He was dead. He knew that with absolute certainty. It was like he was in an endless black abyss that stretched on for an eternity. Just then, light flooded in as if someone shoved him in front of a spotlight.
"He's awake."
"Check the monitors!"
With a grunt, Ryan sat up, taking in his surroundings. He was in some sort of operating room with bandages heavily wrapped around his scarred chest. There were at least three doctors around the room, checking the equipment around him. "So, nice place you got here. Why are you guys looking at me like that?" "Well, you weren't supposed to be fully conscious until another half an hour, much less talk." a doctor explained as she was taking an IV from his arm, "We managed to find you and your friend on the hunting grounds after you were shot. You were in a somewhat critical state,but unfortunately, your friend, Eric, might not make it..."
Ryan felt like he was smacked in the face. He'd known Eric for years, he just couldn't disappear from this world forever, could he? "We will give you time to be alone. I know this must be hard for you." another doctor said, pity and compassion in his eyes as he and his team walked out of the room.
Head in hands, he thought about Eric and the Hunters. The Hunters! What had happened to them? Where are they now? Those thoughts buzzed in his head as he got up from his hospital bed and walked down the long hallway to an opened door room.
Ryan walked in and held his breath in shock. Eric was lying on his own hospital bed, unconscious, with machines hooked up to him. He had scars where the doctors removed the bullets from when he got shot and multiple gunshot wounds that were left to heal on their own. He was dangerously pale and looked like he lost a lot of blood and had a mask adjusted to his face to help him breathe.
One of the doctors watching Eric saw Ryan come in. "He is now in a very critical state. We may have to do another operation on him to make sure all is working well, but there is a chance his body can't handle it. It could very well be fatal."
Ryan let the news sink in. His best friend may die in an hour or two. The person he knew since he was five may vanish from existence, forever. "I know this must be shocking for you. Would you like to stay here before we run the tests and determine whether or not we even do this procedure?" the doctor asked. "Yes, thank you." "I'll be in here preparing." "Ok."
Ryan pulled up a chair closest to the bed and sat down. Very slowly, Eric's eyes began to open a bit and he looked at Ryan. "Good to see you alive, I guess I'm not the only one who looks like a mess." he added with a smirk. "I guess I either got hit harder than you or you have a really fast recovery time. Why are you even walking around with bandages over your body? Early Halloween costume?" Ryan rolled his eyes, "No, and besides, I think the doctors are going to do another operation on you." "Great, just great. I don't want to spend a couple more weeks of recovery in this place." Eric added with a sigh.
Just then, the same three doctors who were taking care of Ryan came in. "Well, good to see you awake Eric." one of the doctors said, "You seem to be healthy enough for the operation. Now Ryan, if you would excuse us, we must get started." Ryan got up and exchanged one last look with Eric. He went out of the room and the operation begun.