Chapter Eleven: Farewell, Captain?
A few seconds after she hit her head, Janine opened her eyes again, her vision blurry, all shapes indistinguishable to her. A groan escaped her lips, seeping out from the corners of her mouth as she rolled onto her side, her ribs becoming a dull throb and the taste of blood in her mouth. With a gasp she settled on her side, wondering what had happened, ignoring a piece of timber underneath her leg.
Then, the effects of her black out faded, and things rushed back like an unpleasant dream. She started, wondering if it were real, and forced herself to sit up sharply, events still a little hazy in her mind. Sitting up, things came into perspective when she saw the massive pile of cruel debris not far away. And it played back in her mind . . . and she wondered, confused over how she had escaped her fate.
She stood, her heart racing, and saw what she hoped she would not. A glint of metal amongst the wood drew her attention - silver and deep red patina with a pale beige fist hidden underneath. It had been clasped but now the fingers, cold and unmoving, had opened and she could see what was held. A ring. A silver, plain band ring with no inscription. It was dull with the layers of dust that had already begun to fall. Nothing more of the owner of that fist could be seen.
Janine felt sick to the stomach. She swayed standing and her head reeled with no trail of thought. A shivering hand passed over her face and she blinked hard, comprehension settling in. Tears pricked but did not escape - and she ran forward, her legs still a little shaky.
"Kai!"
She darted the short distance to the hand and grabbed it frantically, groping for some sense of life, some feeling. There was none, and a shiver ran mercilessly down her spine as she held it. Hope almost died for her and she gulped down a sob that threatened to escape from her soul. Then, she shook her head, resilient, and began to pull aside pieces of wood and rubble from around the hand.
It was hard work. Soon she was sweating, the fire not a concern to her right now. After tugging away a large piece of timber, she stopped for a second, and looked up. On the top of the pile stood Tyson and Rei, watching on in horror. Her face crumpled when she saw them and she went back to her task. She had to save him.
Rei and Tyson leaped down, heedless of the hazardous footing or the blazing fire, and began to pick up pieces of wood too, slinging them unwontedly to the side. And slowly, through the work of all three, the hand soon became an arm. Janine felt along it, swallowing hard to keep herself from breaking, and pulled when she found the shoulder. The rubble moved disdainfully and some from further up at the top of the pile fell, its lodging disturbed.
"Come on!" cried Tyson, his fists clenched as he lugged away more useless wood. Flames began to lick the debris with frightening glowers and glints. Rei grabbed hold too, and pulled hard. More rubble moved, and Janine gasped. She was looking down at Kai's face.
"K . . . Kai . . . "
Crimson blood had matted along a deep slice in the hairline, and some had smeared down, almost reaching his eyebrow. Nasty cuts and scrapes covered his face, which was colorless as silence. His eyes were closed and his eyebrows were furrowed just a little, as if he were in pain. Janine could just see a little of his scarf, which was also bloodied. Shaking her head in anguish, she continued to pull away the debris, a new force driving her on. Tyson and Rei joined her. Rei felt dizzy. Tears streamed as he lugged at the snare that held his friend. He couldn't think straight. His hands were cut and bruised by the splintering wood yet he didn't notice. All he could think about was Kai as he continued to clear away the debris, refusing to give up yet.
Tyson seemed to have the most sense. He stopped clearing for a second, and leaned in close to Kai's pallid face. He positioned his cheek next to Kai's nose, shaking, repeating a skill he had seen earlier performed, and concentrated. After a second he looked up.
"I . . . I don't think he's . . . "
"Shut up! Shut up Tyson!" yelled Rei from behind a piece of board, his voice tight and panicked, "Just help!"
Hysteria almost got to Tyson. The flames around them created an unbearable heat yet the three still continued to fight, to clear away this mass of death and destruction and after another few seconds, they had uncovered Kai's upper body. His legs still lay further into the ruin and the three could not clear any more, not yet. One shoulder looked strangely positioned, and his back was twisted oddly. He did not move.
Janine slumped down next to Kai, and imitated Tyson, leaning in and listening. The second she listened in seemed to last for an eternity. Then she looked up.
"I think . . . I think he is!"
Rei bounded over, his hands dusty and knuckles bleeding. "He is?"
Janine nodded fervently. "I can hear it. Only just though. He . . . he won't last long. He needs help . . . he needs . . . "
She bent down, finally succumbing to her tears, watching Kai's chest catch as it rose slightly with each meager intake he could manage. Rei looked away awkwardly, his eyes pricking once more.
Janine grabbed Kai's hand. It was freezing cold. She clasped it tight, and took the ring from it, slipping it deftly over her middle finger. Her shoulders racking as she cried, she looked away for a moment.
A noise turned her head, and she glanced back down in astonishment. Kai had awoken, his eyes barely open, dim and weary hurt playing on his face. He looked at her dizzily.
"J . . . Ja-"
Janine shook her head. "No, don't speak. Rest. We're gonna get you out."
He scanned her face in confusion, and Janine shook away her tears bravely. She watched, eyes filling yet again, her heart reaching out. His lips parted to speak, but no words formed. Instead he coughed feebly, barely able to draw breath.
" . . . Can't . . . "
"Shhhh," hushed Janine, letting the tears spill over her eyes and trickle down her cheeks remorsefully, "Rest. You'll be . . . you'll be fine."
She brushed his face gently with a shaking hand, and he smiled softly, watching her face. Then his eyes fell shut again, and he slid into unconsciousness. Janine bit her lip. She turned to Rei, who was looking away, tears sliding down his dusty cheeks. A glance at Tyson told her he felt the same thing. She shook her head again, her lip quivering and her hand damp with dripping tears. She lifted his palm, which she had kept tight hold of, and pressed it against her wet, dirty face, searching for some form of comfort. She shook uncontrollably, and blood from a gash just along her eyebrow seeped. Just as the sounds of the fire got closer and began to dissolve into the air again, the distant lull of a fire engine was heard on the air.
Rei looked up towards the exit, wondering for a moment where Rio, Bill and Giorgio had disappeared.
"They knew they were going to lose!" thought Rei grimly. He stared at the exit where a light was brightening, a blue light that was welcome refreshment to the rearing amber glow of the fire, which was spreading dangerously. His face, stained with the trickled marks of tears and sweat in the midst of the dust and dirt on his skin, lit up when he saw a man in a black and yellow suit appear in the doorway. Tyson, too, saw it.
"Here!" he yelled, waving his arms. His voice was croaky. He had breathed in more smoke than he had expected. "Over . . . over here! HERE!"
The fireman at the doorway looked their way sharply, peering into the flames with caution. Rei also waved, and the fireman gesticulated with his arm. From behind him, a dozen more firefighters spilled into the warehouse. Each carried a small extinguisher, but that would not be enough and one went back for reinforcements. One ran over to Rei and Tyson.
"Come on, boys, get out of here!" he said, his Icelandic accent splitting the crackle of the slowly dying fire. Tyson nodded, but Rei stood still.
"Help - our friend . . . he . . . "
The fireman glanced over at Janine, who still clutched at Kai's hand, and gasped. He swore under his breath and yelled to his teammate. Rei could not understand as it was in Icelandic. But three more firefighters raced over. One took Rei and Tyson by the shoulders.
"Come on, boys . . . " he said as he pulled them away from the scene, "You need to get out."
Tyson resisted. "What about Kai? What about our friend?"
The fireman looked back at where another colleague was helping Janine to stand and the remaining were pulling debris off Kai's legs. "We'll do all we can, boys. But you need to get out. It's very dangerous!"
Tyson and Rei gave each other anxious looks as the burly fireman in his black and yellow suit and his bright neon helmet led them out. Janine, also helped along by a fireman, looked back fretfully as she was led by the shoulders outside and into the cold dusk air, where the wind was beginning to die down and soft patters of rain were beginning to fall. Inside, the fire still raged on.
********
"Snap!"
The Chief smacked down a Queen of Hearts onto the thin wooden table that was stretched out along Max's bed. Max grinned.
"You beat me again, Chief. I think it's official that you're the king of Snap! Even though I do kind of have a disadvantage. At least you have two arms!"
Blue eyes crinkled as the tall light-colored female sitting on a chair on the opposite side of the bed chuckled. Kenny looked at Judy with a smile.
"I think your son's letting me win, Judy!"
Another laugh and a toss of short silky hair showed her approval, and Judy, head director of the BBA research centre and manager of the All Stars team, smiled.
