Code Silver

"Haru? Haru?!" Aoi screamed, his voice rising in pitch as Haru's body crumpled in his arms like a lifeless doll. His knees buckled under Haru's weight, and he sank to the ground, trying to shake him awake. "Haru! What's the matter with you?!"

Aoi shook him, gently at first—then with rising panic. Haru's head lolled back. His eyes were shut. His lips were pale. His skin was clammy and cold.

Then—

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

The shots ripped through the hospital like explosions. Sharp. Close. Too close. The sound echoed off the sterile tile floors and bounced down the long, narrow corridors. 

There was a beat of stunned silence before screams erupted.

Patients shrieked in terror. Nurses gasped. Metal trays clattered to the ground as a chorus of panic surged through the hallways.

"What the hell was that?!" someone cried.

"It sounded like a gun!" another voice yelled.

"Oh my god! My husband's in there!"

Ren's eyes went wide. "Sakura!" he shouted, his voice raw with horror as he tore down the corridor. Kei sprinted beside him, panic distorting his features.

Aoi, still clutching Haru, snapped his head up, horrified. "That sound—it came from—"

"That's Sakura's room!" Kei shouted, his voice cracking with fear.

Then came the harsh buzz of the intercom, like static slashing through the air before a cold, mechanical voice rang out:

"Code Silver. Active shooter in Trauma Room 3. All personnel initiate lockdown procedures immediately."

Kei staggered. "No. No, no—" His voice cracked.

The hospital exploded into chaos.

Red warning lights began strobing along the ceilings. An automated voice repeated in cold monotone: "Code Silver. Initiate lockdown. Code Silver."

Automatic blast doors hissed down over every wing, trapping some people in place and sealing others out. A loud clank followed each door, the metal locking into place like a vault.

Nurses bolted into nearby patient rooms, grabbing anyone within reach.

Children screamed. Alarms howled.

Muffled sobs, frantic footsteps, shouts for help. The hospital had turned into a battleground.

"HELP!" Aoi shouted, voice breaking as he knelt with Haru in his arms. "He's not breathing right—please, someone!"

Two nurses and a doctor came sprinting through the crowd, one pushing a gurney, the other carrying a crash kit.

"Secure him now—move, move!" the nurse ordered. She dropped to her knees beside Haru and quickly checked his pulse. "He's alive, but unresponsive. We're taking him to Ward C. Go!"

As they hoisted Haru onto the gurney, Mia came running, her face ghost-white, her breath ragged.

"What's wrong with him?!" she cried, staring at Haru with panicked eyes. "What's happening?!"

"We've got it under control," the doctor snapped, already wheeling Haru away. "Clear the hall!"

Down the corridor, Kei and Ren clashed against security officers who had rushed in wearing tactical gear, armed and blocking access.

"LET ME THROUGH!" Kei bellowed, trying to shove past them. "She's in there—Sakura's in there!"

"That's my daughter!" Ren roared, eyes burning with desperation. "You have to let me in!"

"Dr. Suzuki!" a nurse called out, pushing her way through the panic. "You know the drill—this is Code Silver. We need medical staff to support the evacuation and assist the wounded."

Another doctor added firmly, grabbing Ren by the arm, "Dr. Suzuki, you need to calm down. You know what's at stake. You're a doctor—act like one."

Ren's breathing was heavy. His fists trembled, his face contorted with grief, but slowly—painfully—he forced himself to nod.

Kei turned and slammed his fist into the wall with a guttural cry. "She's still in there!"

Then—

Screams. More gunshots. A door slamming open.

"POLICE! DROP YOUR WEAPON!"

Officers in black tactical gear stormed down the corridor, breaching Trauma Room 3 with weapons raised. Their voices cut through the chaos:

"Clear left!"

"Clear right!"

"We've got three down! I repeat—three medical staff DOA!"

One officer moved to the empty bed, stunned.

"…The patient's gone."

"Suspect is no longer on site," another said into his radio. "Repeat: patient from Trauma 3 is missing."

Outside the trauma room, another scream rang out as someone collapsed to their knees.

The intercom crackled again:

"Update on Code Silver: Trauma Room 3 has been compromised. Three casualties confirmed. Suspect no longer in immediate vicinity. Patient is unaccounted for. Lockdown remains in effect. Law enforcement is securing the floor."

Kei stopped breathing for a moment. His lips parted, voice hoarse, breaking:

"…She's gone."

And somewhere beyond those sealed, blood-slicked corridors, Haru was being wheeled away—unconscious and oblivious.

In the instant he collapsed…

Sakura vanished.