"They've been in there too long!" Joey shouted again, gesturing wildly at Isis. He paced up and down the small hospital room, his shoes squeaking as they slid across the floor.
Isis tried to put on a calm face, but inside she was just as torn. Although her millennium tauk provided the power to see into the future, nothing about this matter was clear. Nothing at all.
And the longer they waited, the worse off Ryou seemed to become.
Multiple alarms had gone off in the past thirty minutes, keeping all four of the current visitors on edge. Doctors ran in and out of the room at least once every five minutes, each time more distraught than the last.
Ryou's heartbeat was fast and unsteady. They worried constantly that it would eventually just give out. His fever had also risen considerably, floating at just under 105 degrees. His skin had taken on a yellowish tinge, hinting that his liver was starting to fail as well. It was only a matter of time before everything completely shut down.
"I don't know how much longer I can take this!" Joey continued screaming, still pacing across the floor.
"Look, I know how you feel." Tristan argued, holding his head in his hands, "but shouting certainly isn't helping."
"We're lucky enough that they're letting us stay in here past visiting hours." Tea added, putting another wet compress on Ryou's forehead. With his fever so intense, the last one dried almost instantly.
Outside, Joey could hear the doctors arguing just as much. And he didn't like the sound of it.
From their latest sample, they knew the infection had left Ryou's immune system severely damaged. Should he make it through this, as unlikely as that was, chances are, that he would succumb to the first opportunistic infection that crossed his path.
"Where are they? Where are they!" he shouted again, kicking the floor in disgust. "We should be in there helpin' them, not sittin' out here watchin' our buddy die!"
"He's not going to die, Joey!" Tea finally shouted back, tears streaming down her face.
"I know this looks bad…" Tristan tried to interrupt, but couldn't find the right words.
"I can't take this anymore!" the blonde haired teen pushed the door open, and stormed outside. The door clattered on the other side of the wall before flying shut again.
"Joey! Wait!" Tea called out, rushing after him.
Fortunately, the doctors were creating enough of a scene on their own. The two teenagers could hardly be called a distraction.
Tea ran out into the waiting area, where she caught up with Joey. By the time she got there, he was standing at the corner, his back towards her.
"Joey, please…"
He refused to turn around. He feared for a moment that she would take his cold shoulder personally, but in reality, he just didn't want her to see him cry. She had cried enough as it was for Ryou. He didn't want her wasting any tears on him.
She walked slowly up behind him, and put her hands on his shoulders. She could feel them shake with pent up grief, as he tried to wipe the tears off his face.
"It's okay, Joey…" she whispered. "Go ahead and let it out."
She pulled him into a hug.
"I… I don't understand, Tea." He finally spoke. "Why Ryou?"
She watched the tears form in the corners of his brown eyes. They shimmered in the waiting room's stark artificial lighting.
"Why Ryou? Why not any of us?" Joey sighed. He clenched his fists as his mind raced through dozens of different thoughts all at once. "It's not fair! He didn't deserve it, you know! He's been through enough already! Why this?"
"I don't know…" she tried to answer. But she knew she couldn't. There just wasn't an answer for something like that. And she wasn't about to try and make one up.
"It's just not fair…"
"Life's not fair… is it…"
She just held him as he cried. Together, they both cried.