Fan Fiction |
by Rain
Friday, 7th June 2002, 1:30pm
“Niki!” Michelle exclaimed thankfully seeing her apartment mate steeping inside.
“How’s the guy?” Niki asked hurriedly.
“He’s bad… He’s still bleeding! And he’s having high fever! He’s not going to make it if we don’t get him to a doctor…” Michelle said frantically having watched over the dying man for half a day.
Niki bent down to touch the guy’s forehead and her hand retracted with shock. “His fever is sky high!”
“Niki, where did you find this man?!” Michelle asked, and Niki related how she tripped over the man’s foot that was sticking out from a corner of the stairs.
“But… but… this is like… we’re practically breaking the law here… AND don’t forget we’re now practicing lawyer. Anything happens our licenses are going to be suspended!” Michelle pointed out their dilemma.
“Mich! He’s a dying man… And he’s got to have his reasons for not going to the hospital that is just two blocks down the street,” Niki reasoned.
Michelle looked forlornly at the naive friend of hers. Niki had always been so straight, so innocent, she doesn’t think further than tomorrow. But she silently agreed that she would have done the same had it been her to find the man at their doorsteps.
Two loud knocks on their door made the two girls jumped.
“Who’s it?” Niki asked fearfully.
“Huh? Since when you interrogate people entering your apartment?” Raymond’s surprised voice answered.
Michelle gasped and pulled Niki’s sleeve pointing at the man on their sofa. The two frantically figured out the best plan to come up with. After all, such a troubling secret had better be shared by the least number of people possible.
“Hey, anybody home?” Alec’s voice sounded impatient.
Michelle ran to the door and opened it just wide enough to let herself out and then pulled it shut again.
“Hie, let’s go!” Michelle hurriedly pulled Tavia who had just stepped onto her doorstep.
“Hey, what’s the hurry?” Alec asked Michelle who looked panicky.
“Yeah, I thought we’re supposed to have some uni-mates time together at your place? Look, I’ve even bought enough snacks to last us till tomorrow morning!” Raymond held up his two plastic bags full of junk food.
Tavia’s eyes widened at the sight of the snacks and nodded excitedly.
“No,.. uh change of plans. Niki’s just called me to meet her at Just Cool,” Michelle struggled to come up with some ideas.
“Niki? Isn’t she inside? She was the one calling out right?” Raymond asked, even more astonished. Michelle was definitely acting oddly. Tavia eyed her friend that was choking in her anxiety trying to speak.
“What’s up Mich?” Tavia asked concerned. Before Michelle could reply, Kenneth who had been standing quietly all the while reached for the doorknob and turned it open.
“I’m too tired to stand here and discuss. Let’s settle in our favorite cozy corners and take our time to decide…” Kenneth stopped short at his sentence as he stepped into the apartment, catching Niki’s futile effort of trying to hide the figure behind her.
Tavia was about to scream at the gory sight of the man’s wound when Michelle clasped her hand over and hurried all her friends who were frozen to their spot into her apartment.
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Niki finished retelling her encounter with the mysteriously injured man again. The four friends listened and nodded along.
“Are you sure you guys want to do this?” Raymond asked eyeing Michelle.
“Yeah, it… it could cost you everything you know?” Kenneth reminded them the fact that they are lawyers again.
“Like we haven’t thought it over…” Niki said. Michelle just nodded tiredly in agreement.
“Ray, do you happen to have any doctor friends?” Michelle suddenly recalled the man’s deep wounds and high fever.
Raymond was after all the only son of one of the ten wealthiest businessmen in Hong Kong. Michelle was putting her bet on his social relations that he knows dozens people from all walks of life, including the medicine field.
“This man has high fever… even if we don’t turn him in now, I don’t want to see him die because we didn’t get him appropriate medical treatment,” Michelle explained placing her palm on the man’s forehead again.
