STAT request right? It’s already 1am. Well over an hour since it was requested.”

“I do ma’am.” The intern looked down.

Dorothea sighed. “What’s done is done. I’ll just have to do this myself.”

Kaiba’s ears perked up. “Ma’am!” 

“What is it Mr. Quivers?” Dorothea asked.

“I’d like to volunteer for the extraction myself.” 

“This man is on the 18th floor. You understand that right?” Dorothea inquired.

“Geriatric ward. Sector 2. Yes ma’am,” Kaiba succinctly replied.

His eyes flashed in resolution. This is my chance. Though he was busy extracting blood for most of the night, he still itched to work. Especially, if the staff themselves thought it a bigger job than what was intended for an intern.

“Alright. I know you’re one of the top interns of HNH, Mr. Quivers. I’ll trust you on this.” Dorothea finally agreed. “But that doesn’t mean you can do everything. You are still an intern. Call this section on the phone by the nurse’s ward if you have problems.”

“I will not fail. Your trust will be rewarded.” Kaiba bowed.

Geriatric Ward: 18th Floor

Kaiba walked down the bland hallways of the geriatric ward. It felt just as aged as the people that housed them. He looked at the patient’s profile. Room 1810. Lucky Sanchez. Age 63. Admitted for cerebral hemorrhage due to stroke. He would be undergoing surgery this morning. And his baseline blood work must be tested by the hour.  Interesting.

Knock. Knock. The room’s plate read, ‘1810’. He continued to knock. He stared into the blank door. At this point he was so used to this. The hours that passed in the serology section numbed him from staring at inanimate objects.

Knock. Knock.

“Go away.” The man inside the room said.

“Mr. Lucky Sanchez? I’m here to extract blood sir.”

“Are you staff?” Lucky Sanchez screamed

“Yes,” Kaiba said.

“I don’t believe one word you say! Just by the tone of your voice I can tell you’re from one of those lower sectors! Go away!”

“Sir! We need to take your blood. It is imperative.” Kaiba screamed back.

“I don’t need nun of that! Go back to your little bungalow and leave me alone!” Lucky continued to scream.

“I can’t do that sir!” Kaiba ignored the derogatory quip.

“I’m going to die anyway! Just leave me alone!”

“Sir I can’t leave you alone!”

“Why is that?”

“I won’t let you die!”

“I’d rather die than let you filthy vermin touch me!”

Kaiba and Lucky continued their little screaming match. Neither of them backed down. Kaiba would have his way. He would bust through this door if he had to!

“Sir, I will bust down this door if I have to.” Kaiba prepared his foot. It slid backwards, raring for impact.

“Go ahead! See if I care. You can’t bring that door down!” Lucky retorted.

Kaiba winced. Okay, okay. He would not back down from a challenge. His torso twisted, his foot skidded further back. Fists tightly wound. Butt cheeks clenched. Eyes that permitted himself to kill this inanimate object. What he was about to do, was something he wanted to do to ELISA a long time ago. 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Kaiba.” A sheen shined on the bald headed man that said those words.

Kaiba turned his head to the direction of the voice. The concentration broke. An unexpected visitor interrupted him. It was a bald man that sat in wait by one of the benches in the hallway.

“I think you’d get into far more trouble if you did that than if you didn’t get his blood.” The bald man crossed his arms. He wore a collared white uniform, with matching pants. The attire of an intern from the physical therapy department.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. He looked back at the door. The bald man is right. Any kind of merit he would gain from fulfilling this endorsement would just be nullified by the demerit of kicking down a patient's door. A patient from sector 2 no less!

Kaiba sighed. “I will not leave this place until you let me in!”

Lucky Sanchez did not reply. Maybe he fell asleep. Maybe he was tired of fighting. Or maybe even he died. Kaiba did not care about those things. I just want to get inside the damn room!

Kaiba sat himself down on the seat next to the bald man. “So how do you know my name, bald man?”

“What are you talking about Kaiba?” the bald man looked at him. “It’s me. Justice. Justice Rice.”

Kaiba only looked at him. “Ah.”

“Ah what?” Justice scratched his hairless head.

“I didn’t recognize you. I thought the fourth member of the intern committee had died.” Kaiba rebuked him.

