Untitled Ch. 8
By Blankman

Ryu froze and slowly pivoted himself around.

A stabbing pain surged through his chest as his eyes fell upon Chunli's limp, corpse-like, body, sprawled across the asphalt ground.

Without hesitation, he instantly rushed to her side. His callused hands trembled as he searched her for any signs of vitality. But from what he could see there were none.

Chunli lay still as death, she had paled beyond recognition, and as Ryu placed a hand to her cheek, he quickly pulled away...she was ice cold. Her lips, which were normally a voluptuous shade of red, were now a dreary purple. Even her full brown hair, that shone auburn under the eastern sun, was now dull and limp.

Ryu took one of her clammy hands in his own and gradually raised it halfway, before letting go.

'A thousand evanescent daggers pierced the warrior's heart' as Chunli's hand fell lifelessly to her side. His breathing became labored as he was suddenly overcome by an emotion he very rarely felt...fear.

"Chunli?," he whispered, "Chunli are you alright?," he asked, even though the answer to that question was obvious. He got no response. This time Ryu put his ear just above Chunli's lips. He let out a sigh of relief as he felt and heard her breathe. Her breaths were shallow, but atleast she was alive.

"Chunli, I get the joke, you can stop pretending now," he said, "and frankly, it wasn't funny at all. Still no response. "Chunli," Ryu yelled, "stop this," he demanded. He held her shoulders and shook her vigorously. His efforts to wake her were apparently futile, for she just swayed like a rag-doll, and slumped on the ground as he released her. "Chunli, please stop...," he stammered, then stopped. His eyes widened in terror, as a slow stream of crimson blood trickled down the side of her forehead and travelled around her cheek. Ryu's heart leaped into his throat as incalculable amounts of adrenaline coursed through his veins. He probed every conrner of his mind for a solution to his predicament. What could he do?. *Help,* a voice echoed, *go get help!*. Of course!. Ryu cursed himself for not thinking of it earlier.

He stood up abruptly and hesitated, he felt uneasy about leaving Chunli, but knew that moving a seriously hurt individual could cause more harm that help. So he mustered up all his courage, turned and bounded towards the mansion in a headlon flight, to get help...

Half an hour later, at San Francisco medical center...

Ken, Ryu, Cammy and Eliza stormed through the automatic sliding doors, into the spacious reception. Ken went up to the central desk and informed the nurse that they were there to visit one of the patients. The others stood anxiously, nearby, until Ken motioned for them to follow the nurse and himself.

They were led briskly down a vinyl tiled corridor. Ryu noticed they were following signs that led to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and gulped. They stepped into an empty elevator and the nurse took them to the second floor. She led the group down an extensive hallway, giving them time to examine their surroundings.

A white light emanated from long fluorescent light bulbs above them, and seemed to provide some comfort to Ryu's aching soul. He gazed subconciously at the bland, cream-colored walls, and gradually peered through the windows.

In one room, a young chemo patient sat on a gurney awaiting a check up. His doctor was getting the boy's medication ready and the child stared somberly out the window, locking eyes with Ryu.

The child's body was frail and exhausted; his hair was thinning, due to the cancer. Yet his hazel eyes were intense and focused, showing a strength and maturity beyond his years.

The solemn look on the boy's face morphed into a broad smile as he recognized the muscle-bound man looking back at him. He waved at Ryu with utter delight. Ryu was startled at first, but then smiled sincerely and waved back. For once in his life, he was glad that streetfighting had made him a well-known figure.

The group took a left at the NCU, where prematurely born babies slept, fighting for their lives.

Cammy peered through the window and cooed. "Oh aren't you precious."

"You want a baby Cammy?," Dan asked as he wrapped his arm around her waist, "that could be arranged." Cammy cringed with disgust and roughly pryed his arms loose. "Hey chill, I was just playin'," Dan laughed.

"Ahem, shall we proceed?", the nurse asked and motioned for them to follow her.

They walked on then turned right on another section of the ICU.

"Yuck," Dan exclaimed, "I hate the sterile smell of hospitals."

"If you don't shut up Dan, I'll make YOU sterile," Eliza said, feigning irritation.

They moved down the hall in a hushed silence, walking past cardiac surgeons, anesthesiologists and nurses doing their rounds. The group walked past a gurney, a sheet covered the body on it as it was wheeled to the morgue. Ryu tensed then looked away.

"This is it," the nurse proclaimed, pointing to room 208. Nobody moved. "You may enter," the nurse coaxed. The doctor will be over here in a few minutes, now if you'll excuse me, I've just been paged to another room," she said, and hastily walked away.