"It's a good thing I could get here, boys! This hospital has been really low on staff lately and I promised I would give them a hand if I could! I might be a doctor of Science but I also have a trained qualification in nursing and medicine!"
The Chief ogled. "Woah . . . you're pretty smart, Judy! When I grow older, I wanna go into Beyblade Science too, but having some qualifications in medicine wouldn't hurt!"
Judy nodded. "It can be very helpful when choosing a career!"
Max pulled a face, all colour fully returned by now and his arm in a signed cast. He looked happy and healthy and had made such a speedy recovery that the hospital was allowing him to leave later on - in two hours or so when night finally came. He spoke comically to his mother.
"Mom! This is boring! Let's talk about Beyblading or something! At least that can hold my interest for a couple of seconds!"
Kenny giggled. "Not likely!"
Judy smiled. She looked affectionately at her son and his friend. Max had such pleasant friends. She was so proud of him. She just watched him for a moment while he and the Chief returned to playing cards.
A commotion from outside startled her, and she stood, the creases in her white skirt disappearing as she straightened. A hoard of doctors and white coats rushed past her, and she caught sight of a stretcher being wheeled along, one of the wheels squeaking slightly. Intrigued, she made her way to the door, and, as Max and the Chief continued to play cards, beckoned in one of the doctors whom she knew spoke fluent English.
Looking up, Max watched his mother and the tall, gangly doctor engage in a quiet conversation. He couldn't understand much of it as they were speaking in hushed, quick voices. His mother kept nodding in a comprehensive way, and suddenly her face paled drastically. She peered out of the doorway again and then looked back, her eyes wide. Max listened hard as the Chief continued to deal out the cards onto the shiny table. Judy and the doctor continued to talk, and for a moment, Max, with his ears strained and his head cocked forwards, thought he heard the word Hiwatari. He frowned, a sudden sense of misgiving in his mind, and he leaned forward a little further. What followed were a lot of scientific words and complex terminology that he could not follow, and his mother's face continued to pale. He was about to ask what was going on; however the conversation was finished, and as Judy turned, the doctor nodded and exited the room.
Judy swept to the chair she had been sitting on and pulled her bright white blazer off the back where it had rested.
"Sorry, Max, but I've gotta go. I can help out there."
The Chief turned. "What's the rush, Judy?"
Max stared at his mother and spoke cautiously, as though reciting theory, "Yeah, Mom, what's . . . what's going on?"
Judy sighed. The pale, startled look on her face made both of them anxious if not restless, and the Chief stood.
"Well, Judy?"
Max stared pleadingly at his mother. "Did I hear . . . Hiwatari?"
Judy grimaced. "I'm not supposed to tell you this . . . it's strictly classified . . . but . . . the doctors have just wheeled your friend Kai past. He's . . . he's in a very bad way. I don't know if you'll understand, but he has possible spinal chord laceration - don't ask me how - and this is very perilous. On top of that, one of his lungs is . . . is punctured. Do you understand? He can't breathe very well. I . . . shouldn't really tell you this -"
The two young boys looked at her with stricken expressions on their faces. Max's mouth hung open, and he slowly closed it. The Chief spoke shakily, sarcastically, in clicked, bitter tones.
"Anything else?"
Judy fiddled with a strand of hair. "Actually - these are of less importance - he's got a dislocated shoulder, three or four broken . . . broken ribs and I think the doctor said major concussion. But to be honest boys, I have to go and check it out."
"Do you know how it happened?" cried Max, his good arm waving frantically in the air, his heart thudding in his ears. Judy shook her head.
"Sorry. I'll tell you if anything happens, boys, but I really have to leave!"
She made for the door, her heels making sharp clacks on the hard white-grey floor. Max called after her as she began to shut the door behind her.
"Is he gonna be ok? Do you think he'll make it?"
He said it cheerily, almost cheekily - as if something inside him wouldn't accept the danger of his teammate's situation. Judy looked back, her eyes shining with worry, and closed the door behind her.
********
The waiting room was cold. Almost as cold as outside. And quiet. There was no typical, clichéd, ticking clock for Rei to watch the hours go by on, but just a horrid, lasting silence. He sat tensely in a hard backed plastic chair, dull grey in colour. The ceiling was grey, the floor was grey, the window ledges were a pretty dull shade of white - everywhere he looked Rei could see this depressing grey colour. His spirits continued to sink as he looked around himself. The room itself was small with about eight chairs. He sat in a corner - and Janine sat opposite him. He hadn't spoken to her (or even looked at her, for that matter) since Kai had been rushed into the ambulance. Luckily there was another ambulance and they hopped a ride. The drive to the hospital had been strenuous on spirit. Rei could feel his will deteriorating slowly, as if being decayed by the lifeless grey of the room he sat in. The darkening air outside the window looked cold and frost touched the edges of the glass. He sighed, leaned his head back, and thought.
Janine watched him through round eyes. She was still cut and bruised from her escapades in the warehouse - but too many things played on her mind for her to worry about herself. Her nails, usually long and refined, were bitten down to the quick. She was dusty and messy and looked terrible - but her thoughts drifted far away. Her hands were folded loosely across her lap and her slim silver watch was revealed - and she kept glancing at it nervously. She had not spoken. She was tired - practically exhausted. So much had happened that night. It was hard to believe. But she couldn't stop yet. Fear kept her sharp.
The silence began to get to her. It gnawed from the outside in, eating away at the air, piercing her mind and chilling her spine. When she felt it had lasted too long, she looked up, about to speak. She found that Rei was looking straight at her.
"Oh."
The simple utterance she made was enough to shatter the intrepid silence and send it running. But it was replaced by tension, sharp as a scissor blade.
"Well, Janine," said Rei dully, sounding tired, "What are you thinking?"
Janine shrugged. "I'm . . . I'm not sure. I don't know what to think. I'm just so worried-"
"Yeah, sure you're worried, Janine," interrupted Rei, his voice rising quickly and glaring straight at her, getting louder and louder as he spoke, "I'm sure you're real sorry for what you've done. Look what you've done! Look what you've done to him! Go on, cry, and cry your little fake tears and everyone will believe you because you're such an actress. Yeah, sure you're worried. I'm sure you care so much, Janine. You're the worst thing that ever happened to us - and to him! You used him! He . . . he really liked you, Janine! You know? But . . . you used him, pretending and taking advantage because he trusted you! You disgust me! Yeah, Janine, you're real sorry. I'm sure of it. Maybe you should tell that to . . . tell that to Kai. Because I don't wanna hear it!"
Janine winced at every word. It cut her deep. Rei's feelings had snowballed into one enormous explosion of anger and he hadn't held back. His words dripped with bitter sarcasm and rage and his eyes sparked angrily. He sighed, a few things off his chest, stood up and looked away.
Janine stared up at him. Her eyes had filled and spilled with tears as Rei had written her off. Her lip quivered and she didn't know what to say. But her heart spoke for her.
"You're right. I . . . did pretend. But I didn't use Kai. I wouldn't do it. They asked and asked - I just . . . couldn't. Felt wrong, I guess. I am sorry, Rei. Trust me," her voice began to crack and Rei turned around, watching her intently, "I've never been more sorry. I can barely believe what I've done. It doesn't feel real to me. It's all hazy. And I know there's never any way I can apologize enough for what I've done to you. I've split up your team, my group has stolen your Beyblades, and now? But, you know, Rei, I am sorry. I'm really sorry. I'd give it all to change something. And you probably don't believe me, do you?"
She looked down, tears dripping onto her knees steadily, and continued.
"And now we're here, stuck in this grimy waiting room with nothing to do but count the minutes in our heads! And he's . . . he's stuck in there, dying, because of me! Think I feel proud of that? Never . . . "
There was a pause, where all that could be heard was Janine's heavy, shame-filled breathing.
"I'm sorry, Rei," she said with a shaky sigh, "I'm sorry. I never meant . . . I didn't mean for this. I didn't want this. And you have to believe me! I am sorry! And I'd take your advice and tell it to Kai . . . but I'm not sure he'll be able to hear me."
Rei sank into a chair as Janine finished, and watched as she buried her head in her hands, her shoulders shuddering with each wretched sob that escaped her. His hatred melted away, thaw in the spring sun, and he felt the hot lump of shock and sadness forming in his throat instead. He pushed a dusty hand through his mop of jet-black, and stood. He then walked the few steps to where Janine cried opposite him, and sat next to her, placing a slim arm around her shoulders, ignoring the tears rolling down his cheeks resiliently, refusing to give in to that inescapable sorrow that built up inside. Janine continued to cry, and Rei continued to hold, and so a wordless link was fastened between Rei and Janine, united in resent, and they held each other while the tears still flowed.
