The Things We Leave Behind

Chapter One

It had been a couple weeks since the Gargoyles had made their appearance to the world. Even going as far as to appear before the human Congress and declare that they are no threat to the humans but there are forces in the world that are. And that Goliath and his clan are there to protect them should the need arise.

Things were starting to get back to normal, the Gargoyles were safe atop the clocktower. Elisa was on her way to the station to greet them when they awake only to get a call over the radio.

"Dispatch to all Units, 211 in progress at Manhattan Bank and Trust. Suspects are armed and considered extremely dangerous!" The machine blared over the hand microphone.

"This is Detective Maza, I'm three blocks away and en route." She responded to the faceless voice over her CB radio

***

Inside the bank 4 armed men held their weapons high, aiming them at the civilians. Firing several rounds into the ceiling.

"Hurry up and get that money in the bag! Hows it going on the vault?!" One man screamed. "2 minutes!" A man yelled as he worked on cutting through the vault with a plasma torch.

"You got one!" The man replied.

***

Elisa arrived at the bank, finding the men grouped at the entrance of the bank. Large duffel bags over their shoulders. Elisa pulled her weapon, a Sig Sauer P226.

"NYPD drop your weapons and put your hands in the air!" She yelled when a sudden burst of weapons fire erupted on her, she dove behind her red Chevrolet and returned fire. The men sprinting off toward the high school down the block.

She eyed the robbers as they entered the high school. Elisa chased them and followed them inside.

***

As night fell the stone encasing Goliaths skin began to crack and break. Standing fron his crouch with a loud inhuman howl. "Good evening Elisa" He said instinctively but turned around to not see Elisa but her Captain instead.

"Oh Good evening Captain Chavez you seem troubled" Goliath said.

Chavez crossed her arms. "I thought i should tell you before you read about it in tomorrows paper..but..Elisa ahem..Detective Maza was injured during a robbery today, she's at Manhattan General Hospital but they dont think she is going to make it."

Goliaths heart sank, his stone grey skin turning a pale white. Hudson put his clawed hand on Goliaths shoulder. "And what of the robbers? Were they captured?" Capt Chavez sighed.

"Only one, the other 3 were killed in the attempt. They fired on Maza as she entered the building and when the SWAT team arrived and breached the building they shot her 5 times. The rounds penetrated her lung, stomach and one of the arteries next to her heart."

Hudson looked at Goliath, nodding to the Captain. "Thank you for telling us Lass. Goliath Lad, you should go see her before it is too late." He said with a forlorn voice.

Goliath leapt off the wall of the clocktower. Landing at the entrance doors of the large Hospital. He looked around, still not surprised how many of the humans looked on him with fear and hate.

He approached the front desk of the emergency room. "I am here to see Detective Elisa Maza" The lady behind the desk pulled out a clipboard. "Just sign in here, third door on the right in the ICU." She looked down as Goliath wrote his name on the clipboard and left.

***

Goliath stayed beside her bed throughout the day and night. The door of her room opened, a tall man in a white coat walked in. Standing beaide him was none other than David Xanatos.

"Xanatos...what are you doing here?" He said in a low growl. Xanatos motioned his hand to the doctor. "I heard what happened and wanted to offer my sincerest condolences and to offer to pay for any surgery she needs and ask my friend Doctor Wainwright, the worlds foremost trauma surgeon to care for her."

"That..i dont know what to say" Xanatos looked at Elisa. "There is nothing to say, given everything that has happened with us in the past. When i lost Fox...lets just say i know what it means to lose someone you love...and I wish to make amends however i can"

Goliath looked down at Elisa then to the Doctor. "Can anything be done?" He asked as the doctor read the clipboard chart on her bed.

"Its not good, 4 of the bullets were removed entirely but one of them broke apart into several peices. One peice of which has lodged itself behind her heart. The real problem is that her heart was damaged when one of the bullets punctured the aortic valve..in simple terms she is bleeding internally. I can try and repair the artery but it is a very risky surgery."

Goliath held Elisa's hand, his own caressing her cheek. Nodding as the doctor called in several nurses that wheeled Elisa's bed out of the room and into an operating room at the end of the hall.

***

For hours the doctors worked, trying to save her life. Until the air in the room was filled with the loud incessant noise of the heart monitor. "She's in Vfib, 20 milligrams epinephrine!" Doctor Wainwright called as a nurse turned on the defibrillator.

"Clear!" He yelled, pressing the baddles to Elisa's chest. Her body jumping from the shock. This repeated several times until the doctor set the paddles down. Looking at the clock. "I'm calling it, time of death 2:57am."

A few moments later Doctor Wainwright stepped out, his blue scrubs still covered in Elisa's blood; standing in front of Goliath and her family.

"We tried our best but her heart was far more damaged than we thought. It turned out the rear ventricle was cut open by the shrapnel from the last bullet. There was nothing we could do. I am so terribly sorry.."

Tears streamed from Goliaths eyes, letting out an inhuman howl as his fist smashed through the wall behind him. "NO! AAARGH!!"

Goliath resisted the urge to collapse to his knees, walking behind the Doctor and into the operating room. Looking down at the white cloth draped over her lifeless body. "My love..." He sighed in sadness, folding the cloth to her shoulders. Seeing her closed eyes made it seem like she was sleeping, Goliath leaned down to place a soft kiss on Elisa's lips. "Good night my life, be at peace."