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One shift down, and honestly? It wasn't that bad.
So far, I'd only treated stomachaches and dry eyes. No anomalies.
Yet.
The head nurse was actually pretty nice. She was surprisingly patient with how many mistakes I made.
The other nurse, however, seemed to hate me.
Whenever the head nurse left to treat another patient, she'd criticize the way I applied eyedrops and scold me right in front of the patients.
Apparently, I was somehow managing to mess up something as simple as putting drops into someone's eyes.
The purple sheep didn't seem to like me much either.
Turns out, he was the secretary of the hospital.
Hopefully, he didn't let any anomalies in.
Speaking of which, all he seemed to do was grumble, sit behind the check-in desk, and drink coffee.
Who even likes coffee? It's bitter.
Then again, I'm biased. I have more of a sweet tooth.
But now that I thought about it, the nurse and the head nurse drank an awful lot of coffee too.
Weird.
The head nurse walked into the room and spoke in her usual clipped voice.
"I think I can trust you now with the patients by yourself. Can you attend to Ginger Choi in Room Five?"
Yes!
All by myself!
"Sure thing!" I replied, probably a little too cheerfully.
I watched Ginger walk into Room Five.
She climbed onto the bed, and I began preparing to take a DNA sample.
Then her arm twitched.
I froze.
I stared into her eyes.
"Did you just twitch?"
She looked horrified.
Then she slowly shook her head.
Must've been my imagination.
After figuring out what treatment she needed, I ran out to grab some maple syrup and ointment.
When I returned, Ginger was standing.
"Um... Miss?" I said nervously. "Could you get back onto the bed? I have to administer your treatment."
She didn't move.
She just stood there.
For a few seconds.
Then her mouth slowly opened and revealed a set of sharp teeth.
Oh God.
She was an anomaly.
How had I not noticed?
I tried to move.
Too late.
She lunged at me and latched onto me almost instantly.
"Nurse! I need help!"
I punched and kicked, but it barely slowed her down.
The longer she held onto me, the more my energy seemed to drain away.
My vision blurred.
My legs weakened.
I was about to black out when—
CRACK!
A taser discharged.
The nurse had rushed into the room, taser in hand.
Ginger shrieked and collapsed.
I fell to the floor, gasping for breath.
The anomaly scrambled away and ran out of the room, screaming.
The nurse appeared in the doorway.
She looked furious.
She rushed over and knelt beside me.
"Are you okay?"
Her voice was suddenly soft.
"That must have been rough."
I shakily nodded.
She helped me back onto my feet.
Then she stormed out of the room.
As she disappeared down the hallway, I heard her mutter:
"The grape sheep is going to get it from me. Just wait."
A few seconds later, I heard her screaming at the secretary.
Fun.
I made my way back to the check-in desk.
The nurse looked at me with concern.
"Have some coffee."
I stare at her as if she grew a third arm
"EW! I hate coffee!"
I immediately slapped both hands over my mouth.
"...Sorry."
I braced myself for another scolding.
Instead—
A strange sound came from the head nurse.
I opened my eyes.
She was laughing.
Not just chuckling.
She was practically rolling on the floor.
"I should have expected that reaction," she managed to say between laughs.
I stood there, completely confused.
After another ten seconds of hysterical laughter, she finally got up and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Everybody needs to drink coffee here," she said. "Otherwise, you'll go crazy."
I blinked.
"Crazy?"
"How?"
She looked up at me and smiled.
"It's just how it is."
Then her smile faded slightly.
"And besides, you look terrible. You're going to have to drink it, or else you'll set the record for the least amount of shifts taken to go insane."
Oh.
So that's why everyone drinks coffee.
I reluctantly picked up a cup.
I took the tiniest sip.
Disgustingly bitter.
But almost immediately, I felt the caffeine spreading through me.
My head felt clearer.
My body felt lighter.
I felt...
Better.
The nurse glanced around the hallway.
Then she scooted closer to me.
"Listen. There's something I need to tell you about this hospital and Dr. Harl—"
"Hey there, people! Having an awesome shift?"
A loud voice suddenly interrupted her.
I turned around.
Dr. Harlow was standing in front of the check-in desk, beaming.
"Uh, yes, Doctor!" the nurse said loudly. "Everything is going fine!"
She leaned closer to me and muttered,
"Other than the fact that that stupid fluffball let an anomaly in that almost killed our intern."
The secretary's head popped out from behind the desk.
"I'm not stupid or a fluffball," he whined.
Dr. Harlow's smile disappeared.
He looked genuinely concerned.
"Are you okay, Intern?"
"Ehh... just a bit of a rude awakening."
He sighed.
"I hope this doesn't make you want to leave."
"It's okay. I should have been more alert."
He nodded.
"Good."
Then he walked away toward his office.
I turned back to the nurse.
"What were you going to sa—"
She immediately shook her head.
Okay, then.
I decided not to push it.
I walked into Room Five and collapsed onto the bed.
Today had been a long night.
I stared at the ceiling for a while.
Then something caught my eye.
A poster.
It looked... off.
I sat up.
Something about it bothered me.
I stood and walked toward it.
My fingers were inches away from touching the paper when—
A hand grabbed my shoulder.
I squealed.
"Don't touch that."
Dr. Harlow's voice. It seemed different. Almost like he was angry
He released my shoulder and walked away without another word.
I rubbed my shoulder and winced.
He's strong.
Really strong.
Why did he grab me like that?
And what was behind that poster?
I stared at it.
I wanted to find out.
I really did.
But suddenly, the room began spinning.
My head felt strangely heavy.
The edges of my vision blurred.
I stumbled back toward the bed.
I realized that I haven't slept in 36 hours.
I shut my eyes.
And let sleep take me.
Hours left:1
Sanity: 50%
Chances of quitting: 35%