********
Max and the Chief sat in agreed silence. There was a clock on their wall, and Kenny watched the second hand go round as the minutes dragged on. He fiddled with the pack of cards in his hands, flipping the corners up and letting them slap into his palms. Max stared at his bed sheets, occasionally lifting his arm to scratch an unreachable itch in his cast, and then letting it drop as he realized his efforts were fruitless.
Judy had come in half an hour ago to tell them that Kai was going into theater for emergency surgery. Since then there had been a tense, unknowing silence between them, and Max decided he must break it.
"How d'you think he's doin'?"
Kenny turned around, flicking the deck. "Kai's a fighter. I'm sure he'll be fine."
Max nodded, reassured for about three seconds before asking, "What do you think happened, Chief?"
Kenny shrugged. "Dunno. I'd check on Dizzi but she's not allowed on in the hospital incase she messes up the machinery."
"Oh."
The silence descended again, and Max fell to staring at the bed sheets. Then, just as he thought the noise of the slapping deck was going to drive him slowly insane, the door creaked. The two boys looked up, eager for Judy and her information, but they had no such luck.
Tyson stepped through the door. "Hey."
********
Janine flicked through the pages of a dog-eared magazine she had picked up from a coffee table in the centre of the waiting room. She was almost amused to see that the coffee table too was a dull grey. Now she leafed through the magazine yet she did not read it - her eyes never even read what was on the page in front of her. It was more habit than anything else. Rei watched her for a while; every so often attempting to guess how many minutes had gone past since he last checked. He guessed well over three hours now. He kept glancing up at the wall, expecting a clock but finding none. Why hadn't anyone been to see them? What was going on?
Janine looked up at him, and he laughed.
"Time flies when you're havin' fun, doesn't it?"
Janine beamed in amused sarcasm. "Yeah, I wish. How long have we been here?"
"I'm not sure . . . but I'd guess at least three hours."
"What exactly is taking so long?"
"Just what I was wondering."
There was a kind of feverish, high-pitched desperation in their voices (concealed better by Rei than Janine but still observable all the same), and they both sighed in simultaneous weariness. Janine slung the boring magazine onto the table and folded her arms, breathing out slowly through her nose and looking at the tiled ceiling. She began to count: one, two, three . . . couldn't she just work out the area like in math?
Rei saved her the trouble. "Eleven up, twelve across. That's one- hundred-and-thirty-two tiles, believe it or not."
Janine smiled lop-sidedly. "You're as bored as I am."
"I'm not bored," said Rei, shaking his head, "I'm just tired of waiting. I need to know what's going on. It must be . . . serious, you know, if he's stayin' in there for so long . . . but . . . it's kinda rude to keep us in the dark like this, isn't it?"
Janine half chuckled. "'Suppose so, Rei."
Silence descended again, but not as uncomfortable this time. Janine returned to the magazine that she had been 'reading', and Rei counted minutes in his head again, his bright eyes skipping around the room, examining every detail (not like he didn't already know it by now).
A pang of hunger crumbled in his stomach, and he pressed his hand to his belly, not wanting to leave the room. Janine heard it and giggled.
"I'm hungry too. Great minds think alike, huh?"
Rei smiled. "I could go for a burger with double fries. And ketchup. That'd be good!"
Then he laughed again, the mood lightening as self-realization happened upon him.
"Man, I'm beginning to sound like Tyson!" he grinned. Janine nodded, and then started.
"Hey, where did he get to, anyway?"
Rei stretched out his legs in front of him on the smooth grey floor, and it squeaked underneath his shoes. "Went to tell the others, I guess. I'd like to go see Max, but . . . "
Another silence. Sick and tired of the stupid magazine, Janine dropped it on the floor with a wrinkle of her nose and sat back. Imaginary seconds ticked by in her head and she rolled her eyes, conscious and in contempt of her own nervousness. The initial shocks from earlier had worn off by now and impatience set in on the both of them. She tapped her foot edgily, her fingers drumming along with the beat. Another deep breath came, and finally she stood, agitation getting the better of her.
"Do you think we should ask someone what's happening?"
Rei looked at her, and then looked past her. "No need."
Confusion. "What?"
Rei nodded to behind where she stood, and she whizzed around, brushing a strand of dried hair out of her eyes where it hung wildly and messily.
The tall, gangly doctor watched them through thick spectacles. His eyes were a bright, intelligent blue, and he had a tiny moustache, which he obviously curled to keep in good condition. He peered down at them and raised his eyebrows.
Rei stood up and stood next to Janine, and they both stared back at the doctor.
"Well?"
He took ages to reply. Even when he did, his voice was quick and difficult to understand.
"You are here with . . . with . . . "
"Kai," prompted Janine, giving Rei a nervous sideward glance, "Kai Hiwatari."
The doctor looked down at a clipboard he carried, which was an unusual black (unusual because everything in this place seemed to be grey or white faded to grey). He leafed through some scribbled on pages, licking his thumb now and then to assist, and then he looked up with a successful smile. He seemed a little scatty.
"Yes, Kai. You are here with him?"
"Yes," answered Rei tensely. "Well? Any news?"
The doctor looked up from where he was burrowing in his notes. "Yes. Well, your friend has stabilized. He is still in a critical condition, but he has stabilized, and that is always a good thing."
Rei and Janine burst into ecstatic grins. "Oh yes!" Janine grabbed Rei's arm and he laughed in sheer relief.
The doctor smiled with them for a second before his face dropped back into somberness. "It is good to celebrate, but, like I said, he is still very critical. We have corrected his breathing problems by patching the damaged lung and his shoulder is no longer dislocated. The concussion will fade soon and his ribs are bandaged and will heal. But . . . "
Janine broke from her embrace with Rei. "But what?"
The doctor sighed. "The debris . . . it has damaged his spinal chord. Some of the nerves have been partially severed - not completely, I stress."
"What nerves?" asked Rei, jubilation fading like the light from a setting sun. The doctor glanced at him.
"I will put it in simple terms for you. The nerves that were damaged were for . . . were for . . . how to put this . . . use of legs. Yes, use of legs. So . . . our medics and surgeons have done their best to repair the damage - but only time will tell."
Janine sank into a chair, her limp hand gripped tightly by Rei. "So . . . he might not . . . "
"Walk, yes. He might not walk again. But he might! It is completely a matter of waiting and hoping for the best. All that could be done has been done."
Rei slid into the chair next to Janine, who stared at her hands.
"It's ok, Janine. At least he's gonna get better."
Janine looked at him, her face devoid of colour, her eyes wide but tearless. "What have I done?" she whispered, cracks splitting her hushed voice, stunned. Rei looked away.
"I . . . I don't . . . "
"You can see him now, if you wish," interrupted the doctor a little tactlessly, "He is still sleeping, but if you remain quiet you may."
Rei nodded to the doctor, who smiled sympathetically and waited for them to stand so he could lead them to the room. Rei nudged Janine, who still stared at hands that shook.
"Come on, Janine. Let's go."
Janine looked up, startled out of a dream, and blinked. "Oh. We're gonna see him?"
A nod of his head answered her question, and, leaning on Rei's arm, Janine stood, her knees shaky, and they slowly followed the doctor out of the confined waiting room.
********
Tyson took a deep breath, relieved after speaking for ten minutes without a break, and sat down. Max and the Chief still stared at him, as though he was some sort of circus freak. They had shown a mixture of emotions as Tyson had told his account - they had growled with disgust at Giorgio's underhand group, had paled at the frightening description of the dreadful Apophis. Tyson had made them restrain any questions until the finale of his story and they both shot up their hands, as though they were in a schoolroom. Tyson giggled.
"Yeah, Max?"
Max lowered his good arm from above his head. "Where did the bad guys go?"
Smiling at Max's childlike reference to their adversary as 'the bad guys', Tyson answered as best he could. He explained, his voice beginning to tire, that Rio, Bill and Giorgio had been there when the mighty debris had fallen, and they had disappeared in the cloud of smoke that followed.
"I think they were scared of getting caught," he concluded. Kenny was next.
"Where does this link in with Ronald?"
Tyson stared at him, uncomprehending. "Ronald?"
