BEHIND THEIR MIEN

CHAPTER 1-NATALIE

I jump on my bunk bed after 15 hours of my shift. My body had enough and was on the verge of breaking down but I have had more bad days ... days where only one body had it bad but someone had their worst. Working in hospitals is always like that. You'd think there is nothing worse you can witness until there is something worst.

When I feel like life's too hard on me while working endless shifts at the hospital, I remember the first time I saved a person under my hand. When I feel like I work too hard, I remember the time I felt the heart-stopping beneath my hand and the deadlines on the machine, I remember the cries of the family, pushing me to work harder. But still, it's so unfair that I as a nurse earn so little!

" You are a nurse, they're doctors. They spend more money on their degree and title than you did. Hence you suffer!" Aubrey says the repeated line of our slogan without even sparing me a glance. She was deep in her book, studying for finals she is yet to pass.

" It is chaos outside right now. Some billionaire had a terrible accident or something... the whole hospital is walking on thin ice. They even closed the walk-ins and the whole floor of the ICU has been emptied. Can you believe it? Talk about privileges" she say me as my eyes grew heavy. Fuck privilege...I just want some rest right now. I can try to be a saint for the whole day but if this body needs rest, it gets the rest! 

" Well, you did say they're billionaires. I've stopped wondering about anything they do, It's better that way. You can never truly understand them or their obsessions." I said and that was the last I remember before I fell asleep until there was a loud pounding on the door.

" Everyone's called in the lobby right now, immediately" someone yelled and went. I looked over the clock, the time was 4 AM, it hadn't even been minutes since I slept, and my shift wasn't until 10 am! This isn't fair. But there was an alarm in the back of my mind. Why would they call everyone in the lobby?

I immediately washed my face, rinsed my mouth and headed to the lobby. The whole vibe of the hospital had shifted. The corridor echoed distraught for some reason. Everyone looked tense when I reached the lobby. Something was wrong. There were police cars outside and really tight security everywhere. Something was really wrong and I felt it in the pit of my stomach.

" What happened? What is all this?" I asked one of the doctors, who didn't look any better than me.

" This news is not supposed to get out of the hospital, at least not from here. There was an attempted murder of the Wild Family. Their only daughter-in-law, who was pregnant, was the target." he said

" Was?" I asked as something unsettling settled in my chest.

" Yes WAS. She arrived late at night in a really bad state. Had an emergency c-section. Thankfully there was no damage done to the baby. But the baby was a few days short due. Was supposed to be in the NICU but the baby was missing. And the mother is in a critical stage. There's almost no hope" he said with a serious face.

My heart broke upon hearing the news. I can't even imagine what the husband must be feeling. Losing both his wife and child. Suddenly there was so much weight and heaviness in my stomach...that had never happened to me before. I've seen so many patients die before my eyes and this feeling that I am feeling has never happened.

" The cops are here to question everyone's whereabouts, right? When the baby go missing? This is horrible! The baby is premature, it needs to be in the NICU!" I said, holding my head in frustration, feeling heartbroken over a baby I don't even know about. I normally wouldn't even mind such situations but maybe it's my interrupted sleep but my heart is pounding in distress. No matter what anyone did, an innocent child should never suffer, even if it meant the parent had to be hurt, It's not the fault of the child.