Raymond nodded as he ran through his memory, trying to remember all of his doctor friends. He has many, but to select one who would be willing to breach the medical ethic to help them… Suddenly, he jumped up from his squat by the man and dialed a number.
“Hello, Jessica?” Raymond spoke excitedly.
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Jessica took off her gloves smudged with blood. She buttoned back the unconscious man’s shirt and took his temperature again.
“How’s he?” several of them asked together as Jessica closed Niki’s room door quietly behind her.
Jessica’s face looked grim. “He lost too much blood. He won’t make it if he doesn’t receive appropriate medical assistance soon.”
They exchanged uneasy glances among each other.
“I’ve bandaged his wounds and gave him injections. His bleeding will stop soon and his fever has already gone down to 40 degrees Celsius, which mind you is still critical for a man that weak,” Jessica added.
“Does anyone here mind telling me what’s happened? I’m risking my neck violating medical ethics to help you, Young Master Lam…” Jessica said some more when all that greeted her was uncomfortable silence.
For the third time in a day, Niki retold how they brought back the man.
“How could you assume he doesn’t want any medical assistance? Maybe he just couldn’t make it there by himself!” Jessica exclaimed.
She sounded reasonable to the gang of friends. “I don’t care, as a doctor I strongly recommend that he is sent to the hospital as soon as possible.”
“Shouldn’t we ask him first?” Tavia suggested and the rest eyed her. “Oh yeah… he’s kinda out…”
“Since he’s still unconscious, it is up to us, conscious people to decide for him,” Jessica stated stubbornly.
She reentered the room and positioned the man in the appropriate way to be lifted.
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The man stirred upon hearing some kind of remote commotion around him.
“Left… No no.. Ray…” He fought his heavy eyelids and managed to catch the sight of a woman, directing someone else to his right. He very much wanted to turn his head to look around but he felt drained of energy,
“He… he’s awake!” another girl exclaimed from some corner further away.
He felt a splitting headache as he strained to see and listen more. He shut his eyes and tried to block away all the disturbing noises. After a while, he felt better and was calm again.
When he reopened his eyes, the room seemed to be empty except for him and the first girl he saw just now.
“Hey…” He saw a beautiful face nearing his and greeted him with concern.
“How are you doing?” the girl asked slowly.
He only nodded indicating he was feeling quite fine.
“Where…” He asked with much effort.
“Shh… don’t talk too much first. Just let me know, do you want to be sent to the hospital?” Jessica asked clearly.
“I’m at the hospital?!” The wounded man almost jumped up.
“Calm down... NO! You’re safe here…” Jessica caught his meaning. So the gang had been right with their decision. She began to wonder if she was right to be involved. She was after all a respected doctor with bright future down her path…
“Then you…?” He asked again
“I’m a doctor, your doctor.” Jessica said. “Jessica. Jessica Hsuan.”
Jessica… He repeated silently. What a beautiful name for the beautiful face.
“You’ve lost too much blood,” Jessica continued. “Don’t move around too much. I’ve very limited resources for you if your condition worsened.”
He nodded obediently.
“Actually, I’m not the one who found you,” Jessica told him. “The rest are outside but I asked them to give you some air when you stirred from your unconsciousness.”
He nodded again and shut his eyes.
“Hello? Are you feeling any drowsiness? Any pain?” Jessica noticed his grimace.
“I’m tired…” he said wearily.
Jessica nodded understandingly. “Before you go to sleep, can you tell me your name?”
His eyes opened again, and gazed at her.
“I just want to ensure if the hit on your head affected any part of your brain and memory…” she added.
My name? He thought for a moment.
Your name is Louis! A familiar voice rang in his head.
“Louis…” He mumbled and fell back to sleep.
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END of Chapter
Author:
Hehe, I've worked my way to the end...! Seems like I don't need the voting to help me decide the ending after all... So now I decided it's safe to post 2 chapters a day since the plot is finally stabilized. So here's the second helping of WR after dinner... Enjoy!