Chapter 7: Immortality Would Be Nice About Now
Hali, Yugi, and Grandpa waited for hours after Atem was brought into the recovery ward of the hospital. They didn't say much, waiting vigilant for some sign that Atem would wake up.
Finally, Atem's head turned to the side, his eyes slowly opening. "Atem?" Hali asked, taking his hand.
Atem looked up at her once his eyes were fully open. "Hali..." he rasped. "Where...am I...?"
"You're in the hospital. Bakura and Marik tried to kill you." Hali explained.
A look of horror crossed Atem's face. "No, my secret's out...!" He tried sitting up and cried out as he leaned on his bandaged arm. He collapsed against the bed, groaning.
"No, honey. You're human. No one knows you were a vampire except us and the gang." Hali answered.
"How could he?" Atem asked confused. All three of them looked at Hali.
Hali picked up Atem's bandaged hand. "He used a knife here and put this stuff in the wound. You became mortal and then he shot you.
"Finally...I can be human..." Atem said, relieved.
"Yeah, you two can be together like you should have." Yugi piped in.
Suddenly, Atem frowned, putting a hand to his chest. "What's wrong?" Hali asked, hovering over him.
"Oh Ra..." Atem gasped, his chest heaving now. An alarm went off.
Yugi pressed a nurse call button. "Atem, keep breathing deep."
Atem gulped for air, trying to take deep breaths. A few doctors and several nurses came in as the alarm continued to go off. "He's crashing! Get a crash card!" the doctor shouted to a nurse.
"Atem, no!" Hali cried as Atem's eyes rolled back in his head. The doctor lowered the head of the bed and began CPR. Tears streamed down her cheeks as the nurse came in with a defibrilator.
Yugi went over and grabbed her arm. "We need to leave. Give them some space." he said urgently.
"But I need to stay with him." Hali protested.
"You can't help him." Grandpa reasoned and helped Yugi get her out of the room. She collapsed against Yugi, sobbing.
Yugi and Grandpa eased her into a chair outside the room and held her. Finally, a nurse exited the room. "Mr. Mutou?" she asked.
Both Grandpa and Yugi looked up as well as Hali. "How is he?" Yugi asked.
"He has a clot near his heart and in his lungs. We'll need to do a procedure called angioplasty. He stopped breathing enough that he might have some mental problems. Memory problems and such. Hopefully that won't be the case. He'll be in the ICU in about an hour if you want to wait for him there."
Yugi nodded and led Hali and Grandpa upstairs. An hour later, the doctors and nurses arrived at the ICU with Atem sitting up in bed, sedated. "Hali…?" he slurred groggily.
"Oh Atem…" Hali murmured, going over to him. She held his hand the whole way into the room. "How are you feeling?"
"Sleepy." Atem answered, closing his eyes.
"Do we know if this is temporary?" Yugi asked quietly, once the nurses and doctors were gone.
"Dunno." Hali answered. "Wish we had someone who knew this."
"Like we can find vampires around here. It was luck we found him." Yugi snorted.
A few weeks later, Atem was released from the hospital. He was sitting up in bed with his legs hanging over the edge of the bed. Just below the hem of his hospital gown was a scar where the doctors had made an incision from the angioplasty and it was healing. Hali arrived with Yugi, Grandpa, Tea, Tristan, and Joey.
"Wow, I'm not used to seeing you human yet." Joey exclaimed, going over. "How are you feeling, man?"
"Still healing, but I'm doing better than I was." Atem answered. "I can't wait to have my first real meal. This food is crap."
"Hey, it's not that bad." Joey protested. "I had my appendix removed last year and I loved that food."
"You are a human garbage can, you'll eat most things." Tea said, rolling her eyes.
"Hey!" Joey demanded, much to the other's laughter. Atem's laugh cut short by a cough.
"Come on, buddy, let's get you home." Tristan said, grabbing his arm. He released his hold, startled. "I'm not used to your warm skin yet either."
"It's okay. I'm getting used to having to breathe." Atem answered, taking his arm. Tristan helped him ease to the floor while Hali handed him a pair of jeans. Atem leaned against Tristan while Hali helped him into the jeans. Atem removed the gown and took the shirt Joey handed him. Hali winced at the sight of the scar that ran from below his collarbone to the top of his stomach. Once he was dressed, he eased into a wheelchair without complaint. "Let's get out of here." He said.
"Yes, your majesty." Hali managed a grin. They left the hospital and drove to the Game Shop.
