The armor we choose: A short story based on the series The Lost Years

Harsh fluorescent tubes buzzed an unrelenting 60-hertz hum against the drop-ceiling of Cloud Medical Center. Midnight in the emergency room offered no reprieve. Scrubbing her raw hands with antibacterial foam, 27-year-old surgical resident Iris Min stared at the stainless-steel basin. The water ran hot enough to scald. Bracing her forearms against the sink’s edge, she ignored the leaden ache anchoring her lumbar spine. Her father’s timeline demanded absolute perfection. Promotion to attending physician by a