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The sound of stiletto heels clamoring on tile carries across the hallway.

Her long burgundy jacket whips in the air as she appears around the corner, revealing her slim-fit formal shirt and pants that compliment her natural curves beautifully. But there is no elegance in her walk. No, her stride is heavy, and her hands rolled into a fist. She looks determined. No, angered. Perhaps both. Her auburn hair bouncing along with each step as she barrels across the hospital entrance hall.

“Ma'am Chairman! Please wait!” a voice from behind calls to her.

She takes a quick glance to see her assistant chasing and slows her pace down for the assistant to catch up.

“Emelia, you're here.”

“You left so quickly after your arrival that I missed the chance to brief you, my lady.”

“Well, I have seen and heard all that I need, Emilia. But I would like for you to assemble the members of the student council.”

“All of them?”

“Yes. Inform them that it is high priority. If they have not already started, I want the entire council to investigate yesterday's incident immediately.”

“Understood.”

“And Charleston's group, was it? Summon them as well. I need to know exactly what they know.”

“And what about the terminal?” Emilia asks. “Tillmor's authorities have already sealed off the site. By now, most of the evidence is in their custody. It is unlikely the council will be allowed access.”

The chairwoman stops to ponder for a moment and then turns to her assistant, “A student was gravely injured yesterday, thereby making this an Academy problem. My problem. There is no institution in this city that can withhold any information concerning the safety of my children. It's well within my authority ... and the student council exists as an extension of that authority.”

“I understand,” Emilia says. “I will pass your directives and make sure the members are granted access to any and all information available.”

“Good.” the chairwoman nods and continues on her way across the lobby.

Emilia bows and heads for the exit.

 

************

 

The doors to the ICU open and a team of physicians step out. They must have walked the hall a thousand times as not a single one bothers to look where they are going. It is as if their bodies naturally know what angle turns to make and the number of steps to take whilst they are preoccupied with patient and research charts in their devices.

Heading the group is Doctor Carol Reed, the most recognized physician of her generation.

Her contribution to medicine in Pern is long. Expanding the knowledge of the [Healer] class with her study on cellular reconstruction and regeneration by use of magic. It would not be a stretch to argue that the [Healer] class was virtually nonexistent before she and her mentor came along. Since then, with their new findings and teachings, healers have become the most efficient casters of magic of any class to date.

Doctor Reed is conferring with her colleagues before being interrupted by a shadow looming over her.

“Whoa!” she gasps. The doctor looks up to see the chairwoman standing right in front of her. “… You startled me.”

“Where is he?” the chairwoman asks in an icy tone.

Seeing the foul mood chairwoman standing in front of her, Doctor Reed dismisses the other physicians with a single nod. It is no coincidence the chairwoman is here to inquire about a patient that just so happens to be under the care of the good doctor. Though the look of anxiety on the face chairwoman invites a curiosity in the doctor about her patient.

“You'll get even more wrinkles if you continue to scowl like that, you know?”

It is safe to say that the two women are very much well acquainted. They have been friends since childhood and are now in their early fifties. Well, it would be impossible to imagine their age from their looks alone. Their appearance is practically twenty years shy of their actual age.

“Carol,” the chairwoman groans.

“Hey, don't say I didn't warn you,” the doctor shrugs.

Even in heels, doctor Reed is about 6 inches shorter, with short blonde hair and fairer skin in comparison. Unlike her work colleagues who don white hooded cloaks, doctor Reed has a preference for looking like a modern-day physician. Knee-high navy skirt, a tan button-down shirt, and a white lab coat with a stethoscope hanging over her shoulders. And to add to this already cliché look, she wears glasses for no other reason than to complete the look.

The doctor places her hands in her coat pocket and leads the chairwoman back through the glass doors. After a short walk, they enter an office adjacent to her patient’s treatment room. Inside the office is a wall-size interactive window that not only allows you to see through it, but can also display patient data, monitor patient conditions, and administer medication whenever needed.

The chairwoman stands just in front of the office desk, staring past the window at Sam lying in bed. He appears to be in physical discomfort from the expression on his face.

“... Fuck ...” the chairwoman exclaims softly under her breath.

She pinches her lips and takes a deep breath to contain her frustration and sense of guilt.

