Leaving Behind a Piece – Part l

Blood! All there was on the white floor was red blood. Gerbert stared at Ophelia's unconscious body for a few moments and his eyes took in the destructed room. His jaw twitched and he gulped heavily, and soon a medical team rushed into the room, hurriedly putting Ophelia's body on a stretcher, putting her on oxygen, and carrying her away. Gerbert bit the inside of his cheek and pulled his hair in frustration. When Elio and Glenn rushed into the room, he looked up.
"Wou aśs hien?"Gerbert asked, (Where is he?)
"Mir wëssen et net, Här." Elio replied, and Gerbert closed his eyes tightly. (We don't know, Sir.)
"Fannt hien!" Gerbert barked as he took out his phone and began walking out of the suite. (Find him!)
"Mason-" Gerbert said over the phone as he got out of the elevator and rushed towards his car on the driveway. Gerbert followed the ambulance to the hospital while trying to reach Onyx on the phone. When Gerbert arrived at the hospital, they were hauling Ophelia to the operating room. As they led her into the Operation Theater, he only caught a glimpse of her bloodied face. Gerbert came to a halt outside the door, and a doctor placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Mr Reighs, we'll do our best. Please wait here." With that, the doctor dashed into the operating room, and Gerbert sat on the chairs, staring at the closed doors of the OR.

Gerbert's hands were on his head, and he couldn't figure out how this could have happened. Remorse, guilt, and anxiety were eating him alive, and he couldn't think straight. Gerbert's eyes widened as two strong hands yanked him up by his collars. He was met by a frantic Mason. Mason's face was red with rage and frustration, his eyes were filled with tears, and he was sweating despite the fact that the temperature was 18 degrees Celsius.
"Gerbert, what happened to her?" Gerbert's eyes welled up with guilt as Mason growled.
"I-I don't know. I found her passed out on the floor. They've taken her to the operating room. I'm sorry, my friend."
"I don't want your f*ucking sorry! Tell me who did this to her!" Mason screamed as tears slowly pooled out of his eyes and his grip on Gerbert's collars loosened.
"Mason, I'm sorry. I don't know."
"She will be okay, wouldn't she? Tell me she will be okay! I can't lose her Gerbert! She's my little girl!" Mason burst into tears and fell to his knees. Gerbert grabbed his shoulder and pulled him up, sitting him down on the chair.
"She'll be fine. Don't worry, Mason." Gerbert tried to console him, but he didn't know what to say.
"She's been through a lot already. I had to witness them repeatedly putting her under their blades and knives! I begged and prayed that she wouldn't have to return here. But my little girl has still reached the operating table!" Mason buried his face in his hands.
"She's a fighter. She will be okay. She has to be!" Gerbert muttered the last bit as he tried to console Mason.

