The city was on fire—literally and metaphorically. A biological threat had swept through the urban core, and the Central Emergency Trauma Hospital was ground zero for the response. Inside, the red lights flashed across sterile white walls as the ER transformed into a war zone of patients, protocols, and controlled chaos.
Among the flurry of activity were the elite members of Protocol Alpha—a specialized team of female surgeons, nurses, and trauma medics trained to handle extreme-level contagion. The rule was clear and ritualistic: Before entry into the quarantine wing, all hair must be removed. No exceptions.
Dr. Layla Serrin, the lead trauma surgeon, stood before the sterile mirror in the prep chamber. Her raven-black hair fell to her waist, a signature she had never once cut in ten years of practice. She stared at her reflection, then down at the clippers in her gloved hand.
One of the younger nurses, Mira, already sat in the chrome chair. Her curls were gone, falling in soft piles on the floor. The buzzing hum of the clippers echoed as another nurse, Juno, shaved her own head clean, baring her scalp with calm focus.
“It’s not just hygiene,” Mira said, watching Layla. “It’s solidarity. No vanity. No ego. Only survival.”
Layla inhaled, raised the clippers, and pressed them to her scalp.
The first pass sent a long strip of black falling to the tiles. Her breath trembled—but she kept going. Stroke after stroke, she watched her hair fall in layers, exposing her skull, her strength, her commitment. Her colleagues stood behind her, their own heads bare, gleaming under the surgical lights.
One by one, each woman took her turn—Dr. Aminah, the cold and brilliant anesthesiologist; Nurse Rivera, tough as steel; even the quiet intern, Eliza, whose tears mixed with the soft strands that fell from her head.
In the end, they stood together—bald, proud, clean, and battle-ready.
The intercom buzzed.
“Protocol Alpha, quarantine doors opening. Patient surge inbound.”
With heads bared and hearts hardened, the women marched into the chaos—not just as doctors or nurses, but as warriors.