Chapter 2 - Winter Is Colder Than You Think

Winter Is Colder Than You Think

It was a cold, and brisk winter's night. Seda and Jade approached the town bridge that lead over the river that divided the urban area with the city. “Did it hurt?” Seda asked. “Did what hurt?” Jade replied. “When you got your ears done, I've been meaning to ask you,” Seda said as he turned, looking at his girlfriend… wearing his grey zip-up jacket and a pink scarf he bought for her. “Not really much. When they did it, it killed of most of my nerves in my ears, so I couldn't really feel much of anything. Shouldn't you know? I mean, your ears are artificially pointed too,” she said, reaching her hand out to grab Seda's. “Nah, I did them myself. I wanted to get them done so bad… but I never trusted people who stick scalpels in my face. And unlike most people with pointy ears, I can still feel them,” Seda said with a slight laugh. Seda did have an impressive ability to perform surgery on his own body, though that doesn't mean he has gotten much surgery. He was a valuable source of information on how the human brain can be experiencing severe pain, yet at the same time be able to perform the most complicated procedures. Which was another reason Seda was able to get his degree so early in life. “Quite skilled I see,” Jade said with a kind smirk.

All of a sudden, Seda turned and jumped up onto a pillar that was the shortest part of the bridge, about 3 feet off the ground. “Come on up,” Seda said as he offered his hand to Jade. She looked at him questionably for a moment. “Are you sure? I mean, I don't want to fall,” Jade said nervously. “You won't fall,” Seda said with such confidence in his voice, “I promise.” Jade just couldn't resist him. She never could, even when they first met at the Halloween party a few months earlier. Jade's skirt blew in the cold wind. She looked up at her love, his sweet smile that was so reassuring, it melted Jade's heart every time she saw him smile like that. She then placed her hand in Seda's as he swiftly pulled her up; his movement was so gentle, but so strong at the same time. Jade was partly surprised at the sudden motion, but was able to place her feet firmly on the concrete slab. But, as Jade's luck, she accidentally took a step back and tripped off, heading for the icy cold river below. Just as soon as Jade had time to realized what was about to happen, she felt a warm hand wrapped around her wrist and herself being suspended by her arm. She watched the cool blue waves cash against the red steel bars that held the bridge above the flowing water. Her breath was harsh and came out of her mouth in small puffs. She turned her view upwards and saw Seda holding her up. “See,” he said kindly, “I promised you wouldn't fall.”

Some fifteen minuets later, Seda and Jade have been walking along the railing of the bridge. As they neared the center, which was marked by a large brick covered beam, they saw signs of two cars coming from both different ways. Seda pulled Jade closed to him as he lay against the brick. The cars stopped facing each other just past where Seda and Jade where. “What's tha-” Jade started, but was cut off when Seda placed his hand over her mouth. “Shh..” Seda turned his head and looked over to see what was going on. Some men walked out of the cars and faced each other. They had harsh looks on their faces and their clothing was like those of the usual modern gang-bangers. Their voices started low, but it soon grew into shouting. “Gangs,” Seda said, “there's a chance there might be a fight.” “We better leave,” Jade said as she pulled Seda's hand from her mouth. They both looked down at the 15 foot drop. Jade was very hesitant, but Seda quickly jumped down and landed quietly on his feet. It was easy to tell Seda had done things like this a lot before. Jade still stood up on the ledge and looked down at Seda. A loud click sound was heard soon after Seda landed. “Hurry,” Seda said in a barely audible whisper, “I think this is going to be a lot worse than I first hoped. Jump, I'll catch you.” Suddenly, many loud gunshots where heard coming from the gangs. “JUMP!” Seda shouted, not caring weather the gangs knew of his presence or not. Jade quickly obeyed and jumped down. All was silent and seemed to several minutest instead of a split second as Jade was falling, but one soft, echoing shot was heart, before Jade landed in Seda's arms. Seda smiled weakly, as he held Jade, but his smile faded as he felt Jade limp. Seda looked into her eyes and saw that her once bright and exuberant eyes had suddenly grown dull and had a small, white gleam that covered them. “Jade?” Seda questioned. All he could hear was a harsh breathing and small coughing coming from her body that was quickly loosing its warmth. “JADE!” A pool of blood began to gather underneath the couple.

Some would call it Grand-Theft-Auto, but what else could you do if your love was dying? In a matter of minuets, Seda had arrived at the emergency room of the hospital, with Jade's life forces withering away in his arms. “Seda? What the?” said the nurse at the front desk. “Get me a medical bed, stat!” Seda shouted. Though it wasn't his shift, and her wasn't in uniform, all the medical personal obeyed him without hesitation. “Seda, what happened to her?” asked one of the doctors. “She was shot,” Seda said lowly. “Seda, you can go wait for her in the-” “NO!” Seda said harshly, “I'm staying with her.” The doctor nodded and just continued along the hallway, with other personnel running rapidly to try and stabilize a pulse on the girl. “Her heart,” said one of the doctors, “Seda, it's almost torn apart. It's a miracle she didn't die instantly.” “Then let's keep this miracle going and keep her alive,” Seda said with much determination in his voice. “We would need a heart to transplant immediately,” the doctor responded. “Then get one!” Seda responded in an annoyed tone. “We don't have one…” the doctor said before falling silent. Seda turned and looked down at Jade, he life almost completely depleted. “There is no way to save her,” the doctor said solemnly. Seda had it! He couldn't take everyone's negative responses. “THERE MUST BE A WAY!” Seda shouted angrily. “We don't have a heart to give her!” the doctor stressed back. Seda then grabbed a scalpel and placed it to his chest. “Then I'll give her mine,” Seda said, as he pressed the instrument to himself as it cut through his shirt and into his soft skin, drawing red blood to drip down the instrument. But that was as far as he could get as Seda was tackled by other hospital staff. “Seda, you idiot! You can't!” Seda could already feel tears streaming down his face as he struggles against his co-workers. “Seda…” Jade said quietly. Seda was still and stared down to his love. “Se-da…” Jade's voice was stammering and her heart beat kept growing closer to nothing, “it's no-not your fault… re-remember… I l-love… you…” The beating of the EKG (Electrocardiogram: used to measure electrical activity of heart) was down to one beat every few seconds. Seda let the bloody scalpel slip from his hand and as it hit the ground, Jade's heart flat-lined. Seda started to break down. He put his hand in his hair and fell to his knees screaming as the other tried to re-vive Jade… they had no success.

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