Yes! This radiant bald headed man that winced in his disgust of Kaiba’s words, was indeed the fourth member of the intern committee. Justice Rice.

“You forced me into that! All of that just seems like a hassle.” Justice snarked.

“I didn’t force you. I chose you.” Kaiba crossed his arms. “How would you know if it's a hassle, if you never even showed up?”

“Being chosen doesn’t even make it any better.” Justice sighed.

“It is.”

“It is not.”

“You are chosen! That means that I, Kaiba Quivers, fully believe in your skills. I wouldn't force anybody to join simply to fill a vacancy.” Kaiba raised his chin.

“There you go again, the infallible Kaiba Quivers.” Justice scoffed.

“The proof is in the pudding. The fact that you made up that nickname for me and it stuck to the minds of all the interns, is proof enough of your skills.” Kaiba nodded.

“What are you talking about? I didn’t do that to glorify you!” Justice shouted.

“Of course you didn’t. You did that show the truth. I have no weaknesses. Thank you,” Kaiba said.

Silence. Justice couldn’t take interacting with Kaiba for too long. His words were just too strong. No matter how Justice formed his words, no matter how clearly he stated it, Kaiba would always have a distinct answer that overflowed with his own resolve. For everything.

“So, do you like anybody Justice Rice?” Kaiba asked out of nowhere.

“What?” Justice blushed.

“Do you like anybody?”

“Where did such a random question come from?”

“Isn’t that what two men do, alone, in the middle of the night?” Kaiba looked at his watch. “It’s 3am. This where the heart of men meet.”

There was only one thing that Justice had to do. I should just ignore the infallible Kaiba Quivers. He did not want to answer any of Kaiba’s questions in the first place. Let alone answer such an intimate question. His face flushed.

“I was just wondering–” Kaiba looked up at the ceiling. “–If you had someone you liked, then maybe you’d appreciate what I’m trying to do for the intern committee.” 

Justice couldn't help himself. He couldn’t stop himself from introspection at those words. Kaiba’s words always intrigued him, provoked him. In the end, those powers always overpowered Justice rice.

“What the hell are you talking about? No matter how you look at it, that committee is just adding to the already plenty workload that I have.” 

“Just come to the committee for once. And see for yourself.” Kaiba continued to look up at the ceiling, hands at his nape.

Justice stood up. “I’ve had enough of this.”

“Where are you going? Why are you here anyway? Were you just waiting for me to tell you that?” Kaiba barraged Justice with questions.

“What is wrong with you?” Justice sighed. No matter how he looked at it, Kaiba’s questions were definitely something meant to be asked first. Not as I’m leaving!

“I’m tired of waiting. I was supposed to do a physical and neurologic test on Mr. Sanchez, but it's been hours and he doesn’t want to let anybody in.” Justice explained.

“I see. Well take care then. I’ll wait the whole night if I have to.” Kaiba’s resolution was engraved in his eyes.

Justice walked away without any more words. Kaiba is always too dedicated. His words always captivated people. His passion overflowed and took root into people’s hearts. Justice could only wonder, if someday I could muster the courage to be the same.

Kaiba squeezed the extraction kit on its sides. It was a desperate attempt at keeping himself awake. It had been two hours since Justice left. He glanced at his clock. 5 am. Only two hours till night duty ended. But even so! He resolved not to leave until his job was done. He realized that he had not taken a break the whole night. In his desperate attempt at finding something to do; once found, it was hard to relinquish. A fear of doing nothing yet again. Drowsiness was his worst enemy. However, the infallible Kaiba was only human. The ticking of his watch thumped into his ears. It lulled him with each tick. The sheep manifested and jumped over the second hand again and again; his eyes weren’t impervious to closing and so he fell into deep sleep.


***

“Hey!” a voice shouted.

Kaiba’s subconscious was slowly being awoken. But it would take more than just shouting to wake him up. This was his infallible REM sleep. A respite to an unusually toxic night duty. A fault all his own.

“Hey Kaiba! Wake up!” The voice continued to shake him.