The room darkens and doctor Reed arrives beside the chairwoman. She looks at her for a brief moment, “Hm,” and continues on to the window. She pulls out her device and attaches it to a port on the wall. After a few taps, Sam's vitals appear on the window.

“So … who is he, this Sam Holt?” doctor Reed asks as she takes a seat behind her desk.

“A student,” the chairwoman responds confidently.

To the surprise of the doctor, it does not look like her friend is willing to offer any more than that. She sneers a bit.

“Are you just now arriving to Pern?” the doctor asks.

“...Yea.”

“Then you must have seen-”

“Yea, I saw the terminal,” the chairwoman exclaims.

Doctor Reed directs a fixed stare at her friend, but she is only focused on Sam. Her eyes glimmer slightly holding back a lot of emotions.

“How is he doing, Carol?” the Chairwoman asks softly.

“To be honest with you Jules, he took a beating,” She begins. ”When he first arrived, he suffered from second-degree burns, punctured lungs, ruptured tissue, internal bleeding; he was a mess, and honestly, he should be dead.”

The doctor’s words are painful to hear for the chairwoman and she takes a deep breath.

“Is he okay though?” she wants to know his condition.

Doctor Reed leans back against her chair thinking about the question.

“Physically,” she replies with a nod. “The kid has got an extraordinary will to live, I just couldn’t be outdone by that. I had to … I had to piece him together … for fourteen hours, Jules,” doctor Reed sighs.

The chairwoman does not say anything as she wrestles her guilt and doctor Reed just watches her friend in deep thought.

“Are you not going to tell me anything?” doctor Reed asks.

“Right now, there is not much to tell-” the chairwoman replies.

“I pulled his file up, Juliana,” doctor Reed begins, “A transfer student? I didn’t know Roan Academy did that.”

“It’s complicated.”

“I bet it is,” she retorts. “A transfer student came to Pern on the day that you were not there to greet him. He jumped through the gate without any shield protection. I cannot even imagine what he went through in there, but it was bad enough to land him here, in my institution, instead of yours.”

“Are you scolding me?” the chairwoman asks.

“Yes!” doctor Reed replies with hesitation, “because when you are facing something complicated, you should be asking for help.”

The chairwoman smiles as she cannot disagree with what the doctor is saying. She needed to hear that to settle her guilt. She needed someone to reprimand her for allowing something like this to happen under her watch. And though she will not say it, she is grateful of her friend’s words.

“I’ll remember that,” she says and turns toward Sam.

Knowing that the boy’s life is not in critical condition, the chairwoman feels much more relieved. He may not be fully healed, but it is better than the scenarios she had running through her mind when she first learned of the incident. She was sure Sam was dead. 

“Don’t worry about the kid. He’s with me after all,” doctor Reed assures her.

“I know.”

Doctor Reed gets up from her seat and approaches her friend. “We should grab brunch. I bet you haven’t eaten … not that I have either …”

“Perhaps later.”

“That sounds like never.”

“It’s later … I have to do damage control-”

“You’re always doing damage control, Jules. And coming from a doctor, that’s saying something”

“Then make it a doctor’s order … for later …”

“I'm holding you to that promise,” doctor Reed replies. “Come on, we should let him sleep.”

The two women head for the exit. The door slides open and Carol sees a student passing by.

“Huh?”

“What is it?” the chairwoman asks.

Doctor Reed quickly steps out of the office to take second glance.

“She's back again,” she says.

The chairwoman steps out and sees one of her academy students being directed to Sam’s treatment room, Teresa Olin.

“She a first-year I think,” she says with a puzzled look to see a student here.

“Does she know the patient?” doctor Reed asks.

The chairwoman ponders for a moment.

“… I don’t … know that she would,” she says.

A smile appears on doctor Reeds face.

“Really?” she reacts feeling amused. “Woooow, another pretty face rushing here to see my patient. I may have to lock the doors next time.”

The chairwoman heads for Teresa only to be pulled back by doctor Reed wearing a concerned look.

“What are you doing?” doctor Reed asks.

“I am going to have her return to the academy,” the chairwoman replies.

“Uhhhh … No,” she protests. “In fact, WE are the ones who are leaving. Them. Alone.”

The chairwoman looks at the doctor suspiciously. It was only a minute ago that she said the patient needed rest, but now she is saying something else,

“Why?”

“Because I am a firm believer in psychology,” doctor Reed says and ushers her friend to the exit on the opposite end of the hall.