Untitled Ch. 9
By Blankman

Chunli's body lay, still and motionless. Her eyes were dilated, and the cursor on her monitor still traced a straight line.

"Dr. the external cardiac massage doesn't seem to be working, shouldn't we try the paddles," inquired the anesthesiologist, as a cardiac crash cart was wheeled in.

"Let's try the epinephrine first," Dr Chandler retorted.

The nurses acted by filling a syringe with the medication and passing it to him.

Dr. Chandler ceased pumping on Chunli's chest for a moment before injecting the epinephrine directly into her heart, then resumed the massage.

Ryu had seen enough. He roughly maneuvered out of Ken's grasp and stormed out of the room. Ken was about to go after him, when a hand stopped him.

"Let him go," Cammy said softly.

"I have to go after him," Ken replied,"he's not used to situations like these. He and Chun have become real good friends..."

Cammy lowered her head,"I'm afraid it runs a little deeper than that,love".

Ken slowly turned his head around to look at her and furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"...

Meanwhile...

Ryu walked furiously down the corridor, desperately searching for an exit. He just wanted to get away. Pure, potent agony masked his face. He could feel an excruciating, burning pain arise in his chest and build up in his throat, as he struggled to hold back the stinging tears.

He turned left and thundered down another seemingly endless corridor, gathering strange stares from bewildered onlookers. But Ryu did not stop to notice. He needed to escape those wretched walls of sickness and health. He frantically tried to control his breathing and finally took refuge in a nearby restroom.

Upon entering, Ryu shut the door behind him and leaned against it. He stared wide-eyed at the celing, hoping that the tears would roll back to where they originated, but with no such luck. His somewhat controlled breathing wavered into labored gasps, then in surrender, he closed his eyes and broke down into a fit of light, soundless, sobs. Ryu staggered wearily to the sink and caught sight of his face in the mirror-tear-stained and bloated-he looked away in resentment. He turned on the tap and tried to flush away the tears. But more tears replaced the ones that had been washed away, and mingled with the gushing tap water.

Ryu was shocked, the only other time he had ever shed such a barrage of tears was when his sensei had been murdered, supposedly slain by his own brother. However, that was understandable, Master Gouken had been a father figure to Ryu, strict and yet, nurturing. Ryu had lived with the man for years. But he'd only known Chunli for barely a week, and already he felt an unbreakable bond between them. *I've lost them both,* Ryu thought, solemny, *and I didn't do a d*mn thing about it.*

"You do realize this was all your fault, don't you?," came a sinister, yet vaguely familiar voice.

Ryu's head perked up instantly. "What?. Who's there?," he demanded, as he looked left and right scanning the room.

"Who I am is not an issue. That girl is dead because of you, Ryu."

"No!...No!," Ryu stammered. "That's not tr..."

"Is it not, Ryu?," the voice inquired. "If you had declined her offer to go running together, she would not be here at all. Just as well she is dead, look at how she has weakened you. Oh how the mighty have fallen."

Ryu tensed as his blood began to boil, his anguish had disappeared and was now replaced by a look of complete aversion. "Show yourself, coward!". The voice merely laughed, mocking him.

"Stop!," Ryu growled. The voice only laughed louder. Ryu snapped, and was overwhelmed by a feeling of hatred and anger.

"Stop it, stop it!!", he roared...