Death

******

Lin Qiao ended the surgery and was now helping the patient to stand up , and walk out of the room . She was the one leading the way with the injured man , the other followed closely behind with the hand holding the gun hiding inside his pocket but it was discreetly still locked at her back.

The atmosphere in the hall was like in any other hospital , nurses and doctors everywhere focusing on their works some pained screams , the sound of trolley's wheels , patient come in and out , everything seems normal , but … for someone who spend two years in this hospital , Lin Qiao could see that something was odd , she glanced at Mei who was sitting quietly at the reception reading some documents , although she seemed concentrated on her work , it was not the case ,Qiao had sharp eyes and good observations skills , ever when she was a child she took the habit of analyzing the surrounding people , movements , speech ....this help her to know better the person and decide whether he is reliable or not, that why the slight particularity or change can't escape her watchful eyes . Although Mei was calm, her forehead was a little bright under the light , it seems that some sweats slid down her forehead , and her hand trembled from time to time . Then Lin Qiao looked at nurse Xia , who just exited room six , their gazes met for some seconds before the latter retracted hers with a mix of surprise and fear in her eyes , her grasp on the folders tightened, and she made sure to guard her head lowered while walking toward the elevator .

[That's not good] it was the first thought she got after analyzing the situation in the hall . Mei and nurse Xia should have suspected something, but they weren't sure either ,otherwise everyone would be informed, the hall would be less crowed for safety reasons and all the personals would not act so naturally . Mei must have called the security .

For the second time after this mess was created, Lin Qiao felt nervous , the other human's unpredicted actions were such a pain ! Everything could happen now ! Qiao hated it ! The unknowingness, the unpredicted future! She lost the control of the situation ,and now all depends on what the security will do .

[they are going to leave quietly , there is no need for us to interfere and risk the lives of the others present in the hall . Please don't act rashly!!!... It was my mistake , I should have predicted this outcome ,and took more precautions ] Lin Qiao wanted to warn them but it was impossible , even if the man behind couldn't see her face , the injured one leaning on her shoulder could, an eyesight could not pass unnoticeable . The three of them continued walking toward the exit , they were closer and closer but when they were only about ten meters from it , one of the security guard who was hiding in a blind spot on the right , pounced toward the man with the gun , with the force of attack , they both fell on the ground , and another guard appeared from a corner to help his partner ,the man was not prepared at all , so he was easily overwhelmed by his attackers and his gun was taken off by them. Everyone in the hall was startled and frightened at first , but they soon relaxed , after seeing that the two security guards had everything under control , even Mei smiled and stood up instantly , joy filled her eyes , that unbearable situation was finally cleared and all the stress disappeared , she felt relieved but when she was about to walk toward Lin Qiao , she stopped her lifted leg , she looked with horror and fear at the two peoples standing before her eyes , Lin Qiao …. Doctor Lin ….was now held as a hostage in the arms of the injured man , a surgical scalpel under her throat !

In such circumstance , Lin Qiao was still calm and composed , fortunately she inherited from her father ,her cold and expressionless face that help her hide her inner thoughts, because at that time she was furious , angry at her self , at her carelessness. [This scalpel was the one that I used earlier , he must have snatched it , …. I was careless!.....what wrong with me ? In dire situations , I make such simple mistakes …. That's not good ,really not good ….. In the future ,I'll make sure to be more alert and study all the possibilities one by one….that , of course ,if I could emerge unscathed from this mess ]

_" Everyone will stay where they are, don't make things difficult and everything will end soon "the man looked at the security guards" Release my partner immediately"

The guards were taken aback , they didn't even imagine that the weak looking , pale faced man that seemed he would fall at the second he loses Doctor Lin's support, would cause such threat . Seeing that no one of them took a move , the injured man become impatient .

_" It would be a pity if the hospital lose such a talented doctor, don't you think? Release him ,NOW!"

_" Hmph, if it wasn't because of me , you would not even be able to stand properly at this moment ".

_" I know, …. You might have started to regret saving me back then , but I'm still grateful to your doctor, and I'm sorry …..my survival always came first , "

[Honestly , I don't regret anything! I'm a doctor after all , if we take in a patient , even if he was a criminal ,a homeless or a poor person, … we will do our best and use our full capabilities to save him, without regrets ]

The two guards frowned , they know Doctor Lin ,beside being a young genius doctor ,she was a kind person who always put her patients first even before her own self . They will not take the risk, so they released the criminal . After retrieving his gun ,he returned beside his partner, a big smile on his face .

_" Now, We will calmly walk toward the door , if I see someone make any move , I won't hesitate to shot " All the hall was silent, only the criminals' steps could be heard ,no one dared to breathe loudly. When they reached the door , the injured man pushed Lin Qiao, who felt heavily on the ground, before turning around and running out of the hospital but just when they crossed the threshold, two police men whom were waiting outside the door in a blind spot rushed at them from both side and neutralized the criminals . It seems that the guards had notified the police after the two men exited the room , and thanks to that the police has arrived in time to ambush them. Mei helped Lin Qiao stand up and hugged her tightly , she wasn't able to hold back her tears anymore. Lin Qiao patted Mei on her back lightly .

_" Now now…., stop crying , I'm perfectly fine , see….." Qiao released her self from Mei's embrace and took one step back .

_" Even if you're fine , I was so scared ,....it's my fault .... I should have been the one taken as a hostage not you ,…..sob ….. I'm sorry ....if something bad had happened to you , I would never forgive myself".

_" What are you saying ? What happened today it's all because of our bad luck, from all the hospitals, they chose the one we work in ,....we were not able to avoid it anyway, and we should be thankful perhaps things would have gone even wor….huh"

Bang!

