Five words came to mind after I read this chapter over:
"Yeah-- I just went there."
The next chapter is either the last one, or the second-to-last, depending on if I split the chapter up in two parts. Thanks to everybody who has been reading this-- enjoy this chapter, as melodramatic as it is!
I really meant it when I said I ran straight out the front door. I hadn't even put on a coat-- and I was starting to regret it.
Snow fell from the sky heavily. I could barely see where I was going. With tears in my eyes, things only got worse. Franziska was completely right when she said I was weak... I shuddered. She probably didn't have a scratch on her body from the accident. I imagined Wright hideously strewn across a stretcher, his arms limp, his shirt bloodsoaked...
There wasn't enough time. I couldn't get to the hospital fast enough, even when I was running so quickly I could feel my heart pounding out of my chest, my fingers becoming more and more numb. Finally, I found the entrance to the emergency room. Wiping my eyes and taking a deep breath for good luck, I walked in.
The hospital's automatic door opened for me. I stepped in the doorway, panting and shivering uncontrollably. I had run the entire way there, and my shirt and hair were soaked through due to the wet snow. For a moment, I wondered if I myself would have to be treated in the ER... for hypothermia.
The receptionist gave me an odd, uncomfortable look. Apparently, she wasn't used to dealing with hopeless fools like me very often. Things seemed unnaturally calm in the waiting room. I asked the receptionist, my teeth chattering, "Where can I find Phoenix Wright?"
It was strange. I'd never called Wright by his first name before. Phoenix... it does sort of have a ring to it.
But it's not like I call him Wright because I don't want to sound too personal, I just think Wright just suits him.
"Let me see... oh," she frowned, scrolling through names on her computer. "I don't see a Phoenix Wright anywhere on this list..."
"I know he's on this floor. He's supposed to be in the ER."
The woman double-checked, but shook her head. "He's not on the list. Um, do you need some help? You yourself don't look too good--"
"Don't tell me he's..." I held my breath cautiously. "Phoenix Wright hasn't 'checked out', has he?"
A man wearing scrubs walked by just as the receptionist was about to answer. "Somebody say Phoenix Wright?" he interrupted. I nodded. "Oh... we just moved him downstairs. Man, he's in critical condition..."
"Damn it," I grumbled. I didn't even bother to thank the receptionist for her "help". I made a run for the elevator, muttering profanities under my breath.
My heart was pounding in a mixture of exhaustion and fear. In the elevator, I stood next to a woman leaning on her IV stand. An IV blatantly stuck out of her arm, and I nearly gagged at the sight. I then realized that Wright would probably look a thousand times worse than that woman did, and gagged again. Hospitals really aren't my thing.
After what seemed like an eternity, the door opened. I still had to go down a few floors. The woman with the IV dragged herself out, while another pair of people waiting to enter... seemed to be fighting each other off.
Oh, hell...
There was Franziska Von Karma, prying herself away from an policeman who was trying to handcuff her. She cursed, screamed, and kicked her stiletto into the man's leg. She managed to push him away long enough to escape.
She didn't even notice me as she hurriedly pressed at the elevator buttons, mumbling to herself, "Close the door, close the door, close the fucking door--"
Panicking, I shouted, "Franziska--!?"
The door closed. The policeman wasn't in the elevator. I gulped...
Out of nowhere, Franziska wildly glared at me. She snarled, "WHAT!?"
"Where's Wright!?"
"LOOK, I WON! I beat you! And, in the process, I've taken everything that actually MEANS anything to you!" She inched toward me, backing me into the corner of the elevator. I feared for my life. "Mr. Phoenix Wright? Oh, that pathetic fool... there's no chance for him!"
"Just answer one question for me. Please... Who wrote that letter? ...And, why have you sunken so low?"
"You want to know who wrote that letter?" Franziska scoffed, waving her index finger in my face. "I did! It takes a lot of hard work to get to the top, you know? Oh, yes. You would know. You yourself haven't always played fair, now have you, Miles?"
I could feel my face turning red with anger. "You were the one who told me to--"
She punched me in the jaw with more force than I'd expected. I shoved her away, praying the elevator door would open before she could recover. It didn't. Franziska hit the wall, but seemed unfazed. The gleam in her eye just became even more deranged.
"So you want to play that way, huh?" she panted. "Don't you realize you're NOTHING to me!?"
Why the HELL isn't the elevator door opening...!?
An unfamiliar voice announced over an intercom, "This is the maintenance crew. The elevator door seems to be stuck-- don't panic, we'll have everything under control within five minutes!"
Just my luck...
The woman lunged toward me, squeezing her hands around my neck. I coughed for air, trying to pull her off of me, but I couldn't even move one of her fingers. I fell to my knees weakly. Franziska fell, but maintained her strong grip, pressing me against the wall.
