Chapter 2: The Code Blue
Miles away, the glaring fluorescent lights of St. Jude’s Memorial Hospital buzzed with an incessant, insect-like hum. Dr. Evelyn Reed wiped a bead of sweat from her brow. It had been a grueling fourteen-hour shift, an endless parade of trauma and despair. But the real nightmare was just beginning. Her pager vibrated violently against her hip, displaying a code she hadn't seen in years—a direct security override for the VIP psychiatric wing.
Evelyn didn't think; she reacted. She broke into a dead sprint. The sterile, white corridors blurred past her in a dizzying streak of linoleum and medical carts. Her sensible shoes slapped loudly against the floor, a frantic heartbeat echoing through the quiet night shift. Nurses and orderlies scrambled out of her way as they saw the sheer panic etched onto her pale face.
She knew who was in Room 402. Clara. A high-profile patient with a history shrouded in redactions and sealed files. But the security alert meant something had breached the supposedly impenetrable ward. As Evelyn rounded the final corner, her lungs burning and her mind racing through worst-case medical scenarios, she saw the heavy double doors of the ward left slightly ajar. A cold draft seemed to seep from the crack, carrying with it the faint, unmistakable metallic scent of copper and ozone. She hit the doors with both hands, throwing her weight against them.
