Oculus | J. Todd ✔

[18]

The operation theater was a vast but dark room with task lighting above the stretcher where Evelyn was ushered to. The nurse helped her out and directed her to the flat stretcher and her head was placed in a depressed hole and the rest of her body was covered with a sheet. 

She was asked to lie down and handed soft stress balls in both hands. The procedure was to be done while she would be in a conscious state and no anesthesia was required for the surgery. Hence she would be able to feel every single thing that would take place during the surgery.

Shortly after the doctor entered too and Evelyn recognized her voice instantly, "don't worry Miss Nichols. I will be telling you everything we are doing and I promise it won't hurt at all. If you feel uncomfortable, let us know and we'll take a break."

"No, it's fine. I'm okay."

"Great," the elder woman gestured the staff to initiate the procedure and a machine was adjusted on top of the stretcher. "We will open your eyes with the help of these clips and we will be taping your lids up so that the eyes remain open throughout the procedure."

"Oh..." She felt the doctor insert the clips in between the eyelids of her right eye and then taped the lid up while covering the left eye with a round cap. She could also sense a light on top of her as the machine had blubs fitted into it and a laser ejector in the center.

"Now we will start and operate your right eye first. Are you ready?"

"Yeah..."

"If you feel tense or nervous, just squeeze the stress balls we have given to you. Okay?"

Her grip tightened as the machine was brought closer to her face, the yellow glare from the light irritating her slightly. Then she felt a wetness over her eye and the doctor told her that she was cleansing the eye first. 

The whole area around her eyes was numbed by a pungent smelling chemical and then the doctor spoke up, "now we want you to keep your eye trained towards the light. Don't look away from it, okay?"

"I'll try..."

"We need to get your eye in a single position. So try your best not to let the iris move."

Her fingers squeezed the stress balls even tighter when the machine was fitted over her eye and the laser beam was ejected, cutting the edge of her iris. It wasn't painful but she could feel the slight sensation of being pricked with a very fine needle as the beam cut through. 

Her heart was beating fast and in order to calm herself down, she started reciting a prayer she remembered from her childhood, her voice low as she repeated the words over and over.

"That's right, keep saying the prayer if it helps you. We are almost done," the doctor added reassuringly and then the machine was removed. Her right eye was covered and then the same procedure was performed on her left eye.

The procedure took fifteen minutes per eye and after half an hour since the procedure had started, both her eyes were covered with a white bandage which she was supposed to keep on her eyes for six hours.

"Miss Nichols, relax, the procedure went fairly well. It's all finished now," the doctor remarked in a calm tone and shortly after Evelyn was taken back to the wheelchair. "I will visit you after six hours when you will be removing the bandage. Until then we'll leave you in your friends' care."

"Thank you," she breathed out in relief.

"Don't be worried at all, everything went absolutely fine till now, the results will be positive too."

***

Jason and Tim were seated on the chairs in the corridor that led to the OT. Jay had been asking Tim about his recent danger spree, that is his intentional abduction by Deathstroke. No one else was there in the corridor so they were in no risk of being overhead but the two still kept their voices to a minimum sound.

"You are stupid," Jason remarked in his characteristic straightforward way, "who the fuck goes right into a death trap willingly?"

"Jason I knew nothing of that sort would happen. I made sure of that, trust me..."

But he was not in the mood to listen to his justification, "now listen up, if I find out that you have intentionally gotten abducted again. I will kill you first then blow up the place you're being held in, you hear me?"

Tim was not expecting that but the trace of concern was too evident in his otherwise rough tone, "Jay, I promise..."

His flecked irises pierced straight through his blue eyes, making him lose the nerve to resume with whatever he was going to say, "I made the same mistake when I went after... Him... I thought I could take him down by myself. I was being stupid then and you did the exact same thing... So what if you came out alive this once? There's always more risk of not surviving especially when you're just a boy and your opponent is an experienced for years psychotic killer."

Tim kept silent knowing that if he said anything it would only make Jay boil up in anger and he did not want that.

"Dick said the same to me," he mumbled at last when Jay took a pause, "I know I made a mistake, won't happen again."

"And he was damn right. It better not happen again or you'll suffer worse at my hands," Jay huffed, tearing his gaze from him and looked at the clock instead. Half an hour had passed and if all had gone well, Evelyn would be brought out any moment then.

The doors to the OT opened at last and the nurse emerged, pushing Evelyn's wheelchair. Her eyes were covered with a white bandage and both Jason and Tim had stood up from their seats immediately.

He gripped her hand and she squeezed it, her lips turning up in a relieved smile. They took her to the same recovery room and helped her to the bed then the nurse left after telling them that she would keep check regularly and they were to stay there for six more hours after which the doctor would visit and the bandage would be removed.

"Tim, it's getting late now, you should go home," Evelyn remarked noticing that the boy was still there, "and then you must be tired after school too."

"It's alright, I called Alfred and he says it doesn't matter."

"But I can't let you stay here for six more hours," she spoke in a soft tone, her hand reaching out to ruffle Tim's hair affectionately, "so you must go back. In fact, Jay, you were going to drop him back home, right?"

Before Jay could speak, Tim remarked, "oh no, Jay will stay with you. I'll take the bus, no worries."

"Of course not, its evening and buses will come after longer intervals now," she refused, "and I'm not going to let you go back by yourself at all."

Tim looked over at Jason as if asking him to convince Eve but he merely shrugged, "she said it, you have no choice. Besides I have to drop my bike off and get the car so I was leaving anyway."

"See, that's great," Eve smiled, "he will drop you back home and don't worry about me, I'll be fine here. It's only a couple minutes, right?"

"With a driver as rash as Jay, sure. Only a couple minutes," Tim added and that remark earned him a sharp clap on the back which made him bend forward but he ended up laughing.

"Watch your tongue, kid."

"Come on Jay, he was just joking," Eve laughed as well but then patted Tim's head in farewell, "you'll come see me tomorrow, right?"

"Obviously," the boy nodded, "and I would have hugged you right now but I am a little dubious if I really should or not."

"Don't," Jay remarked, "can't take any risks right now."

"Yeah," he nodded, "bye Evelyn. I will definitely come tomorrow."

***