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CHAPTER 29
I looked at Esme. Something is crawling into her stomach, the parasyte it's getting bigger. I'm too late, someone crashed into the room and it was Thorne, the nurse immediately what happened to her. My pulse quickened as a sudden memory flashed from my first patient. 
No… This can't be happening
“Zaira!” Thorne's voice pierced through my thoughts and I snapped looking at him. 
“What do we need?” he asked, his voice firm and strong, it echoed in my ears. 
“We…” I calmed myself. “We need surgery,” I said. 
The nurses immediately brought the patient to the operating room. Before entering, we gathered in Thorne's office with some doctors. Thorne asked for a meeting for second opinions. High ranked doctors were gathered even the most known and the legendary Dr. Raito Wyatt. 
I could feel the echo of my pulse dominating inside of me, standing in front of me together with Thorne. 
“Are you sure that you're able to perform this surgery alongside with your student, Dr. Ackerman” Dr. Wyatt asked as he looked at me with a cold expression giving me goosebumps, his aura dominating the room that should be respected. 
“I can,” Thorne said plainly. 
“It’s a risky procedure, the parasyte is still alive in the patient's body. It may move and it's hard to find, do you have any plan for this process?” Dr. Nolan Garret, his brows furrowed looking at us—looking at me unsure as his eyes filled with judgement. 
Thorne looked at me as he signalled me to give them the plan. “Yes, I do,” I said. “The patient will be injected with a vial for the parasyte. The parasyte is growing and it can be resistant; it can't be killed directly” I explained, all eyes on me.
I feel a tingle inside of me, my voice wants to crack but I hold it in. “Once the vial is injected, it can freeze the parasyte temporarily” I said. 
“Your patient is a child miss, the vial you've mentioned is a Cryohex Vial. I assume that you know basic informations about it, it is a strong vial not highly recommend by children” Dr Garret announced raising a brow. 
“Yes, that's correct. I already calculated the possibilities and some recommended dosage for her one milimiter is appropriate for her age” I answered. 
“The little dosage you'll give, the lesser time you have one minute is equivalent the duration of seven minutes” Dr. Violet Abbot joined the conversation. 
“We first luring the parasyte to the area that is easier to extract, when the parasyte is in the proper area we will be injecting the vime to the child. Seven minutes is enough time” I explained, clenching ny hands while my nails dug. 
They were chattering, a lot of sude comments to the director, he listened, thinking yet his eyes fix in our direction as if scanning me. I can't blame them, the procedure is risky. The parasite is still alive inside, draining Esme’s life. I should've noticed her light weight earlier.
Dr. Wyatt raised his hand, stopping the noise around him. He looked at us s he stand up both hands on his back. 
“I will be agreeing with this surgery” he announced, I was relieved looking at him. I can see some doctors looking disbelief from Dr. Wyatt’s decision from the corners of my eyes. 
“You have an impressive strategy miss, but you're putting you're patient at risk” he said, flatly.
“But if anything happens to the child, your student will be held responsible and will have to explain to the parents. Is that clear, Dr. Ackerman?” He said, his face still expressionless. 
I saw Thorne's jaw tighten. “I will be the one who—”
I interrupted him. “I understand,” I said. Thorne looked at me, confused.
The short meeting ended, and we went to prepare for her surgery.
I was washing my hands as I calming my systems inside of me, I noticed Thorne beside me.
“You shouldn’t have done that. You don’t know what you’re doing,” Thorne said, washing his hands next to me.
“I know what I’m doing,” I replied.
“You were talking to the head just now, Coffey. They might give a bad review if you fail,” he said. I paused, glancing at him.
“I’m still a student. I can make mistakes. I can’t risk your reputation because of a risky surgery,” I said, meeting his gaze before walking away.
The room pulse with a low hum, lights casting soft, eerie light. The child was laying down her little chest rising and falling unevenly. Her symptoms were getting worse, her skin pale, crimson vale crawling to her body all converging into the glowing lines like breaking glass carved into her skin. The energy it emitted was stifling, pressing down on the air like a heavy weight.
I swallowed hard, my hands shaking as I adjusted my gloves. I tried to keep calm, stopping the memory of my first surgery. I swallowed the nervousness bitting my lip behind my mask 
You'll be fine…
“Take a deep breath, remember your goal” I heard Thorne whisper behind me. I nodded in response as I stepped inside the sterile zone. 
“Vitals are stable” a colleague from my group announced. 
“I'm ready,” I said, looking at them. I already saw the parasyte in the area I want it to be. “Extract the vile” I said, a nurse immediately injected it to the patient as I could see its vitals stable, her muscles relaxed. 
“7 minutes, start now,” she said. 
“Good. Now, make your first incision,” Thorne said, his eyes fixed on my every movement.
I picked up the scalpel, my grip firm despite the sweat on my palms. Carefully, my scalpel touch her skin, an unusual blood darker from the patient's sorroynds the area. The parasyte is near I could feel it with my instrument. The room was silent except for the hum of the glyphs and the child’s shallow breathing.