"Don't you remember, Tyson?" asked the Chief, with a hint of exasperation, "Ronald, the guy who broke into our room at the rubbish hotel, the guy who drove the nails in to the window with Apophis symbol on them?"
"Oh yeah. I guess he was at chess club after all!"
The Chief looked doubtful. "That doesn't explain the nails."
"I can explain it!" came a female voice. Sitting closed on the chair, Dizzi had begun to speak.
"Dizzi! I told you already!" cried the Chief frantically, "You're supposed to be off!"
"Don't sweat it, Chief!" the smooth voice of Dizzi came again, her power button flickering as she spoke. "I'm on low frequency. I couldn't damage any machinery at this rate. I'm not even as powerful as an electric toothbrush."
The Chief sighed. "Phew. Ok Dizzi, explain. The nails?"
"Open me up, Kenny,"
Max and Tyson watched, amused, as Kenny opened up his small laptop. The screen flickered and then appeared, and Dizzi spoke again.
"Take a look at this picture, Chief. That's the Apophis symbol, right?"
Kenny nodded, his fingers skimming the keyboard. "Yep. The one from the explosive."
"Right, Chief. Now look at this one. This is from the nail."
Another picture enlarged on Dizzi's screen and the Chief examined it.
"Oh, yeah! I see now!"
"What, Chief? What is it?"
The Chief spun round the laptop. "Look at this! The symbol on the nail! It.it has a line under it! See?"
Tyson stared, squinted, and smiled when he saw a barely detectable blue line underneath the symbol. "Oh, yeah! I see! So that explains it!"
"This, boys," explained Dizzi, "is actually a well known Icelandic brand logo. It just looks like Apophis. Ronald was innocent after all."
"Groovy!" concluded Tyson, feeling that affairs were finally wrapped up. Then remembrance hit him like a shock of iced air and he shivered.
"Well," said Max, "Do you know what's going on now?" He didn't want to mention the name. Fear clamped his throat when he tried.
"I don't know any more than you do, Max," replied Tyson quietly, "I'm in the dark here."
The Chief closed Dizzi and placed the laptop on the chair beside him. "I wish we knew. Waiting is so horrible."
"Yeah," agreed Tyson, taking a seat again, "Yeah, it is."
********
The doctor - Dr Schaller (or so his name-tag read) - stopped at a white door with a frosted glass panel in the centre. He reached for the handle, which was gold, but before he twisted it he turned to Rei and Janine, who waited nervously behind him. Janine still clasped Rei's hand though not so reliantly now. Dr Schaller sighed.
"You must be quiet now. He needs to rest. Ok?"
Rei nodded his head fervently, his little black bangs flopping above his bandanna. The doctor smiled at him.
"You know, you should get your hands cleaned, child. They look sore."
Rei glanced down at his hands, which he had not washed yet. They weren't dirty as such - rather they were cut and there was dried blood matting some of the skin. Bending his fingers, he winced as a small slit began to ooze scarlet, and he wiped it quickly on his pants, which were dirty already. The doctor chuckled.
"Just don't touch anyone before washing them, alright?"
Rei nodded again and Janine looked at him. "Ready?"
Dr Schaller smiled kindly. "If you need anything, just call for a nurse. We have a couple of English speakers so you should be ok. Here."
He turned the handle and the door creaked open, and Janine looked at Rei, hesitant. He gave her a look that substituted for a gesture, implying that she should go in, and, with a deep breath, Janine stepped into the room.
It was quite small, with pale cream walls. There was a window at one end and the curtains were drawn back, so that the dark night outside crept in. A small lamp stood in the far corner, a faint glow illuminating the room. The air was warm enough.
About halfway along the wall was a bed, with pale blue sheets and a brighter blue pillow. Next to the bed were three plastic chairs and a small brown coffee table with a glass of water on it. Along the edges of wall near the bed were machines, the most obvious being the one that measured heart rate, another recognizable piece of equipment being the drip. Janine wasn't quite sure about the rest. The steady 'bleep, bleep' of the heart monitor was shrill and loud and pounded the air crisply.
Janine, Rei close behind her, stepped further into the room, her shoes clicking on the floor quietly. She approached the bed with her breath held apprehensively. She could hear the soft pad of Rei's feet behind her.
She felt her knees weaken when she saw him. There was nothing horrendous or stomach wrenching about Kai, who lay asleep in the bed, but the mere fact that she had put him there and that she could do nothing to help really hurt Janine. She steadied herself as Rei appeared next to her and looked again at the resting Kai.
The doctors had cleaned him up. His face was pale and exhausted. A white bandage was wrapped around his head, and his hair fell over it, in the like of Rei's own hair hanging over his bandanna. All of Kai's wristbands had been removed and one arm lay out on the bed cover, with a thick drip needle protruding from it. The other arm had been tightly dressed and was in a sling. His scarf and black tank top had been removed and, in exchange, he wore a white garment, which hung loosely about his neck and was only just visible from underneath the covers. Rei noticed Kai's clothes hanging on a hook nearby. He felt his heart in his throat as he watched Kai's slow, deep breathing, not quite steady yet, the covers rising and falling with his chest. His face seemed to wear a kind of shadow over it - in fact, a grey shade hung over the bed. Even so, Kai's face was peaceful and he seemed to be at rest.
Beside him, Rei saw glistening teardrops begin to sleek down Janine's cheeks silently. They pricked at the back of his own eyes but he forced them away for now. It wasn't the time for that, not for him. Feeling inadequate, he moved over to a chair near the bed and sat down heavily, not knowing what to do. As his back rested against the prop of the chair, he watched Janine slip her hand into her pocket. She pulled out the blue blade that was Dranzer, and, with shaking fingers, took Kai's hand and pressed the blade into it clasping his cold, limp fingers around the plastic. Hoping for a response, she waited a second, still holding his pale hand. But no sign came, and Janine placed his hand back on the sheets gently, and she slid into a chair next to Rei but close enough to touch the bed. She kept hold of his hand resolutely, careful of the drip needle, and she rested her head on his hand, tears running sideways from her face and dripping, and when they hit the sheets tiny blue circles formed, only just darker than the material of the covers. Rei watched, moved, now unable to stop a tear or two slipping from his eyes. As he watched, he saw Janine's eyes flicker, and suddenly she fell asleep herself, weary and fatigued. Sleep pressed his eyes, but he felt that he should stay awake, and he prepared himself for a long night.
Just as he was settling down, he heard the door handle creak and the door squeaked open. Tyson poked his head through, and, after a somber hello he looked at Kai. He then looked back to Rei sadly.
"Do you think it's ok for Max and the Chief to come in?" he whispered, his voice a little hoarse sounding. Rei nodded with a shrug, and Tyson hissed an issue to Max and Kenny, who were waiting outside. They entered cautiously, Rei greeting Max with a warm "Hi!". He grinned a little when he saw Max's arm.
"You can sign it later," said Max, the smile fading from his impish features when he saw his sleeping friend. After a quick look, he spun back to Rei.
"I've been told that I can leave tonight. But I feel kind of guilty. What do you think? I'm tired of the hospital, but I wanna stay with you guys . . . just in case."
Rei stared up at him. "I guess . . . you know, I'm not even sure you guys should be in here. The doctor didn't say. Max, you and the Chief go back to the hotel. Explain to Danny that Janine won't be coming back to work for a couple of days. Call Mr Dickinson and . . . well, you could try Kai's grandfather but from what I've heard of him he wouldn't really want to . . . to come . . . then you guys get some sleep. You might be healed, Max, but I bet you could still use some rest. Tyson, I think you should go too. You can get some sleep and get yourself cleaned up. And tell Danny that we have a positive link to the location of the missing Beyblades, but," he looked at the sleeping Janine, "it might have to wait a while. Ok? If anything bad happens I'll leave a message at the desk, so check it in the morning."
Tyson stared in open admiration at Rei, who had automatically taken sensible responsibility when their leader was down. His orders had been rational and logical, and he had spoken with authority that Tyson had never heard. He certainly hadn't missed anything and he was trying to do what was best for his team.
"Sure, Rei," said Tyson with a little salute, "I'll call back in the morning to see what's happening anyway. Try and get a little sleep yourself. You look tired."
Rei nodded with a smile. Tyson turned to the bed.
"Don't you let out on us, buddy. We need you. I'll . . . I'll see you tomorrow."
Then, Tyson turned away, eyes glossy, and exited the room, followed by Max and Kenny. The door shut behind them and Rei sighed. It was going to be a long, hard, cold night, and he leaned back in his chair, preparing himself for the hours ahead.
