Traitor

Chapter 1

Why won't she let go of that goddamned piece of shit?

I'd been thinking about that all morning.
Every night I tell myself that I'll intervene. Stop him, scream, call the cops, take her away.
I'm twenty three now, but the ugly sound of the THWAK! when he hits her, and I'm back to the trembling kid, counting the seconds between each blow, waiting for it to stop with baited breath and tears.

My mother denies it, the silence at the table in the morning, her in full sleeved clothing even when it's sweltering outside, it makes me want to scream!

"Hand me the anesthesia."
I blinked back into focus, thinking just for a tiny second that perhaps I shouldn't be in the OT today.
I blindly handed him the syringe, more angry at the fact that they chose him instead of me to operate.

Five minutes into the surgery and he shouts, making me jump.

"Now look at what you've done!"

I jerked back to my senses. "W —what?"

"Bring the defibrillator!"

Shit! Fear gripped me and in my haste, I almost knocked over a bottle of atropine. I was breathing with short gasps because I somehow knew this was all my fault. The student brought the machine with shaking hands —even he was terrified.

"One of epi."

I injected, despite my nerves. "Ready."

The horse jerked against the table at the first shock.

Nothing.

Sweat formed over his lip and I nearly broke my thumb in my nervousness.

Even then, he looked so good... and distracting.

For god's sake! You are responsible for the death of this poor horse.

I increased the voltage to 200, nearly slipping my finger and making it go to a 500.

I've been through worse at home and never once been this sloppy.

Thankfully he wasn't watching.

Still nothing.

He tried two more times —

"Call it, Dr Rivers."

I looked at him, and he returned the look with narrowed eyes, "Call it."

Intimidated, I quickly muttered after taking a look at the clock, "Time of death, 14.30 pm."

×

"That was a six million dollar horse!"

I looked down at my hands clasped together on his desk, ashamed.

"They could sue us, Dr Rivers. And you will lose your hard-earned career."

I looked at him then, "Sir, we informed them of the risks involved in giving anesthesia to a horse —paralysis and that he might never be able to walk again. I even told them that he might have to be euthanised!"

"Dr Rivers —"

"Sir, there was always a chance of an idiosyncratic response!"

He put his hands on the desk and looked at me with stern eyes. "Dr Rivers, you handed him the wrong anesthesia."

What?

My eyes widened, too stunned to say anything I just stared at him, crumbling back into my seat. "That's impossible."

Dr Marìn was pissed as hell, "That is what you did, Cameron."

My heart was racing, I couldn't believe I'd fucked this up so badly.
I was blinded by my tears and his eyes softened. I rarely cried, I kept to myself. And still somehow managed to fuck it all up.