Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 7 – When the Hourglass Shatters


"Linna?…" the older woman spoke from the door, trying to see past the leather clad woman on top of who she thought was her daughter.

Priss rose up and backed away from the bed as Linna continued to stare at her parents in disbelief.

"Linna! That is you! Oh no…" the woman began shouting frantically as she rushed to the opposite side of the bed from Priss and gathered up Linna in a caring hug. Her father hovered closely behind, looking with a concerned eye on his daughter. Linna's mom began to calm down as she spoke softly to her. "We were so worried about you."

"Mom, how did you hear…"

"The police called us a few hours ago and said you had been hurt in some boomer attack," her dad answered. "We left right after hanging up the phone."

Her mom sat up and looked Linna over carefully. "What happened to you?"

Linna glanced nervously over at Priss, who was slowly backing away towards the door, then looked back at her mom. "Well, I don't remember too much of what happened… the doctors say I have a concussion, and with the headache I've got…" Her parents both gasped at the news. "…that's not the worst though," she admitted, lifting up her gown to show the damage to her parents. Unfortunately, Linna had forgotten about her recent incident with Priss… and about the popping noises from her stitched up abdomen. Consequently, she had no idea why her father began pointing in a very panicked manner at the bandage.

"It's… It's bleeding Linna!" he shouted out.

"Oh my GOD! Somebody get a doctor, quick!" her mother yelled out.

Linna looked down in fascination at what could be causing such a fuss, until she saw just how much blood had already soaked through the bandage. Looking down through her gown, she also noted a few spots of blood visible on the outside of her clothing. The room began to spin for a second, just before Linna fainted, head falling back onto her pillow with a thud.

"LINNA!…We need help now!" her mother began to order out, looking over at the shaking woman standing near the door.

Priss remained frozen at the sight of her friend, collapsed unconscious on the bed. Her eyes were wide with fear, hands shaking almost uncontrollably.

Linna's mom could see the shock written across the woman's face. She glanced back briefly at her husband, considering a change of tactics. His mouth was hanging open, finger still pointing at the bandage in a motionless state of stupor. Experience told her just how long it would be until he recovered enough to assist. Not enough time… she thought to herself. She turned back to the leather-clad woman and tried to coax her out of the trance. "Please! Linna needs a doctor… she needs you… Priscilla…" she read off her badge… "to go get help…" she pleaded.

The mention of her name broke through the panicked fog Priss was under. She gave a quick nod to Linna's mom and turned quickly on one foot. She was out the door in a second, racing down the hallway… acting on instinct alone.


Half an hour later, Priss found herself sitting in the enclosed lounge area of the hospital, staring at a vending machine. She wasn't brave enough to go back in the room with Linna's parents, but she was also too scared to leave without making sure she was OK.

Priss lowered her head down into folded arms. She remembered not sleeping in the last 36 hours after nearly continuously yawning for a few minutes. She could sense consciousness slipping blissfully away until two unfamiliar voices approached from the otherwise quiet hospital wing. She heard the sound of the door opening to the lounge, but kept her head down. She was altogether too exhausted to do much more than listen to anyone at this point.

The two masculine voices appeared to ignore her presence as they talked to themselves.

Sleep began to encroach once again as the rather monotonous medical jargon they spoke did little to spark any interest. However, the spark returned at the sudden mention of a familiar room number.

"So how's that woman in 221?"

"You mean the one hurt in the boomer incident?"

"Yeah, that's the one all the interns from the last shift were talking about."

"Well, she managed to pop a couple of stitches somehow…"

"What? She have a nightmare or something?"

"Dunno, but I patched her back together again. The incision should be fine as long as she gets rest."

"How much rest do you think Genom will let her get before they make us kick her out?"

"Hopefully until tomorrow. Every time we've got one of these boomer related cases, they're all over our ass to discharge them as soon as they're off the operating table."

"With the funding they give us, do we have much of a choice…"

"Not really… doesn't mean I like it though."

"Hey, those interns were taking a pool to see which one would get a date with that woman in 221 first. They were up to almost 10K by the shift change…"

"I don't think anyone will collect."

"Why? You know something about her sexual preferences you're not sharing with the rest of us?"

"No, nothing like that unfortunately."

"Well spit it out man. I've got a fistful of yen at stake that I don't want to part with if I can help it."

"I probably shouldn't tell you yet seeing as I haven't even told the patient yet…"

"My lips are sealed!"

"They better be! Anyway, the test results just came back from the surgery the guys downstairs did this morning. I think she had some previous reproductive issues before the attack because only one of her ovaries was fully developed. The real problem now is the other just got punctured by some shrapnel from the boomer."

"Damn! Well, maybe she'll be OK with it."

"Try telling that to her parents. They didn't look too happy when I was just repairing some stitch work. I couldn't imagine trying to explain it to them right there. Anyway, the tests basically say she'll never be able to have kids without some sort of divine intervention."

Priss' shaking returned with a fury as the meaning of the words stabbed home.

