Lifeline

CHAPTER 6

    Tessa woke up the next morning to her phone ringing on her nightstand. Letting out a tired groan, she rolled over and pulled her thick comforter over her head to try and drown out her ringtone. As she laid there, she could feel the exhaustion wash over her. She didn't get home until very late last night, plus having to shower off and do a few small things around the house caused her to go to bed even later.
    A few minutes passed and she heard her phone go off once more. Annoyed, she threw the covers back allowing the cold air to hit her body causing her to shiver slightly. She grabbed her phone and looked to see she had almost twenty texts from Draken and five missed calls. Confused, she opened the messages to read:
Are you up yet? If so, meet me at the hospital.
    'The hospital?' Tessa furrowed her brow as she read the text over and over. 'Why would he want to meet me there?'
    She knew that Draken wouldn't tell her to meet him somewhere over something small, so she knew she had to go and find out what this was about. Slowly getting out of the bed, she immediately felt sheer exhaustion flood her body again. Her muscles were aching from pure exhaustion, but yet she was too tired to even care.
    Heading over to her closet, she threw on a plain white shirt, denim shorts, and her dirty sneakers. Akira has complained to her many times to get rid of them but Tessa refuses. There were so many fond memories of her beating up random guys when she would sometimes get involved in fights. She just can't seem to part with them for some odd reason.
    Satisfied, she headed out the door towards the hospital.
                        ~~~
    Once she got a few feet from it, she noticed a familiar black and white striped shirt and dragon tattoo waiting for her. Draken, noticing her presence gave her a small smile and waved.
    "So what did you call me out here for?" Tessa asked him.
    "You'll see," he replied.
    Tessa leaned to side a bit to see Mikey looking around as well wondering why they were here. With that, the three of them walked inside.
    As the walked through the main doors, Tessa was immediately hit with the scent that she despised. The smell of antiseptic and bland walls always filled her with dread. After all, a hospital was nothing more than a prison of death and sadness. Since she was very young, she has hated hospitals; always fearful of what laid beyond the creaky sliding doors.
    As the three of them walked through one of the many same-colored hallways, they stopped at one of the windows to peer inside a room. When Tessa looked inside, she felt her stomach swirl uncomfortably.
    A girl was lying inside the hospital bed with no signs of movement. Her face was covered in bruises and bandages, an oxygen mask over her face. There were all sorts of machines hooked up to her to keep her alive. It brought an uncomfortable feeling on Tessa.
    "Who's that?" Mikey asked Draken.
    "That's Pah's friend's girlfriend." Draken answered solemnly.
    Tessa looked up at him with a frown and turned back to the room.
    "Seven stitches in her head, broken teeth, detached retina in her left eye, beatings all over her body left her with broken ribs and she's been unconscious for five days." Draken explained.
    Tessa covered her mouth in shock. When she found out what happened, she felt awful, but now seeing her in such a state, it made her feel even worse.
    "This is how Moebius treats its victims," Draken continued. "A passerby found her collapsed on the street and reported what happened."
    Tessa felt pressure build up in her eyes knowing it was tears but pushed them back. No one should ever have to go through this. This was just cruel. She wondered what kind of person would do this to another. They find pleasure in watching other people suffer. 'They're truly are some sick people in this world.'
    "What the hell are you doing here?!" An older man's voice yelled.
    Tessa and Draken glanced over to see an older man walk over to them pointing a finger at them accusingly.
    "How dare you waltz in here after putting my daughter in the ICU?!" The man shouted in anger.
    "Honey, please," a women behind him said to her husband in a pleading manner.
    Tessa stepped back a little away from the window. She watched as Draken leaned forward and bowed, his eyes staring at the ground.
    "You think bowing is gonna solve this you little worm! My daughter almost died thanks to you bastards!!" The man continued.
    Tessa sucked in a breath at the man's harsh words.
    "Don't bow to him Kenchin. We didn't do anything wrong." Mikey said still standing straight.
    "Get out you slimy worms!!" The man shouted.
    "Who're you calling worms?" Mikey bit back.
