The Pitt

The PittFest was supposed to be a normal day.

A crowded college campus. Music playing across the grounds. Students everywhere. Food trucks, tents, games, performances, and thousands of people packed into one place.

Then the shooting started.

Within minutes, the entire atmosphere changed.

The Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center was already stretched thin when the first wave of victims began arriving. Then another ambulance came through.

Then another.

And another.

The emergency department shifted into disaster mode.

Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch was immediately pulled into coordinating the response, his attention divided between the incoming patients and the growing number of staff members trying to figure out where they were needed.

Dr. Frank Langdon moved through the department with his usual intensity, helping wherever he could while trying to keep the younger staff from becoming overwhelmed.

Dr. Melissa "Mel" King, a second-year resident, was already deep into the chaos, working alongside the attendings and residents while trying to keep her head clear.

Trinity Santos, still an intern, looked overwhelmed for approximately three seconds before forcing herself back into work.

"Trauma bay three needs another set of hands!"

"Get another monitor in here!"

"Who's got the next patient?"

"Where's the blood?"

The med students were suddenly everywhere.

Dennis Whitaker had barely gotten his bearings before he was sent running for supplies.

Victoria Javadi was doing everything she could to remain useful without getting in the way, her eyes constantly moving between the physicians and the patients.

And despite being med students from different backgrounds and with different levels of experience, Baran Al-Hashimi, Joy Kwon, and James Ogalvie had all been thrown into the same impossible situation.

None of them had expected their clinical training to look like this.

Baran was composed, observant, and frighteningly quick at picking up what needed to be done.

Joy moved with quiet efficiency, listening carefully whenever someone gave her an instruction before immediately carrying it out.

James was visibly rattled by the scale of the situation, but he kept moving.

Nobody had time to fall apart.

Not yet.

The department kept filling.

Patients were being triaged in hallways.

Families were beginning to arrive.

Phones wouldn't stop ringing.

Nurses were moving between rooms with blood products and equipment.

The usual sounds of the emergency department had been replaced by something louder and more frantic.

Dr. Samira Mohan worked alongside the rest of the team, focused entirely on her patients.

Dr. Cassie McKay was already buried in the chaos.

Dr. Kiara Alfaro moved between rooms, helping wherever she was needed.

Dana Evans was keeping the nurses organized, somehow maintaining enough order to prevent the department from completely collapsing.

Perrla Alawi was running supplies back and forth.

Mateo Diaz was doing the same.

Princess was helping wherever there was an opening.

And even the people who weren't normally scheduled for the day were being contacted.

The Pitt didn't have enough staff.

So the night shift was called in.

John Shen arrived first.

Parker Ellis followed.

And then Jack Abbott came through the doors, already dressed and prepared to work.

Nobody needed to explain why they had been called.

Jack took one look around the department and immediately stepped in.

"Where do you need me?"

Robby pointed toward the trauma area.

"Anywhere."

Jack nodded.

"Got it."

The answer was the same for everyone.

There was no room for schedules.

No room for seniority.

No room for arguments.

Residents, interns, med students, nurses, attendings, and physicians who had been dragged in from home were all working side by side.

Outside, the city was still moving.

Inside, the Pitt had become a machine.

Baran looked across the department, watching Robby give instructions while Frank worked beside him.

Joy was helping prepare another trauma bay.

James was carrying supplies.

Dennis was assisting wherever he was allowed.

Victoria was moving between teams.

Trinity was learning faster in one afternoon than she probably had in months.

Mel was trying to keep up with everything being thrown at her.

And Jack, Shen, and Parker had barely arrived before they were already absorbed into the response.

Nobody knew how long the shift would last.

Nobody knew how many more patients were coming.

All anyone knew was that people needed help.

And the Pitt was going to give it to them.