"Abe's condition has been stabilized." Manning announced as he entered the room. I glanced at his nervous face and then across the room to where the Professor sat at his desk.
"Do you think Hellboy will pull through?" Manning almost whispered as he stood beside me.
The professor hadn't spoken since he had been handed the report on the mission. He had sat quietly as he read the paper work and then stared down at his desk without saying a word, only moving his gaze to glance at the fire ever few minutes.
He sat frozen as Manning watched him, one hand nervously running over his bald head while the other drummed on the wooden side table near the couch. I glared at Manning and he quickly removed his hand from the wooden side table, straightened his tie, and stood a little taller.
"How is Liz's condition?" The professor suddenly asked. Manning looked at me and then gulped.
"Fine, fine. She hasn't woken up yet but the only physical injury she suffered was a fractured left arm." Manning stuttered. The professor nodded and mumbled something along the lines of "the physical injuries aren't what I'm worried about."
"Clay?" The professor said softly, looking up from his desk. "Yes sir." I replied, standing to attention.
"I would like to see Rai in here as soon as possible." He said; his voice weighed down with authority.
Manning and I exchanged a look. "I think we might have a problem with that sir." The professor looked at me questioningly.
"Hasn't she woken up yet?" I nodded. "Yes she has but…" I tried to think of how to explain it without sounding to blunt.
"Rai refuses to speak with anyone until Hellboy and the others are awake." Manning interrupted.
The professor sighed and nodded his head. "Very well, I'll have to go to her then." The professor produced a shadow of a smile and then stood from his chair. Using his cane he walked slowly to the door and left. Manning let out a gasp of air and fixed his tie again before racing out the door behind the professor.
"Hellboy you better pull through this." I whispered to myself, praying this day wouldn't end with all of us dressed for a funeral.
It was like waking from a nightmare and discovering a much more terrible reality.
She was stuck in a dark hole of guilt. Ever since she opened her eyes this was where she wanted to be. She would lift a hand to touch him and then returned it to her lap before making contact. She never looked up, never averted her eyes away from his face, even when people entered and left the room. No sound escaped her. There were no questions about the others'.
I couldn't feel envious of these agents. I wouldn't dare dream of being one of them; none of us did. In fact most of us, although not many would admit it, prayed for these brave people. We were kept out of the loop most of the time. We had no clue what these agents went up against every day. All that we really knew was what came to us in the medic bays.
Agent Clay sat outside with a grim expression. He had entered the room a few times hoping to coax Agent Lightning into getting rest, to no avail. Agent Sherman, I heard, had woken up but was not permitted to excuse herself from medical care. Agent Sapien remained unconscious while his burnt skin had returned to a blue that was close to the shade of his healthy skin. As for agent Hellboy: unconscious, unresponsive, unknown.
I wasn't a doctor in the psychological field but I worried for this young ladies mental health, as would anyone. Her eyes looked healthy but blank, almost empty. I wondered if she had been blinking and not letting her eyes dry out. I stared directly into her bright, green eyes but she paid no mind to me.
With an exhale of breath, I left the room, Agent Hellboy, and Agent Lightning.
"Agent Clay." His head turned when he heard his name. He stood by the doorway of the neighboring medic room. This particular room housed a water tank that allowed aquatic creatures to recover from any type of injury. Agent Sapien was occupying it at the moment.
"How is he?" He asked, stepping away from the door of the second medic room. I shook my head. Things were the same every time he asked me. His expression did not change. He probably hadn't expected anything better but instead was making sure that things hadn't gotten worse; something to keep hope alive.
"And Rai?" Agent Clay asked. Again I let out a slow breath.
"I think the only people that can help her are her fellow agents." I admitted. The agent nodded and heaved a sigh.
Again I felt for the agents of this organization. These weren't 'lucky' people that got to be 'heroes'. These were the unfortunate souls that were chosen to carry incredible gifts and protect hundreds of thousands of people who would never recognize them or thank them for their sacrifice. I would continue to pray for them until the day that I died. With a small nod of my head and a simple handshake, I left Agent Clay alone in the hallway.
Alone. No. They had each other, didn't they? They would pull through because they always had before. I was sure of it.
"Miss Sherman, are you feeling alright?" I shifted my gaze from the ceiling to the nurse standing beside my bed. I nodded and winced. My whole body felt stiff and sore. The nurse helped my sit up and I stared at my arm wrapped in gaze. I knew what had happened and I tried to hold back tears as I recalled the sight of Abe running, not only from the monsters, but from me.
"You suffered a pretty serious fracture but it should heal in no time." The nurse explained in a soft voice. "I exploded again." I whispered looking down in shame. The nurse glanced at me but before he could speak another voice interrupted him.