    Draken not wanting the situation to elevate, he grabbed he back of Mikey's head and pushing him down to bow as well. "We're very sorry about what happened."
    "What the hell?!" Mikey exclaimed.
    "It's entirely our responsibility." Draken ignored Mikey.
    "You think bowing will make my daughter bettter?! You're a stain on society!!" The man scoffed at the two boys, not even paying any attention to Tessa.
    "Huh," Mikey said trying to lift his head but Draken kept him still.
    "Pipe down, Mikey."
    Tessa watched with sympathy as the father looked down on the two boys. His fist was clenched and shaking.
    "My daughter has been in a coma since then. Why?" The man's voice wavered with emotion. "My sweet little girl's been completely disfigured."
    Tears fell down the father and mother's faces as they began to weep at the condition of their daughter. Tessa felt her heart break at the sight. To be a parent and watch your child be hurt in such a way is a pain unlike any other.
    "Please leave. We never want to see you again." The man said as the two walked away, Mikey and Draken still bowing.
    "We're going to fight Moebius soon. We'll deal with our own problems in our own world. All our members have families, people they care about. We can't let any outsiders get harmed. We can't make their friends and families cry." Draken said.
    Mikey and Tessa listened quietly.
    "You don't even have to bow. Just care about others and have a heart."
    "He's right, Mikey." Tessa agreed.
    "You're right, you two," Mikey said quietly. "I'm sorry.
    Little did they know, lurking in the hallway, Takemichi listened to the whole thing.
                        ~~~
    Tessa opened the front door and kicked her shoes off and tossed them into their shoe bin they have. She notices that it was getting kind of full so she figured she'll empty it out later after relaxing for a bit. She walked down the small hallway and turned the corner to her living room to see Akira sitting on the couch watching television.
    "What are you watching?" Tessa asked her. "Just a random movie that's on." Akira answered blandly, her mind too focused on the screen. Reaching for the remote, she turned the TV off and looked up at her sister. "I noticed you weren't here when I got back home. Where were you?"
    Tessa then realized she forgot to text Akira that she was going to be gone for a bit. She was so tired that the thought never crossed her mind.
    "I'm sorry," Tessa said. "Draken asked me to meet up with him at the hospital."
    Akira raised a brow at that. "Why?"
    Tessa's mind flashed back to the images of the girl laying in the hospital bed. "We went to see the girl."
    Knowing who Tessa was talking about, Akira nodded. She remembered the night Tessa found out about it and told her as they were here in their home cooking dinner.
    "How is she?" Akira asked her as she pulled her knees to her chest.
    Tessa sighed. "She's pretty beat up. She's in a coma. Poor thing."
    "I see."
    Tessa looked down at her younger sibling. She knew something was off by the way Akira was sitting. She never curled up in a ball like that unless something had upset her. Sitting down on the couch beside her she asked, "Are you okay?"
    Akira looked up at her sister, a concerned gaze on Tessa's face.
    "I'm fine," she replied.
    "No, something's wrong. What is it?" Tessa pushed.
    Akira mentally cursed herself. She thought she was getting better at hiding things from Tessa, but who was she kidding. Tessa could figure out when she wasn't fine when she wasn't showing it.
    "Well, actually it's about what happened with that girl. You're fighting Moebius on August third, the same group that did this to that girl. I'm just afraid that...well...what if it happens to you?"
    Tessa's eyes went wide. She had no idea how all of this would affect Akira. Tessa tried her hardest to keep Akira form knowing about certain things in her life with the gang, but that gets challenging when you have some of these members just barging in her house without a warning and just saying all these things. She wants to protect Akira from the gang life as best as she can. She made that promise to her father and to her older sister.
    "Listen Akira, I appreciate you worrying about me, but you don't have to. For one, I can take care of myself. Second, you should know better than anyone they'll have to get through Toman before they can get to me." Tessa gave her a sincere smile to show she wasn't lying.
    Akira looked up at her. "Promise?"
    Tessa hugged her from the side. "I promise."
    As the two sat there in silence hugging, one single thought crossed Tessa's mind.
'Moebius, I will make you pay.'