A few seconds after she hit her head, Janine opened her eyes again, her vision blurry, all shapes indistinguishable to her. A groan escaped her lips, seeping out from the corners of her mouth as she rolled onto her side, her ribs becoming a dull throb and the taste of blood in her mouth. With a gasp she settled on her side, wondering what had happened, ignoring a piece of timber underneath her leg.
Then, the effects of her black out faded, and things rushed back like an unpleasant dream. She started, wondering if it were real, and forced herself to sit up sharply, events still a little hazy in her mind. Sitting up, things came into perspective when she saw the massive pile of cruel debris not far away. And it played back in her mind . . . and she wondered, confused over how she had escaped her fate.
She stood, her heart racing, and saw what she hoped she would not. A glint of metal amongst the wood drew her attention - silver and deep red patina with a pale beige fist hidden underneath. It had been clasped but now the fingers, cold and unmoving, had opened and she could see what was held. A ring. A silver, plain band ring with no inscription. It was dull with the layers of dust that had already begun to fall. Nothing more of the owner of that fist could be seen.
Janine felt sick to the stomach. She swayed standing and her head reeled with no trail of thought. A shivering hand passed over her face and she blinked hard, comprehension settling in. Tears pricked but did not escape - and she ran forward, her legs still a little shaky.
"Kai!"
She darted the short distance to the hand and grabbed it frantically, groping for some sense of life, some feeling. There was none, and a shiver ran mercilessly down her spine as she held it. Hope almost died for her and she gulped down a sob that threatened to escape from her soul. Then, she shook her head, resilient, and began to pull aside pieces of wood and rubble from around the hand.
It was hard work. Soon she was sweating, the fire not a concern to her right now. After tugging away a large piece of timber, she stopped for a second, and looked up. On the top of the pile stood Tyson and Rei, watching on in horror. Her face crumpled when she saw them and she went back to her task. She had to save him.
Rei and Tyson leaped down, heedless of the hazardous footing or the blazing fire, and began to pick up pieces of wood too, slinging them unwontedly to the side. And slowly, through the work of all three, the hand soon became an arm. Janine felt along it, swallowing hard to keep herself from breaking, and pulled when she found the shoulder. The rubble moved disdainfully and some from further up at the top of the pile fell, its lodging disturbed.
"Come on!" cried Tyson, his fists clenched as he lugged away more useless wood. Flames began to lick the debris with frightening glowers and glints. Rei grabbed hold too, and pulled hard. More rubble moved, and Janine gasped. She was looking down at Kai's face.
"K . . . Kai . . . "
Crimson blood had matted along a deep slice in the hairline, and some had smeared down, almost reaching his eyebrow. Nasty cuts and scrapes covered his face, which was colorless as silence. His eyes were closed and his eyebrows were furrowed just a little, as if he were in pain. Janine could just see a little of his scarf, which was also bloodied. Shaking her head in anguish, she continued to pull away the debris, a new force driving her on. Tyson and Rei joined her. Rei felt dizzy. Tears streamed as he lugged at the snare that held his friend. He couldn't think straight. His hands were cut and bruised by the splintering wood yet he didn't notice. All he could think about was Kai as he continued to clear away the debris, refusing to give up yet.
Tyson seemed to have the most sense. He stopped clearing for a second, and leaned in close to Kai's pallid face. He positioned his cheek next to Kai's nose, shaking, repeating a skill he had seen earlier performed, and concentrated. After a second he looked up.
"I . . . I don't think he's . . . "
"Shut up! Shut up Tyson!" yelled Rei from behind a piece of board, his voice tight and panicked, "Just help!"
Hysteria almost got to Tyson. The flames around them created an unbearable heat yet the three still continued to fight, to clear away this mass of death and destruction and after another few seconds, they had uncovered Kai's upper body. His legs still lay further into the ruin and the three could not clear any more, not yet. One shoulder looked strangely positioned, and his back was twisted oddly. He did not move.
Janine slumped down next to Kai, and imitated Tyson, leaning in and listening. The second she listened in seemed to last for an eternity. Then she looked up.
"I think . . . I think he is!"
Rei bounded over, his hands dusty and knuckles bleeding. "He is?"
Janine nodded fervently. "I can hear it. Only just though. He . . . he won't last long. He needs help . . . he needs . . . "
She bent down, finally succumbing to her tears, watching Kai's chest catch as it rose slightly with each meager intake he could manage. Rei looked away awkwardly, his eyes pricking once more.
Janine grabbed Kai's hand. It was freezing cold. She clasped it tight, and took the ring from it, slipping it deftly over her middle finger. Her shoulders racking as she cried, she looked away for a moment.
A noise turned her head, and she glanced back down in astonishment. Kai had awoken, his eyes barely open, dim and weary hurt playing on his face. He looked at her dizzily.
"J . . . Ja-"
Janine shook her head. "No, don't speak. Rest. We're gonna get you out."
He scanned her face in confusion, and Janine shook away her tears bravely. She watched, eyes filling yet again, her heart reaching out. His lips parted to speak, but no words formed. Instead he coughed feebly, barely able to draw breath.
" . . . Can't . . . "
"Shhhh," hushed Janine, letting the tears spill over her eyes and trickle down her cheeks remorsefully, "Rest. You'll be . . . you'll be fine."
She brushed his face gently with a shaking hand, and he smiled softly, watching her face. Then his eyes fell shut again, and he slid into unconsciousness. Janine bit her lip. She turned to Rei, who was looking away, tears sliding down his dusty cheeks. A glance at Tyson told her he felt the same thing. She shook her head again, her lip quivering and her hand damp with dripping tears. She lifted his palm, which she had kept tight hold of, and pressed it against her wet, dirty face, searching for some form of comfort. She shook uncontrollably, and blood from a gash just along her eyebrow seeped. Just as the sounds of the fire got closer and began to dissolve into the air again, the distant lull of a fire engine was heard on the air.
Rei looked up towards the exit, wondering for a moment where Rio, Bill and Giorgio had disappeared.
"They knew they were going to lose!" thought Rei grimly. He stared at the exit where a light was brightening, a blue light that was welcome refreshment to the rearing amber glow of the fire, which was spreading dangerously. His face, stained with the trickled marks of tears and sweat in the midst of the dust and dirt on his skin, lit up when he saw a man in a black and yellow suit appear in the doorway. Tyson, too, saw it.
"Here!" he yelled, waving his arms. His voice was croaky. He had breathed in more smoke than he had expected. "Over . . . over here! HERE!"
The fireman at the doorway looked their way sharply, peering into the flames with caution. Rei also waved, and the fireman gesticulated with his arm. From behind him, a dozen more firefighters spilled into the warehouse. Each carried a small extinguisher, but that would not be enough and one went back for reinforcements. One ran over to Rei and Tyson.
"Come on, boys, get out of here!" he said, his Icelandic accent splitting the crackle of the slowly dying fire. Tyson nodded, but Rei stood still.
"Help - our friend . . . he . . . "
The fireman glanced over at Janine, who still clutched at Kai's hand, and gasped. He swore under his breath and yelled to his teammate. Rei could not understand as it was in Icelandic. But three more firefighters raced over. One took Rei and Tyson by the shoulders.
"Come on, boys . . . " he said as he pulled them away from the scene, "You need to get out."
Tyson resisted. "What about Kai? What about our friend?"
The fireman looked back at where another colleague was helping Janine to stand and the remaining were pulling debris off Kai's legs. "We'll do all we can, boys. But you need to get out. It's very dangerous!"
Tyson and Rei gave each other anxious looks as the burly fireman in his black and yellow suit and his bright neon helmet led them out. Janine, also helped along by a fireman, looked back fretfully as she was led by the shoulders outside and into the cold dusk air, where the wind was beginning to die down and soft patters of rain were beginning to fall. Inside, the fire still raged on.
********
"Snap!"
The Chief smacked down a Queen of Hearts onto the thin wooden table that was stretched out along Max's bed. Max grinned.
"You beat me again, Chief. I think it's official that you're the king of Snap! Even though I do kind of have a disadvantage. At least you have two arms!"
Blue eyes crinkled as the tall light-colored female sitting on a chair on the opposite side of the bed chuckled. Kenny looked at Judy with a smile.
"I think your son's letting me win, Judy!"
Another laugh and a toss of short silky hair showed her approval, and Judy, head director of the BBA research centre and manager of the All Stars team, smiled.