Alexa Fuse glued her hands to her hips, wondering how she would wake up this man. For a moment as she looked at her rival’s peaceful slumber, she thought: He will defer this job to me. Yes! Kaiba, after all, found out that she was indeed the daughter of the founders of HNH. Their rivalry would dissipate. I’m sure of it. A contemplation of not waking him up. Of letting this man just sleep. He couldn’t possibly blame nor chastise her for doing that. Perhaps she wanted to delay that inevitability. Alas, that’s not how she was wired. Escaping from one’s troubles was not part of the top intern’s job description. She had to wake him up. Whatever challenges that presented itself, she would just have to deal with. If she couldn’t, then could I really call myself the top intern?

And there was only one way to wake him up.  She recalled earlier this morning: How did my maid wake me up? She brought her face closer to Kaiba. His face was unmoving. She strained her eyes, curled her lips. Her hands moved closer to Kaiba’s cheeks. She wrapped her index finger and thumb on a chunk of his skin. On three, she would pinch Kaiba’s cheeks so hard she could eat it like a nacho afterwards. Three.

“What are you doing, Alexa?” Kaiba looked straight into Alexa’s eyes. Their faces were only millimeters apart. One prod in either direction and they’d sure to kiss.

Alexa jerked back. Arms raised in defense. Her fright was palpable. But even more so was her feeling of embarrassment. Bright red streaks painted her face.

Kaiba rubbed his cheeks. “That hurt.”

“I’m sure it did. I had to wake you up somehow.” Alexa’s blush blossomed.

“Wake me up?” Kaiba’s eyes widened. “What time is it?”

“It’s 7:30 am,” Alexa said.

Kaiba stood up. “Why didn’t you wake me up sooner?”

“What?” Alexa was taken aback.

“Kaiba winced, “I need to extract blood from this stubborn man.”

“It’s okay. It’s been endorsed to me.” Alexa informed him.

“What? And why would I leave this task to you?” Kaiba asked.

“Excuse me?” Alexa was stunned.

I’m always sure. If anybody found out of her prestige, lineage and deep connections to HNH, she would be treated differently. People were always afraid of her. Deferred to her. Because she, after all, was the daughter of the very people that built HNH. And he found out; it was only a matter of time before he too would change how he acted.

“If someone’s going to get a merit from this. It’s gonna be me.” Kaiba pointed to himself.

Why didn’t he? Alexa smiled. This man right before her was tired. His dark eyebags overshadowed any bravado he mustered to conceal it with. He was a bird that injured his wings. Flightless yet he still fought for the chance to soar into the sky. Why is he acting like nothing has changed? She was overwhelmed with a different kind of emotion. An unfamiliar relief at Kaiba’s words.

She smirked. “I guess we’ll see who gets the merit today then.”

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. “You do know this is an extraction right?”

“Of course I do!” Alexa looked up at him, her legs caught in a shiver.

“Your legs are shaking.” Kaiba pointed to them.

“They are not!”

“My vision is perfect. They are shaking.”

“You’re sleep deprived. Hallucinations are a common symptom. I think you should just leave this to me. ” Alexa tried to divert the conversation.

“I don’t think about anything.” Kaiba pounded his chest. “I just feel what’s here. And do.”

Alexa, for some reason, looked at Kaiba and thought: he looks so cool. She was annoyed at herself for even thinking that. She shook her head voraciously, wanting those thoughts to be purged entirely.

Kaiba looked at Alexa. There are no excuses. A notion built inside his heart. This woman would always give her best. She had such great expectations to live up to. So it was only natural, I will give my best in return. The girl in front of him was more than meets the eye. And just maybe Kaiba Quivers was wrong about her.

“Don’t just stand there. I have to give this Lucky Sanchez a piece of my mind for making me wait the entire night.” Kaiba moved towards the patient’s room.

For as many things constantly changed in this island of Ha’suru, it seemed that one thing would always remain the same. The rivalry of the top two interns was the constant, intensifying as the days passed by. Alexa knocked on the door. The man known as Lucky Sanchez oblivious to the fact that the top two interns colluded to destroy him.

“Mr. Lucky Sanchez, we are here to extract blood,” Alexa calmly stated.

However, that door would not open. Lucky Sanchez would not say a word. They waited and waited. In futility. And the top two interns failed their first foray together in extraction. Perhaps this was a harbinger of things to come. Or perhaps an ominous trail that led to an even bigger catastrophe down the line.

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