Best Defense

Through the Darkness

...Sean Danial Warner POV's....

I'm a little unsure about this chapter, but I hope the story doesn't make you feel bad.

***

"Can you hear me?"

"In a moment," I confirmed the location of the earphone speaker located in the upper corner of my jacket pocket so that Erick's voice sounded clearer. "I'm in the old building area, the big abandoned buildings and the like, just like you said."

"Other than you see? Did you find them?"

I drove my car faster down the cobbled road between the slabs of the building that were loosened and lined on one of the shoulders of the road. The scenery was truly like a dead city, it was no wonder that Syaiful and his accomplices chose this location as a hiding place.

"No.." my words came to a halt as I turned the car into a wider field and I saw a group of men in military uniforms standing scattered around the place.

I recognized Syaiful who was in the front, in the middle of the line, and also... The franda? A well-built man was grasping Franda's arm, holding her back behind Syaiful.

"Suck!" my sift.

"What's wrong?" erick's voice came from the earphones.

I gritted my jaw. "They're holding my wife."

"Listen, sir. The support team is on the way. Please don't do anything stupid, you understand?"

"I have to save my wife now."

"I know, but try to buy time, they'll be here soon. Two kilometers, just five minutes, you have to..."

I disconnected the earphones and removed all the devices from me. I don't want to risk Syaiful if he finds out I'm using a wiretap. I turned off the engine and quickly stepped out.

As soon as I galloped up to them two men walked up to me and each blocked my arms and dragged me along. I was eager to teach both, but I knew it would threaten Franda's safety.

Franda looked at me while shaking her head. His two brown eyes were filled with tears, and I knew at this moment he must be very frightened.

I should have been able to realize something when I saw the glint in Syaiful's eyes that was hinting at something. But everything happened so quickly and I had nothing prepared, and my school was in slow motion mode when I finally realized what was going to happen to me. I saw Syaiful lifting the gun he had in his hand and pointing it at me.

"NO!"

Franda's cry echoed in the air. Both of my eyes opened wide and were horrified to see him running towards me, his hands stretched out as if to grab me.

But it was too late, and what followed was the sound of a deafening gunfire. My whole body stiffened as I stared at the nano expression on Franda's face as well as the dark red stains that spread widely on her clothes.

"No," I choked.

***

The sound of the footsteps of the police who ran in from all directions mixed with the frenzied screams of the Syaiful gang. The sound of sirens roaring from a distance slowly began to approach. I heard someone calling that paramedics had arrived, and also reminded how precarious the situation was after the shootout between the police and the group of Syaiful occurred.

"One victim fell." I heard someone exclaim.

Then I saw from the corner of my eye an ambulance stopped about a hundred meters from where I was. Some medics got out of it while pulling the gurney with them.

I tightened my embrace on Franda's body. The only thing I can feel right now is the fear that overwhelms me, I can't describe it with words. I knelt tightly hugging Franda's immobile body on my lap while pressing her back which continued to bleed with my jacket. His face was pale, and both of his eyelids were closed, his unraveling wavy hair turning a dense color due to the blood.

All of my defenses collapsed as I felt his body in my arms slowly getting colder and I began to lose control. "Please, honey, open your eyes." I whispered desperately in front of his face.

No. gabe. It's not real. I was just dreaming.

"Sir, we need to evaluate it."

I looked up and found that some medics were crowding us. They knelt near me then slowly moved Franda's body onto the gurney. One of the medics kept the veranda's body in a tilted position while examining the wound on his back. He put my jacket back and put a thick cloth in Franda's shirt instead.

Then when he saw her about to wrap the tourniquet into Franda's body, my hand suddenly stretched out to hold her. "What are you doing? He'll be in pain if you tie him up."

The medic looked at me in surprise. "He lost a lot of blood, there was no other way to do it or he could bleed out before he got to the hospital. Nobody wants that to happen, right?" he muttered firmly, then he turned to his comrades. "Analyzes."

"Blood pressure was 145, and it kept dropping." one of them answered while inserting a breathing tube through Franda's mouth, while the other put an infusion on his hand.

The medics who had just finished putting the tourniquet on Franda's body now opened her eyelids to examine her pupils. "Vital signs, crisis."

" his blood pressure is 140, he needs plexus block immediately, and sedative. He could collapse at any time during the trip to the hospital."

They moved, holding Franda's body and then walked quickly while pulling the cage back towards the ambulance.

"His body temperature is very low, fast!" the medics spoke again. "We'll have to get to the hospital in ten minutes even if you have to drive like a demon. He won't survive if we don't manage to stabilize his blood pressure before he reaches the hospital."

"What do you mean he won't survive?" I ran behind them, holding the iron gurney as they folded the cage and pushed it into the ambulance.

"I'll be with him." I said firmly when the look on their faces suddenly turned startled when I saw me about to get into the ambulance. "What do you mean he won't survive?" I asked again after the ambulance drove at full speed, the sound of its sirens roaring through the streets.

"Third-degree bleeding," a middle-aged female medic who was holding back the airway connected to the oxygen tube said to me. "Right now he might have lost almost 40 percent of his blood volume, seeing his body temperature and blood pressure being so low, and it was very dangerous. Let's just hope none of his arteries are torn because of shrapnel projectiles, most gunshot wound victims usually have the same problem."

I snorted loudly. "Stop talking nonsense and do whatever it takes to help her" I growled, clasping Franda's hand tightly, carrying her to my lips and kissing her fingers.

The fear again gnawed at me when I saw his nails now turning blue. For the first time in a long time, I prayed.

Arriving at the hospital, they took Franda to the ICU room at the trauma center, some doctors were already preparing to welcome her. Everything was going on so quickly as they immediately prepared the operating room.

"Where's the family?" A bespectacled male doctor in a green suit and wearing a head covering met me in the operating room.

"I'm her husband."

"We're going to operate immediately" he said before turning to the operating room.

"Doctor," He stopped at the door and turned to look at me, but I couldn't help but say what was on my mind.

The doctor nodded. "We will do our best to help him. Just pray."

I nodded, then stepped in after the doctor disappeared behind the operating room.

I didn't know how long I was walking but when I realized it, I stopped in front of the small chapel on the north side of the hospital. My mind was running around and I felt terrified as if I was walking on a thin layer of ice that could be shattered at any moment.

I slowly moved my way into the chapel. No one was seen in there. Rows of lighted medium-sized candles are placed parallel to the stacking shelves on both sides of the pulpit. The golden light reflecting from the candles illuminated the surrounding walls of the chapel, instantly making me feel shady.

***

Please, come on guys!