Day of the Wolf 2 (Enemy Within), Hour 10

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Length (rounded up): 1450 words, 6 min.
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Day of the Wolf 2 (Enemy Within), Hour 10
The following took place sometime between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.
Events occurred in unreal time
Location: Room 352, General Hospital
Alert state of the United States Armed Forces: DEFCON 3 (above normal readiness: Air Force ready to mobilise in 15 minutes), colour code: Yellow

A weird, white figure lay on the bed under the artificial light of the lamps. The full-body plaster cast magically drew attention to itself right away, as it had a strikingly different appearance in the welcoming atmosphere of a typical hospital room.

The enormous plaster rind absorbed every part of the poor person trapped inside, and the decently carved sarcophagus obscured the distinguishing features and erased the exquisite shapes and natural outlines. Still, it was easy to figure out that the patient was a woman, since two frozen waves bulged up from the fully plastered torso to cover the breasts.

Despite its bulk and size, the neatly fashioned FBC closely followed the bends and curves of the highly feminine physique, just indistinctly accentuating the contours in appropriate places.

The Minerva cast, a combination of a skull cast and face mask, was carefully arranged in layers to wrap her entire head. Making her totally unrecognisable, the plaster crown was augmented with an extra piece of plaster, which completely hid her face, leaving merely two tiny holes for the eyes, a narrow slot for her nostrils, and a gap for her mouth.

Like an exaggerated and rigid shawl, hard dressings coated her finely formed neck. Either, her torso couldn’t escape from the firm embrace of the cast, which stretched between her shoulders and her loins. Solidly attached to the plaster corset, her arms seemed slender despite the thick sheets of the shells encasing them.

But it wasn't just the whole upper body, which was held in place by the tight confinement, but the complete torso, as well. Between the neck and the hips, every particle of her body was covered by a continuous surface that gave the impression of a strange and rigid white armour. Attached to this colossal mass, all the other parts of her body, including each limb, were also casted in plaster.

An enormous pair of identical-looking shoulder spica casts securely held her two arms, expanding inexorably from the shoulders, covering the upper and the lower segments, only to end at the fingertips. Plaster casts that fit like gloves were applied to every finger and thumb. Her upper limbs were bent at right angles at the elbows, causing her palms to face upwards towards the ceiling. With her arms spread apart from the trunk, the odd posture mistakenly suggested that she was attempting to perform a never-finished embrace.

Immobilising both legs, a double hip spica embedded the lower body, enhanced by two look-alike long casts, having layers arranged in a criss-cross pattern. The DHSC filled the patient's pelvis with plaster and fastened the entirety of her lower limbs in a straight and unbent position, with a rod wedged between her ankles to keep them wide apart.

The patient was engulfed in a large, contiguous, customised container from the top of her head, seamlessly going down to the tip of her toes. For the rest of the year, she remained confined to a personalised prison, separated from the outside world by an impenetrable, one-inch thick wall of plaster. There were no large and wide gates to the outside, except for a few small openings on the head and above her loins, although the latter was covered by a blanket.

Janet approached the patient's bed and wondered if she was awake and aware of her surroundings. She also wondered if the patient had ever tried to move inside her medical cocoon to test its strength.

She stepped closer to the bed, saying a simple ‘Hello.’

Even she herself didn’t know why she greeted the patient, as she was sure she wouldn't get any response. The head-and-face plaster cast tightly surrounded the jaw, preventing her from articulating clearly.

To Janet's surprise, the patient opened her eyes, glancing up at the visitor through the tiny oculus windows.

‘Do you know her?’ a woman's voice asked.

Janet turned around to see a doctor entering the room.

‘No... I was just walking down the corridor, and happened to see the patient in a full body cast and... Is she a victim of the resonance weapon attack, and has she been in this cast for years?’

‘I can’t tell you anything about her unless you're a member of her family. But if you can help us identify her...,’ the doctor said.

‘Don’t you know who she is?’ Janet pointed to the mummy-wrapped woman.

