Chapter 6

-/Country B/-

Three weeks later.

~~~

After standing on her feet for the last 6 hours operating on a patient with a brain tumor, Lisa walked out of the operating room, feeling exhausted and famished. She disposed of her blood-stained gloves and mask into the red infectious bin, then turned to leave.

“You were amazing in there, Dr. Lynn; the surgery was successful.” Susan, her assistant nurse, said coming out of the operating room.

"Thanks; you were a good help. But I don’t consider a surgery successful till my patient wakes up.” Lisa said with a smile.

“Thank you, Dr. Lynn,” Susan said.

“You’re welcome; call me Lisa. Dr. Lynn makes me feel older; I’m only 21,” Lisa said.

“I will, Lisa." Susan said, and they both laughed. “Our shift ended 2 hours ago, so I will leave first; see you tomorrow,” Susan added with a wave as she walked away. Lisa waved back with “Sure.”

Lisa walked to her private office and showered. When coming out of the bathroom, she suddenly felt dizzy.

She supported herself on the wall and shut her eyes. Inhaling a deep breath and exhaling, she breathed in and out for a minute to gain her strength.

‘She has been getting dizzy and eating a lot lately. She needs to get checked up.’ She thought.

After leaning against the wall for a while, she put on a new set of clothes, collected her bag, and went to the hospital cafeteria to grab something to eat.

Lisa ordered her usual and ate quietly. After the betrayal she experienced, she has learned to keep to herself. Susan happened to be one of the nurses who usually assist her in surgery; that’s why she decided to be friends with her.

Apart from Susan, the rest of the colleagues are merely acquaintances.

30 minutes later, she finished her meal and strolled out of the cafeteria. She brought out her phone and checked the time; it was already past midnight.

She walked to the hospital lobby and signed out for the day.

On her way to the parking lot, she kept feeling dizzy, and to top it off, she was nauseous.

She reckoned the food at the cafeteria had gone bad, considering the time she consumed it, she thought.

Reaching her car, she entered and drove off.

***

A few blocks from reaching her apartment, she stopped her car, stepping out in time to puke on the sidewalk.

She kept feeling nauseated but thought she could hold it till she arrived at her apartment. She emptied everything she ate at the cafeteria out onto the pavement.

While in the kneeling position between her car and the sidewalk, she heard the sound of a car tire screeching to a halt down the alley ahead.

Gunshot!

Gunshot!

Lisa jumps up in panic at the sounds of gunshots. She quickly crawled back into her car’s backseat and hid. Soon enough, two cars sped past hers', and she knew it was the perpetrators.

She peeked out to check if it was safe to move.

To avoid getting noticed, in case there were other gunmen around, she decided to walk home, and lucky for her, she had dark-colored clothes on.

Upon reaching a dark alley two blocks from her apartment, the groaning sound of someone in pain could be heard.

But since that part of the alley is always dark, she couldn’t make out anything, so she slowly moved towards where the sound was coming from to investigate.

Reaching the sound, she switched on her phone’s flashlight.

She jumped out of fright; she was petrified by the sight of a man lying in a pool of blood, and from the looks of it, he had been beaten to an extent before getting shot.

‘This means those men from earlier dropped him here; they wanted him dead.’ She thought, looking at the man.

‘Does that mean he’s a bad person? She wouldn’t want to get involved.‘ She thought, ‘She should stay away.’ She contemplates whether to leave or not.

"But what if he’s a good person?" She said, turning around to leave but turning back again to look at the man who was barely hanging onto his dear life, and muttered,

“What if he's a good person who met with an unfortunate fate?” She questioned herself.

“He’s dying, you know? Make up your mind and save him before he dies. I thought you were a doctor. You are supposed to save lives.” Her conscience said.

She quickly bent down and checked the man's pulse. It was weak but still there; she could save him if she hurried up. But going back for her car now would delay time, so she’d have to carry him.

This wasn’t something new; she used to carry her ex-husband from the couch to their bedroom whenever he came home drunk.

The only difference now was that this man was unconscious and would be heavy; she had to manage if she wanted to save his life.

With all the strength she could muster, she supported his limp body on her back and dragged him to her apartment.

Since it was late at night, the lobby watch was dozing off, so she quietly entered the elevator to her floor.

She opened her door and laid him on her sofa. She can’t afford to give him the bed.

After arriving here in Windy Bay, the apartment arranged for her by her uncle was too big to stay alone, so she rented a single-room apartment with the remaining rent deposit and a part of the money she saved from her job.

She filled a bucket with water, put in some disinfectant, grabbed a mop, and went out to clean all traces of blood in the hallway, elevator, and down the lobby.

After she was done cleaning, she disinfected herself and sterilized all the tools needed. Adjusting the man on the couch, she cut open his shirt to check the wounds.

He had sustained multiple gunshot wounds, with one close to his heart. She immediately started the operation.

***

Lisa finished operating 2 hours later. She attached a drip to him, cleaned all blood stains on his body, and injected some antibiotics. Since she performed the surgery in a kneeling position, when she tried to stand, everything went black.

She fainted.

- / 6 hours later / -

Lisa woke up with a terrible migraine; her head felt heavy. This was happening because she didn’t have enough sleep yesterday. She thought. She sat up upon realizing she had slept on the floor since last night.

She stretched, taking in a deep breath before standing to her feet. She walked over to the window and opened the curtains to let in the morning sun, then went to take her bath in her room.

20 minutes later, she walked out of her room wearing a gray sweater and black jeans, matched with white sneakers. Heading to the kitchen, she prepared herself breakfast.

After having her breakfast, she checked on her patient, making sure his bandages were dry and replacing the drip. She left for work, still feeling weak and exhausted.

Lisa decided to leave work early to go home and check on her patient, who still hasn’t regained consciousness.

She said goodbye to Nurse Susan and went down to the lobby to sign out. After signing out, she went to the parking lot for her car and left the hospital.

When she arrived at her apartment’s underground parking lot, she noticed 4 black Alligator SUVs. She felt there was something suspicious and strange about it; nonetheless, she put it at the back of her mind and walked towards the lobby.

“Good afternoon,” Lisa greeted the elevator attendant the moment she entered the elevator.

“Good afternoon, Miss Lynn,” he responded as he pressed the floor number. The elevator closed and started to ascend.

As the elevator ascended, Lisa noticed the elevator attendant kept stealing glances at her as if he wanted to say something but was hesitant about it.

However, since he was not able to tell her whatever it was, she wouldn’t inquire about it. When the elevator arrived at the fifth floor, she smiled at the attendant and said,

“Thank you,“ he returned it with an awkward smile, as his face showed an emotion similar to pity...?

Lisa walked out of the elevator, feigning nonchalance, and made her way through the hallway.

She soon reached her door, retrieved her key from the bag to open the door, and entered. When she entered, the inside of her apartment was dark.

She walked to the switch and turned on the light but jumped in fright at the sight in front of her.

“What the heck?!" She exclaimed, leaning on the wall startled, with her hand on her chest and eyes widened in shock.

“Who are you?” A deadly cold voice asked, sending chills down her spine.

She traces the voice to a devilishly handsome man with an expressionless, stern face, seated on the couch, wearing a custom-made suit.

His hair was neatly tied in a low bun, and around him were six bodyguards; they were big-chested, big-shouldered, and heavily armed with guns.

Lisa felt there was something familiar about the man seated on the couch but could not pinpoint it.

“Who are you?” The man boomed, making her flinch. But she frowned as realization dawned on her; this was her apartment they were in.