"A horrific past is echoing again. Somewhere, a horrific truth had been buried and forgotten. A truth so vitriolic, that it would dissolve the guts of even a strong-minded, seasoned surgeon.
Abhyuday Sharma had no clue about any of this before he joined New Light Hospital, present in the remotest location in Mumbai. 'Sheesh, I doubt whether I can get my food delivery,' he muttered, peering through the grim windows of the hospital. 'It's going to suck to do a residency here. I wonder how the hospital is maintaining a profit margin? Patients are from the poorest corners, there's no insurance system, and treatment is done for free. It's interesting,' he wondered, his brow furrowing.
'Dr. Saheb?'
Abhyuday jumped, turning to see a frail old man standing in the doorway.His pallid skin was stretched taut over his bones, the blue tortuous veins peeping beneath his translucent skin. Abhyuday sighed. 'Dayashankar Chacha, you could have knocked. And it doesn’t seem like you’re following my advice. You’re skipping meals again, aren’t you?’ 'Pardon me for the intrusion, Doctor,' Dayashankar replied, his voice a dry, rustling whisper. 'I am too old for hearty meals.' He paused, his gaze drifting to the floor, then snapped back up, a flicker of urgency in his eyes. 'Oh, yes! I almost forgot. Dr. Bhatia is calling for you.’
"Abhyuday felt a prickle of unease. 'Now what has happened? I wonder why he acquired this practice in the first place. This crap ensures my employment, though.' He walked into Dr. Bhatia's cabin. Dr. Bhatia, a renowned nephrologist with three multi-star hospitals in prime Mumbai locations, inexplicably spent most of his time at New Light Hospital. A towering figure, six feet five inches of solid build, the 50-year-old doctor was undeniably intimidating. Abhyuday always found himself fumbling in his presence.'Morning, Dr. Abhyuday,' Dr. Bhatia greeted, his voice a low rumble. 'How's the day going?’ 'S...Sir,' Abhyuday stammered, 'I've checked all the cabins and wards. Everyone seems fine. Dr. Shehla was in charge of the ICU yesterday, but I… I don’t know what has happened in the ICU, sir.’ "'Don't worry, Abhyuday. No one's accusing you of anything,' Dr.
Bhatia said, his gaze unwavering, a cold glint in his eyes. 'Dr. Shehla was off yesterday. There have been six deaths in the ICU. I need you to write the death reports.'Abhyuday's stomach clenched. 'Six, sir?'Bhatia's composure was unnervingly calm. 'Yes. Six died from septic shock. Couldn't have helped it anyway. Airways were badly compressed when they brought the patients in.''All six, sir?' Abhyuday asked, his voice barely a whisper.'Are you going to interrogate me now?' Dr. Bhatia's voice hardened, a dangerous edge creeping in. 'I've already written the details in the notes. Just fill out the reports. It will be a learning experience for you.’ He leaned forward, his imposing figure casting a long shadow over Abhyuday. 'Learn to be humble, Abhyuday. You might rise from this place and end up in one of my luxury practices. But for that, you must keep your ego at bay and know your position in the hierarchy.' He paused, letting the words sink in. 'Now, get to it.’" "Abhyuday was reeling. Six deaths, all with the same cause? He sought out Shehla, another new resident. 'Shehla, where were you yesterday? There were six deaths in the ICU.'Shehla's eyes widened. 'Again? I filed six reports day before yesterday. So, that's twelve in two days?'What the hell is happening in the ICU, Shehla?' Abhyuday demanded, his voice low.Look, I just record the vitals and fill out the reports,' Shehla said, her voice laced with nervous energy. 'Dr. Bhatia oversees all the treatment.'Abhyuday frowned. A renowned nephrologist running the ICU? It didn't make sense. 'Why would he—'It's his hospital, Abhyuday,' Shehla interrupted, her gaze darting around the hallway. 'He can do whatever he wants.' She paused, then lowered her voice. 'Just... be careful.' She
then quickly walked away. “Why should I be careful though?” Abhyuday wondered about Shehla’s advice. I’ll just finish this residency and apply super specialisation, can’t carry on like this.
Dayashankar with his usual disruption entered cabin “Saheb, these are the files” Abhyuday said “I’ll examine the corpses first” said Abhyuday. “You can’t stomach it because it's horrific," Dayashankar suggested. Abhyuday stood up and went straight to the mortuary, “Chacha you stay back, I will have a look”. He revealed one of the corpses but it did not seem like a septic attack, the corpse was a ruin. Skin flayed, ribs splayed, organs blackened. Two perfect boreholes pierced the nose, slick with dark blood. The stench of rot and burnt bone choked him. Then, the eyes snapped open— milky orbs, veins writhing. A gurgle, thick and wet, filled the air. 'Find the truth,' the corpse rasped, tissue flecking its lips. 'Before they reap you like a crop.”
Abhyuday couldn’t believe what he saw and what he heard. His finger tips were numb and he was not able to make anything out of this situation. For a moment, he felt the dead corpse was talking to him, but right in front of him there was a different corpse with clear signs of sepsis. It seems he underwent some kind of surgery.Abhyuday felt like he was hallucinating. "I really shouldn't have signed up for this 36-hour shift; it's messing with my head." But he still couldn't shake the questions: why did that corpse, or whatever it was, warn him, and what was up with that surgery before the sepsis? Still, Abhyuday decided to go to his cabin and start filling out the reports. Or 'Come on, things don’t add up here. The patient's vitals were absolutely normal—blood, liver, kidney, everything was normal. So why was the surgery scheduled?' Abhyuday was now deeply skeptical about the hospital's practices. He is called Shehla. 'Hey, Shehla, are you free?' Shehla replied, 'Yes, what happened?' 'Nothing, I just wanted to know the overall condition of the patients. Why were they shifted to the ICU? Their vitals were perfectly normal, and yet emergency surgery was scheduled. This course of action is really questionable,' Abhyuday asked. Shehla knew something, but she was hiding it. 'Abhyuday, I totally agree with you. But the thing is, you’re directly questioning Dr. Bhatia’s plan. If you want to question him, you’re free to call him. But don’t ask me to intervene. I sincerely suggest you quietly copy the reports and close those cases. It will be better for you and your career” And then she hung up the phone. 'You're right, Shehla. Once I get through my super-specialization, I'm out of here. But until then, let’s just keep our heads down.' Abhyuday, now disregarding any patient history, simply copied whatever Bhatia had filled into the reports. Abhyuday completed all six death reports. 'Phew! That was a lot of work today. I deserve a chilled beer tonight, the least I deserve for surviving in this hellish hospital.’Abhyuday had a feeling that someone whispered his ears, all of a sudden he became alert, someone gave a kind suggestive whisper “you are on the wrong side, don’t do it” Abhyuday though “who is it”, another voice was with a harsh rasp taunt “ Hypocrite! Wearing a white coat and then carrying out the biggest racket possible, noble profession my foot”. Abhyuday was confused; he was trying to find out from where these voices were coming, “No! You are unaware son, but you need to find out” again the harsh taunt counters “Stop pampering him, he knows what he is doing, he knows that he is committing a crime and still decides to do it. What should we call him, well in my world we call them criminals.”Abhyuday glanced up at the mirror, expecting to see his tired reflection. Instead, he saw a horror show. Blood dripped from the top, not in a chaotic splatter, but in a controlled, deliberate flow. The droplets gathered, coalesced, and formed a single, damning word: ‘Traitor.’ Abhyuday woke up; he had dozed off in his chair. He had a feeling that work pressure had taken a toll on his mental health. “I better ask for leave for a few days,” Abhyuday thought.