Flash Fire: Chapter 1

Flash Fire: Chapter 1

"Hello?"
"Yes, is this Mrs. Quisil?"
"Yes, may I ask how this is?"
"This is Dr. Psycone. The doctor treating your son for the incident at Professor Oaks lab. There is a...a problem with your son, please come here as soon as possible... Mrs. Quisil, you still there?"
"W-What is it?"
"Please come here, it would be better that way."
"Okay, I'll be right there."



A worried woman paced in through the front doors of the hospital. She started for the front desk but was stopped by a doctor. He led her down the halls to the ER section.

"Where is he? What's wrong?" she said nervously.
"I don't know what to say, I guess I should tell you what happened first." Dr. Psycone stared at Aaron, who had packs of ice placed around him.
"It started earlier this morning, when one of the nurses went to check on your boy. She noticed that he had a temperature higher above normal and notified a doctor. He came and applied the usual medicine to help bring it down. But it didn't do anything. His temperature kept rising. We did several tests and found out what is causing this."
"What, what is doing this?" she said as she stared at her son, worried.
"It's his hypothalamus gland. It regulates the bodies core temperature and keeps the body healthy and from breaking down. We believe something like a virus or bacteria has somehow entered the gland and is changing it. And this is the result, his body is killing itself."
"But it's just a fever, he'll be fine once you get it back down, right?"
"Not exactly." The doctor let out a deep sigh and turned his back to the patient. "Even if we could find some way of lowering his temperature he still would be in danger."
"But how!"
The doctor glanced to his right, away from the panicking mother. He sighed again and said, "The human body can only take so much damage. His current temperature is around 42°C, or 107.6°F if you prefer. At this point he should, and is, comatose. The strange this is that he doesn't show any other symptoms."
"Symptoms? But isn't it natural for a persons body to act this way?"
"In your sons case," He pauses and turns to look at the one in question. "In Aaron's case something different is happening. He has not once showed signs of the fever, turning pale or flushing into a deep red. He hasn't vomited nor had any sort of convulsion. His heart rate and blood pressure are in the green. It's just, unusual. If he was not hooked up to the temperature monitor we would've never known until it was too late, but it seems as if we never had a chance."
Aaron's mother, Elizabeth, turned to look at her son. He was dying before her eyes and there was nothing anyone could do. "Why the ice?" she asked, to get her mind of the inevitable.
"The ice is there to help slow down the rise in temperature. Although it has helped for a while it seems to have no effect in stopping it."
Elizabeth dropped her head, lost, beaten. Her only son was going to die.



"Doctor! Doctor Psycone! You have to get in here!"

A nurse ran out of the room, in complete panic and awe.
"What! What is it!" Dr. Psycone had picked up the nurse's panic, and was following her into Aaron's room.
"He is awake! He shouldn't be awake, should he?"
"What no, that's impossible." He ran over to Aaron, whose eyes were open and roaming the room.
"Aaron, can you hear me!"
"Y-Yeah, although sh-shouting isn't helping." Aaron's body began to shake and convulse.
"Oh, no. Are you okay? Can you stop shaking?" Worry passed over the doctor's face as he tried to stay calm.
"Y-Yeah, b-but could you d-do one thing fi-fi-first?"
"Yes, what is it?"
"Get th-this ice off-ff me. It's fe-fe-freezing! It's making m-me shiver."
"We can't your bodies temperature is too high, we have to keep you cool."
"Wh-What? I f-feel fine. Except f-for the i-ice. Please take it off-ff."

The doctor glanced up at the monitors, his temperature was still rising, slowly. It didn't matter either way. He was gonna be dead soon.
"Okay. Nurse, remove the ice."
"But doctor, you said..."
He cut her off. "It doesn't matter, just take it off."
"Yes sir."

As the nurse and several other aids began to take off the ice Elizabeth walked in.
"What happened?" her voice quite and gloom.
"H-Hey mom."
Elizabeth's head shot up at Aaron's voice. "Hunny, are you okay?"
"A l-little frost bitten, but f-fine besides that."
Elizabeth looked to the doctor but he hadn't picked up the mood soon enough.
"Dr. Psycone, what is wrong?"
"He is fine, he'll be fine." He said, forcing out a smile.
"No, I'm not, am I?"
Both his doctor and his mother looked at him. His mother stared at him while the doctor slowly started to shake his head, no.
"What's going on?"
"You're dying. Ever hear of something called the hypothalamus?"
"Yeah, that regulates the body right?"
"Yes, that also includes the body heat. Well something is wrong with yours. It keeps raising the temperature of your body and we can't seem to find a way to stop it. I'm sorry."
"Please tell me, is it true that my brain is supposed to go dead after 108°."
"Usually it's 110°, there are a few cases where the body can take high temperatures but those are too few out of too many."
Aaron glanced to his side, staring off to what seemed to be space. "Then how come," Aaron turned and looked back at the doctor. "Them how come I am still alive. My temperature is 114°."
The doctor twitched, he glared at the monitors and was awestruck. The boy was right, his temperature was over 114°.
"This can't be possible! It just can't be."
"Yeah, well it is. And the thing is, I still feel a little cold."