Inspired To Do It

Just as I placed my hand on the man's stomach, he began to convulse. He was losing his life quite literally in my hands.

"Hey, come on man! Come on! You can stay a little longer, can't you?" His friend asked him.

While we were sitting down beside his friend, a ton of people began running toward the stash of food we had in the bunker.

"Hey, where are you guys going?!" I shouted out, trying to let the man's friend convulse to see if he could come out of it.

"To claim our food before it's gone! We're not sitting by anymore!" Somebody yelled out. I needed to stop them before it got bad, but I'm only one woman. I can't save this man and stop them! The last thing we need is for everybody to start turning on each other.

The loud crowd started to rush past, bumping into me, and knocking me over. My tools were spread all over the room, and most importantly, one of my syringes broke.

"Shit!" I yelled out, trying to scramble any bit of the spreading liquid I could before it fell into the cracks to vanish forever.

The room I was in, after losing all of the syringe fluid and all hope of saving anybody else, was only filled with the injured, and their loved ones, as a large majority of the other people in this room flooded into the food bunker.

"Jane, what brought on that sudden change? Why is everybody needing food all of a sudden?!" I asked my assistant. She had left to go scout other patients in the direction the people came from, so I was hoping that she knew at least something.

"I don't know! It was like some man was bringing up starvation to a few people, and then they all started chanting. I didn't see much, and I can't see the man anymore," She explained to me.

My mind went to the worst depths at first. I was convinced that this man could be part of Quake, but a little more thought was put in and the thought scattered.

It took a while to get all these people in the bunker thanks to the underground railway system Sky told us to implement, but what I didn't expect was Quake to get in so easily. That's when I remembered that we had guards scouting out, and the only way into the bunker without being noticed was by passing the guards. We were accounted for, so it had to be somebody starting controversy.

Either way, no matter what happens, it's not a good sign.

"What should we do, Hiyochi-nee?" Jane asked me. I placed my head into my hands, rubbing my eyes with a sharp intensity.

"It's not my problem... I can't run this whole goddamn show, where is Ruby?!" I yelled out. I lost my composure, but Jane knew it would happen eventually, not showing any signs of distress.

"She's in the Radio Tower, looking down on the city to report who's defeated and other information people figure out. We can't depend on her, this responsibility cannot fall onto her alone, right?" Jane asked me.

Dammit! She was right!

As soon as I went to get up, I closed my eyes, and tried to stand, but a hand rested on my shoulder, pushing downward.

"If I'm not out there, fighting with Dad and the others, I'm in here, helping you," Faith told me.

"Faith-nee? I thought you would've been fighting Quake... I'm glad to have you here, do you know what's going on?" I asked her. I hate that I depended on a girl as young as her like this, but I guess some of the blame lands on the same people who depended on a 13-year-old doctor to solve all of their problems.

"No, but somebody's riling them up. I'm going to check it out. While I do, I want you to have this," Faith said, handing me a strange syringe. It looked unfamiliar, but it was short, stubby, and had two handles on the ends for me to put my fingers into. It looked like one to shoot into my heart or neck.

"It's a syringe from one of my Dad's old wars. It stops bleeding and invigorates the person it is used on. It helped out Dani and Uncle Carl when they used it, so I hope you find a use for it too," Faith told me with a nod.

"Thank you, Faith-nee..." I could only mumble. She returned my nod and walked off confidently into the crowd of angered people.

These Asterios… no matter how much shit people talked about them, always pulled through. They're loyal people, ones who take all of our flak, and deal it back in defending their hometown. They were reliable people.

I was never completely sold on Sky Asterio being this good person... but by the people he carries around, I can tell I was wrong. Ruby was wrong. Everybody in this entire city was wrong.

Another one of the rules I was told while learning to be a doctor, having information drilled into my brain since I was only 4, was to never doubt anybody's ability to recover. No matter how much damage we did to Sky's reputation, to his faith in us, to his inspiration for our city... he came back. He recovered.

I was colored impressed and felt a sense of confidence and responsibility to get back on my feet and do what was right.

The friend in the man's arm right beside me peacefully passed away in his sleep, and no matter the grief I felt as a second-hand source, I was ready to do what was necessary, no matter what.

"I'm sorry for your friend, but I have to move on. I will make it right," I told him, pushing myself up, and tightening the buckle to my satchel.

"Jane, who needs help next?" I asked with a grin.

"Right this way, Doctor," She returned my smile.