The Royal Mark

Volume 1 - Novus Mundus

Elsa found herself running through a dense and eerie forest, her heart pounding in her chest like the relentless beat of distant thunder. Her breathing was rapid and shallow. Her reddish brown hair, tangled and wild, brushed against her pale face as she darted through the forest. She was desperate to escape the man in black leather armor running after her.

She ran as fast as she could, her fear motivating her forward, pushing her body to its limits. Her eyes searched around frantically, trying to catch any sign of the man who was pursuing her.

"I can't do this anymore," she stopped for a moment to catch her breath. At this rate, she might faint if she kept on running. She heard footsteps and a primal instinct urged her to run again, faster, to escape that haunted place.

With each breath, she tasted the dampness of fear in the air. Her muscles ached from the effort, yet she dared not to slow down.

Despite her fatigue, she pressed on, her feet stumbling over roots and rocks. She felt as if she were trapped in a nightmare, her mind begging for an escape that was nowhere to be found.

She had seen this before. It was the same forest that she kept seeing over and over again. "Oh God, I am dreaming, this is just a dream, please wake up. Wake your f*cking self up!" Elsa cursed, before pinching her arm. "Aw! I felt that!" Elsa added.

A twig snapped nearby, and her heart skipped a beat. She knew she had to summon her courage once more, so she rose from the forest floor and continued her harrowing escape.

Elsa hid behind a big tree, panting so hard she could already feel herself slowly losing consciousness. She bent her knees and rested her elbows on them, covering her face with both hands as she stifled a cry.

"This is just a dream," Elsa whispered while trying to convince herself but it felt so real, everything was so vivid. 'Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! F*ck!' She screamed inwardly. Elsa could no longer hold her tears, the frustration that she was feeling was just too much.

Elsa held her breath when she heard incoming footsteps, directly toward her spot.

"Where are you, princess?" The man in the black leather armor exclaimed.

Elsa dared to peek and saw the man looking in the opposite direction from where she was. She leaned back against the trunk of the tree and covered her face with both hands again. She is so tired. Dizziness gripped her mind while panting heavily.

The footsteps drew nearer and stopped right behind her. She held her breath.

This is it, he caught her. There is no escaping from the man in the black leather armor anymore. Elsa felt her whole body tremble before a hand landed on her shoulder shaking her.

"Dr. Morgan! Dr. Morgan! Please wake up, we have an incoming RTC (Road Traffic Collision) —a car and a truck. A family of three is on their way here– a 12-year-old boy, his father, and his pregnant mom," One of the nurses informed Elsa.

Elsa jolted awake, disoriented as her eyes struggled to adjust to the blinding light. Upon realizing where she was, she was delighted to see the familiar white walls, people wearing blue and white, anxiously running left and right, and the smell of disinfectant all over the place.

Dr. Elsa Morgan immediately stood up and walked with the nurse toward the emergency room. She is a third-year resident in a big city hospital, specializing in trauma medicine.

Dr. Morgan is renowned not only among the hospital staff but also among the patients and was nicknamed "The Phoenix Doctor" due to her exceptional skill in saving patients in the emergency room that has a very low chance of survival. She was accelerated multiple times which allowed her to reach her third-year residency at the young age of twenty-five. She was truly a child prodigy and a genius in other people's eyes.

Her striking bright red hair sets her apart in the hospital's sea of white lab gowns and blue scrubs. Her distinctive appearance makes her stand out from the crowd, people often find themselves captivated by her vivid amber-colored eyes.

As Elsa tied her hair into a ponytail, she asked the nurse, "Have you informed the fellow and attending on-call tonight?"

The nurse began to stutter in response, "We did send them a message, doctor, but either their phone is turned off or there is no signal," the nurse replied with hesitation.

Realizing the urgency of the situation, Elsa instructed, "We don't have any choice then. Call the other attendings and fellows and see who is available," as she continued walking. However, the nurse hesitated, causing Elsa to glance back at her.

