Something Stupid

She's Gone

Narrator's POV

"How is she?" Stephen asked, as he hurried down the hall, putting on a blue gown, tying it behind him.

A nurse walked by his side. "She's gone into a semi-coma. There are long pauses in her breathing. Her skin has lost color, and her extremities are losing heat." The nurse talked fast.

"The donor. What about the donor?" Stephen asked, putting gloves on.

"There wasn't one." The nurse said.

Stephen turned to her. "Oh, god. Where's it going?

"It's already entered her blood stream and shut down the liver." Said the nurse. "It's headed into the central nervous system."

"Shit." Stephen sighed, putting in a surgical mask, and running. He approached two doors, peeking in through two round windows.

Madeline's vital signs were not good.

He walked in.

"Strange, get in here." Said the surgeon. "We've got minutes." He said.

"What happened to radiation?" Stephen asked.

"It was growing too fast, moving into her nervous system. You know how radiation could cause very severe cerebral damage." Said the surgeon.

"We have to do a splenectomy." Stephen said.
"We have to remove her spleen, Nicolas."

"That would leave her with a compromised immune system." The surgeon said.

"I know what I said. It has to be done. It's the only way we could save her life."

"She could bleed out during the procedure!" Nicolas said.

"Goddamn it, Nic. There's a seven year old's life on our hands!" Stephen said. "I cannot, and I mean it with all seriousness, I cannot lose her."

Everyone in the room was quiet.

"Okay." Nicolas said. "Okay." He nodded. "Dr. Hathaway, I need a laparoscope stat." He said.

The doctors worked as a team, helping the surgeon out, making sure everything was going smooth and perfect when suddenly...

"Shit." Nicolas said as the monitor started to quickly go on and off.

"She's going into cardiac arrest." Stephen said. He moved to the side of the table, he began to perform CPR on Madeline.

"This is why I didn't want to perform th-"

"Shut up!" Stephen said and kept going. "Come on Madeline, please. Come on." Tears swelled in his eyes.

Then the monitor fell into a long continuous tone.

"No, no." Stephen kept going. "Come on."

"Stephen." Nicolas said.

"Come on Madeline. Come on, please." Tears made their way from down Stephen's cheeks from his eyes.

"Stephen."

Stephen looked up at Nicolas.

"She's gone."

The room was completely silent, except for the long time of the monitor.

Stephen looked around.

Everyone looked sad.

"No. No, no, no, no, no, no, nO, NO! Madeline, no!" Stephen looked down at Madeline. "Please. Please." He leaned over the girl's body, sighing.

Nicolas came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't touch me!" Stephen pulled away from him.

Everyone looked at him.

"Excuse me." He said, heading for the doors. He ran out.

"Stephen." Christine said.

Stephen ran past her.

"Stephen? Stephen!" She called, but Stephen opened a portal, disappearing into it.

The ringer on his phone went off.

Stephen took his phone from his pocket and threw it somewhere into the dark.

He stood on a bridge, holding on to the railing with one hand and the other over his mouth as he cried. He crouched down, sobbing.

A lonely streetlight shining down on him in the darkness of night.

Tears pouring from his eyes.

Cars rushed past him.

"Oh god..." He cried. "I'm..." He gasped for air, during his sobs. "I'm so...so...so sorry." He sucked in hair, letting out with a cry afterward. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry." He sobbed.

Tears strained the concrete at his feet.

"Fuck!" He hit the concrete below him with his knuckles. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" He didn't care if he was hurting his hands, nothing compared to the pain in his heart. "Goddamnit it!" He cried, falling to the ground, crying.

///0///0

"Oh my god, Stephen." Christine said as she cane into the locker room.

Stephen stood at his locker with his back to her.

"Where have you been?" She asked. "I tried calling your cellphone, but you weren't-"

"I quit." He said, closing his locker, holding his things in one hand.

"What?" Christine looked up at him.

Stephen turned to her. "I quit. I'm never coming back." He said.

Christine didn't say anything.

"I can't do this anymore." He said. "I've handled and seen enough death for a lifetime."

"But Stephen, you're-"

"I don't care." Stephen said. "This is not worth the pain."

"Stephen, I know you swore an oath to save lives...but unfortunately, you can't save them all." Christine told him.

"I could've saved her." Stephen said. "But I didn't." He made his way past her.

"Stephen-"

"Goodbye Christine." Stephen said, walking out of the room.