That’s weird. Just ten minutes ago, Dr Andrea Morrison had mentioned something about a chemical weapon that could cause super-osteoporosis, and right now, Janet was standing beside the bed of a full-body-casted patient whose identity was unknown.

As someone who had spent a long time in big casts, Janet sympathised with the patient. But in the space of a second, the patient had become the victim of an alleged crime.

Janet peered at the name tag the doctor wore on her gown. She was called Dr L. Monroe.

‘I would like to talk to you about the patient, Dr Monroe.’

The doctor suddenly changed to a less receptive tone. ‘Who are you?’

‘I'm Agent Janet Wolf.’

‘Agent? Do you work for a medical agency, Ma’am?’ The doctor frowned.

‘No, I don't. I work for the Anti-Terrorist Division. Would you please tell me anything about the unidentified patient?’

Dr Monroe lowered her eyes. There was obviously some mystery surrounding the patient in the full body cast.

‘And why is the ATD interested in her?’

‘There might be some connection to a criminal case.’ Janet realised that Dr Monroe made a failed attempt to hide a secret. ‘Now, you have a choice: you can either help me voluntarily, or this place will be swarming with agents who will scrutinise the files. I need more information on her.’

‘Why?’

‘It’s a matter of national security.’

‘Is she? A matter of national security?’ Dr Monroe glanced at the harmless person in the massive plaster cocoon.

Janet nodded.

‘Oh, damn it.’ She let out a loud groan. ‘This is a very sad and disturbing story, Agent. And if it would become public, it could easily ruin the excellent reputation of our hospital.’

But she went into detail. ‘Temporarily, we call the patient Ms Jane Doe. Well, she was found lying at an intersection somewhere in the suburbs. The paramedics reported that she had two broken legs. But what happened next is very confusing. When the patient was admitted to the surgical ward, I was told that the patient had sustained additional fractures beyond those, which had been initially documented by the paramedics. The surgeons suspected that the paramedics may have dropped her during the transport, causing multiple fractures. However, of course, the ambulance staff denied any wrongdoing. So, they and my surgical staff have been blaming each other ever since then.’

‘In your opinion, what could happen?’ Janet asked.

Dr Monroe extended her arms. ‘Someone is lying here. Or all of them. I'd certainly be glad to find out who's right. But I was occupied with treating the tremendous amount of her injuries. I've never seen so many badly broken bones in my life. Well, we had only one solution: we put her in a full body cast.’

‘And you couldn’t identify her.’

‘When she was found, she was naked, without any identification papers. Our priority was to treat her fractures and put her in a cast than to take a photo of her face.’

‘What kind of accident could have happened to her?’

Dr Monroe shook her head. ‘I don't think it was a traffic accident. There was no visible sign of any violent attack, either. No wounds, no bruises, no beating. To be honest, this case makes me confused. Miss Doe can be diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta type II. That means she’s got a severe form of glass bone disease, but lacks the typical symptoms. Her bones can break at the slightest touch, and even the intact ones are extremely fragile. But can you imagine how much money it will potentially cost if her family realises that we misdiagnosed and mistreated a patient with a brittle bone disease?’

Janet was curious to know if the doctor would even want to identify the patient. The wretched woman was locked up and held in a plaster shell from head to toes. She was unable to speak to anyone. Most importantly, the weighty and solid cast prevented her from calling her lawyer.

To buy time, burying and keeping her in a pile of plaster seemed an appropriate solution, even if a temporary one. As long as Ms Doe was in a full body cast, the pressing problem was eliminated. Unfortunately, Janet's arrival disrupted the peaceful status quo.

‘Why do you think that this case is atypical?’ Janet asked.

‘All her bones are unusually weak, and prone to breaking easily. However, the patient’s sclera isn’t blue, and there were no old and healed fractures. If important textbook features are missing, then how am I supposed to diagnose her?’ Dr Monroe shrugged. ‘Anyway, it doesn't appear to be a congenital condition, but rather something that has developed suddenly and very recently. Brittle bone disease doesn't have these characteristics.’

‘I see. Please wait a moment. I’ll get an expert,’ Janet said before she hurried out of the room.

to be continued

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