16!Code blue!

Sylvia 

It was just past 9 p.m. I was about to take what meant to have been my breakfast, turned lunch and now my dinner when the intercom suddenly crackled through the quiet hallways of the hospital.

"Code blue, room 304. Code blue, room 304."

My heart jumped.

That was serious.

Without wasting a second, I grabbed my stethoscope and ran toward room 304, my team right behind me. The hallways blurred as we sprinted past nurses and visitors. I could hear footsteps pounding the floors. Everyone knew what a code blue meant, a patient’s life was on the line.

We burst into the room. The air felt thick with panic.

A man was lying on the hospital bed, completely still, his face turning blue. The monitor beside him beeped like crazy. A young nurse stood beside him, trying to fix the oxygen mask on his face, her hands shaking slightly.

"What happened?" I asked, rushing to the bed.

"He’s been having trouble breathing. His oxygen levels dropped suddenly and wouldn’t come back up," she said quickly, panic in her voice.

I nodded, taking charge. "Get the defibrillator ready. Start recording his vitals. We’re not letting him go."

Immediately, everyone jumped into action.

I started chest compressions, counting each one out loud. "One, two, three, four…"

A nurse handed me medication. I injected it quickly and leaned in again. The room was hot, my palms sweating, my heart racing, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.

The monitor let out a flat beep.

“He’s flatlined,” someone whispered.

For a second, the room went silent.

“No,” I said firmly. “Not yet. Keep going. Keep pushing. Start CPR again.”

We worked together like a well-oiled machine. I felt like every second was dragging me deeper into a tunnel. But I refused to give up.

Then, suddenly, beep… beep… beep.

“He’s back!” a nurse shouted. “We’ve got a pulse!”

The whole room sighed in relief. I let out a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding. I leaned against the edge of the bed for a second, exhausted, but smiling.

"Great job, everyone," I said, my voice low but filled with pride, who wouldn't be.

Outside the room, the man’s wife and two children were waiting anxiously. When they saw me step out, they ran toward me.

“Is he okay? Is he alive?” the wife asked, tears in her eyes.

I smiled. “Yes. He’s stable now. We got to him just in time.”

She broke into tears and hugged me tightly. “Thank you. Thank you so much, Doctor.”

Moments like this were everything.

But just as I returned to the room to check on the patient again, the monitor began beeping wildly again.

“Doctor, look!” a nurse called out.

I hurried to the bedside. His blood pressure was crashing.

“What’s happening now?” I asked, trying to stay calm.

“I don’t know. He was stable just a minute ago. His pressure’s dropping fast,” she replied.

My brain kicked into high gear. I needed answers fast.

“Get me his latest bloodwork and labs!” I called out.

A few seconds later, a file was shoved into my hands. I skimmed through the numbers.

“He’s going into shock,” I said. “We need to give him a vasopressor, right now. And set up another IV line just in case.”

The team jumped into motion again. Another nurse ran in with the medication. The beeping on the monitor felt like a countdown, but I kept my focus sharp.

Slowly, we started to see results. The pressure crept back up. The lines on the monitor began to look more normal. The numbers stopped falling.

I sighed deeply. “We’re back. He’s stabilizing again.”

The nurses smiled and nodded. One of them wiped her forehead. “Doctor Sylvia, you saved him twice.”

I smiled back, my heart still pounding. “We all did. That’s why we’re here, to save lives."

After checking his vitals one last time, I stepped out into the hallway, finally able to take a proper breath. I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes.

Then, buzz.

My phone lit up with a message from an unknown number again.

“Dr. Sylvia, I saw what you did in Room 304. You’re a real hero.”

I blinked at the message, surprised. Who was watching?

I typed back, “Who is this?”

But there was no reply.

I stood there for a moment, phone still in my hand, wondering. Was it one of the staff? A patient’s relative? Or someone I hadn’t even noticed?

Either way, I couldn’t help but smile. It was messages like that, and moments like tonight, that reminded me why I chose this path. Saving lives wasn’t easy. It was stressful, painful, and terrifying. But it was worth it.

I walked back down the hallway, my steps slower now. Tired, yes, but proud.

This was what I was meant to do.

Just as I was about to put my phone away, another message popped up.

“Be careful. Not everyone at that hospital wants you to succeed.”

My heart skipped a beat.

I looked around the hallway, but everything looked normal. Nurses passed by with clipboards. A janitor mopped the floor. Nothing looked out of place, but something felt off. Everyone was doing the tasks they were assigned to, it looked like every working hour.

I read the message again.

Who was sending this? Was it the same person who called me a hero just moments ago? Or someone else entirely? And what did they mean by “not everyone”?

I was still staring at my phone when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned, and there was Maryann.

She smiled, but it wasn’t a warm smile. It was cold. Calculated.

“You look tired, Sylvia, dark circles around your eyes,” she said, arms crossed. “Must’ve been a rough night.”

“It was,” I replied, slipping my phone into my coat pocket. “But worth it. The patient survived.”

“Hm,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “Let’s hope the next one’s as lucky.”

She walked off before I could say another word, her heels clicking sharply against the floor.

I stood there for a moment, uneasy. Her words didn’t feel like a regular comment, they felt like a warning, or was I thinking over it because of the messages I had received earlier.

My phone buzzed again.

“Watch her closely.”

Now I knew for sure, someone was watching. But were they trying to help me… or scare me?

Whatever the case, one thing was clear: the hospital wasn’t just a place of healing. It had secrets. And I was now in the middle of something much deeper than I had realized.

But I wasn’t afraid.

I straightened my shoulders, took a deep breath, and walked back toward my office.

If someone wanted a fight, they picked the wrong doctor, but first I needed to eat first, I haven't eaten all day.