There was a clock in sight in the hospital hallway. It felt as if the clock possessed extraordinary abilities. It seemed to move at a glacial rate. It will tell you what time it is if you look up at it. It will tell you that two minutes have passed when you look up an hour and a half later. Yet it also has the ability to remind you of how short life is, to make you acutely aware of how little time someone you care about may have left to them. Mason was pacing impatiently, occasionally glancing out the operating room's closed doors. Gerbert sat on one of the blue plastic waiting chairs, his face buried in his hands. They were becoming more impatient, frustrated, and anxious with each passing moment. Mason glanced at his watch to see it was 12:30 a.m.
Mason's gaze was drawn to Gerbert when his phone rang, filling the empty peaceful hallway with a cacophonous ring. Gerbert took out his phone and with a glance at the caller ID, he excused himself and walked out of the hallway.
"Cressida-" As Cressida's voice came through the phone, Gerbert's eyes filled with frustration and anxiety.
"Ech wäert do sinn sou séier wéi ech kann, mäi Moundliicht. Weg halen op fir mech."
(I'll be there as soon as I can, my moonlight. Please hold on for me.) Gerbert's voice was overcome with grief as he said goodbye to his wife and hung up the phone. He walked inside, slipping his phone back into his pocket. As Gerbert approached Mason, who was now sitting on the chair, he looked up. They didn't say anything as they silently waited. Another hour passed before the closed doors of the operating room were pushed open and Ophelia, who was unconscious on the stretcher, was brought out. An oxygen mask and a slew of machines were strapped to her. Mason followed them out of the hallway and towards the critical care. Gerbert also stood up to follow him out when one of the surgeons called for his attention.
"Mr Reighs." Gerbert turned around as he noticed Dr Baumann approaching him. The man was in his late fifties and was a brilliant surgeon who had worked in the hospital for decades.
"Dr Baumann," Gerbert sternly said with a nod of acknowledgement.
"Der Eingriff verlief reibungslos. Und wir gehen davon aus, dass sie sich schnell erholen wird." Dr. Baumann informed Gerbert sternly, and Gerbert nodded.
(The procedure went off without a hitch. And we presume that she will recover quickly.)
"Ich schätze Ihre harte Arbeit. Vielen Dank." As Gerbert turned around on his heels, Dr. Baumann raised his brow.
(I appreciate your hard work. Thank you very much.)
"Sie wissen, dass ich seit über zwei Jahrzehnten in dieser Branche arbeite. Und ich habe noch nie zuvor eine solche Verletzung gesehen. Wie wurde sie verletzt? Wenn Sie mich bitte noch einmal aufklären könnten, Herr. Reighs?"
(You are aware that I have been in this line of work for over two decades. And I've never seen such an injury before. How did she get hurt? If you could please enlighten me once more, Mr Reighs?)
Gerbert came to a halt and looked back over his shoulder. "Sie rutschte aus und fiel, Doktor."
(She slipped and fell, doctor.)
"Und du willst, dass ich das glaube?" Dr Baumann slipped his hands into his pockets and said again. "Du hättest die Bestie ergreifen sollen, als du die Chance dazu hattest." His words ticked something off in Gerbert as his eyes gleamed and he had the doctor pinned to the wall. (And you want me to believe that?) (You should have seized the beast when you had the chance.)
"Wenn ich Sie das noch einmal sagen höre, kriege ich Ihre Kehle! Die junge Dame ist auf dem nassen Boden ausgerutscht und gestürzt und hat sich verletzt. Genau das ist passiert, und das werden Sie melden. Bin ich klar, Baumann!" Gerbert growled as his hold on the doctors throat tightened. (I'll have your throat if I hear you utter those words again. The young lady slipped on the wet floor fell and injured herself. That's what had happened and that's exactly what you are going to report. Am I understood, Baumann!)
Dr Baumann's jaw clenched in frustration, but he nodded and muttered. "Jawohl."
Gerbert let go of his throat and with one last look at the doctor, he walked away following Mason's path out the hallway.
(Yes, sir.)

When Gerbert arrived in the critical care hallway, he noticed Mason conversing with an attending doctor. He was relieved to notice some solace on his face. As Gerbert approached, the doctor and Mason finished their conversation, and the doctor walked away. Mason turned around to face Gerbert.
"How is she doing?" Gerbert inquired.
"There was no internal bleeding or complications, according to the doctors. They stopped the bleeding and stitched up the wounds. She should be able to recover quickly." Gerbert smiled reassuringly as Mason informed him with a sigh of relief.
"I told you she is a fighter." Mason drew Gerbert in for a brotherly hug, and Gerbert peered through the glass window over Mason's shoulders at Ophelia's unconscious self.

Laughter. Her bright cheerful laughter filled the air as she ran around the grassy field filled with wildflowers. She turned around to see Onyx pursuing her with a luminous smile on his face. They were in the middle of the wilderness on a bright sunny day. Enjoying each other's company while basking in the sun.
"You can't catch me!" She squealed as she slid out of Onyx's grasp.
"I'll have you wrapped in my arms, léift." As he continued to pursue her, he declared.
"You can't do it!" She continued to run, giggling. After a few moments, Ophelia frowned as the footsteps chasing her came to a halt.
"What happened?" She turned around to face Onyx, but her smile faded when her eyes couldn't find him anywhere.