Therianthrope: A New Kind of Curse

"Quick, we need help! If he dies, none of you can get out of here on your feet!" A group of men dressed in black suits shouted violently in the emergency room carrying one injured man and seating him on the nearest empty chair.

That man...I exclaimed inwardly and recognised the injured man in the middle,  whose clothes soaked through with large swaths of blood.

I studied his off-color face the second time...Yes, It's him.

I had helped him on the street a few weeks ago. Forced. Then he disappeared like a ghost after that. I did not expect him to show up in such an appalling manner again.

"HURRY!!!" The same man shouted when he saw no movement from either the doctor or the nurse.

Judging from his movements, it seemed like they were all dangerous people.

"HEY, ARE YOU ALL DUMB?!"

Hold, Dwyne... Hold on… Don’t react, I told myself.

"HEEEYYYYY..!!!!"  One of the members kicked the chair…

And I finally couldn't stand it either "Noisy!!! If you want to ask for help, say it nicely, can't you?!" I said glaring and advanced to face a group of large thugs who looked angry.

That was my first meeting with all of his members, not knowing that my life would change from then on because of a forced act of kindness.

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Night shift in the emergency room is tiring, not only is there no time to rest, but you also have to always be ready if something urgent happens.

Today happened to be my night duty and somehow today there were so many patients that I missed my meal.

I was on my way back to the public hospital, where I was one of the young intern doctors there.

Because of many events in the emergency room, it made me not have time to eat, so I used this opportunity to buy Chinese food located across the hospital when I have free time, finally.

Still dressed in my medical outfit with a jacket to cover it, I walked quickly through the red light and was surprised when my hand was grabbed by someone from behind.

What the....

Whoever it is, he/she's messing with the wrong person, I said to myself.

I, who had a basic knowledge of taekwondo, immediately twisted his hand and turned around quickly to try to hurt him, then hurriedly stopped when I heard the moaning of pain that came out of his mouth.

A man, I thought...

Weak...

I haven't done anything to him yet..

"Ugghh..."

Then, I realized that there was blood on his stomach.

My eyes widened in shock before quickly going to the wounded man. “O my God, you okay?”

I hurriedly asked and he looked at me. "Help!" he said, no, more like an order but quietly.

I raised an eyebrow in wonder. Is he giving me an order?!

"The hospital is there, let's hurry," I shook my head, tried to ignore whatever I had heard from him and tried to help him up but he shook his head.

"No... Not the hospital, you treat me." He said, no, now I clearly hear him order me firmly not saying.

What?

Then I looked at him carefully.

Black suit...

and... the wound...

Sh*t!! it's a gunshot wound...

Sigh...

Gangster…?

F*ck me and my bad luck!

If I leave him behind, he will remember me, so he could come to me for revenge if he lives, but if I treat him, I might lose my practice license because I treat people carelessly or worse, he killed me.

Think.. Think... Think...

Nothing good will happen to me...

But what if he gets worse after I treat him?

I mean, yes, I've treated gunshot wounds and stitched them up before, but that was also with the help of the main doctor, not by myself.

"Ugh..." the moans of pain coming from his mouth took me out of my thoughts.

F*ck.. F*ck!!!

God, I hope I won't be in trouble after this.

"Come on, let's go to my apartment next to the hospital." I said quickly while helping him up and walking there only to realize my mistake.

Crap!

Are you stupid?! Why did you bring her to your apartment?! What if he remembers?!

I'm doomed..!

Too late to take him somewhere else, I saw that the blood flowing out of the man had already made him almost faint so I needed to do something, faster.

Bravely hoping that the man wouldn't kill or hurt her, Dwyne Ellaine Smith, a young doctor interning at a public hospital did her best to help the man overnight, forgetting that she had to return to the hospital due to the night shift.

Ring... Ring... Ring... Ring…

Ring... Ring... Hhmm….

What’s that sound?

Gasped..!!!

I jolted awake when I heard the incessant ringing of the phone and was surprised to see that the clock was already at 9am.

SH*T!!!

"DWYNE, WHERE ARE YOU? THE MAIN DOCTOR HAS BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU ALL NIGHT AND NO ONE CAN FIND OR CONTACT YOU, DON'T YOU WANT TO BE A DOCTOR!!!"

As I hurriedly tried to put on my shoes, I realized the reason I was in my current apartment and was surprised that there was no one here, only traces of blood and the treatment tools I used last night.

That man has left...

Who is he?

Realizing that time was running out and I had to rush back to the hospital, I decided to tidy everything up after work and leave it as it was.

Hopefully, whoever the guy that I helped last night wouldn't cause any trouble for me and remember this place.

While running fast because the hospital was close to my apartment, I saw several doctors waiting for me at the door of the emergency room lobby.

F*ck me, I'm doomed!

Their expressions looked annoyed and I hoped they would let me off the hook for the first time,

D*mn! I've never been late or fought my seniors, why would they react like this the first time I made a mistake anyway? I thought irritably as I took a deep breath and started to step forward towards the battlefield.

********

"Why didn't you tell me that you had gerd?" asked one of my coworkers when we were in the locker room.

Yes, that's right, I suddenly got the idea that I had a flare-up of gerd last night and because I didn't want to be inconvenienced, my intention after eating and taking medicine was to rest for a while but instead I went too far.

It turned out that luck was still on my side, because the main doctor allowed it because he knew that this was the first time I was absent and I was his most diligent junior so my excuse was accepted by him.

Phew... what a relief!

I just smiled at my colleague before saying goodbye as I was allowed to rest today before my illness returned.

Everyone knows that I have 2 other part-time jobs to help me pay for my medical studies, they think that I come from a poor family that can't afford my studies.

If only they knew my real name. I thought as I walked out of the hospital.

"Dwyne..!!"

I looked over as Daniel ran towards me, he was one of my classmates who practiced at the same place as me.

"Hey, Daniel,Daniel" I greeted with a smile and put on my jacket. It was very cold today.

"Here," He handed me a paper cup which I took, "Hot chocolate, they said you had Gerd last night so I bought you this." He explained and I inhaled the smell of the hot chocolate before taking a sip.

Daniel comes from a wealthy family, his father owns a famous technology company here in America, but his nature and behavior are very unlike a spoiled rich man, "You're allowed to go home?"

"Thanks and yes, I was told to rest." I replied as I nodded and continued sipping the hot chocolate.

"You're probably too tired, I told you that..."

"Bye, Daniel!" I interrupted him because I knew where he was going.

Yes, it's been six months since Daniel asked me out and insisted on helping me pay for my tuition and expenses.

It's not that I'm arrogant, but I feel like I'm selling myself out by taking him for granted.

I don't have any feelings for him anyway, so it would be unfair of me to accept him just because he can help pay for my tuition, right?

Never mind, I thought and continued walking towards the direction of my apartment to get ready for my part-time job at the opposite end of the hospital, so that no one would catch me lying.

But one step to the door of my apartment, I stopped when I saw a note stapled to my door with a knife on it.

'Thanks and I'll come for my wound control, see you again my personal doctor'

O, My. God!!

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