Authors Note: Hey, Demyn here. Glad you could join me! Anyways, I've decided to update this chapter because... well, because I feel nice today. Besides, I think its a little mean to be leaving you hanging from where the last chapter ended, ne? Have fun - oh, and a warning for people who don't like gory, cause this chapter is filled with it.
Kia awoke with a long torture filled scream. Her eyes shot open, and she screamed in complete agony as she grabbed her side. She felt a warm liquid, and as she screamed, the liquid on her hand only got thicker and warmer.
Someone grabbed her hand away from the overwhelming pain, and yelled at her, although Kia couldn't understand what the person was saying as her pain consumed even her hearing.
Her voice was out of control, trying to scream until the pain went away, screaming until her throat couldn't bear the burn any longer. She knew that she was screaming, but she couldn't stop it - even when the person next to her put their hands over her mouth.
Kia screamed again, arching her back and squeezing her eyes as tears poured out of them. She could feel the area around her body growing wet, each ear-piercing cry making the pool of water she thought she was in thicker and more dense. She felt liquid rise through her throat, each scream filling up her lungs until she had to stop to cough up the crimson liquid that kept her alive. It gushed into her mouth, overloading her taste buds with the taste of blood. She continued to cough until her lungs begged for a break, her throat and stomach almost vomiting her own scarlet blood. Her cheeks were soon stained with it, streaks of crimson flowing down the sides of her pale face, paler now with pain.
Rowen and Sage desperately tried to help her, but they both just ended up deathly confused and too worried to even try doing anything more for Kia. They cried even harder as more and more of Kia's life giving fluid flowed out of her body, sending her into shrieks of pain. They had left her where she had fallen, massive quantities of blankets and sheets meekly covering her wound as she lay on the couch.
Kia cried out again in distress, attempting to grab her side to ease the tormenting nerves that lurked there. She tried to sit up, but some outside force pushed her back down and commanded her to stay down. Kia didn't care anymore. All she knew was the extreme pain in her right side that had her body in a strangle hold. Coughing hard, her hand felt more warm blood spill out of her side, and her mouth was soon filled with that familiar taste that had been there since she woke up.
Rowen didn't know what to do. He and Sage had already tried to staunch the blood flow from her death-threateningly deep wound by stuffing sheets in it, but all it seemed to do was cause Kia more pain, neither he nor Sage wanted to put her in any more agony that she was already in. Sage had called the emergency doctor ten minutes ago, but there was still no sign of him.
"Dammit, Sage! What are we gonna do?! Kia is dying!" Rowen yelled, raising his voice over the screams of Kia.
"Gods, Rowen, I really don't know! The wound looks deep and every breath that she's taking is only making it worse! I can't make her stop breathing!" Sage cried in response, hot tears falling down his ivory colored cheeks.
Rowen began to pace back and forth across the room, burying his face in his hands as he cried, cursing Natsuki and cursing the doctor who still wasn't here. Yet when Kia stopped screaming, he hesitated to look over to her, almost afraid of what he might see.
But Kia had her eyes open, staring at Sage sitting by her side, numbly watching her. "Kia?" he whispered harshly, "Can you hear me?"
"Sage? What happened?" Kia whispered in a hoarse voice. She coughed again, just enough blood to spill onto her lips, making them a glossy red.
"Kia? Calm down, don't move, okay? We're trying to help you the best we can, just don't leave us yet," Sage responded, swallowing the lump of tension in his throat as he stroked Kia's blood soaked hand.
She couldn't take the stare of confusion off Sage's face. She didn't know what had happened to her. The last thing she remembered seeing was the look of satisfaction on Natsuki's face before everything went black. Now, she was laying on her back, an overpowering taste of blood in her mouth and her body soaked in a thin liquid. The nerves on her right side where screaming out in pain, wishing and begging to be cut from their lifeline and sent to the hands of death. Yet all of this was happening to her and she didn't know why.
"Sage," Kia's eyes filled quickly with fear, "Sage, please... please help-" she stopped to scream. More metallic tasting liquid came into her mouth as lukewarm liquid spurted out of her side. She hated it. She hated the taste of her own blood and reviled the feeling in her right side. It was killing her.
"Shit! Rowen, what are we doing!? It can't end like this, it can't!" Sage grabbed one of the sheets laying on the floor and pressed it against Kia's wound, but he quickly ceased applying his pressure as Kia let out a long wail of agony, arching her back against the couch and tilting her head towards the ceiling.
As if on cue, the doctor suddenly rushed into the room, with him a particularly small black bag. Rowen eyed him for a second, "What the hell took you so damn long?!"
The doctor turned his eyes towards Kia, swearing softly. Not paying any attention to Rowen, he swiftly walked over to Sage's side and sat down, setting his bag on the floor in front of him. He took over the sheet that Sage held and shoved it in deep into Kia's injury. She hollered to the heavens, her eyes rolling back into her head from the excruciating pain. She violently gripped the sides of the couch with her hands, curving her body into an 'S' shape, and thrashing to lessen the pain, but the doctor just pressed his hand firmly on her chest, holding her down.