"It's a good thing I could get here, boys! This hospital has been really low on staff lately and I promised I would give them a hand if I could! I might be a doctor of Science but I also have a trained qualification in nursing and medicine!"
The Chief ogled. "Woah . . . you're pretty smart, Judy! When I grow older, I wanna go into Beyblade Science too, but having some qualifications in medicine wouldn't hurt!"
Judy nodded. "It can be very helpful when choosing a career!"
Max pulled a face, all colour fully returned by now and his arm in a signed cast. He looked happy and healthy and had made such a speedy recovery that the hospital was allowing him to leave later on - in two hours or so when night finally came. He spoke comically to his mother.
"Mom! This is boring! Let's talk about Beyblading or something! At least that can hold my interest for a couple of seconds!"
Kenny giggled. "Not likely!"
Judy smiled. She looked affectionately at her son and his friend. Max had such pleasant friends. She was so proud of him. She just watched him for a moment while he and the Chief returned to playing cards.
A commotion from outside startled her, and she stood, the creases in her white skirt disappearing as she straightened. A hoard of doctors and white coats rushed past her, and she caught sight of a stretcher being wheeled along, one of the wheels squeaking slightly. Intrigued, she made her way to the door, and, as Max and the Chief continued to play cards, beckoned in one of the doctors whom she knew spoke fluent English.
Looking up, Max watched his mother and the tall, gangly doctor engage in a quiet conversation. He couldn't understand much of it as they were speaking in hushed, quick voices. His mother kept nodding in a comprehensive way, and suddenly her face paled drastically. She peered out of the doorway again and then looked back, her eyes wide. Max listened hard as the Chief continued to deal out the cards onto the shiny table. Judy and the doctor continued to talk, and for a moment, Max, with his ears strained and his head cocked forwards, thought he heard the word Hiwatari. He frowned, a sudden sense of misgiving in his mind, and he leaned forward a little further. What followed were a lot of scientific words and complex terminology that he could not follow, and his mother's face continued to pale. He was about to ask what was going on; however the conversation was finished, and as Judy turned, the doctor nodded and exited the room.
Judy swept to the chair she had been sitting on and pulled her bright white blazer off the back where it had rested.
"Sorry, Max, but I've gotta go. I can help out there."
The Chief turned. "What's the rush, Judy?"
Max stared at his mother and spoke cautiously, as though reciting theory, "Yeah, Mom, what's . . . what's going on?"
Judy sighed. The pale, startled look on her face made both of them anxious if not restless, and the Chief stood.
"Well, Judy?"
Max stared pleadingly at his mother. "Did I hear . . . Hiwatari?"
Judy grimaced. "I'm not supposed to tell you this . . . it's strictly classified . . . but . . . the doctors have just wheeled your friend Kai past. He's . . . he's in a very bad way. I don't know if you'll understand, but he has possible spinal chord laceration - don't ask me how - and this is very perilous. On top of that, one of his lungs is . . . is punctured. Do you understand? He can't breathe very well. I . . . shouldn't really tell you this -"
The two young boys looked at her with stricken expressions on their faces. Max's mouth hung open, and he slowly closed it. The Chief spoke shakily, sarcastically, in clicked, bitter tones.
"Anything else?"
Judy fiddled with a strand of hair. "Actually - these are of less importance - he's got a dislocated shoulder, three or four broken . . . broken ribs and I think the doctor said major concussion. But to be honest boys, I have to go and check it out."
"Do you know how it happened?" cried Max, his good arm waving frantically in the air, his heart thudding in his ears. Judy shook her head.
"Sorry. I'll tell you if anything happens, boys, but I really have to leave!"
She made for the door, her heels making sharp clacks on the hard white-grey floor. Max called after her as she began to shut the door behind her.
"Is he gonna be ok? Do you think he'll make it?"
He said it cheerily, almost cheekily - as if something inside him wouldn't accept the danger of his teammate's situation. Judy looked back, her eyes shining with worry, and closed the door behind her.
********
The waiting room was cold. Almost as cold as outside. And quiet. There was no typical, clichéd, ticking clock for Rei to watch the hours go by on, but just a horrid, lasting silence. He sat tensely in a hard backed plastic chair, dull grey in colour. The ceiling was grey, the floor was grey, the window ledges were a pretty dull shade of white - everywhere he looked Rei could see this depressing grey colour. His spirits continued to sink as he looked around himself. The room itself was small with about eight chairs. He sat in a corner - and Janine sat opposite him. He hadn't spoken to her (or even looked at her, for that matter) since Kai had been rushed into the ambulance. Luckily there was another ambulance and they hopped a ride. The drive to the hospital had been strenuous on spirit. Rei could feel his will deteriorating slowly, as if being decayed by the lifeless grey of the room he sat in. The darkening air outside the window looked cold and frost touched the edges of the glass. He sighed, leaned his head back, and thought.
Janine watched him through round eyes. She was still cut and bruised from her escapades in the warehouse - but too many things played on her mind for her to worry about herself. Her nails, usually long and refined, were bitten down to the quick. She was dusty and messy and looked terrible - but her thoughts drifted far away. Her hands were folded loosely across her lap and her slim silver watch was revealed - and she kept glancing at it nervously. She had not spoken. She was tired - practically exhausted. So much had happened that night. It was hard to believe. But she couldn't stop yet. Fear kept her sharp.
The silence began to get to her. It gnawed from the outside in, eating away at the air, piercing her mind and chilling her spine. When she felt it had lasted too long, she looked up, about to speak. She found that Rei was looking straight at her.
"Oh."
The simple utterance she made was enough to shatter the intrepid silence and send it running. But it was replaced by tension, sharp as a scissor blade.
"Well, Janine," said Rei dully, sounding tired, "What are you thinking?"
Janine shrugged. "I'm . . . I'm not sure. I don't know what to think. I'm just so worried-"
"Yeah, sure you're worried, Janine," interrupted Rei, his voice rising quickly and glaring straight at her, getting louder and louder as he spoke, "I'm sure you're real sorry for what you've done. Look what you've done! Look what you've done to him! Go on, cry, and cry your little fake tears and everyone will believe you because you're such an actress. Yeah, sure you're worried. I'm sure you care so much, Janine. You're the worst thing that ever happened to us - and to him! You used him! He . . . he really liked you, Janine! You know? But . . . you used him, pretending and taking advantage because he trusted you! You disgust me! Yeah, Janine, you're real sorry. I'm sure of it. Maybe you should tell that to . . . tell that to Kai. Because I don't wanna hear it!"
Janine winced at every word. It cut her deep. Rei's feelings had snowballed into one enormous explosion of anger and he hadn't held back. His words dripped with bitter sarcasm and rage and his eyes sparked angrily. He sighed, a few things off his chest, stood up and looked away.
Janine stared up at him. Her eyes had filled and spilled with tears as Rei had written her off. Her lip quivered and she didn't know what to say. But her heart spoke for her.
"You're right. I . . . did pretend. But I didn't use Kai. I wouldn't do it. They asked and asked - I just . . . couldn't. Felt wrong, I guess. I am sorry, Rei. Trust me," her voice began to crack and Rei turned around, watching her intently, "I've never been more sorry. I can barely believe what I've done. It doesn't feel real to me. It's all hazy. And I know there's never any way I can apologize enough for what I've done to you. I've split up your team, my group has stolen your Beyblades, and now? But, you know, Rei, I am sorry. I'm really sorry. I'd give it all to change something. And you probably don't believe me, do you?"
She looked down, tears dripping onto her knees steadily, and continued.
"And now we're here, stuck in this grimy waiting room with nothing to do but count the minutes in our heads! And he's . . . he's stuck in there, dying, because of me! Think I feel proud of that? Never . . . "
There was a pause, where all that could be heard was Janine's heavy, shame-filled breathing.
"I'm sorry, Rei," she said with a shaky sigh, "I'm sorry. I never meant . . . I didn't mean for this. I didn't want this. And you have to believe me! I am sorry! And I'd take your advice and tell it to Kai . . . but I'm not sure he'll be able to hear me."
Rei sank into a chair as Janine finished, and watched as she buried her head in her hands, her shoulders shuddering with each wretched sob that escaped her. His hatred melted away, thaw in the spring sun, and he felt the hot lump of shock and sadness forming in his throat instead. He pushed a dusty hand through his mop of jet-black, and stood. He then walked the few steps to where Janine cried opposite him, and sat next to her, placing a slim arm around her shoulders, ignoring the tears rolling down his cheeks resiliently, refusing to give in to that inescapable sorrow that built up inside. Janine continued to cry, and Rei continued to hold, and so a wordless link was fastened between Rei and Janine, united in resent, and they held each other while the tears still flowed.