"Simply a tool that I've been using to get what I want! What is it with you..." Enjoying my struggle, Franziska squeezed even tighter with each word she let escape through her clenched teeth. "...Always... doing... things... for... people who couldn't care less!?"
I couldn't breathe; my eyes were watering, but Franziska didn't release me. "Take a look around-- who's here to save you!? That's right: no one! I know it hurts to be alone, Miles," she yelled patronizingly, suddenly throwing my head to the ground. I choked, almost blacking out. "But loneliness is only a result of being a weak fool!"
With the help of a sudden adrenaline rush, I managed to punch her off of me. She hit the floor, and stayed there. I sat up, and looked over at her pathetic body, shaking with anger and gasping for breath.
"You vile, horrible thing..." I couldn't manage to get anything else out.
With that, the door opened. A policeman rushed in, grabbing Franziska's hands and handcuffing her. The man didn't even acknowledge my presence. Franziska was literally dragged out the hospital door, screaming about getting revenge as she disappeared from my sight.
I tried to regain my composure as I stepped out of the elevator. The night was getting bleaker and bleaker as it went on.
The whole hall was eerily lit, almost as if the designers of the hospital were trying to create a gloomy atmosphere. There were a bunch of nurses gathered around one of the rooms, yelling at each other and barking complicated-sounding orders like they do on high-drama television shows. I couldn't get a clear view of who the patient was... I just prayed it wasn't Wright.
I passed by quickly, and entered the waiting room. The lighting was less eerie, but the flourescent lights that covered the ceiling flickered an obnoxious shade of white. A television in the corner displayed the image of a dramatic soap opera scene.
I scanned the room, looking for a familiar face. The entire room was empty, aside from a young woman was sitting in the corner by herself. She was staring into her lap, barely moving at all. She looked up at the TV that was hanging from the corner of the room, watched it for a moment, and sighed as she looked down again. It was Maya Fey. I called over to her, "Maya!"
She stood up. "Mr. Edgeworth... you're here..."
She didn't move; she merely stared at me, tears welling in her eyes. I ran over to her quickly.
I guess it's just one depressing moment after the other tonight...
She fell onto me and grabbed my shirt, burying her face into it, even though it was soaking wet. An instant later, I felt her gasping and silently sobbing against my chest.
Don't just stand there, Edgeworth!
At first, I was taken by surprise-- and had a disturbing flashback of a few nights before, when a drunken Franziska Von Karma had grabbed me in the same place, only to seduce me into blackmailing Wright. I wasn't sure what to do. I had to comfort the girl-- but I didn't know how. I was in desperate need of comforting, as well...
"I yelled at him," Maya's tiny voice wavered.
"What?"
"I yelled at him before he left... told him he was stupid for going outside so late... and look what happened!"
My heart sank. "Oh, Maya..."
Somewhat reluctantly, I took her in my arms, rocking back and forth slightly. Much to my dismay, her sobs were only getting louder.
"Why did this have to happen?" she whimpered.
Panicking, and about ready to start crying again myself, I pulled her in closer.
"Please don't cry," I whispered, pushing the hair that was hiding Maya's face behind her ear. "It's going to be okay..."
Clenching my shirt in her fists, she replied hopelessly, "You don't know what they said... Nick's not going to be okay!" She stared up at me with her big, honest eyes, now completely bloodshot. Her lip trembled, and she buried her face into my chest again.
I could almost hear her heart breaking as she spoke... I fought the temptation to join her in crying. I didn't bother asking what the doctors had said. I couldn't... I had to stay calm. For Wright. "They don't know what they're talking about."
"Mr. Edgeworth," Maya cried, "They're doctors! How could they be wrong--"
"Wright's going to be okay. I won't let him not be okay." I tried to emulate Gumshoe as I stroked the back of her head.
"What if he... what if he doesn't make it?"
I trembled, pressing the girl's body even closer to mine. I didn't have an answer to that yet.
There's something about deep sorrow and utter despair that causes changes in people. I don't know if it's the fact that they feel like they have nothing to lose, or if they're just so desperate to forget about their own grief that they focus their energy on soothing others' pain.
But despite the fact that I had just been strangled, and was just informed that something horrible happened to a man I consider to be my closest friend... I felt stronger than I ever had, knowing that Maya's sanity was in my hands at that moment.
"I... don't know," I replied stupidly. The girl wailed. I stammered, "W-well, I mean..."
"First my mother, then Mia, now Nick! And I had to yell at him... why...!?"
"Wait, Maya, sit down," I pushed her into one of the chairs we were standing by. I sat down, facing her, taking her shaking hands in mine. Trying to gather my thoughts, I began, "Look, I know where you're coming from..."
