Night had fallen. Outside, the streets of New York City were dark, except for the lights turning on in every building. The hospital was full of doctors and nurses rushing toward late night patients. Sam, Brent and Lucio sat in the waiting room. They weren't allowed into Flint's room yet. The doctor had been inside there since lunch and the nurse kept on running out of the room with her face pale.
Tim Lockwood still hadn't arrived, and Sam was getting worried. It had been hours since they had called him. He was either stuck somewhere in the ocean or was stuck in taxi. The traffic was pretty brutal at this time. People were hurrying home.
"I'm going to go to the bathroom." Lucio got up. Slowly, Sam and Brent nodded and watched him go down the hallway and around the corner. When he left, Sam slumped back in her seat and stared at the ceiling. Manny had called her earlier and asked where she was. She told him they were in the hospital because Flint was about to die, so she wouldn't be coming to work probably for next few days. Manny had understood.
"Do you think they'll let us see Flint soon?" Brent asked Sam and stretched.
"I hope," she quickly glanced at the closed door to Flint's room, "Though I wonder what they are doing to him in there."
"Probably trying to keep him alive." Brent stared at the door. There was an awkward silence between them, until Brent spoke up.
"I feel horrible about bullying him in school. Never thought I'd see him die before my eyes." Brent gulped and Sam averted her eyes from the door and toward him. The sat for a few more minutes, until Brent leaned in his seat and looked down the hallway. He looked over at Sam and she blinked. They had both heard it. It was a scream. Not a scream of pain, but a scream of horror.
Instantly, Brent hopped to his feet. Sam stayed in her seat. Fear was chilling her spine. That was no ordinary scream. It was the same scream she had heard escape Flint when the bullet had ripped through his shoulder. Brent started down the hallway and Sam watched him go.
When he turned around the corner, Sam felt fear rising inside her. There was defiantly wrong. By that way, where the hell was Lucio? He had left long ago! Could the scream have anything to do with him?
Another scream erupted from around the corner and this time it came from Brent. Gasping, Sam hopped to her feet and raced down the hall and rounded the corner. She had come to another hallway and her eyes widened at what she saw. Brent stood over a body. His face was pale. Taking small steps, Sam came over to Brent and the body on the floor.
A puddle of dark red blood came from under the body. A hole was in the body's chest. Blood gurgled out of the body's mouth. It was Lucio. He lay motionless, clearly dead. Sam's eyes wouldn't leave the hole in Lucio's chest. It was a small hole, made from a bullet. Some dark blue fabric was held in Lucio's hand. Leaning over, Sam picked up the fabric and her face twisted with rage and panic.
"This belongs to the man in the dark blue trench coat. He's in the hospital. He must be after Flint." Sam flung the fabric back on the ground.
"Brent, go find the police who traveled with us to the hospital today. Or any kind of security. They must see this." She instructed and went back to the chairs near Flint's room. Brent ran to the elevator. The moment she flopped back into the chair, she saw a familiar face walked confusedly down the hallway. It was Tim Lockwood. He held a fishing hat, nervously to his chest and when he saw Sam his face brightened up a little.
"Hello, Mr. Lockwood." She got up to shake his hand. Nervously, he shook her hand and then asked where Flint was. She gestured at the door in front of them. Knocking on the door, Tim kept on gulping back choked down tears. He was scared to see his son. Scared to see death hovering over him. First it was Fran and now Flint. He could take it anymore.
Except when he entered the room and closed the door behind him. The room was dimly lit. The only light was coming from a small lamp on the table that shone on Flint. Tim's eyes traveled to the doctor and nurse who were doing something to him. The nurse was the one who had talked to him on the phone. She and the doctor stepped aside and Tim got a good look at his son. Never had he imagined seeing Flint in the state that he was in. It was horrible. Tim dropped his hat to the ground and came over to Flint's bedside. His son looked fragile. As if he could be snapped in half…
Brent appeared out of the elevator with two police following close behind. Sighing with relief, Sam got to her feet and approached the two officers. Brent led them around the corner and they reached Lucio's dead body. One of the officers shook his head.