********
Max and the Chief sat in agreed silence. There was a clock on their wall, and Kenny watched the second hand go round as the minutes dragged on. He fiddled with the pack of cards in his hands, flipping the corners up and letting them slap into his palms. Max stared at his bed sheets, occasionally lifting his arm to scratch an unreachable itch in his cast, and then letting it drop as he realized his efforts were fruitless.
Judy had come in half an hour ago to tell them that Kai was going into theater for emergency surgery. Since then there had been a tense, unknowing silence between them, and Max decided he must break it.
"How d'you think he's doin'?"
Kenny turned around, flicking the deck. "Kai's a fighter. I'm sure he'll be fine."
Max nodded, reassured for about three seconds before asking, "What do you think happened, Chief?"
Kenny shrugged. "Dunno. I'd check on Dizzi but she's not allowed on in the hospital incase she messes up the machinery."
"Oh."
The silence descended again, and Max fell to staring at the bed sheets. Then, just as he thought the noise of the slapping deck was going to drive him slowly insane, the door creaked. The two boys looked up, eager for Judy and her information, but they had no such luck.
Tyson stepped through the door. "Hey."
********
Janine flicked through the pages of a dog-eared magazine she had picked up from a coffee table in the centre of the waiting room. She was almost amused to see that the coffee table too was a dull grey. Now she leafed through the magazine yet she did not read it - her eyes never even read what was on the page in front of her. It was more habit than anything else. Rei watched her for a while; every so often attempting to guess how many minutes had gone past since he last checked. He guessed well over three hours now. He kept glancing up at the wall, expecting a clock but finding none. Why hadn't anyone been to see them? What was going on?
Janine looked up at him, and he laughed.
"Time flies when you're havin' fun, doesn't it?"
Janine beamed in amused sarcasm. "Yeah, I wish. How long have we been here?"
"I'm not sure . . . but I'd guess at least three hours."
"What exactly is taking so long?"
"Just what I was wondering."
There was a kind of feverish, high-pitched desperation in their voices (concealed better by Rei than Janine but still observable all the same), and they both sighed in simultaneous weariness. Janine slung the boring magazine onto the table and folded her arms, breathing out slowly through her nose and looking at the tiled ceiling. She began to count: one, two, three . . . couldn't she just work out the area like in math?
Rei saved her the trouble. "Eleven up, twelve across. That's one- hundred-and-thirty-two tiles, believe it or not."
Janine smiled lop-sidedly. "You're as bored as I am."
"I'm not bored," said Rei, shaking his head, "I'm just tired of waiting. I need to know what's going on. It must be . . . serious, you know, if he's stayin' in there for so long . . . but . . . it's kinda rude to keep us in the dark like this, isn't it?"
Janine half chuckled. "'Suppose so, Rei."
Silence descended again, but not as uncomfortable this time. Janine returned to the magazine that she had been 'reading', and Rei counted minutes in his head again, his bright eyes skipping around the room, examining every detail (not like he didn't already know it by now).
A pang of hunger crumbled in his stomach, and he pressed his hand to his belly, not wanting to leave the room. Janine heard it and giggled.
"I'm hungry too. Great minds think alike, huh?"
Rei smiled. "I could go for a burger with double fries. And ketchup. That'd be good!"
Then he laughed again, the mood lightening as self-realization happened upon him.
"Man, I'm beginning to sound like Tyson!" he grinned. Janine nodded, and then started.
"Hey, where did he get to, anyway?"
Rei stretched out his legs in front of him on the smooth grey floor, and it squeaked underneath his shoes. "Went to tell the others, I guess. I'd like to go see Max, but . . . "
Another silence. Sick and tired of the stupid magazine, Janine dropped it on the floor with a wrinkle of her nose and sat back. Imaginary seconds ticked by in her head and she rolled her eyes, conscious and in contempt of her own nervousness. The initial shocks from earlier had worn off by now and impatience set in on the both of them. She tapped her foot edgily, her fingers drumming along with the beat. Another deep breath came, and finally she stood, agitation getting the better of her.
"Do you think we should ask someone what's happening?"
Rei looked at her, and then looked past her. "No need."
Confusion. "What?"
Rei nodded to behind where she stood, and she whizzed around, brushing a strand of dried hair out of her eyes where it hung wildly and messily.
The tall, gangly doctor watched them through thick spectacles. His eyes were a bright, intelligent blue, and he had a tiny moustache, which he obviously curled to keep in good condition. He peered down at them and raised his eyebrows.
Rei stood up and stood next to Janine, and they both stared back at the doctor.
"Well?"
He took ages to reply. Even when he did, his voice was quick and difficult to understand.
"You are here with . . . with . . . "
"Kai," prompted Janine, giving Rei a nervous sideward glance, "Kai Hiwatari."
The doctor looked down at a clipboard he carried, which was an unusual black (unusual because everything in this place seemed to be grey or white faded to grey). He leafed through some scribbled on pages, licking his thumb now and then to assist, and then he looked up with a successful smile. He seemed a little scatty.
"Yes, Kai. You are here with him?"
"Yes," answered Rei tensely. "Well? Any news?"
The doctor looked up from where he was burrowing in his notes. "Yes. Well, your friend has stabilized. He is still in a critical condition, but he has stabilized, and that is always a good thing."
Rei and Janine burst into ecstatic grins. "Oh yes!" Janine grabbed Rei's arm and he laughed in sheer relief.
The doctor smiled with them for a second before his face dropped back into somberness. "It is good to celebrate, but, like I said, he is still very critical. We have corrected his breathing problems by patching the damaged lung and his shoulder is no longer dislocated. The concussion will fade soon and his ribs are bandaged and will heal. But . . . "
Janine broke from her embrace with Rei. "But what?"
The doctor sighed. "The debris . . . it has damaged his spinal chord. Some of the nerves have been partially severed - not completely, I stress."
"What nerves?" asked Rei, jubilation fading like the light from a setting sun. The doctor glanced at him.
"I will put it in simple terms for you. The nerves that were damaged were for . . . were for . . . how to put this . . . use of legs. Yes, use of legs. So . . . our medics and surgeons have done their best to repair the damage - but only time will tell."
Janine sank into a chair, her limp hand gripped tightly by Rei. "So . . . he might not . . . "
"Walk, yes. He might not walk again. But he might! It is completely a matter of waiting and hoping for the best. All that could be done has been done."
Rei slid into the chair next to Janine, who stared at her hands.
"It's ok, Janine. At least he's gonna get better."
Janine looked at him, her face devoid of colour, her eyes wide but tearless. "What have I done?" she whispered, cracks splitting her hushed voice, stunned. Rei looked away.
"I . . . I don't . . . "
"You can see him now, if you wish," interrupted the doctor a little tactlessly, "He is still sleeping, but if you remain quiet you may."
Rei nodded to the doctor, who smiled sympathetically and waited for them to stand so he could lead them to the room. Rei nudged Janine, who still stared at hands that shook.
"Come on, Janine. Let's go."
Janine looked up, startled out of a dream, and blinked. "Oh. We're gonna see him?"
A nod of his head answered her question, and, leaning on Rei's arm, Janine stood, her knees shaky, and they slowly followed the doctor out of the confined waiting room.
********
Tyson took a deep breath, relieved after speaking for ten minutes without a break, and sat down. Max and the Chief still stared at him, as though he was some sort of circus freak. They had shown a mixture of emotions as Tyson had told his account - they had growled with disgust at Giorgio's underhand group, had paled at the frightening description of the dreadful Apophis. Tyson had made them restrain any questions until the finale of his story and they both shot up their hands, as though they were in a schoolroom. Tyson giggled.
"Yeah, Max?"
Max lowered his good arm from above his head. "Where did the bad guys go?"
Smiling at Max's childlike reference to their adversary as 'the bad guys', Tyson answered as best he could. He explained, his voice beginning to tire, that Rio, Bill and Giorgio had been there when the mighty debris had fallen, and they had disappeared in the cloud of smoke that followed.
"I think they were scared of getting caught," he concluded. Kenny was next.
"Where does this link in with Ronald?"
Tyson stared at him, uncomprehending. "Ronald?"
"Don't you remember, Tyson?" asked the Chief, with a hint of exasperation, "Ronald, the guy who broke into our room at the rubbish hotel, the guy who drove the nails in to the window with Apophis symbol on them?"