"But doctor, it's 2:30 a.m., and the others who are not on call are most likely asleep by now," the nurse stammered.

"I don't care! We have an RTC situation, so we need them. Call them right now!" Elsa shouted at the nurse, causing her to startle at the loud voice. The nurse hurriedly ran to the nurse station to follow Elsa's instructions.

Elsa then turned to the nurse who had received the emergency call from the paramedics and inquired about the patient's situation.

Typically, they would have a senior resident overseeing the situation, but tonight was an exception. As the highest-ranking resident in the room, Elsa assumed the responsibility of assigning tasks to everyone.

Everyone gathered outside the emergency room door, their anticipation growing as they awaited the incoming ambulance. Shortly thereafter, three ambulances arrived, and each patient was taken care of as per Elsa's instructions.

"Have you managed to reach the senior doctors?" Elsa inquired, directing her question to the nurse.

"No, Dr. Morgan. I still can't get through to them," the nurse responded.

One of the residents who overheard their conversation expressed, "What do we do now? The boy is losing a substantial amount of blood, and we've already administered a lot."

As tension rose, a nurse suddenly cried out, "CODE BLUE! CODE BLUE!" This urgent call prompted all available residents, including Elsa, to rush to the aid of the pregnant mother.

"Give 5 ml epi stat, charge to 120..." Elsa commanded the nurses swiftly, as she prepared to use the defibrillator paddle. "Move!" She shouted to the resident conducting chest compressions, making way for her to place the paddle on the mother's chest. "Clear!" she exclaimed.

Thankfully, the mother's heartbeat was restored promptly. But their relief was short-lived as another crisis arose.

"Doctor! The boy's blood pressure is rapidly dropping. What should we do? There's no fellow or attending available," the nurse inquired anxiously.

"Prepare for an emergency operation in trauma room one. I will operate on the boy," Elsa stated firmly.

The residents and the nurses panicked after hearing Elsa's plan. They are not allowed to perform such complicated operations without the presence of their seniors.

"Alright, who will assist me?" Elsa looked around at the people in the room but no one was moving or speaking. "And you call yourselves, doctors? Remember we are here to save lives! You all disappoint me!" Elsa yelled, completely angry.

A woman behind the crowd that formed in front of Elsa raised her hand and said, "I will assist you," she said as she squeezed into the crowd to go to Elsa.

Elsa smiled seeing her best friend from medical school. Dr. Nadel Sand always had her back and was always willing to ride her craziness.

"Count me in Dr. Morgan, I'll be your scrub nurse. It's time to teach these young ones that life is more important than money or title," the head nurse glowered at the doctors and nurses who are much younger than her. Dr. Morgan just made her remember her goal and it was to care for the people that are fighting for their lives.

"Well, you can't operate without an anesthesiologist." Elsa felt relieved as Dr. Jai Chaudhary stepped forward. "Time's ticking. Let's get to the ER, stat." These are just the people that she needs to be able to save the boy.

One more resident and two more nurses joined them and everyone acted fast while Elsa and Nadel quickly proceeded to the wash basin to prepare to scrub in.

"Thank you. You don't have to do this, you know?" Elsa uttered while washing her hands.

"And who will save your ass if I will not join you in your craziness?" Nadel jested and both women laughed, "I will support this insanity of yours since I know that this is the only chance for that boy to live. Since I am putting my license and future in your hands, you better freaking save that boy, understand?" Nadel said with a confident smile before scrubbing in.

Elsa took a minute to compose herself before she did the procedure. She would be lying if she said she wasn't one bit nervous. Her heart is pounding really hard, harder than what she felt when she was running in her dreams.

The life of this boy is in her hands. What she is about to do is very risky given that the patient is very young and has already lost a lot of blood. She might be able to successfully remove the piece of glass that is piercing the boy's stomach and successfully stop his bleeding but there's still no guarantee that the boy will live given the damage that had already been done by the collision.