CHAPTER: 9

Survival ;

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No matter how much he cried or begged, nothing changed. Dee didn't open her eyes.

Rayyan's heart was beating slower, his hands trembling, soaked in her blood.

Tears poured down his face. He couldn't stop them.

He kept pleading.

"No, Dee. Please. Please don't die. I-I can't let you go. What'll happen to me if you're gone? How am I supposed to live? Please… please God, save her... please…"

His voice broke again and again.

Ayat stayed frozen for a moment, her knees numb against the wet ground. But then—she snapped out of it.

"No! I can't cry. Dee needs me."

She stood up fast and ran to the guards.

"Call an ambulance! Now!" she yelled.

Rayyan heard her.

His eyes lit with hope—"Yes! Ambulance! We'll take her to the hospital. She'll be fine. She has to be."

One of the guards hesitated. "But if we call them, they'll find out about the track—"

"To hell with the track!" Rayyan screamed.

"We can rebuild this place—but Dee? She doesn't have time. CALL THEM!"

His voice dropped, cracked and hollow.

"Just call the f*cking ambulance..." he whispered, crying again.

Ayat took a shaky breath. "Call them… but only halfway. We'll meet them there and take Dee ourselves."

The guards obeyed.

"Rayyan, get up!" Ayat snapped. "This isn't the time to break down. We have to save her!"

Rayyan didn't move.

So the guards helped carry Dee while Ayat signaled them to pull Rayyan up too.

"Don't take her away from me!" he cried, desperate. "Please, she'll die—don't—"

"She. Will. Not. Die." Ayat barked.

"We're saving her, not losing her. So move before I kill you myself!"

They laid Dee gently into the backseat.

Rayyan rushed to drive—but Ayat yanked him out. "You can't even see straight! You'll kill us all!"

She turned to the guard. "You drive. Fast."

The engine roared.

Ayat pressed clean cloth on Dee's bleeding side. Her hands were shaking. Rayyan held Dee's cold hand tight.

"Drive faster!" he yelled.

"Yes, boss!" the driver replied.

Six minutes later, they spotted the ambulance. It was already waiting by the road.

They skidded to a stop. Paramedics rushed out and carefully transferred Dee onto the stretcher.

Rayyan didn't leave her side.

Half the car was covered in Dee's blood. Ayat and Rayyan's clothes were soaked in it.

Rayyan looked down at his hands—stained red—and something inside him snapped.

He would never love that color again.

The paramedics placed an oxygen mask on Dee's face. Bandaged her wounds.

Twenty minutes later, they reached the hospital. The ER doors swung open. Doctors ran out. Dee was rushed inside.

Ayat followed.

Rayyan sat outside the ER, hands shaking, face buried in blood-soaked palms, sobbing quietly.

Ayat rushed to him.

"Hey. Be strong, okay? Dee wouldn't want to see you like this."

Her voice cracked—but she didn't let her tears fall.

They waited for what felt like eternity—30 painful minutes.

Then suddenly, a nurse burst through the doors.

Rayyan jumped up. "How is she?! Tell me—she's alive, right? She's okay?!"

The nurse hesitated. "She's in critical condition. She lost too much blood. Her blood type is O negative—and we don't have enough in the bank. Does anyone here match?"

"I do!" Ayat said without a second thought.

"Come with me," the nurse said.

Inside, Dee lay unconscious under bright hospital lights, doctors stitching her wounds, checking her pulse.

They placed Ayat on a bed beside her, only a curtain between them. Blood began flowing from Ayat to Dee.

Fifteen minutes later, the nurse told Ayat to rest. "You're weak now. You need food."

"Forget me. Tell me about her," Ayat asked.

"We've stabilized her pulse. But… we still don't know what'll happen. It's up to her now."

Ayat walked out.

Rayyan rushed to her. "Tell me. Tell me she's okay. Please."

"She's stable. But…" Ayat stopped.

"But what?!"

"Just wait. Let the doctors say it."

Rayyan clenched his fists. "They're taking too long."

"Rayyan," Ayat warned softly, "just wait."

Then someone else appeared—Mr. Kang.

Ayat's face twisted with confusion. "Why is he here?"

Rayyan sighed. "I don't even have the strength to kick him out."

Kang walked over with a plastic bag.

"I brought juice," he said.

"For what?" Ayat asked.

"I came earlier. Heard everything. The nurses said you gave blood. You need energy."

"I don't want it."

But then her vision blurred. She staggered, sat down.

"You okay? Should I call a doctor?" Kang asked.

"No."

"Drink it. I swear, there's no poison."

Ayat hesitated. She hated accepting help from him. But she needed to be strong—for Dee.

She drank it.

"You'll see. Dee's strong," Kang said.

"I know," Ayat whispered.

Then the doctor walked out. Everyone ran toward him.

"How is she?" Rayyan asked.

"She's stable," the doctor said.

Everyone exhaled in relief—until the doctor added:

"But we don't know when she'll wake up."

Rayyan froze. "What do you mean?"

"She's alive… but unresponsive. Her brain activity is low. We don't know how long it'll take—if she'll ever—"

Rayyan grabbed the doctor by the collar. "What the hell are you saying?! You HAVE to wake her up! You have to!"

He raised his fist—ready to punch—

Kang grabbed his arm. "Stop. Don't make a scene."

"A scene?! Dee is DYING!"

Ayat pulled Rayyan back. "Rayyan, enough! We all care about her! Stop—before you lose yourself too!"

Rayyan's chest heaved with fury. But then—

"I want to see her."

"You can… once we move her," the doctor said and left.

Later, the doors opened. They wheeled Dee out, her face pale, her body still.

Rayyan walked beside the stretcher, gripping her hand.

"Please wake up… please…"

They transferred her into a recovery room.

"Only soft voices," the nurse warned before leaving.

Rayyan sat beside her, gently holding her hand.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… I should've told you the truth… I should've stopped you…"

Ayat stood behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's not your fault."

He shook his head. "It is. If I hadn't lied… if I hadn't let her go… maybe she wouldn't be here. Like this."

Ayat sat on the other side of Dee's bed.

"She'll be fine," she whispered. "This is just… a small accident."

"A small accident? Ayat, she almost died! And for what?! A stupid secret!"

"We'll talk about it later," she said, wiping a tear. "Right now, she needs us. Strong. Here."

Rayyan nodded, barely holding himself together.

They both took Dee's hands, weeping silently.

"Please wake up, Dee… please…"

Eventually, exhaustion pulled them into sleep.

Still sitting at her bedside.

Still holding her hands.

With dried tears on their cheeks.

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