NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4: Steady Hands
Dinah Lance:
"Well, in case anyone is curious," Leonard says as he pushes against the infirmary's doors. "The doors are locked. We can't get in."
"Back away," I say, pushing Leonard out of the way. Taking a breath, I'm about to scream when Jaime stops me. He gets in between me and the infirmary's doors.
"No," he shouts while shaking his head. "Dinah. Please don't."
"Jaime," I say, "Get out of the way."
"No. Dinah, I don't think The Man would be too happy if you go breaking down his doors."
"Yeah," Harleen says, joining in. "I kind of agree with Bug Boy on this."
"Who cares," I say with all eyes on me.
"Who cares," I repeat, staring right back at all of them. "Enough with the secret. Enough with the half-truth and surprise! Enough with all of it! My husband is in there dying and I want to be by his side! Jaime, I'm only going to give you one last chance. Get out of my way!"
Jaime refuses my warning. He holds out his arms and shields the doors. When I see this, I take a deep breath.
"Dinah," Harleen says, running and getting in front of Jaime. She too spreads out her hands. "No!"
"Don't do it," Selina begs.
"Dinah," Supergirl yells.
A second from using my canary cry and blasting the doors off their hinges, I only stop when the doors open and The Man walks out.
The Man isn't wearing his vest with a dozen pockets anymore. Now, he's wearing what looks like one of the uniforms doctors wear when they perform an operation. Also, he's not the only one wearing those uniforms. Scarecrow and Iris are wearing the same uniform. All three of them even have gloves and masks on.
"I know I'm going to regret this," The Man says, pulling his face mask down. "But what the heck is going on here?"
I push Harleen and Jaime out of the way and walk right up to The Man.
"Take me to Oliver," I demand. "Or I will break down your doors!"
"Believe me," Harleen says after getting back to her with help from Leonard and Ivy. "She will."
"Again," The Man says, looking at me. "I tend to work better without a crowd."
"One person is not a crowd," I say with crossed arms. "And besides. What about them?"
I point to Scarecrow and Iris.
"The Doc and Iris aren't a part of the crowd," The Man answers. "They're my assistant."
"Your assistant," Reverse-Flash repeats. "Why do Scarecrow and Flash's ex-wife know about total organ failure?"
"Dr. Crane," Scarecrow yells. "It's Dr. Crane, not Scarecrow! Why can none of you remember?"
"Not now, Doc," The Man says, turning his head to Scarecrow before turning it back to me. "Listen. I get it. You want to be there with Oliver. I know that feeling, but I can't let you go in there."
When I hear this, I inhale, preparing to use my canary cry. However, The Man stops me once more. He puts up his hand.
"But I do have an alternative," he says. He grumbles as he pulls off his gloves. "I'd hate to waste a pair of gloves so Dinah, please remember this. You owe me 70 cents."
With that, he throws the gloves into a trash bin in the infirmary before leading everyone down the hallway.
Barry Allen:
As everyone, even Scarecrow and Iris, follow after The Man, I stop for only a second when I see something hanging on the wall. It's Scarecrow's doctor coat.
The Man:
Leading everyone down the hallway and around the corner, I turn and face a wall. I then start to bang my fist against the wall.
"What are you doing," Jason asks.
"Wait, wait, wait," the Doc says, holding his hand over his head. "Don't tell me. Secret panel."
"Secret panel," I reply with a nod. A few bangs later, a small part of the wall opens up, revealing a rusted lever. I pull down on the lever and more part of the wall opens up. This time, it's a whole viewing audience with a glass window. On the other side of the window is Oliver, who is now wearing a hospital gown.
"Make one sound," I say, putting up a finger and pointing at everyone. "And I will kick you out of here. Literally."
Dr. Crane:
I bite my tongue as I fight the nervousness taking over me. I feel sweat forming all over my forehead. I feel the shakiness of my whole body despite standing still. I can even feel my teeth as they hit each other.
"Where is that coming from," The Man shouts, looking around. He and Iris turn toward me. Despite the mask over my mouth, they both know it's me.
"What," I say, "I'm nervous. Okay?"
"Stop that," The Man says. "It's annoying."
I try to stop my chattering teeth but I can't. All of this is too much for me to handle all at once.
According to The Man, Oliver's condition is stable but barely. He hooked up to nearly a different machine, most of which have names I can even begin to pronounce.
"Iris," The Man says. "Please hand me the needle."
Iris nods her head and hands The Man the needle in her hand. He takes it and feels around Oliver's arm for a bit before injecting him with the needle.
"What is that," Iris asks.
"A dialysis machine," The Man answers. "It filters out the waste in Oliver's blood, cleaning it before returning it to his body. It does the job Oliver's livers are supposed to do. Doc. Doc? Doc!"
I shake my head and blink my eyes.
"What," I say, "What? What's going on?"
"The breathing tube," The Man says, holding out his hand. "Please hand me the breathing tube."
I turn my head and look at some sort of machine with a long, plastic breathing tube attached to it. I take the tube from the machine and give it to The Man.
"Hey," he says as he takes the tube. "You're hyperventilating. Calm down."
"Yeah," I say, nodding my head. As I nod my head, some sweat beads come falling down. They hit my eyes and I'm about to wipe them with my arms but The Man stops me.
"Don't," he says, his voice stopping me dead in my track. I freeze with my arms in mid-air. "Iris, please help the Doc. Grab a napkin and wipe his face."
Iris nods her head and grabs a napkin. She quickly walks over to me and wipes my face.
"Thank you," I say.
"You're welcome," Iris answers. She throws the napkins away. "Hey, you're still hyperventilation."
"I am? Sorry."
Once I realize I'm still breathing heavily, I close my mouth and begin to breathe through my nose.
"Hey," I whisper, leaning close to Iris. "I just have to ask this. How are you so calm right now?"
"Who said I'm calm," Iris answers. Iris turns and looks at me. As she looks at me, I can see tears in her eyes. When I see the tears, I feel a lump form in my throat. However, I swallow the lump and look at The Man as, after taking the mask off of Oliver, he inserts the tube into his mouth.
"This is a respiratory ventilator," The Man says. "It'll help Oliver breathe."
With the tube helping Oliver breathe, The Man turns toward Iris and me.
"Can one of you please open that drawer?"
"I'll do it," I say, stepping up. I walk to a nearby metal drawer and open it. Inside are a bunch of plastic circles with handles. They're all carefully placed in plastic bags. Grabbing one of the bags, I open it and hand The Man whatever these are.
"Iris, please stand here."
Iris nods her head and walks to where The Man asked her to stand.
"Grab and hold up that tray."
Once more, Iris nods her head and picks up the metal tray with surgical tools. When I see the tools, I feel myself start to breath heavy again. Taking one big breath after the other, I notice Iris is doing the same.
She's breathing heavily as she holds up the tray.
"Are you two okay," The Man asks. When he asks, Iris doesn't answer. Instead, the tray starts to shake and the tools almost fall The Man catches them before they can. When he does, he sighs.
"Iris. Doc. If you two want, you can leave."
"No," Iris shouts. She inhales so sharply I can hear it through her mask. "No. I'm staying. You said you needed help. Right? Well, here I am."
"And so I am," I say. I crack my neck and look at The Man. "So, what's next? I mean, after the dialysis and respiratory ventila-thingy."
"Next," The Man says, grabbing a knife. "I'm going in for the heart. Hope the two of you aren't squeamish."