"Two shooting in one day." The officer knelt down on one knee and picked up the piece of fabric.
"It's by the same guy too." Sam piped up. Both officers turned to look at her and one nodded. The officer held the fabric in his hands, until he pocketed it. He got up and adjusted his hat.
"The killer still must be in the hospital. He couldn't have gone far." The other officer planted his hands on his hips and looked down at Lucio on the ground. The blood had stopped draining out of the hole and the puddle was drying up on the floor. One officer said he'll be right back and ran out of the hallway. The other officer said that'll they will patrol the hospital for the night. One will patrol near Flint's door and the rest of the hallway and the other will be downstairs patrolling near the front doors.
The officer, who had gone, now reappeared with a doctor carrying a stretcher. The doctor saw the body and cried out. Rolling his eyes, the officer helped the other officer load the body onto the stretcher.
"I'll deal with it." The doctor nodded and dragged the stretcher by one handle, down the hallway. The officers, Brent and Sam all stared down at the dark red puddle of blood. The janitor will just clean it up later. They came out of the hallway and into the one were Flint's room was, along with the other rooms. One officer said he'll go downstairs and stay down there for the night. The other sat in one of the chairs near Flint's room and sighed.
"Let's go inside." Brent pointed to Flint's room. Nodding, Sam came up to the door and knocked. She hoped Flint was okay. She could bear to think that two people had died tonight. Well one for now. Lucio had saved Flint from the man in the dark blue trench coat. He had died thinking Fling might die. Not on a very happy note.
As they entered Flint's room, the dimness hit them. There was only a single lamp in the room, and it didn't seem to be giving too much light. Sam and Brent entered and saw the nurse and doctor talking to Tim; who sat in one of the chairs near the bed. A tissue box sat in Tim's lap and his hand held his son's.
Quietly, they approached the bed and Sam covered her mouth with her hands. She couldn't breathe. Brent gasped beside her and they both stared at Flint lying there on the bed. His hair was matted down to the pillow and his whole face was pale. It was so pale that it was like he could vanish any second. The bandage around his head covered half of his head and his forehead. A long stitch ran down his cheek. His shoulder had bloody bandages and his other arm held a cast that looked too big for him. His leg was bandaged up too. With all the bandages and cast, Flint looked smaller.
There was also more. A tube with something went under his shirt and the tube connected to a device near his bed. The device beeped silently and had a screen, which showed calm zigzags. They looked almost like straight lines. Sam knew what the device was. It showed your heartbeat. If the lines on the device became straight and rode along in a straight line, then the person was dead. She came over to the bedside and Tim got up, so that she could sit in his chair.
Brent stood behind her and she gently took Flint's limp hand in hers. She couldn't cry now. Right now she had to be brave and believe that Flint would live. The doctor came up behind her too.
"You two could sleep in this room tonight." The doctor addressed Brent and Sam.
"Thank you." Sam kept on holding on to Flint's hand.
"May I get an empty room to sleep in?" Tim spoke up.
"Of course." The doctor led Tim out of the room and Tim looked sadly over his shoulder once before leaving. Sam watched him go. The nurse followed the doctor and Tim and closed the door behind her as she left.
"You can sleep on the bed, over there." Sam told Brent and pointed to the empty bed across the room. He nodded and headed over to the bed. Sam took off her shoes and crawled in beside Flint. She huddled close to his side and sighed.
"Please, Flint. We want to back." She whispered so that Brent couldn't hear, from across the room. Silence filled the room, as Brent and Sam fell asleep. The only sound was the sound of the device, slowly beeping away through the night. When, Sam had fully fallen asleep, the lines on the device's screen went along a bit faster and the zigzags turned a tiny but jagged. Flint's heart was slowly recovering.