Impuls

Clark looks at him the way she once looked at Emily, who crashed into her in the hallway – as if she's looking at a crushed cockroach that needs to be bypassed, or better yet, wrapped in newspaper and put out of sight. The neurosurgeon pursed her lips, but remained silent; she only breathed a little harder than usual – Emily could see the fabric of her blouse rising and falling in time with her breathing.

There is nothing to breathe in the room – as if the smoke has begun to encircle Emily's legs, pulling at her bones, climbing into her lungs and itching there. It seems that if she looks down, she'll see tongues of flame.

If Clark is to blame for this, all is not well.

– Dr. Moss," Melissa, who had been silent until then, spoke up. – "The thing is, the staff call button in Thirteen didn't work…

– I don't want to hear anything! – cuts off the neurologist. – You didn't even act with your own hands, you asked the nurse to do it! – He slams his hand on the table. – This is worse than if you had just stood there and watched!

Seven minutes. If she manages to escape from here now, she'll make it to the academic building in time for the service stairs. The hell with her clothes. She could borrow them from the people who had already handed them in. The main thing is to check in…

– I'm suspending you from work for a month. You'll be working at the clinic at their rate of pay.

– We have two drugs for such cases, Dr. Clark. Klonozepam and pherocipam. Both in ampoules, right next to each other. Shall I tell you the differences?

The neurosurgeon is silent, so Moss turns his gaze to Emily.

Homo homini lupus est, she remembers her Latin lessons, man to man is a wolf. Moss's gaze scratches like a crater abrasive – she sees bits of boiling lava in it. Somewhere in her head, her mother admonishes, in a tone of moralizing, a little shrill, that she must be able to relate to everyone.

But no one taught her to decipher the wolf's howl.

– Please, Miss Johnson, tell us the difference.

– Depressing and stimulating," Emily replies, barely audible.

– Dr. Clark, which letter of the drug causes a depressant effect? – Moss asks in a pallid voice. – I'll give you a hint. The same letter that begins your last name.

Clark still silently drills him with his gaze, and red spots appear on his cheeks, either from shame or anger. Emily sees her fingertips begin to tremble subtly.

– I know. – The neurosurgeon's voice rings with anger. – There's no need to…

– So what the hell?! – Moss explodes. – Why the hell are you, doctor, prescribing a patient a drug that is incompatible with her life?! Don't you know how to read labels? Maybe you should take a leave of absence. We'll find you a great substitute! – He's still screaming. – You almost killed her, Clark! And just because you pulled that clot out doesn't mean anything! If it hadn't been for your negligence, none of this would have happened!

Clark looks at him the way she once looked at Emily, who crashed into her in the hallway – as if she's looking at a crushed cockroach that needs to be bypassed, or better yet, wrapped in newspaper and put out of sight. The neurosurgeon pursed her lips, but remained silent; she breathed a little harder than usual – Emily could see the fabric of her blouse rising and falling in time with her breathing.

There is nothing to breathe in the room – as if the smoke has begun to encircle Emily's legs, pulling at her bones, climbing into her lungs and itching there. It seems that if she looks down, she'll see tongues of flame.

If Clark is to blame for this, all is not well.

– Dr. Moss," Melissa, who had been silent until then, spoke up. – "The thing is, the staff call button in Thirteen didn't work…

– I don't want to hear anything! – cuts off the neurologist. – You didn't even act with your own hands, you asked the nurse to do it! – He slams his hand on the table. – This is worse than if you had just stood there and watched!

Seven minutes. If she manages to escape from here now, she'll make it to the academic building in time for the service stairs. The hell with her clothes. She could borrow them from the people who had already handed them in. The main thing is to check in…

– I'm suspending you from work for a month. You'll be working at the clinic at their rate of pay.

That's not so bad, Emily thinks. What's the clinic rate, less than a thousand pounds? That's all right, she lives on a quarter of that; after all, it's not such a big price to pay for a near-fatal mistake.

And Clark does not calm down: turns the embers around so that the flames hit almost in the face; with a sharp movement he gets up from the chair, pulls on the impeccably ironed fabric of his blouse and, almost shaking with anger, in an icy voice states:

– Look for a great replacement for me, Andrew. You did it once. What was that show for, would you tell me? Self-assertion? – She raises an eyebrow. – You're nothing but drama. – Clark neatly unhooks his nametag and puts it on his desk. – The play is over. Everyone is dismissed.

Five minutes. Gotta run, all the more reason to let go; only five minutes…

There'll be more Clarks like this in life, won't there?

They won't.

– Wait! Emily steps forward. – Wait a minute. Wait! That's not her. It's me. I got confused.

Melissa, who was leaving the office first, turns around.

– Emily…

– Johnson," Clark hisses warningly.

– I mixed up the meds," Emily says in a curt voice, and her own knees are shaking so badly she can barely stand up. – I've had an overtime week, and I've been taking classes and working with patients, and I got them mixed up. Dr. Clark said it right. I wasn't paying enough attention to hear it. It's so loud in there…

Melissa looks at her like she's crazy.

– Miss Johnson. – Moss sits back in her chair and leans back. – Clarify for us, please. Did you mix up the drugs on purpose?

It's three minutes to three minutes.

– No, I just didn't hear it," said Emily, as if she'd been wound up, tuned to one wave. – I didn't hear the name. I put the wrong one in the chart. Dr. Clark called the team and fixed it. It was my own fault. I thought I could handle it.