"You and Abe wouldn't have survived if you hadn't." The professor spoke up from the corner where he sat patiently.
"Is Abe alright?" I asked, panic creeping into my voice. The professor stood and walked to the side of the bed. "He's fine. His condition has been stabilized. He suffered a few major burns and was seriously injured when he fell from the glass world suspended above the circus arena." I blinked a few times as I tried to remember a fall. Had we fallen? That would explain my broken arm.
"What happened to Hellboy and Rai?" I asked, looking up from my arm. The professor's soft facial features froze over, his lips pressed together in a serious grimace, and his eyes darkened.
"Professor?" I felt my heart stop as I waited for an explanation as to what happened to the dynamic duo.
"They escaped the maze before you and Abe. Unfortunately, in an effort to destroy the last of the creatures. . . . . there was an accident and Hellboy was shot."
The professor closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before he looked at me again. My right hand had unconsciously risen to cover my gaping mouth. "Oh… my…. Is Hellboy alright? Is Rai alright? Where are they?" I stood from my bed, ignoring the protest of the nurse. "Hellboy's condition is not very serious. You have nothing to worry about."
I watched the professor as he wiped his forehead.
"Professor Broom, sir, Agent Sapien has woken up." A nurse announced from the doorway. Professor Broom nodded and offered me his hand.
The next room wasn't as bright as the room I had just left. I caught a glimpse of Abe in a water tank but was led to the back of the room in order to stay out of the way. Clay entered the room behind us and stood beside me as the professor approached the tank.
"Abraham, how are you feeling?" The professor asked.
There was a moment of silence as Abe floated limply in place. He lifted a webbed, blue hand and placed it against the glace. The professor's shoulder loosened up and he appeared to be relaxing himself in order to keep Abe from sensing anything was wrong. Abe saw through the façade.
"Is Liz alright?" Abe asked first. The professor smiled. I stepped forward and smiled at Abe when he turned his head to look at me.
"I'm fine Abe. I am so sorry for everything. I shouldn't have…."
"Enough Liz. I'm not sure we would have made it without you. Don't mind these slight burns. They will heal and I am grateful that we are both alright." He wasn't going to let me continue to argue the matter and so I just smiled at him and tried to hide the small tear of relief that escaped my tired eyes.
"Professor, what has happened to Hellboy?" Abe asked, his hand still pressed to the glass. Abe could sense the professor's distress. It was to the professor's disappointment that Abe was now able to see what had happened.
"Has there been any improvement?" Abe asked. The professor heaved a sigh and shook his head. "I'm afraid not, my friend."
"How long have we been out?" I asked.
"Two days." Clay stated.
"Hellboy hasn't recovered in even the slightest way?" Abe questioned.
"The bullets entered through his back and lodged themselves within his chest. There was only minor damage to one of his lungs. One bullet broke a rib. We originally believed one may have hit his heart but there has not been a drop in his pulse. Surgery has removed all three bullets and resolved any major threats to his health. We have monitored his recovery but Hellboy has shown no signs of waking up. At the moment he is stabilized and we believe he will make it through." A doctor spoke up. He stood quietly by the door and waited for us.
"Doctor, am I in any condition to assist your medical team and examine Hellboy for myself?" Abe asked, his head tilting to the side as he stared at the doctor. The Professor nodded quickly.
"Professor, you never told me how Rai is?" I said, hoping to know what became of my hot headed friend.
"She is by Hellboy's side." The Professor answered. The doctor cleared his throat. "I'm sorry Professor but Agent Lightning hasn't been seen anywhere in the medic bay for over six hours." This seemed to surprise the Professor and Clay.
Clay spoke up before the Professor could. "Rai is physically ok. She is hopefully getting some sleep back in her room. She hasn't slept in days so she needs it." He explained.
"That is what we are expecting her to do. However, under the circumstances, I believe we may need to verify this assumption before we simple ignore it." Abe said. Clay nodded and walked out of the room. I glanced at Abe and the Professor and then decided that I could help more by going with Clay. It was a short walk due to the fact that Clay was speed walking the entire time.
Clay found her door and taped on it lightly. When there was no response, he slammed his fist against her door and listened for any kind of movement. Clay gave me a worried glanced and then twisted the handle of her door. It wasn't locked and the room wasn't occupied.
"Shit. Go back to the Professor and tell him Rai is missing." Clay ordered, already heading in the opposite direction down the hall. "Where are you going?" I asked, wondering what sort of plan he had to find her.
"I'm going to find out when she left and where she went." He said simply.
"You think it's really going to be that easy to find her in all of New York?" I asked skeptically.
I saw him shake his head. "Hell no."