"Now I see what you mean, although I doubt the interns would care much about 'damaged goods'…

"Hey, isn't that a bit harsh to call her…" the man started to rebuff his fellow doctor until a savage scream stopped him mid-sentence.

Before either of them could even look over to see where the disturbance originated from, the offending physician's head bounced sickly off of the vending machine's hard plastic surface from a vicious right cross delivered directly to the side of his face. The white-coated man slumped down the front of the machine, knocked unconscious on impact.

The lone standing doctor looked up at the attacker; a ragged looking, leather-clad, she-demon poised to strike again. Then he noticed the badge she wore… Priscilla Yamazaki. Shit! I'm screwed! Assuming she doesn't kill me on the spot, I'll be lucky to get a job as a sanitation engineer after this! "Um, I don't suppose an apology would help, eh?"

The fire-breathing woman growled in response to the question, turning towards the shaking doctor with fists clenched.

The man's mind shifted quickly trying to think of a way to save his life. "I… I think breaking the news to… Linna… that's her name, right?…"

Priss' fists opened at the mention of Linna's name.

The man knew he was on the right track, he just had to keep talking and make a break for it when the opportunity presented itself. "Yeah, well I think having a relative break the news to her would be easier for Linna to deal with than someone she doesn't know, like me for instance…"

Priss' fury evaporated as the realization of what the doctor was asking hit her. He wanted her to tell Linna she would never be able to have the children she wanted… ever. Worse yet was the fact that her parents were in the room with Linna. A verbal response failed to form in her mind as the repercussions of the extent of Linna's injuries began to weigh on her soul.

"Wha… What's wrong? You are related to Linna Yamazaki, aren't you?"

Priss wasn't listening to the doctor anymore. The truth of the situation was all that mattered to her now. She walked past the stunned doctor wordlessly and opened the door to the lounge.

"Hey! Where are you going?" he queried almost elatedly. The door closed after the leather-clad woman walked out into the hallway. "I'm alive… I'm still alive! Oh man, what a mess," he commented looking down at his fallen comrade. "Better get some help before she changes her mind and comes back to finish the job…"

A mentally destroyed Priss staggered down the hallway towards the exit. Her mind began to replay the events of the last 24 hours.

"…worse than this little scratch…" those recent words from Linna haunted Priss as well as other memories.

"I really do want to have kids… when the time is right" "Except I took that time away from you, didn't I…" Priss whispered to herself. She was too spent to even cry anymore. What she had lost then almost found again appeared to be gone forever now.

Deep in thought, Priss didn't notice passing in front of an open room… with a certain wheelchair wielding man rushing excitedly out the door. Priss crashed directly into the wheelchair, almost flipping directly over the top of it and onto the floor.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry," a short man came out from behind the wheelchair apologizing furiously. "I guess I was so excited that I didn't see you out there."

"It's OK," Priss answered half-heartedly as she stood up and stretched out a bruise on her elbow. She just wanted to get out of the hospital and away from her problems as fast as she could.

The man suddenly reached over and gathered Priss in a big hug.

"Hey, what the hell?" she shouted out.

"I just needed to hug someone! My wife just gave birth to our first child… a 4-Kg baby boy! Isn't that just so exciting… the miracle of birth and all!"

Priss felt like she was going to throw up, except she couldn't remember the last time she had eaten anything. Pushing away from the beaming new father, she bolted down the hallway towards the lobby.

"Hey! I'm sorry! I didn't mean anything by that you know…" the man's voice trailed off in the distance behind her.

Finding her bike in the parking garage, Priss jumped on and slammed on the accelerator as soon as the engine was up and running. She gunned for the open road again… her last remaining solstice in this crazy town… except that Sylia had that tracker on it somewhere. Damn her! She's always been controlling me, using me… except it never bothered me until now

The now part is what was eating away at Priss. She thought about the friend she felt she had destroyed… no matter what they had meant to each other before, there was no way Priss could look Linna in the eye now. Priss hadn't just been involved in the 'accident'… it was more like she had ripped part of Linna's life right out of her.

And then her parents… Priss couldn't even imagine how they would react to the news. "My parents just want me to squeeze out a house full of grandchildren" Linna's voice haunted her further. Of course, if they ever found out the truth behind the 'accident'…

The only course of action that made any sense to Priss was to just get out… run away from the pain and devastation she had caused. Her sheer presence would just be a constant reminder of what had happened. She didn't see any way to make amends... no hope of forgiveness this time... no apologies strong enough to will away the damage. She had to stay away… stay away from Linna, stay away from the Knight Sabers, stay away from everything that had led to this moment.

As she drove on the open road, even the music that would usually accompany her thoughts failed to provide any comfort. The only emotions that filled her soul from the songs were of loss, pain, and failure. Those emotions swirled inside of her all the way back to the trailer, into her bed, and lay down beside her as she tried to rest… twisting her soul downward… spiraling into a black empty void.

To be continued