The Silver Ninja®: A Bitter Winter (Extended Preview of published book)

Chapter 9: The Last Straw

CHAPTER 9

The Last Straw

Straddled atop her dying sister, Cindy's limbs only had a few pumps left before she needed to take a break, time which Jadie didn't have. Trapped in a snow storm in the middle of the night in an unfamiliar neighborhood, she had given up all hope for a rescue. She couldn't feel her fingers and her lips were turning blue, it wouldn't be long before the frostbite would take hold. But someone did come or rather, a group of people came.

They were a gang known as the BBR's, they wore clothes of red and silver to distinguish themselves from the others. As a cop she had arrested dozens of them for murder, assault, petty theft, and possession of a controlled substance. The irony was not lost on her when the leader of the group told Cindy that they wanted to help. She asked if any of them knew CPR and of course they didn't and one didn't even know what CPR was. She picked a teenager at random and taught him how to do it. The others were instructed to bring a car or call an ambulance.

By the time she got to the hospital, Jadie had been stabilized, but the damage had been done. Externally, she only had a few cuts and bruises and a severe case of whiplash. Internally, the doctors called it cerebral edema, a swelling of the brain. They put her on a respirator and IV so they could feed the brain oxygen while keeping her blood pressure under control. But the real question was whether they should perform surgery to add a drain tube into Jadie's skull.

Cindy couldn't listen to them talk about surgery. She asked the doctor's to please give her some time to decompress and then told them she would call her parents once she was ready. The doctor's apologized for the inconvenience and left Cindy alone to sit with Jadie.

She sipped her coffee which had been given to her after her hand had been embalmed with bandages and ointment. The liquid burned the cuts on her lip and warmed her shivering bones. The door to the room opened with Michael being the first to arrive. He pulled up a chair and sat beside Cindy.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm just super."

Michael glanced at Jadie. "Jonas told me what happened. I wanted to see you as soon as I could."

"Thank you." Her words were obligatory and hollow.

Michael shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Is your hand all right?"

She sipped from her cup again. "It's fine."

"I can't believe this keeps happening. First you now Jadie. It's awful."

Cindy's eyes became vacant, staring at nothing. "I wish I had that suit."

"SIRCA?"

She nodded as if by reflex.

"I . . . can't argue with that."

Her hazel eyes snapped to Michael. "What would've happened if I had worn the suit?"

"Well for starters you would have been bulletproof. From the time they opened the door to the time you realized you were in danger, SIRCA would have been activated. Your legs would have regrown their muscle tissue and your strength would have increased exponentially. Tackling you would be like trying to tackle a tree."

He became more animated as endless possibilities came to mind. "If they got you in the car and you changed then, your hand wouldn't have burned and you could have punched your way out of the car, easily pulling Jadie to safety." Michael adjusted his glasses. "It is after all, designed for combat."

"I want it."

"Umm," Michael fidgeted in his seat. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"So you're okay with seeing my sister like this?"