"What are you doing!? You're making it worse!" Sage cried.
"Do you want her to live or not?!" he shouted back, beads of sweat already forming on his brow. "If you want to help, get out of this room and don't ever come back until I okay it!"
Sage didn't move.
The doctor let out a quick sigh, struggling to keep Kia down. He said, "Help me hold her down."
Sage complied almost immediately, standing up and pressing his hands firmly on Kia's lower stomach to keep her restrained.
"How long has she been bleeding like this?" the doctor asked, reaching into his black bag and pulling out an interesting looking instrument.
"Since about five minutes ago, when we decided to pull the knife out," Sage replied softly, jerking when Kia thrashed against the pressure, still screaming.
"The knife?" Dr. Iha asked, fear blazing in his eyes.
Sage grimly indicated agreement, jerking his head towards the corner. The doctor followed his eyes to the table that stood there, a particularly large dagger lay on it's side, doused in blood all the way up to the handle.
"My god..." The doctor shoved the sheet even harder into her; her voice was hoarse with screaming. She still tried to move against Sage, using all of her remaining energy to get away from the pain that was so determined to kill her. Eventually Sage had to call Rowen over to help, Kia was becoming too much for his own strength.
"Shit, we need to move this sheet and fast. Make sure that you hold her down because if this doesn't make her pass out from pain, then I don't know what will," the doctor warned the two men, hoping they would be cautious. "On the count of three, I'm gonna rip off this sheet. One... two... three!" He violently tore away the sheet that covered Kia's deep wound, but for the first time, she didn't scream. All she did was thrust her head towards the ceiling, eyes as wide as they could be.
Yet the doctor kept going, working at her side with an extraordinary fast pace, ripping threads and pieces of bandages that he kept hidden in his bag. Kia just lay there, lifeless and unable to move of her own will.
Sage looked down at Kia, feeling no movement at all. Angst struck him like lightning, "Is... is she breathing?"
The doctor glanced up from his work and quickly moved a hand to her neck and felt her pulse.
Nothing.
The doctor cursed loudly and dropped everything in his hands. He moved both his hands over Kia's chest and began to practice CPR. Kia's body twitched with every pump on her chest the doctor gave, her eyes keeping the same vacant look as she stared at the ceiling. Almost hesitating, the doctor put his lips over Kia's and tried to give her air. But nothing could pass through her blood-coated throat, no matter how much it wanted to.
After about the seventh time that the doctor tried to blow air into her mouth, any life within Kia died. Her face was extraordinarily pale, making all the blood on her cheeks and neck look darker that it really was. Her usually clear hazel eyes were now blood-shot, the green and brown overwhelmed with the intense red.
After about the eighth time, there was still no sign of faked death leaving Kia's body. Rowen groaned loudly, attempting to hide his crying. He turned to face the wall and punched it hard, so hard that slivers of the wooden wall split through the soft ivory skin of his knuckles, causing him to wail and grab his hand. Grimacing, Rowen angrily left the room, kicking the door open on his way out. He met the wall across from the door and pressed his forehead against it, scorching tears burning their way down his cheeks.
Sage fearfully turned his gaze towards Kia again, wishing and hoping for anything that would be able to bring Kia back to life.
***
Rowen twisted around so that his body could use the wall for support. He slid down so that he was sitting on the floor, his back painfully pressed against the wall, he buried his face in his arms and cried.
"Daddy?" Ayame slowly walked into the hallway, carrying with her a raggedy pink stuffed dog that the hospital had given her when she was born. "Daddy, what's wrong?"
Shaking his head in his arms, his reply came out muffled, "Nothing, Ayame."
"Then why are you crying?" Ayame held her stuffed dog up to her face, letting her eyes get watery. Seeing her dad cry made her feel bad. "Did I do anything?"
"No, Ayame," Rowen paused to glance up and swallow the heavy lump in his throat. "You didn't do anything."
She sat down next to Rowen and dropped her dog on the floor. Noticing the blood on his hand, Ayame shrieked, "You're bleeding, Daddy!"
He slowly looked at his hand, "I know."
"Where's mommy? She can help you!" Ayame stood up abruptly, moving towards the door that Rowen had so recently come through. But before she could grab the doorknob, Rowen grabbed the collar of Ayame's sleepwear and pulled her back down to him. She screamed with fright and surprise.
"Do not ever go in there, Aya. Do you hear me?" Rowen rasped harshly, almost choking his daughter as he gripped her neckline.
"I... I..." Ayame couldn't say anything more before tears rushed to her eyes and her throat closed with her emotions.
Sighing with anger at himself, Rowen pulled Ayame into his chest and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry, Ayame. I'm sorry..." He continued to whisper comforting words until Ayame fell asleep in his arms.