I take a long sip from the dark, steaming coffee and hum in delight. On late working nights, the caffeine would usually keep my weary body awake. That warm feeling of it warming my insides keeps me happy on stressful days.
Especially when you're working at a hospital for most of it.
I guess I should be thankful since I'm not in the heat of war. Sometimes I have to be there tending to the dying. Luckily, I have the day in the hospital. Not like it's any better. I still have to deal with the wounded and save lives. That's not of bad thing of course but it sure isn't a pleasant experience.
I place the hot mug of liquid down and squeeze my eyes together with one hand. Surprisingly the kick of energy doesn't have any affect on my mind. I rub my face and then see a figure looming over my desk and I almost fall off my chair. I accidentally let out a small yelp but then a green glow around the being's eyes surprisingly makes me relax. It almost makes me pleased.
"Genji! Es tut uns leid I didn't see you there" I say and chuckle nervously. Genji, with his cybernetic body stands still and says nothing with his head lowered. His headpiece is slightly damaged with his knee pads scratched. I wait for a few moments, expecting him to move or talk or do anything really.
Nothing.
"If it's still your arm which is bothering you then I can look over it again" I said taking my mug from my desk again. He was shot by an arrow today which pierced his inner wiring. I didn't have all the necessary parts required to repair it at the time so I had to make a temporary solution to the problem and strapped a metal plate to his left forearm. I take a sip of the coffee.
It doesn't work wonders but it'll be good enough until I get the supplies to do a proper job.
though my cyborg friend still hasn't said anything.
I cock my neck slightly as I taste something metallic in my mouth and I lower the mug down and look inside the rich, creamy liquid. A small red swirl is located around the side were I was drinking from and I stare at it for a moment before realising what it could be.
Blood?
"Angela" Genji says and I'm just about to reply when I realise something. I've never told Genji my real name but maybe he heard it in a conversation I had with one of my closer friends. I recognise that slightly shaky composure and look down to his hands which have been clenched into fists. I frown.
"Is something bothering you Genji? We could always have a cha-"
"You" he says sternly and he raises his head and I can almost tell he's glaring at me through the mask.
I don't know what to say at first. I don't know how he meant it first of all. Did he mean it in an accusing way or did he mean it in a weird flirty way.
I'm guessing the first one.
"Genji if this is about Hanzo then maybe you should talk to him about it really I assu-"
"No Angela! This time it's about you, you're the problem here!" He shouts at me and I'm taken aback by his words.
"What?" I think out loud demanding a good reason for why he just said that to me.
"You ruined me Angela! Ruined my life! I could of died and everything would've been peaceful. But no! You had to swoop in and make my life a living hell didn't you?! You made me your own little experiment!" He snaps and something breaks within me.
I'm about to start shouting back at him but for some reason, I lose the words and they disappear. I'm silent as I can't say anything against it.
"I-I thought I was doing the right thing" I stutter out and get out of my chair backing away from him slightly sensing danger.
He advances, his hand now resting on his short sword by his waist.
"Do you know how much pain I had to go through?! Day after day with you operating on me and you made me go through hell!" He shouts deafeningly and I back away even more now searching for somewhere to run to. The friendly green lights scattered around his body have now turned a violent red and it shines so brightly that I have to cover my eyes from him.
"I know, I know but you're still alive aren't you?!" I shout defensively now beginning to back away faster. I topple over a small cart behind me laid with surgical equipment and it crashes to the floor. I feel something stab into my hand and I wince and examine what might be hurting it and a scalpel has been stuck into the centre of my right palm.
I grip the handle with shaky hands and rip it out and an immediate pain attacks. I grab hold of it, trying to slow down the flow of blood from pouring out.
But it doesn't work.
The crimson liquid just rushes out at an unhealthy rate as if my other hand wasn't there.
"Angela" Genji's voice booms throughout my ears and I snap my head up to him.
I realise that he's drawn his smaller katana.
I frantically begin to crawl away from him. He's going to kill me. He's going to kill me-I'm going to die!
"I wish I were dead doctor" he scowls at me and I cover my mouth with my bleeding hand, tasting the warm blood. I frantically shuffle back begging him to stop but he steps over the tray and doesn't stop advancing. I begin to scream for help around the room but nothing appears to aid my escape. A sharp pain in delivered to my ankle and a scream escapes my mouth and I curse loudly. I swivel round to see a throwing knife jammed into my foot but my eyes direct me to the main threat;
Genji's hand closing in on my throat.
His cold metallic fingers gasp my neck, cutting off the supply of air to my lungs quite effectively. I try to pry his tightening hands off my body but his hand has got a death grip which doesn't want me to escape. He lifts me from the floor so I can't place my feet on the ground so I'm left dangling in the air. I grab at his forearms and try everything to breath again.
He carefully raises the blade to his side, arched towards my chest.
I begin to choke and as one final attempt I try weakly batting at his arms but it hardly effects him and he chuckles slightly.
I can almost see his grin and he thrusts his blade through my chest. Then my heart shatters into a million pieces and I black out.
I jerk upright tossing my clean white sheets off of me with sweaty hands. I notice that I'm shaking as my mind wakes me up.
Wake up stupid it was a nightmare.
A nightmare.
I sigh in relief and my immediate fear is converted into a heavy disappointment.
No sleep again…great.
What was that now? The forth time this week?
I groan as I accept my fatigue and swing my legs out of bed. I stumble into the bathroom and wrap a soft grey bathrobe over my pyjamas feeling the soft cotton brush against me. I then turn to the windows and see the lights of Japan scatter across my village.
The landscape is beautiful.
The way the building were so oddly shaped and lit up made it seem like a land from a fairytale. The way the billboards shone trough other buildings. But despite all this…Japan brings back memories. And not good ones either.
A lot of bad stuff happened here. Not just sort of bad stuff like an embarrassing moment.
Really bad stuff.
The stuff which crawls along your back and the stuff which keeps you awake at night, reminding you that you are nothing. That's why I'm awake.
I did something to a patient…a friend which I can never forget. I open the slidable door to the banister on the outside of the building and lean on the bright red railings letting the cool wind brush past my face.
Maybe being stationed here in Japan was a bad idea.
Translations:
Es tut uns leid = Sorry (German)