Ken was the first one to make a move. He carefully opened the door, stepped in and froze in shock. "What?," Ryu asked worriedly, "what is it?," he demanded. He rushed in and pushed Ken aside, then froze aswell. The others followed in curiosity, then stood inert also.

Chunli lay peacefully. A thin, clear tube snaked out of one of her nostrils, connected to low suction. Another tube travelled from an IV bottle, into her wrist. A cardiograph by her bedside, monitored her heartbeat.

Ryu swallowed then walked wearily towards her bed. He pulled up a chair and just sat there staring at her sleeping form. The others watched froma distance, sensing that he wanted to be alone.

Ryu shuddered as he looked at his bedridden companion. She appeared deceptively peaceful in her slumber. Her dark hair framed her otherwise angelic face, with soft waves and shone auburn, as the afternoon sun seeped through the blinds.

Ryu took one of her hands in his and gently stroked her slender fingers.

"Chun," he whispered, "Chun can you here me?"

"She's in a coma," came a voice that startled them all. They all turned to see who had spoken.

A tall man in scrubs and a white coat stood before them. "I apologize if I interrupted anything," the man said, "I'm Dr. Chandler," he said introducing himself.

"Is she going to be alright?," Ken asked.

The doctor wiped his forhead uncomfortably. "To be quite frank with you Mr. Masters, it's too early to tell; she hurt herself pretty bad."

"But she's competed in streetfighter tournaments," Ryu cut in, as a lump formed in his throat, "she's hurt herself several times."

The doctor smiled in pity. "With all due respect sir, I am all too familiar with the streetfighter tournaments and I can tell you that a punch in the face is a far cry from being knocked out with a block of concrete. She hit her head with a lot of force. I'll have to take a CAT scan, she might have an intracranial hemorrhage."

"God, no!," Eliza exclaimed.

"Although...," Dr. Chandler continued, "considering the fact that we have her fairly stabalized, I doubt it will show up positive. I'm just taking the CAT scan to be on the safe side."

Eliza breathed a sigh of relief.

After a short pause the doctor looked at his watch. If you'll excuse me I have another case, I'll be back as soon as I can. It's been a pleasure meeting you," he said and walked out the door.

The clique remained in shock, the reality of Chunli's condition had not yet settled in.

"Suppose...she doesn't make it," Cammy whispered, "what are we goin' to do? I know it sounds morbid, but it's better to prepare for the worst and hope for the best."

"NO!," Ryu snapped, choking back tears that threatened to surface. "Chunli's a fighter, she'll pull through...she has to...I I," he looked away to compose himself. They were silent.

Suddenly, Ryu felt Chunli's fingers twitch slightly in his hand. He looked closely to make sure he wasn't hallucinating...he wasn't. Her fingers twitched slightly harder. Joy began to build up in Ryu's chest, but that soon dissipated as he realized something was wrong.

Her muscles and her head began to jerk. It built up and soon her body was flailing wildly.

A code nine sounded on the alarm and two nurses rushed in, quickly followed by Dr. Chandler and an anesthesiologist.

"What's wrong Chun?," Ryu panicked, "STOP THIS," he yelled before being pushed aside by the medical crew.

"Dr. she's convulsing," a nurse exclaimed.

"I can see that," Dr. Chandler replied. "Don't restrain her," he barked.

At that moment, the monitor alarm sounded. The cursor slid across the screen, forming a straight line.

"Code blue!", a nurse yelled, "she's flat lining."

Dr. Chandler instantly began pumping Chunli's chest for circulation. The anesthesiologist turned up the percentage of oxygen going through the respirator.

Cammy covered her ears and shook her head, trying to block out what was happening. Ken held his wife tightly as she sobbed uncontrollably against him. All the commotion was just too much for Dan to handle. His knees weakened and he passed out.

But the most tortured soul in that room was Ryu. For a man that was often considered unemotional, he was bombarded, unmercifully, by several emotions all at once. The anguish on his face was as clear as the words in a book. He fought desperately to keep the tears back, but it was hard, and soon a lonely tear surfaced and slid down his cheek. For no inexplicable reason, Ryu wanted to hold her and attempted to do so, but was held back by two male nurses. He made a Herculean effort to break loose, and succeeded, sending both nurses flying across the room. He tried to move forward, but was held back again, this time by Ken.

"Let me go," Ryu struggled.

"What are you going to do," Ken yelled, "let them do their job!"

Ryu gave up. What could he do.

"Chun, don't leave me," he cried, " I I love you!" he exclaimed, not caring if his friends heard him. He'd shared so much with her and now it seemed that she was sadly, slowly, slipping away...