Chapter Twenty-Two.

Paranoia vs. Reality.

..

The lights in the operating room illuminated the frail body that lay on the operating table. A team of surgeons prepared themselves to operate; they silently prayed the injuries weren't more severe than the appeared to be.

"Okay, let's do this folks," the head surgeon said. "Let's save this beautiful girl's life."

The victim's porcelain face bright maroon, bruises ran all over her pale body and an ugly gash covered her abdomen through which her dark, viscous blood oozed out. Anyone could tell she had met with an unfortunate accident; her battered body was a clear indication to that. Her chest rose feebly; it was the only sign that implied she was still alive.

"We've got multiple lacerations on the face, limbs.

A possible diaphragmatic rupture and a splenic injury," the surgeon spoke out loud, he had done this several times before. Heading the trauma department, he had seen such cases come in every now and then. Some made it while the rest succumbed to their ill fate.

"We'll stop the bleeding first; do a laparotomy to repair the spleen and the diaphragmatic rupture. What do you say?" he asked his fellow surgeons. They nodded in response, gearing themselves for the long surgery ahead. They were surgeons; they had taken an oath to save people’s lives. But sometimes, they too were rendered helpless; they hoped this very patient would make it.

"Apparently she's an intern here. One of the fellows down there in trauma recognized her. I think I've seen her around,” one of the nurses whispered as the cardiac monitor beeped away.

"Of course, it's hard to miss a pretty face like that. Also, she happens to be Dr. Zhang's sweet-heart," the head nurse commented as she passed on the sponge.

"Ah, Dr. Zhang... quite a cold fellow he is," the surgeon laughed. "We better save her life then," he joked, hoping to lighten the mood. The others laughed in response.

"Clamps"

"She's coding, Doctor," the nurse pointed out. The cardiac monitor beeped indicating a decrease in heart-rate.

"Damn it, I need a few minutes."

"Doctor, we don't have a few minutes," she said sternly.

"I've almost got the bleeder."

"Her heart-rate is dropping."

"Get the damn paddles. Start compressions."

"Charging....Clear."

The paddles shocked the girl's chest raising her slightly in the process.

"No pulse."

"Charge to 360...Clear."

"We're losing her."

The voice faded away as Yixing woke up panting, beads of sweat formed on his already clammy forehead.

"Hana," he muttered weakly, the dream seemed so real it frightened him. He quickly grabbed his phone, he had to call her. It doesn't matter what she told him, he had to call her. He had to make sure she was okay.

As he dialed her number, he realized it was quite late in the night, the girl must be sleeping.

Everything is alright, Hana is alright. It was a bad dream.

He kept repeating till he calmed down a little. He just needed to finish his work and go back to her; he would never leave her again. Every time it had been Lina's death, his nightmare was always the scene he witnessed from the scrub room. But he had dreamt of Hana today, which had never happened before. Her body was so limp and fragile in his dream, he almost wanted to fly back and hold her in his arms. He tried to convince himself that he was just being paranoid and that nothing had happened to the girl.

She promised me, nothing will happen to her.

He muttered again as he tried to go back to sleep, but all in vain. He just lay there, wide awake, hoping it'd already be the day he could go back home and be with Hana, until then he'd have sleepless nights.

The next morning had been much bri