Imprisoned and Betrayed

/16\

When they arrived, Scarlett left Drayce in the car and went inside.

Only a moment or two later, several doctors and nurses rushed out the doors, some carrying a stretcher.

They carefully pulled Drayce out of the car and onto the stretcher before rushing him inside.

Scarlett followed them worriedly, wondering if he would make it after all he'd been through.

A nurse stepped in front of her as they hurried Drayce into the operating room, stopping Scarlett from following.

"You can't go in there." The nurse informed her.

"Please let me go." Scarlett begged.

"You're not allowed," the nurse repeated, "Please follow me."

Scarlett sighed in defeat, "Alright. But when he wakes up please tell me."

"Don't worry. Your friend is in good hands." She smiled warmly at Scarlett and led her to a waiting room.

Scarlett sat down in a nearby seat, impatient already at seeing if Drayce was alright.

She waited for several hours in that chair until a doctor came over to her, a chart in his hand. He looked quite weary and rubbed his eyes before speaking.

"He's going to live," he stated right away, "But there were complications."

She quickly stood, worry evident in her eyes, "What's wrong?"

"Just...please come with me," he said simply and turned to go. Scarlett followed him down a corridor and into a sterile room. Inside, Drayce lay on a hospital bed, unconscious.

The doctor finally addressed Scarlett again. "First, what happened to him?" He asked.

"Many things." Scarlett answered evasively, "Now what's wrong with him?"

"Many things," the doctor tilted his head, searching Scarlett for answers, "And some of them could only have happened purposefully." He paused to see if Scarlett would say anything.

When she didn't, he continued, "Fine. Ma'm, all I can say is that he is a fighter. We almost lost him several times in the OR, but he pulled through." The doctor seemed impressed, "However, we weren't able to repair several things. His ear had irreversible damage and we had to take out the ear drum because it was bleeding too much." He explained, glancing down at his chart several times, "He had a collapsed lung which we also had to remove, and unfortunately he will have to have a breathing tube at all times." The doctor paused his explanation to go over to the bed and check Drayce's heartbeat.

Scarlett swallowed past the hard lump in her throat, not daring herself to speak.

After the doctor finished checking his vitals, he finished speaking to Scarlett, "He also had a broken rib and two cracked ones. We aren't sure, but I believe the broken rib caused his lung to collapse. Furthermore, we found remnants of an infection in his legs. A very bad infection. It seems to be mostly gone, but his legs were unresponsive to my tests. As a result, I don't if he will be able to walk when he wakes." The doctor paused to see Scarlett's reaction and see if she had any questions.

Scarlett held back a sob. 'This is all my fault.' She reflected miserably.

He waited another moment before continuing once again, "Let's see..." He mumbled and looked through his chart, "Oh... His nose was also broken, quite severely, and unfortunately won't he straight again. But it should mostly heal. Now, the abrasions on his arms caused him to lose quite a lot of blood, even though we stitched them up, so we have no idea how his brain will respond." He placed the chart down on he bed and crossed his arms, "And finally, we found a bullet wound in his stomach. It caused some major tears inside him which we were able to fix up, but we had to remove half of his liver. It will grow back, but it could cause complications in the future. But what I want to know, is how did he get shot. How did all of this happen to him? It seems to me that he was tortured, quite cruelly."

"The details are private." Scarlett managed to say, still in a daze.

"You do understand, that I am required by law to ask you how it happened? And I must report it."

"He was held prisoner. We managed to escape just recently." Scarlett spoke as normally as she could, while still being careful.

An alarmed expression crossed the doctor's face, "Prisoner? By whom?"

"A sort of business not too far from here."

"I don't understand. Is this man a criminal?"

"No." Scarlett answered definitely.

"Then why was he a prisoner?" The doctor asked.

"I'm sorry, but that's classified."

His eyebrows scrunched together, "Are you from the government?"

Scarlett shook her head, "No."

"Then you'll have to tell the cops when they arrive," the doctor said simply. He picked up his chart and headed for the door.

"Wait, you called the cops?!" Scarlett asked incredulously.

"M'am, I am required by law to call them whenever a gunshot wound is reported."

Scarlett sighed, "Alright."

"I'll come back to check on him in a little while," the doctor informed her as he closed the door to the room.

A/N

Man... the story is almost finished! Wow, that was quite the journey, peeps. But I hope you have enjoyed it!

Also, so so so sorry for not updating in like forever. I have no excuse. None. But since you've been so patient, I'm going to give you guys a double update:) Enjoy!

Ithildae and Evara

Scarlett - Evara
Drayce - Ithildae
Doctor - Ithildae
Nurse - Ithildae