Zero Encounters

Fear

        Zero anxiously tapped her foot with her head down. She sported her usual cap and medical face mask while listening to the many names being called. The sterile smell made her nauseous and the many people surrounding her made her skin crawl. From the corner of her eye, she watched a young girl slowly approach her in a wheelchair. She closed her eyes, hoping the girl would just pass her, but she stopped right in front. Her doe like eyes tried to get a better look at Zero and found it funny whenever she tried to peek at her, Zero would face the other way.

"What happened to you?" The girl finally asked and pointed at the blood soaked gauze around Zero's arm. The blood had begun to stain through her sweatshirt. Zero faked a smile and noticed the blue cast around the girl's foot.

"I fell off my bike." Zero lied and that's when the mother intervened with an apology.

"Nana, don't bother people." She scolded the girl who pouted in response.

"It's okay, she's not bothering me." Zero reassured her. "How old are you? What happened to your leg?"

"I'm six and I tripped playing tag." She explained, "But mommy and daddy said I was very brave. I didn't cry at all." She grinned, "You can sign your name if you want." She held out a marker. Zero glanced over at her mom and the woman reassured with a smile. Zero read all the get well wishes and names of those who she assumed were her friends. She took the marker hesitantly as the girl stuck out her leg. Zero froze at the thought of signing her name and instead opted to draw a smiley face instead. "Here, you can have this." She grinned even wider, displaying her missing front tooth. "This helped me be brave so you can have it too."

"Thank you." Zero smiled and patted the girl's head. She brushed the pad of her thumb over the flower engraving on the coin she had just received. "Are you sure I can keep this?" She asked and the girl nodded happily.

"Oh my, are you alright?" A nurse asked Zero after noticing their interaction from afar. She took a closer look to see the sweat around her hairline. She waved another nurse down to assess her.

"Is Doctor Ji working today?" Zero asked quietly. She could already feel the growing audience around them.

"Ah, he should be back any second now, but I can take a look at that wound for you." The nurse walked her over to an empty bed. Before Zero could make up an excuse, the nurse had already unraveled the bloody mess. The nurse gasped and took a step back. "This is... This isn't a gunshot wound, right?" She asked in disbelief. "I'd have to report this.."

"No, please just ask for Doctor Ji. He's treated me before. It's just a puncture wound. I fell off my bike around a construction site." She lied with ease. She recognized the nurse's uniform, knowing she had freshly graduated from school. She watched the nurse page the doctor immediately and he rushed over from his break room. The nurse was surprised to see how concerned the doctor had looked upon seeing Zero. He pulled the curtains around for some privacy and asked the nurse to bring some new dressing over. He excused the nurse afterwards and proceeded to clean Zero's wound.

"If I had known, I would have came to see you personally." He said as he checked the stitches. "It's the least I can do for what you've done for me. There's nothing I can say or do to repay you for saving my family." He recalled the night his house had caught on fire. The scar on his hand would forever be a reminder that he's indebted to her. "The more you move, the longer it'll take for the wound to close. Please be really careful. Captain Lee would be upset if anything were to happen.

"Understood." She said and he hands her a bagful of supplies. "Thank you, Doctor Ji." She brushed over the clean gauze around her wound. The man bowed his head deeply and smiled. Before they could say goodbye, commotion ensued behind the curtain.