"Oh yeah. I guess he was at chess club after all!"
The Chief looked doubtful. "That doesn't explain the nails."
"I can explain it!" came a female voice. Sitting closed on the chair, Dizzi had begun to speak.
"Dizzi! I told you already!" cried the Chief frantically, "You're supposed to be off!"
"Don't sweat it, Chief!" the smooth voice of Dizzi came again, her power button flickering as she spoke. "I'm on low frequency. I couldn't damage any machinery at this rate. I'm not even as powerful as an electric toothbrush."
The Chief sighed. "Phew. Ok Dizzi, explain. The nails?"
"Open me up, Kenny,"
Max and Tyson watched, amused, as Kenny opened up his small laptop. The screen flickered and then appeared, and Dizzi spoke again.
"Take a look at this picture, Chief. That's the Apophis symbol, right?"
Kenny nodded, his fingers skimming the keyboard. "Yep. The one from the explosive."
"Right, Chief. Now look at this one. This is from the nail."
Another picture enlarged on Dizzi's screen and the Chief examined it.
"Oh, yeah! I see now!"
"What, Chief? What is it?"
The Chief spun round the laptop. "Look at this! The symbol on the nail! It.it has a line under it! See?"
Tyson stared, squinted, and smiled when he saw a barely detectable blue line underneath the symbol. "Oh, yeah! I see! So that explains it!"
"This, boys," explained Dizzi, "is actually a well known Icelandic brand logo. It just looks like Apophis. Ronald was innocent after all."
"Groovy!" concluded Tyson, feeling that affairs were finally wrapped up. Then remembrance hit him like a shock of iced air and he shivered.
"Well," said Max, "Do you know what's going on now?" He didn't want to mention the name. Fear clamped his throat when he tried.
"I don't know any more than you do, Max," replied Tyson quietly, "I'm in the dark here."
The Chief closed Dizzi and placed the laptop on the chair beside him. "I wish we knew. Waiting is so horrible."
"Yeah," agreed Tyson, taking a seat again, "Yeah, it is."
********
The doctor - Dr Schaller (or so his name-tag read) - stopped at a white door with a frosted glass panel in the centre. He reached for the handle, which was gold, but before he twisted it he turned to Rei and Janine, who waited nervously behind him. Janine still clasped Rei's hand though not so reliantly now. Dr Schaller sighed.
"You must be quiet now. He needs to rest. Ok?"
Rei nodded his head fervently, his little black bangs flopping above his bandanna. The doctor smiled at him.
"You know, you should get your hands cleaned, child. They look sore."
Rei glanced down at his hands, which he had not washed yet. They weren't dirty as such - rather they were cut and there was dried blood matting some of the skin. Bending his fingers, he winced as a small slit began to ooze scarlet, and he wiped it quickly on his pants, which were dirty already. The doctor chuckled.
"Just don't touch anyone before washing them, alright?"
Rei nodded again and Janine looked at him. "Ready?"
Dr Schaller smiled kindly. "If you need anything, just call for a nurse. We have a couple of English speakers so you should be ok. Here."
He turned the handle and the door creaked open, and Janine looked at Rei, hesitant. He gave her a look that substituted for a gesture, implying that she should go in, and, with a deep breath, Janine stepped into the room.
It was quite small, with pale cream walls. There was a window at one end and the curtains were drawn back, so that the dark night outside crept in. A small lamp stood in the far corner, a faint glow illuminating the room. The air was warm enough.
About halfway along the wall was a bed, with pale blue sheets and a brighter blue pillow. Next to the bed were three plastic chairs and a small brown coffee table with a glass of water on it. Along the edges of wall near the bed were machines, the most obvious being the one that measured heart rate, another recognizable piece of equipment being the drip. Janine wasn't quite sure about the rest. The steady 'bleep, bleep' of the heart monitor was shrill and loud and pounded the air crisply.
Janine, Rei close behind her, stepped further into the room, her shoes clicking on the floor quietly. She approached the bed with her breath held apprehensively. She could hear the soft pad of Rei's feet behind her.
She felt her knees weaken when she saw him. There was nothing horrendous or stomach wrenching about Kai, who lay asleep in the bed, but the mere fact that she had put him there and that she could do nothing to help really hurt Janine. She steadied herself as Rei appeared next to her and looked again at the resting Kai.
The doctors had cleaned him up. His face was pale and exhausted. A white bandage was wrapped around his head, and his hair fell over it, in the like of Rei's own hair hanging over his bandanna. All of Kai's wristbands had been removed and one arm lay out on the bed cover, with a thick drip needle protruding from it. The other arm had been tightly dressed and was in a sling. His scarf and black tank top had been removed and, in exchange, he wore a white garment, which hung loosely about his neck and was only just visible from underneath the covers. Rei noticed Kai's clothes hanging on a hook nearby. He felt his heart in his throat as he watched Kai's slow, deep breathing, not quite steady yet, the covers rising and falling with his chest. His face seemed to wear a kind of shadow over it - in fact, a grey shade hung over the bed. Even so, Kai's face was peaceful and he seemed to be at rest.
Beside him, Rei saw glistening teardrops begin to sleek down Janine's cheeks silently. They pricked at the back of his own eyes but he forced them away for now. It wasn't the time for that, not for him. Feeling inadequate, he moved over to a chair near the bed and sat down heavily, not knowing what to do. As his back rested against the prop of the chair, he watched Janine slip her hand into her pocket. She pulled out the blue blade that was Dranzer, and, with shaking fingers, took Kai's hand and pressed the blade into it clasping his cold, limp fingers around the plastic. Hoping for a response, she waited a second, still holding his pale hand. But no sign came, and Janine placed his hand back on the sheets gently, and she slid into a chair next to Rei but close enough to touch the bed. She kept hold of his hand resolutely, careful of the drip needle, and she rested her head on his hand, tears running sideways from her face and dripping, and when they hit the sheets tiny blue circles formed, only just darker than the material of the covers. Rei watched, moved, now unable to stop a tear or two slipping from his eyes. As he watched, he saw Janine's eyes flicker, and suddenly she fell asleep herself, weary and fatigued. Sleep pressed his eyes, but he felt that he should stay awake, and he prepared himself for a long night.
Just as he was settling down, he heard the door handle creak and the door squeaked open. Tyson poked his head through, and, after a somber hello he looked at Kai. He then looked back to Rei sadly.
"Do you think it's ok for Max and the Chief to come in?" he whispered, his voice a little hoarse sounding. Rei nodded with a shrug, and Tyson hissed an issue to Max and Kenny, who were waiting outside. They entered cautiously, Rei greeting Max with a warm "Hi!". He grinned a little when he saw Max's arm.
"You can sign it later," said Max, the smile fading from his impish features when he saw his sleeping friend. After a quick look, he spun back to Rei.
"I've been told that I can leave tonight. But I feel kind of guilty. What do you think? I'm tired of the hospital, but I wanna stay with you guys . . . just in case."
Rei stared up at him. "I guess . . . you know, I'm not even sure you guys should be in here. The doctor didn't say. Max, you and the Chief go back to the hotel. Explain to Danny that Janine won't be coming back to work for a couple of days. Call Mr Dickinson and . . . well, you could try Kai's grandfather but from what I've heard of him he wouldn't really want to . . . to come . . . then you guys get some sleep. You might be healed, Max, but I bet you could still use some rest. Tyson, I think you should go too. You can get some sleep and get yourself cleaned up. And tell Danny that we have a positive link to the location of the missing Beyblades, but," he looked at the sleeping Janine, "it might have to wait a while. Ok? If anything bad happens I'll leave a message at the desk, so check it in the morning."
Tyson stared in open admiration at Rei, who had automatically taken sensible responsibility when their leader was down. His orders had been rational and logical, and he had spoken with authority that Tyson had never heard. He certainly hadn't missed anything and he was trying to do what was best for his team.
"Sure, Rei," said Tyson with a little salute, "I'll call back in the morning to see what's happening anyway. Try and get a little sleep yourself. You look tired."
Rei nodded with a smile. Tyson turned to the bed.
"Don't you let out on us, buddy. We need you. I'll . . . I'll see you tomorrow."
Then, Tyson turned away, eyes glossy, and exited the room, followed by Max and Kenny. The door shut behind them and Rei sighed. It was going to be a long, hard, cold night, and he leaned back in his chair, preparing himself for the hours ahead.
