“Don’t touch me!” he roared, voice raw but powerful. One hand ripped free of an IV line, sending a spray of blood across the rail. “Stand down! All of you!”
The reaction in the room was immediate and messy. A nurse stumbled back. A monitor lead snapped loose. The man’s eyes moved fast, too fast, scanning for threats that weren’t there, like he was still somewhere else entirely—somewhere far more dangerous than a hospital.
Dr. Mercer stepped forward, trying to regain control. “Sir, you’re in a medical facility. We’re here to—”
The officer swung an arm, not fully controlled but strong enough to catch a respiratory tech in the shoulder. The impact echoed louder than it should have. Someone shouted for restraints. Security moved closer.
“Either we restrain him now,” said Daniel Ruiz, the security officer on duty, already reaching for the restraint kit, “or he bleeds out right here.”
