Blade kept wishing that he would wake up and this would stop happening.
His boots echoed off the white tile as he made his way down the hospital hall. Reverberating voices around him from the staff as they milled about went into his ears and dispelled into formless muck he couldn't focus on. It was just another day for them. He approached the room he'd been told to visit, simultaneously trying to hurry and also trying to delay the inevitable, resulting in a stilted and stiff stride.
Blade stopped at the threshold, peering into the room. He saw Helios Canicco, head of the KOB Hospital, taking notes on a clipboard with a grim expression. Again, two clashing emotions filled Blade's head. He was relieved Helios had managed to appear in Las Vegas on such short notice, but he was also very concerned that he was present at all. Helios was one of the best doctors any Kobber had ever seen. The man was quite literally a miracle worker. So for his presence to be required this far from either Olympia or Agama was grim tidings indeed.
Blade put a gloved hand against the door railing to stabilize himself. He closed his eyes and took a deep, long breath. Helios looked over at him sympathetically and made a gesture with one hand. Blade's eyes cracked open and he took in Helios' hand beckoning at him. He sighed, shook his head, and stepped inside.
Together, the two of them looked at Sally Bishop.
Heavily swaddled in bandages, hooked up to a large beeping machine, and out like a light. It had been years since she had stepped in the ring, but Silence still had some fairly impressive muscles. They did her no good here, though, and the tall, strong woman had never looked smaller and more weak to her long-time friend. Her skin was pale and her chest slowly rose and fell with each slumbering breath.
Blade let out a choked noise. "G...grgh! Why... why couldn't I have been there... I should have been there."
Helios did his best to comfort Blade, placing a hand on the biker's back. When Blade flinched, Helios flinched in kind, but Blade calmed down enough to let Helios keep his hand there. "Don't blame yourself. You couldn't have known this would happen."
"...You're right. Blaming myself won't do anything." Blade fell silent for a time, his fists clenching and unclenching. "I should be blaming the rat bastard who did this to my best friend."
"I can at least tell you she's not in pain right now. I've made sure she can get all the medication she needs, and get lots of sleep. If anything else comes up, I'll let you know. A private detective has already offered to investigate the case and has hired help with boots on the ground as we speak."
"Private schmivate. They can investigate all they want, but I'm not sitting by waiting for them to figure this out." Blade gently placed his hand on top of one of Silence's hands, taking in a shuddering breath. "I'm... I'm gonna get this guy, Sally. You can... c-can count on me."
Blade removed his helmet to see Sally better, and tears dripped onto her hospital bed.
"Because we're friends."