“Keep your hand steady,” Thorne said, his tone firm but not unkind. “You’re doing fine.”
I reached for the enchanted forceps, my hand trembling as I positioned them over the parasyte’s body. As I was about to pull, the parasyte it quickly moved, it swim away from my forceps. Surprised by its sudden action.
It's not immobilized?!
“Coffey!” 
“I'm losing it, the parasyte was resistant from the vile” I said, immediately looking for a sudden sign from its movement. 
“Her vitals are dropping fast!” the nurse exclaimed, her voice edged with panic.The parasyte mat release uts toxins killing every molecule in her blood. 
“We have only two minutes and the child’s system will function again!” she added. 
“Extract another dose now!” I heard Thorne, My eyes roamed trying to find any sugns of its presence, I gritted my teeth as my eyes acted fast searching for every slight presence. 
"Coffey, act fast now. If you won't find it we'll be losing her" Thorne interjected, his voice a controlled anchor in the storm of tension. His eyes flicked to me, steady but serious. 
Closing my eyes for a moment, I let my mind settle into that strange pull. When I opened them again, the noise of my colleagues faded, the slow beeping of the monitor growing distant until it was nothing.
I looked at the child’s body.
A sudden pull is sharp and overwhelming. My eyes widened as I saw it. The chill coursing through her veins, the unnatural flow of blood. It was wrong. Twisted. Poisoned.
Then I saw it.
A dark red parasite, writhing, pulsing, swimming through her bloodstream, releasing its toxins like ink spreading through water. It slithered, moving toward her heart.
It stopped.
Paused.
As if it sensed me.
My breath caught. The parasite twitched—then bolted forward, erratic, desperate.
I gasped, my vision snapping back into place. The sounds of the room rushed in the beeping, the murmurs, the tension. My hands were already moving.
“There!” I choked out. “Behind the rib cage it’s hiding there!”
The nurse beside me froze, staring. “How did you know?”
“How much time left?” I asked, searching for it clearly. 
“5 minutes,” someone announced. 
The sharp beeping of the monitor filled the room as I made snother incision, I steadied my grip on the enchanted forceps. Sweat beaded on my forehead, but I forced myself to focus.
The parasite twisted violently, burrowing deeper into her chest as if sensing my intent. A sudden pull surged through me again, guiding my hands like an unseen thread through a labyrinth.
I followed the faint glow, my movements precise. The moment the blade touched her skin, the sigil flared violently, and the child’s body spasmed.
“She’s crashing!” the nurse cried. “We’re losing her!”
“No, we’re not,” I said, my voice firmer than I expected.
The parasite writhed, resisting, but I wasn’t going to let it win. It pulsed, dark and slick, swimming deeper. I tightened my grip on the forceps, adjusting just as it shifted again.
The sharp beeping quickened. My breath was steady, my focus unshaken. In one swift, decisive motion, I clamped down and extracted the parasite.
The moment it left her body, the parasyte glow faded, and the child’s body went still.
Immediately I put the parasyte into a container the healer immediately killed it with some vile again. 
The monitor steadied. The patient's vitals slowly returned to normal, her breathing evening out. Color gradually returned to her skin, the sickly pallor fading as her body began to stabilize.
“She’s stable,” the healer whispered, relief washing over her.
I stepped back, my legs nearly giving out beneath me as I lowered the forceps. My chest heaved, my heart racing, but the child was alive.
“You did well,” Thorne said, his tone calm but carrying a note of approval. 
I looked at the child’s peaceful face, my exhaustion momentarily replaced a relief. 
“She’s alive,” I murmured, more to myself than anyone else.
All of them looked at me confused and surprised. “How did you know? The parasite was hiding too well behind the patient’s rib cage,” the nurse asked, still in shock.
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. My breath was heavy, my mind racing. How did I know? I recalled the sudden pull, the overwhelming sensation as if my vision had peeled away layers of flesh, revealing what no scan could.
“I… I don’t know,” I finally whispered. My hands trembled at my sides.
The nurse stared at me, disbelief written all over her face. “That shouldn’t have been possible. No scan picked it up.”
Neither did I—until I did.
I swallowed hard, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. Something had happened. Something beyond reason.
The staff moved swiftly, wheeling Esme into another room. My colleagues surrounded me, their voices a blur of praise and relief. Their hands patted my back, their smiles reassuring—but I barely registered any of it.
I stood frozen, my mind spiraling, emotions crashing over me in waves.
"Coffey," Thorne’s voice anchored me.
I turned to him. His lips moved, forming words I couldn't hear. The world around me distorted, muffled like I was underwater.
Then, the pull came again—stronger this time.
My breath hitched as my vision shifted unnaturally, peeling back a layer of reality. I saw him—saw inside him. His pulse, steady. Blood, flowing in perfect rhythm. Lungs expanding, contracting. So vivid. Too vivid.
Panic crept in. This wasn’t right.
“Zaira.” His voice rang in my ears, breaking through the haze.
I tried to fight it, to ground myself. But before I could react, the darkness swallowed me whole.