The Transition (((;ꏿ_ꏿ;)))

"I'm on my way, I will send the resignation letter to Intern Adams." He took his bag and walked out of the office, the nurse remained still. She felt as though she was dreaming, her eyes fluttered back open, seeing what just happened, she ran out of the office.

"But professor, the patient is the chief's son... he insists that you lead the surgery."

Hugo's heartbeat rose in anger, "Then tell Doctor Collins or any..."

"Professor..." A lady on a long white coat ran towards Hugo, her hair floating as she ran. She was breathing hard when she stopped. Her hand calmed her chest as she used her left hand to sway the little strands off her face, "Professor...." She stopped, taking a glance at the nurse beside Hugo. "Professor... We are waiting for you, the OR is ready, and the... It seems his condition is getting worse."

As the lady kept talking, Hugo stared at her. For some seconds, he was out of the world and stuck in his reverie. He had been busy and he had not set his eyes across this lady for the past week. And now that she was here out of nowhere she was even more beautiful. He cleared his throat and responded, "Doctor Kelly James, I'm resigning."

"What?" Doctor Kelly's eyes widened slowly, "The...you are the only one available, the chief has entrusted his son to you and you need to"

"Then lead the surgery." As much as he wanted to stay, especially because he was been persuaded by this woman, he knew the repercussion. But still, he strongly wished he could stay. Wait... but why was he now resigning? He was regretting his decision now. He had forgotten that if he resigned he would quit seeing Doctor Kelly on her white coat that looked like it was specially made for her.

"What?? Profe...I'm just an inter-"

"An intern who had participated in many surgeries like this. Why do you think I always chose you to..."

"But professor... this is the toughest ..."

"As an intern, you have to gather all the knowledge you can in your field. This is an opportunity for you and you should grab it with full..."

"I'm sorry, Professor but this surgery is beyond what I can handle, besides I do not have the mind to fill lawsuits and anything related."

The nurse kept looking at the both of them, staring as the conversation grew.

Hugo sighed and dipped his hands into his coat, "Doctors aren't gods, you should not run away from surgery thinking that if you failed the surgery you would be blamed or be filed. The only thing you should be concerned about is how to save the patient. Running away from a dying patient doesn't make you a doctor."

Hearing this, Doctor Kelly became quiet, her eyes stood still, and a slight drop of tears was about to slide down her cheeks but she blinked it in. "I am sorry but I don't want to break the protocols."

Hugo sighed, already frustrated, the pain around his back had somewhat shifted to his ribs, "Doctor Kelly, are you trying to say that a patient life should depend on useless protocols? The dying patient or the protocols first? If the patient dies just because you were told to operate and you failed, wouldn't you have blood in your hands, indirectly?" He paused, thinking for a while before he proceeded, Alright, I would be responsible for anything that happens in the OR, I promise."

The nurse rolled her eyes but remained calm as she stared at Doctor Kelly with green boldly painted on her face.

Doctor Kelly hesitated before nodding. "Yes, Professor."

A ringing tone jotted the three of them awake, the nurse took her phone, "What? Yes ...he...Intern Kelly would be in charge."

"Yes...that is what Professor Austin....should I give him the phone?" In a split second, the nurse handed the phone to Hugo.

"Doctor James should be in charge, then."

"It's the chairman's only son, professor." A voice bounced from the speaker through Hugo's ears. Hugo adjusted the volume, he did not know why he was becoming noise sensitive.

"The ....Do not...do not lie! It's not an emergency."

Hearing what the professor said, the nurse lowered her head down because she had told the professor that it was an emergency, so that...

"It's not...and Doctor Kelly would be the lead of the operation if Doctor Collins refuses."

Doctor Kelly's mind was still buzzing about what she just heard professor Austin said.

Hugo handed the phone to the nurse before smiling at Doctor Kelly, "I would be proud if you can set a record."

Immediately after he said that Hugo ran off.

He did not respond to the awkward glances both patients and doctors gave him when he entered the car. All he knew was that his condition was getting worse. This transition was about to happen.

His hand held on the steering wheel, he had never held it tight and it seemed if he had just put on more effort into the wheel, the wheel would break down. He did not understand where the sudden energy was coming from. He was previously too wack to do a thing but now, his eyes did not believe that he was driving at the speed of 128km/hr. He tried pulling the brake pedal but the speed was accelerating.

His neck was pulling his head away, it sounded impossible but in his case, it was completely literally. He removed his left hand from the wheel to feel his neck before closing his eyes and opening...

To his surprise, his eyes had turned completely red as he stared at the front mirror. "What the heck is happening to me?!"

His car was still moving at a very high space but luckily there were very few people on the road as it was still dark. The hand he had used to hold his neck was the same hand he used to take his phone from his pocket. He wanted to dial his mother's contact, but it was impossible. The phone kept vibrating under his palm and within a minute, he crushed it. "What was that?" His voice rose in shock. He threw away the phone somewhere he didn't think about before he tried modifying his speed. Fortunately, there was a decrease in speed. He sighed but the unexpected thing that he had never wished happened appeared to him.

On his hand were growing scales. As the scales grew he groaned. Those scales were thicker, he somehow felt the blood in his vein becoming colder than usual. The scales were growing rapidly as they covered his whole body. The scales looked like it was burning in hell as the colour resembled that of a reddish-orange fire.