Maya sniffled.
"I know what it's like to lose people... to lose everyone. I mean, my own father, I watched him... But, Maya, you haven't lost everyone... Wright's not gone yet."
"The doctors said--"
"I don't care what the hell the doctors said..." I bluffed.
We sat in silence for a while, until the peace was broken when we both heard a nurse in the distance scream, "He's gonna need a blood transfusion! Somebody hurry, he's on his way out!"
Maya's lip started trembling again, as she said, "That nurse just came out of Nick's room..."
She started crying again. One of her tears dropped onto my hand-- it stung, but I couldn't start crying. "Maya, please..."
The girl started rambling something about being completely alone. Upon hearing that, I squeezed her hands tighter than I had before. "You're not alone."
"Yes, I am..."
"We'll get through this. You and me... and Gumshoe, too..."
"You and me, Mr. Edgeworth? You left us for four years, and we just re-united today! I have nowhere to live; that apartment was Nick's--"
"I was so wrong for leaving you and Wright-- please don't hold that against me."
"Sorry, it's just that..." Maya interrupted herself with a sob.
"I have to make it up to you... for all that lost time. For Wright's sake, I have to--" I paused.
Maya looked at me, her eyes begging for answers that I just couldn't give, no matter how hard I tried.
I couldn't guarantee Wright's survival, I couldn't predict what would happen if he didn't make it, I couldn't even find the words to slightly console the girl... yet again, I had no control over the situation.
I started crying for the third time that night.
I pulled Maya in again. We sat there, her head nestled inbetween my shoulder and cheek, for quite some time. I'm not even sure how much time passed by.
We weren't interrupted until I heard a desperate voice calling, "Mr. Edgeworth! What are you doing here!? It's four o'clock..."
"Four o'clock AM!?" Embarrassed to be seen crying, I let go of Maya and wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my shirt. Attempting to remain composed, I looked up; "What?"
Gumshoe was standing above us. The dark circles under his eyes almost looked as if he had painted them on, they were so horrid. It was obvious he had shed a tear or two, as well.
"Help..." he moaned like a puppy, pulling a chair over to where we were sitting. He couldn't even look at me as he spoke.
"Have you heard anything?"
"I don't know... I was hoping you could fill me in..."
"Well, I don't know. We're not sure what's going on either. The nurses haven't come out of Wright's room for a while, though--"
I spoke too soon. A doctor walked somberly into the waiting room. He droned, "Where is the family of Mr. Phoenix Wright?" He looked at Maya, Gumshoe, and myself. "Oh... I'm so sorry... but if you could please come into his room..."
This can't be happening!
I glanced at Maya, "You go."
She got up from her seat shakily, and looked directly at me as she stated, "You're coming with me."
"Me? No, I can't..."
"...Mr. Edgeworth!" she wailed loudly. Instantly, I leaped up from my seat.
Gumshoe gave me a look, making it clear he was not about to go and see Wright. I couldn't blame him.
I held Maya's hand as we followed the doctor down the hall. My heart was pounding. I was so scared of what I was about to see...
Standing outside Wright's room, the doctor said quietly, "Just to warn you... oh, I'm so sorry. He lost too much blood, and two of his ribs are broken-- his lungs are punctured. It looks like your Phoenix isn't going to make it."
This can NOT be happening...
We entered the room. Wright lay in the hospital bed peacefully, although there was blood all over the sheets. I thought I was going to pass out. The heart monitor beeped slowly.
To my surprise, Maya seemed prepared for this sight-- more prepared than I was. Instead of falling to her knees, crying and screaming like a baby (like I was about to), she went over to Wright's side and took his hand.
"Nick..." she cried quietly. She waited a moment to catch her breath. "Oh, Nick..."
I stood in the corner of the room, watching her.
Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away-- now it looks as though they're here to stay...
"Why did this have to happen?"
The only response Wright could give her was a few slow beeps from the heart monitor.
"I just wanted to apologize for yelling earlier today... and, say that I love you... you know that, right, Nick?"
I heard the faint sound of shattering glass-- it must've been my heart being crushed. I had to leave the room. I waited in the doorway, partially listening to what Maya was saying. I couldn't intrude on her last moments with her fiancee...
"I wish our life together didn't have to end so soon," she sniffed, "but, I guess I'm a spirit medium, right? We'll still be able to talk... just, you know, not face-to-face..."
The heart monitor let out a long, drawn out beep.
Wright was gone.
"Goodbye, Nick..."
The doctor asked Maya to leave after a few minutes. I couldn't even look at the girl as she dragged herself of the room.
She fell onto me and started sobbing, just as she did in the waiting room. This time, I couldn't stop myself from crying.