Chapter 3
1049 Words
“Move! MOVE!”
The hospital doors burst open violently as the stretcher rushed through the emergency entrance.
Rainwater dripped from the wheels onto the spotless hospital floor while doctors and nurses surrounded Asia’s unconscious body immediately.
“She’s losing too much blood!”
“Gunshot wound, upper left back!”
“She’s pregnant!”
The words echoed loudly around the emergency room.
Asia could barely hear any of it.
Everything sounded far away.
Like she was sinking deeper and deeper underwater.
Her body felt unbearably cold.
Even breathing hurt now.
A weak cry escaped her lips as another sharp wave of pain tore through her chest.
“We need to stabilize her NOW!”
The pharmacist who had brought her in looked completely shaken.
“I-I found her outside the pharmacy,” he explained breathlessly. “She was bleeding badly—”
“You need to wait outside, sir.”
A nurse quickly pulled him away while the doctors pushed Asia into the emergency treatment room.
Bright lights flashed above her weakly opening eyes.
White ceilings.
Blurred faces.
Fast footsteps.
The nostalgic smell of medicine.
Fear wrapped around her chest painfully.
“The baby…” Asia whispered weakly.
Nobody answered her.
Panic immediately clawed through her body.
“The baby…”
“Ma’am, stay calm.”
A nurse carefully placed an oxygen mask over her face.
Asia winced painfully.
Her fingers weakly tried reaching for her stomach.
“Blood pressure is dropping!”
“Prepare the OR!”
“She’s crashing!”
The voices around her became louder and louder.
Someone cut open the back of her blood-soaked coat carefully.
Another nurse pressed hard against the wound.
Asia screamed weakly from the pain.
“Stay with us!”
Tears slid from the corners of her eyes.
Everything hurt.
The doctor quickly checked the fetal monitor before his face changed immediately.
“We’re losing the baby’s heartbeat.”
The entire room froze for half a second.
Asia heard it.
Even through the ringing in her ears—
She heard it.
No.
No no no.
Her breathing became panicked instantly.
“No…” she cried weakly beneath the oxygen mask.
“Mrs. Fletcher, calm down!”
“No… my baby…”
The machines beside her suddenly beeped faster.
One of the nurses grabbed her trembling hand gently.
“Please try to stay calm.”
But how could she?
How could any mother stay calm hearing something like that?
The doctor looked toward another nurse sharply.
“Where’s her husband?!”
“We’ve been trying to reach him!”
“Try again!”
The nurse immediately grabbed the phone once more.
Asia’s vision blurred badly now.
She could barely keep her eyes open.
The coldness inside her body was spreading.
Her fingers shook violently.
“Kelvin…” she whispered weakly.
Maybe if he came…
Maybe if he just held her hand…
Maybe—
The nurse finally spoke after a few seconds.
“He answered.”
The doctor immediately turned. “And?”
The nurse hesitated.
Asia’s weak eyes slowly moved toward them.
The nurse lowered the phone slightly.
“He said he’s currently unavailable.”
Silence.
Even the doctors looked stunned for a second.
“What?” another nurse whispered under her breath.
“He said he’s handling important business “the nurse continued awkwardly. “He asked if she’s stable.”
Something inside Asia broke quietly.
A tear slid down the side of her face.
Even now…
He wasn’t coming.
The doctor’s jaw tightened angrily before focusing back on Asia.
“We’re taking her into surgery immediately.”
The nurses moved quickly again.
The stretcher rushed through the hallways at terrifying speed.
The bright ceiling lights passed over Asia one after another.
Blurred.
Her body felt heavier now.
It suddenly became harder to move.
Harder to breathe.
The oxygen mask fogged slightly with each weak breath she took.
Her eyes slowly drifted shut.
“No, no, stay awake!” a nurse called quickly.
Asia forced her eyes open again.
Everything hurt.
Then suddenly—
A memory flashed through her mind.
Rain.
Warm laughter.
A younger version of herself running through a school field.
A boy chasing after her.
“Asia!”
That voice.
That familiar voice.
Alex.
Her chest tightened painfully.
After all these years…
Another sharp pain dragged her back into reality immediately.
Asia cried out weakly.
“We’re here!”
The surgery room doors burst open.
Doctors immediately surrounded her again.
“Bullet damage is dangerously close to the heart!”
“We need blood NOW!”
“What about the fetus?”
The room became tense instantly.
Nobody answered immediately.
And somehow—
That silence terrified Asia more than anything.
Her weak fingers slowly curled against the hospital bed.
A doctor leaned over her carefully.
“Mrs. Fletcher, we need you to stay strong for us, okay?”
Asia weakly nodded through tears.
Her body trembled violently from the cold now.
“Why is her temperature dropping this fast?” one nurse asked nervously.
“She’s going into shock.”
The machines beeped wildly again.
“Heart rate unstable!”
Asia’s breathing became uneven.
Her chest burned painfully.
The bright surgery lights above her eyes started fading in and out.
Everything around her sounded distorted now.
The voices,the machines,the footsteps it was all fading.
A strange fear suddenly swallowed her whole.
What if she died tonight?
What if her baby died too?
Would Kelvin regret it then?
Would he finally choose her?
Or would Jane still be sitting beside him while he ignored another call?
A broken sob escaped Asia’s throat.
The tears wouldn’t stop now.
She felt so alone.
So unbelievably alone.
“Anesthesia ready!”
The doctor looked at her one final time.
“You’re going to sleep now.”
No.
Asia weakly shook her head.
She didn’t want to sleep.
She was scared.
Scared she would wake up alone.
Scared she would wake up empty.
Scared she wouldn’t wake up at all.
Then suddenly—
That laugh echoed inside her head again.
Asia’s eyes widened weakly.
Who was it?
Why did it sound so familiar?
The answer sat right at the edge of her memory, but she couldn’t reach it.
Her eyes slowly filled with tears again.
Then finally—
Darkness swallowed her whole.
- Writer
