22 Chapter Twenty-Two: Don’t Let Go (1/2)

Finn changes course when driving and heads further south to Shinagawa. They immediately went to the hospital there in Shinagawa, the Tokyo-Shinagawa Hospital. Holly carries Rose on her back into the hospital as Zia and Siran carry the Ueda sisters in. After finally getting all three of them admitted to separate emergency rooms, all the rest of the crew could do is wait. At about 2 O'clock in the morning, a nurse came out to the waiting room where most of the team waited. There, the nurse told them that the three of them were moved out of the emergency room earlier and the Ueda sisters were moved into an intensive care room and Rose was now able to leave as long as she remained in a wheelchair.

”We've already done all that we can for her” the nurse says softly, ”but I'm afraid that her condition won't improve. She'll be able to leave, but she'll need assistance for the rest of her life. It'll take some time, but she can eventually learn to use a walking stick to get around, but everyday life will be harder for her”.

As the nurse said this, another nurse pushed Rose out into the waiting room in a wheelchair. Rose was still and quiet. She was depressed about her conditioned and feared for what the rest of her life held for her. She had bandages wrapped around her eyes and some minor burn scars around her eyes that were barely visible past the bandages. After a long pause of silence, Siran looked up, his eyes showing an immense amount of guilt and frustration. ”Can we go see Satomi and Mikoto?” He asked the nurses.

One of the nurses bowed her head slightly as she said ”Right this way”.

The second nurse pushed Rose along in the wheelchair as the rest followed behind the first nurse into a room where both of the Ueda sisters lay in separate beds, still unconscious. As the nurse stopped Rose in between the two beds, the rest gathered around and the doctor in the room says ”Both of their vital signs have improved significantly. They're stable, but I'm afraid they've both slipped into a coma”.

Rose remained motionless and quiet as Zia asks ”How long until they wake up?”.

Shaking his head lightly, the doctor replies ”Could be a couple hours, a couple days or even a couple weeks. That's up to how strong they are”.

”Can we wait in this room?” Siran asks the doctor.

Feeling sympathetic, the doctor says ”You can even sleep in this room, if you're comfortable with not having a bed to lay in”. After he says that, the doctor leaves quietly and the two nurses follow behind him.

As it got quiet, Rose finally begins to speak. Without turning her head, she asks Zia ”I've been wondering for a little while now and I wanted to ask before I completely forget because I'm blind now. Why do you have two different colored eyes, Zia?”. The voice she spoke in was soft and showed sorrow and stress very clearly.

”It's a disease” Zia replies softly, ”it's called Heterochromia Iridum. It's hereditary, and has run in my family for generations”.

After thinking to herself for a short while, Rose asks ”Does it make it harder to see?”.

”Not really” Zia says. ”Most people just think it's weird, so I used to try and hide it all the time”.

After that, it got quiet and no one began talking anymore for the rest of the night. After a while of sitting in the room, the crew falls asleep one by one in the chairs they sit in. Rose being the last one to sleep.

The crew stayed in the hospital for another day as nothing new happened. Both of the Ueda sisters were still in a coma. They spent another night sleeping in the chairs. After waking up in the afternoon the next day after, Siran looks over at the beds were Satomi and Mikoto lay. Satomi's eyes were open, much to Siran's surprise. Siran nearly jumps out of his chair in surprise and causes the rest of the team to wake up. As they all wake up and look at Satomi silently, Satomi looks at the rest of them and gives off a weak smile.

”You're awake!” Zia panics.

Satomi tried to speak at first but then coughed really hard. After clearing her throat, she asks in a very weak voice ”Where am I, and how long have I been out?”.

”You're at the Tokyo-Shinagawa Hospital” Siran says in a calm tone. ”You've been unconscious for about 43 hours”.

Slowly realizing her situation, Satomi slowly turns to Mikoto, who is still unconscious. ”Wait- what... what happened?” She asks.

”That's what we'd like to know” Alex says.

The doctor comes back in again and begins to smile. ”You're awake” he says in a calm and happy voice.

Trying to sit up, Satomi asks ”What about Mikoto?”.

Walking over to Mikoto's bedside, the doctor says ”Try and take it easy. She hasn't woken up yet. You're the first one to wake up”.

Satomi looks at Mikoto's unconscious body and sees the bruise marks still on her face, including the bruises on her neck. Starting to panic, she says ”What happened to my sister!?”.

The doctor gently presses her back down against the bed and says ”Don't get so worked up so quick. You've just woken up from a coma, you need to take it slowly”.