The fluorescent lights overhead cast an eerie glow over the hospital ward. Two beds, side by side, held their silent occupants. The soft beeping of monitors created a soothing background hum.
After finding the unconscious Steven, Habib rushed him to the hospital, fearing and hoping it's not too late to save his friend. He waited patiently outside the ward for the door to run some tests on Steven.
In the bed, Steven lay motionless, his eyes closed, and his chest rising and falling with each steady breath, and her skin was pale and clammy. A tangled web of wires and tubes snaked from his body to the machines surrounding him.
The Doctor, Mr. Eric, moved quietly between the beds, checking the monitors and adjusting the IV drips with practiced ease. He paused for a moment, his eyes lingering on the patient's face, his expression a mix of concern and compassion.
Habib saw the doctor exit and quickly rushed to ask about his friend's stability. Doctor called him to his office to discuss.
"I assure you he will be fine. He is in a coma. Thank God you were able to rush him to the hospital in time before it got worse."
"How's that even possible?" Habib muttered to himself, biting his index finger.
"If he wasn't rush here, the consequences can be severe and potentially life threatening. We will do our part, only the man in the blue sky save." The doctor said before a nurse entered with an emergency.
The machines surrounding Steven's bed suddenly sprang to life, beeping loudly and flashing bright lights. Doctor rushed to his side, and tried to check him. Steven's unconscious body began to release excessive heat as if he was being cooked from the inside. His temperature continued to increase rapidly, surprising everyone of what they were seeing.
"What in the world is going on with him? We need to get him stabilized, now! What's body temperature?" He called out to the other nurses, as the ward erupted into a flurry of activity.
"Sir, the monitor is damaged."
"What?! What do you mean it's damaged? Does the monitor get cooked by his increasing temperature!" In the busy moment another nurse rushed in with another emergency.
"Patient name is Gabriel, in the same condition as the current patient," she announced.
"What do you mean by the same situation?" Doctor Eric was overwhelmed. He groaned in frustration. "Damn it!" He exclaimed as Gabriel's body was rushed into the same ward as Steven on a burnt stretcher.
One is danger, two is hell and they are going to burn the whole place down with their heats.
MEANWHILE...
Everybody watched as Steven got burned to ash. The scene terrified all of them watching. Pashina, Gabriel, Reecer and Reece became speechless about what just happened.
"He deserved it. All cowards do!" Reece spat in mockery. He proceeded to pluck one of the fruits from the fresh tree.
"What are you doing?" Reecer asked her brother who seemed not to give a damn about what others were thinking.
"What was supposed to be done in the beginning," He answered with indifference. "Come on, we all saw what just happened to our genius comrade. I don't think anyone in their right mind would still think that was the way of completing this mission," He said, justifying his point.
"What if Steven was right?" It was Gabriel who spoke. Gabriel plugged two different types of the fruit. Reece laughed dryly.
"What if? What if, huh? I bet all humans are all the same... Dumb," Reece let out a tiring sigh. One player picked and ate from the fresh one and immediately a light overshadowed him and within a few seconds he was nowhere to be seen. "You see that? You all saw it, right? No scream or some shit agony stuff. Finishing the mission doesn't mean it has to be painful and in pain. I am sure that this is the way of completing this mission," Reece voiced out trying to convince them.
"I haven't known him for long but one thing is certain, he was looking out for the rest of us and I trust his judgment," Gabriel said. I put the fresh fruit in his pocket and bit from the other one and he went through the same process as Steven.
Now everyone is left with their own choice. They became baffled with what to do, and they became divided. Majority went for the fresh while the minority went for the other.
"Sister, I beg of you don't risk your life on some humans bluffing," was Reece's statement before he bit his own fruit. Remaining Pashina and Reecer. She raised her head up looking at her cousin deep in the eyes with a sad expression as she sniffed back the tear that was about to drop.
"To each their own choice. I hope you make the right one, Pashina," she said and went for the dry fruit and shared no glance with Pashina before eating.
Seeing he was all alone with his decision, he became overwhelmed with two critical choices. To survive or not to survive? It wasn't easy, but in the end he stretched his hand toward the fresh ones.