Survival Mode

Chapter Thirty - One (Part Two)

Dashi and Michael Smith were married on November 20, 2011. They went on an elegant honeymoon to Paris, France together and moved into their own little home soon after in Burkland. It was now February 14, 2013, nearly two years since their wedding had passed and the couple couldn't be happier.

Today was Valentine's Day; and unfortunately for Michael, he had to work. But he would be home any minute now. Dashi had prepared a wonderful dinner for the both of them and awaited the arrival of her husband.

When he did arrive, Dashi squealed happily to herself and ran to the living room to greet him. Michael's face was completely pale. His breathing was shortened and he held a hand to his chest. Dashi, however, was too overjoyed by the return of her husband she was too distracted to notice his unusual behavior. She wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled. "Michael! I have a splendid evening planned!" she cried.

"Da - shi..." Michael's voice was hoarse. He grew limp in Dashi's arms and coughed deeply. "Hel - p." With that, he collapsed to the floor, coughing constantly and his breathing labored.

Dashi's eyes widened and she dropped to her knees beside her husband. Michael coughed up blood all over the floor and she gasped. Tears began to collect in her eyes. "D - don't worry, Michael," she whispered to him, "I'm going to get help. You're going to be alright."

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About two hours later, Doctor Wilson, Peso, and Dashi were seated in the waiting room of Burkland's hospital. News of Michael's unusual situation spread across town quicker than Dashi expected. People were crowded around the hospital, wanting to get all the facts on Michael. Hospital staff locked the doors so no one could enter, thankfully.

Dashi stood from her seat and paced. She was so worried for her husband. It wasn't like him to have health issues. He was completely heathy, surprisingly. Doctors said he was lucky to be extremely healthy especially after the bombing of Kingwa years earlier that Michael had fortunately survived.

A nurse fled into the room, causing people outdoors to begin to yell. Everyone wanted to know what was happening. Dashi stepped forward and steadied the nurse before she could collapse. The nurse took a moment to catch her breath, then looked into Dashi's eyes. "They can't figure out what's wrong with him. He's dying and we can't find the cause."

Those words echoed hauntingly throughout Dashi's head. She bit her lip and tears again collected in her eyes. "Please," she begged, "go through all the possibilities as to why he is like this all of a sudden. Eliminate anything that doesn't make sense. Do something! I can't lose my husband. He was the first one to ever understand me. He was the first one to ever look upon me with actual love."

The nurse nodded her head and exited the room. The people outside pounded on the doors. Dashi looked at them with hatred. They had no clue that her husband was dying, but they still had the nerve to pound on the doors and scream at Dashi. Enough was enough! Dashi stomped to the room where Michael was being held and threw open the door. "I want them GONE!" Dashi screamed.

Doctors turned to look at her. A nurse ran to her and tried pushing Dashi out of the room, but Dashi shoved her away and glared at the doctors. "Do SOMETHING! Call security! I don't want those selfish bastards here anyone!"

The nurse who Dashi had shoved stood and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We're doing all that we can, Mrs. Smith. But we really need to do our job. So if you could leave, we'll fix the problem and find what is causing Mr. Smith's health problems."

Dashi looked at each person in the room in the eye. She narrowed her own eyes in anger. "If you don't take care of those bastards outside, then I will. And if you don't find what is causing my husband to die, you're all screwed." She exited the room and returned to the waiting area. Security was already beginning to show up and command the crowd to jog away from the building.

Doctor Wilson stood to his feet when he noticed his daughter entering the room. He smiled falsely at her. "Don't worry, Dashi. I am sure the doctors are doing all that they can to -"

"Shut up, prick," Dashi whispered darkly. Doctor Wilson's eyes widened. As he prepared to scold her, Peso stood to his feet and shook his head at him. Doctor Wilson grumbled under his breath and sat down.

Peso turned to look at Dashi. "You need to calm down," he whispered to her.

She glared at him. "Calm down? Calm down!? How about you calm down, you son of a bitch? Do you have any clue of what I'm going through right now? I am 99% close to losing my freaking husband, and all you can tell me is to calm down!?"

Doctor Wilson immediately stood and marched over to his daughter, yelling, "DASHI ELIZABETH SMITH -"

"Mrs. Smith?" He stopped. Dashi turned and looked at the nurse. She was smiling. "Your husband is awake and wishes to see you."

"Thank you," whispered Dashi. She stood to her feet and followed the nurse into Michael's room. Michael was sitting up in bed. Dried blood covered his face and clothes. His face was still pale and his breathing continued to shorten. Dashi ran up to him with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Michael..."

"Wha - at the hell, Da - shi? I can hear y - you yelling out there - there," Michael spoke, his voice still hoarse. Tears pooled in her eyes and she lowered her head in shame. Michael shook his head. "All th - is unpleasant behavior... because of me? The doctors may not kn - ow what's wrong with me, but Dashi... you need to shut your mouth before you regret something."

"I already regret everything," whispered Dashi. She wiped at her eyes and looked into Michael's green ones. "I'm sorry, Michael. I'm sorry about everything! You told me your chest had been hurting lately, but I thought nothing of it. I'm so, so sorry."

Michael ran his fingers through her auburn hair. "I don't believe I am the one you should be apologizing to. But - it's okay. I thought nothing of my chest pain either." He smiled at Dashi and held her hand. She returned the smile and intertwined their fingers. All of a sudden, Michael's eyes widened and he began coughing blood continuously. A nurse rushed Dashi out of the room and slammed the door.

Dashi melted to the floor outside of the door and began sobbing. Doctor Wilson and Peso appeared in the hallway and came up to her. The three sat together and waited for the next update on Michael.

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March 9, 2013, was the day of Michael's funeral. He died shortly after Dashi had gone into the room. The doctors found that he had died of lung cancer soon after he passed away.

At the funeral, Dashi refused to speak. She even refused to go to the funeral. She did not want any condolences. Instead, she was at the mansion, unpacking her stuff so she could move in with her father and Peso again.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she worked. Michael was the only one who ever seemed to actually care for Dashi. She knew her father and Peso did; but right now, it didn't seem like it. Dashi promised she would never fall for anyone ever again. No one would ever be able to understand her like Michael did. No one. She had already most her mother... now the only man she would ever truly care for...

She would remain a young widow forever. She was only twenty, but she swore to stay with her father and never leave. She would never love another man. She would never - Dashi collapsed to the floor, wailing hysterically. She curled up into a ball and sobbed for hours.

By the time Doctor Wilson and Peso returned from the funeral, Dashi had cleaned herself up and was preparing a dinner for the three of them. Doctor Wilson came up behind his daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked.

"Shut up," Dashi commanded. She turned and glared at her father. "If I am going to now live with you, I never want to hear about Michael unless it is necessary. Understood?" Doctor Wilson was stunned. Dashi turned away from him to hide oncoming tears. "In fact, let's live normal lives from here on out. We will pretend I never knew anyone by the name of Michael Smith. But my last name with remain Smith because I felt like it. I always have lived with you and will forever."

"Dashi -"

"Just... go away," she replied, now beginning to allow he tears to fall. Doctor Wilson let out a sigh and left his daughter alone to cook. From now on, Dashi would not be the same. She was a changed woman starting now.