Bang!

AHHHHHH!

In less than a second ,two gunshot were fired from outside the hospital , the shooter ,one of the two criminals .

Seeing there were no hope of escaping ,and in addition of the severity of their crimes , they will surely be sent on the chair ,so the criminal used all his energies for a last desperate act, he got nothing to lose anyway ,….that why he will make sure to not go to hell alone. Somehow he managed to kick the policeman holding him before taking the latter gun and locking it on another inspector but just when he was about to fire , a policeman standing not far away quickly reacted and pounced at the criminal , in their fall to gunshot were fired , fortunately for him the inspector was no longer in the gun's trajectory , so he got saved ,and ended without any injury , but ...that wasn't the case for a nurse and a doctor standing near the hospital's front door just behind that inspector….

The hospital's door was just behind Mei and Lin Qiao was standing in front of her , from where she was standing Qiao could see what is happening outside , when she noticed the armed criminal , she took Mei in her arms to cover her with her body then she pushed both of them on the ground . Mei was surprised by Qiao's sudden movement ,she closed her eyes instinctively and let herself fell on the ground , but soon she felt a huge pain in her left leg , when she looked at it, she saw red, a lot of red blood , she got injured by the gunshot .

So painful! Mei bit her lower lips , she tried her best to hold back her scream of pain , but she suddenly felt a warm liquid touching her left arm , she slowly lifted her gaze to look at the person beside her , then she screamed in dread at the top of her lung . The first gunshot injured Mei left leg , the second touched Lin Qiao's torso. Lin Qiao spatted some blood before slowly opening her eyes , what met her eyes was a tearful Mei who tried desperately to stop her bleeding but no matter how much pressure she exerted it was useless , also several doctors and nursed rushed toward them and put their all to save Lin Qiao but it was all useless .

_" Sister Qiao ,….. Please stay with me , don't left me alone ,…. Sister ….sob... p-please stay alive …. I-I'm so SORRY ….. I've always been a burden to you ….. I'm so-sorry …." Lin Qiao tried her best to stay conscious the longer possible , then she looked at the desperate actions of the girl before her .

[There is no need for this….. The main vein near the heart was touched … I'll surely die …but I don't want to leave like this …..it's not your fault , it's my own choice , so stop blaming your self ,….. I don't want to be the devil in your heart ,…. So please don't torture yourself because of my own decisions ….. I want you to forget and live your life freely …. I hope that one day you 'll be able to find your happiness in this world …..sigh*…..if only I could tell you all this …but I can't even maintain my eyes focused so how could I possibly open my mouth to speak , ….sigh …..I'm sorry Mei …..I must leave you ...] Looking one last time at Mei , Lin Qiao smiled brilliantly to the girl . The doctors and nurses suddenly all stopped what they were doing , and all stared attentively at Lin Qiao beautiful smile , even Mei was stunned , it was the first time she saw the cold headed Lin Qiao smile like this. Doctor Lin has always been a beautiful and elegant woman ,everyone in the hospital knows that, even if she was cold and reserved ,she was still admired and appreciated by everyone , and now with such a charming smile her face got even more mesmerizing , that stunned all the workers. Mei stared blankly at Lin Qiao , it was only until Lin Qiao stopped breathing that she regained her sense and started crying even louder than before , waking everyone from their trance .

*******

The darkness slowly swallowed her entire body , she felt colder and colder every second, and her senses were shut one after the other .

[What ? ….. Isn't it now that I'm supposed to recall all what happened in my life and start regretting the unachieved ? ….. Well …. If it's regrets , I do have two…. I always wanted friends …even from when I was a child I wasn't able to have one …..my father was a wealthy cold-hearted , strict doctor, always working at his hospital,... he wanted his daughter to be the most talented doctor , so I tried my best to not disappoint him... I studied harder and harder ,without resting , even if my nose bled I continued ,I wanted to get his attention , ….I wanted to make him proud of his daughter , that was my goal at the beginning but even if I was the best student at school with full marks in all subjects …my father didn't show me any interest and only replied "not enough" ….. All what I did will be not enough for him ….. Maybe I should have giving up at that time , and take more care of myself , BUT I DIDN'T .... I just found for myself a new goal ,becoming a famous doctor who far exceeded my father ,then living my life freely far from that hell he called home ,.... So I started studying for myself not for others , BUT.....studies , studies , studies,…..that was the problem , I spent all my life with books and stayed away from my classmate, ….. Little by little , subconsciously I built a wall between me and the others …. Even now I don't know how to interact with them , or how to express some emotions, So I started observing them from afar..., I make sure to be a well-behaved and polite person , hoping that people would accept me, and thankfully it was the case when I joined the hospital ,.... Even if I didn't talk much and I never had started a conversation ,my colleague spoke to me often ,and one of them is Mei ….. Maybe we would have been friend if we got some more time .....regretfully….. My second regret is not having a boyfriend ….it was predictable , if I can't get friends how could I possibly find one …. It's just I often heard nurses talking about their lovers and how they spent their happiest times with them ….. I was envious ….my whole life lacked the so-called care and love , that why I wanted a boyfriend perhaps I can love someone and beloved in return but it doesn't seem possible for me…twenty-five years but I wasn't able to open myself to others , maybe I was doomed to be alone forever , therefore all what's remain in me are regrets.....] [It's getting colder , I can no longer feel my body , what will happen when we die ? Perhaps it's time to find an answer to that question ….. I feel sleepy ….I can't stay conscious any longer...…] .