Perfect Sacrifice (80 page)

The second the nurse approached them, they all snapped their heads up.  She looked a little nervous as a doctor by the name of Grey walked up behind her, a solemn expression on his face.  It seemed that this would take both of them to explain.

"We have the report," began the nurse sadly, "but I'm afraid it's not good."

"Just tell us," said Gordan, trying to keep his voice soft.  He didn't want to make the nurse any more nervous than she already was.

"She was shot…seven times," she began, going over what they already knew from Leon's report.  "We managed to remove all of the bullets, but…the holes are all very deep.  All we could do was patch them up and try to stop the bleeding."

"To be honest," began Dr. Grey as he crossed his arms.  "I'm surprised she even made it this far.  Two of those bullets were in her chest, but luckily they both missed her vital organs.  Whoever was shooting at her had obviously planned to get in a few more shots.  Alone, not a single one would be life threatening for her, but because there are so many…"  He lowered his head, continuing in a very soft tone.  "Usually in cases like these, we'd do a blood transfusion.  However, you all know that's impossible."

"Are you saying there's nothing that can be done?" asked Brian, seeming both a little angry and concerned.

"I'm afraid so," Dr. Grey told them.

"So…is she going to die?" asked Chris, his soft eyes filling up with tears as he asked the one question on all of their minds.

"At this point, we can't tell," he said, glancing towards the room Ray was in, which happened to be right next to the waiting area.  "She's on her own.  It all depends on how strong she is.  If she survives, it'll be nothing short of a miracle."

None of them said anything as they all turned to their thoughts for comfort.  Not a single one of them was ready to lose the bubbly ace knight.  They'd miss her confidence, her carefree smile.  They'd even miss her arrogance and somewhat conceited attitude.  She just couldn't die.  Even if it was just for the sake of Leon's mental stability, she couldn't leave them.

Leon lowered his head, staring at the tiled floor.  Oh how he hated this hospital, how he hated what was happening.  However, something inside of him wouldn't let this rest.  He knew that Ray would do her absolute best to pull through.  She had once told him that she would never break a promise, and so far she hadn't.  Would she finally break one, the one promise that meant more to him than anything?  Would she survive this, even just to keep her promise to him? 
You can make it Ray.  You have to.  You promised.  You gave me your word.  Ray…you promised.

* * * *

"Newsflash," he read aloud from the paper he held in his hand.  He had to keep a firm grip on it as the strong desert winds threatened to rip the parchment from his grasp.  There was a smile on his soft face as his dark eyes read over the paper. 
Just yesterday, ace knight Rayla Cayden mysteriously disappeared from her hospital room.  The doctors and nurses are baffled at her disappearance and are unable to explain it.  No one knows exactly where she is right now, but according to the medical reports, her injuries are still new, resulting from a battle four days ago.  If anyone knows where she has disappeared to, please contact the hospital immediately.

A small laugh escaped his throat as he read over the article again, a picture provided at the bottom.  Ray's hospital room looked almost completely normal.  It was almost as if she had never been in there, minus the sheets being strewn across the floor.  There obviously hadn't been any kind of struggle since she had probably escaped at night.

"Why am I not surprised?" he asked the article as the wind suddenly tore the paper from his hands.  He just shoved them in his pockets and watched as the newspaper danced in the wind.

He stood there for awhile, watching as the wind carried the paper out of his view.  There was still a smirk plastered on his face as he stood there, as if he was waiting for something.  He could hear someone approaching from behind, their feet shuffling through the desert sands.  His smile only widened.

"You know," he began.  "You never cease to amaze me."  He turned around, his dark lavender eyes meeting a lone cherry one belonging to none other than the missing ace knight.

"Well Leon, if you're bored with me already, I can always go back," she responded with a playful smirk on her face.  He just laughed a little and walked over to her.  She was dressed in her normal attire, her white shirt, jean jacket and shorts combo.  The clothing did a good job of hiding all of her bandages, minus the still visible ones on her upper legs.  Leon was a little surprised to see that she had come out on her skates.  Skating through the sand wasn't exactly easy.  Then again, this was Ray.  After all she had been through, he was sure there wasn't anything she couldn't do.

"Let's head back, alright?" he said as he walked up next to her.  She turned around and began to glide after him as he headed towards their base in the distance.  Their base.  That had a nice ring to it.  "Have you told Gordan yet?" he asked her.

"About what?" she asked.  He already knew she was missing from the hospital thanks to the reporters.  "About my decision?"

"Yeah," said Leon.  Ray just shrugged, signifying that she hadn't.

"He doesn't need to know right now," she said with a smile.  "I'll tell him later."  Ray was a little surprised when Leon suddenly put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her towards him.  She didn't fight him though.  How could she?  First off, she didn't really have the required strength.  Second, she didn't want to.  She couldn't.  After all, she had promised to stay with him, no matter what.  She would stay by his side for as long as he wanted, for as long as he'd allow her.  She couldn't help but hope that her time with him would never run out.  Unfortunately everything good would eventually have to come to an end.  However, none of that mattered.  Until her promise was fulfilled, she was bound by it, even if a few sacrifices had to be made along the way.  After all, a promise is a promise. 
And I always keep my promises.

* * * *

Well, considering the fact that this is the last chapter, I thought I'd write an author's note.  First off, I thank everyone who has been reading this, and since this is the last chapter, I'd very much appreciate your reviews.  But basically, I'd like to say that I hope you enjoyed the story.

What will I do now?  Well, was anyone reading this who was reading Legend?  Cause I'm really sorry about where I left it.  I'm actually thinking of going back and rewriting some of it…okay, a lot of it.  So please just wait another month or so, and then there will be new chapters, I promise.

Well…I'm also gonna start another story pretty soon, by request of a friend of mine.  And one more thing.  I have a little side story to My Sacrifice written out, but I don't plan on posting it.  If you wanna read it, you'll have to email me and I'll send it to you.  It's not too big.  It's about Ray and Leon's wedding^.^  In case you're interested.  It was a story for a friend of mine^.^

Well, at the closing to this story, I say farewell.  Until we meet again!

See you later!

* * * *

THE END