The End Of Life

Hearing Kevin's worried voice, Mark looked up to both his friend's anxious faces. Suzie held his hand, looking at him in the eye. He smiled and said, "I'm ok. Did you guys get hurt anywhere?" Mark was worried more about them than about himself. 

"No, we are fine. But you have a bullet in your body right now. We should remove it." Said Kevin as Suzie also shook her head and looked more concerned about him. 

Mark grunted as he tried to stand up but slipped and fell again, making his shoulder pain more. He grits his teeth, but as he tried to stand once more, Kevin caught him and supported him. Even if Kevin himself was very weak, he was able to help him. 

Mark looked at him, and Kevin said, "It's ok. After that cracker, I have some energy to support you, at least. Now tell me, how are we going to remove the bullet." looking at the wound. The blood was not gushing out as before, and Mark's face became paler by the second. 

Mark couldn't move his hand, so he turned towards Suzie and asked, "Can you check what's the time?" Suzie nodded and said, "It's almost 2."

"Alright then, Let's go to the central area. We have a doctor in our team, so he should be able to patch me up." turning towards Kevin. Kevin nodded and grabbed him tighter; Suzie also quickly helped the weak Kevin in supporting Mark. 

They slowly made their way out of the display, but as they made their way towards the hallway, Mark stopped and said to Suzie, "Can you go upstairs and get the guns on those two. They should not be able to move but take this gun just in case." giving his gun to her.

Suzie looked at the gun in his hand for a second before reaching out for it. She nodded and made her way up as Kevin supported Mark. She went towards the two squirming bodies and pointed her gun at both of them, making them stop moving. 

She quickly took the guns and magazine they had and came back down. Mark handed his nag to her, and she kept it inside before slinging it on her shoulder. She continued to support him as they made their way out of the room and walked through the hallway. 

Limping with both their support, Mark reached the main hallway. He felt excruciating pain from his shoulder. He could feel the blood loss getting to him as his vision was slowly becoming cloudy, and he was losing energy. He suddenly felt his hand over Kevin's shoulder slip, and his body falls. 

Kevin reacted quickly and stretched his hand out. Catching him, Kevin slowly pulled him up and said, "Mark, don't lose consciousness, you hear me? I said, don't lose consciousness; we are near the central area." tapping Mark's face. Mark opened his eyes a little and nodded before walking ahead with them. 

They reached the end of the hallway and saw David sitting in the central area waiting for them. As he saw three figures, he exhaled in relief but panicked when he saw the limping Mark and rushed over. 

"Mark, what happened. Oh god, what is this wound on your shoulder." noticing the bullet wound on his shoulder when he got near. 

"Are you the doctor he told about?" asked Kevin. 

David nodded and said, "Yes, it's me. Please settle him down, and I will treat the wound. Thankfully, it looks like the bullet is not deep." showing the wall. Kevin nodded, and with the help of Suzie, he slowly made Mark sit down, leaning against the wall. 

David opened his bag and quickly took out the needed equipment for pulling a bullet out. He cut the shirt using scissors and looked at the wound closer. Taking out some cotton and water, dabbing some water on the cotton, he slowly cleaned the area around the wound.

After cleaning the wound came the hard part, it was removing the bullet itself. He could attempt to remove the bullet because it did not go deep enough to cause any internal injury. It was only a skin injury; if it went deeper than he would have to use medical equipment, which he did not have to take it out. 

He took out a plucker and slowly pulled the bullet out, forcing more blood to ooze out. Throwing the bullet away, he used gauze and cotton with some antibiotic ointment he had to cover it and stop it from bleeding further. He closed the wound with some medical tape to keep it there. 

There was no need for any stitches for the wound, so it was done quickly. He exhaled in relief when he completed everything and sat using the wall's support. He felt relieved about taking the medical supplies like these back in the wholesale market; Mark saved him and Daisy from. 

He kept all the tools in his bag and said, "I think we better search a room for him. It would be better for him to rest." looking at Suzie and Kevin. 

Kevin nodded and said, "Alright, I think there should be some security rooms done in the north hallway." pointing at the north hallway. David nodded as he knew this; he went to search for him in that hallway. 

"Alright, then. I know the way, so let's take him there." supporting Mark up. He noticed the pale look on Kevin's face and decided to ask later. With Kevin's help, David let them through the north hallway and stopped in the middle of the hallway. It was a small corridor. 

Reaching the end of the small corridor, they made their way in and saw bunk beds on either side of the room. David looked at Kevin and said, "It looks like the museum provides this facility for the securities here. There has to be 24 hours security, after all." 

Kevin nodded and slowly, with the help of David, laid Mark on a bed. Mark's expression grimaced as he felt something touch the wound, but it eased after a while. David wiped the sweat off his forehead, and He looked at Kevin. 

"Sorry for the late introduction, but you must be Kevin, right?" stretching out his hand. 

Kevin shook his hand and replied, "Ah, yes, that is me. Nice to meet you too, Doctor…" 

"David, David Warner. You can call me David, like Mark. So, how did he get a bullet in his body? Isn't he cautious?" looking at Mark. They sat on the bed opposite to Mark's looking at the body. Suzie seated herself on top of them. 

"It was because of me. He found me, and that bastard Oliver set up a trap right when we came out of the place I was kept. He placed two people on the first floor with guns to shoot us when we came out. Mark came out first, supporting me, got shot. We did not notice those bastards, or else this would not have happened."

David nodded and noticed Kevin's pale and weak body. He opened his bag and said, "Do you want something to eat? You do not look well. I am sure there might be a water boiler in this room used by the security." looking around. 

Kevin nodded as his stomach grumbled. David smiled and stood up. He looked at Suzie and asked if she wanted to eat, making her slightly nod. He went near the closet next to the bunk beds and opened it. He found two water boilers and also other utensils like plates, cups, and glasses. He took out a boiler and bowls for all three of them.

Using the electricity that was still running, he boiled water and took out instant noodle packets and made a simple meal. Handing them their portions in the cups he found, they slowly ate their share. 

After eating their food, they placed the bowls aside. Kevin patted his full stomachs as he ate the most out of all three of them, showing how hungry he was. His face gained some color after the food went down his throat. 

"So, David. How did you meet Mark?" 

"He saved my daughter and me when we were trapped in a wholesale market store. He asked me to travel and work for him. So I agreed. My daughter is in the Stargaze city camp." 

Listening to him, Kevin felt weird. He looked at Mark and thought, 'You kept some trust in this person? After that incident, you did not keep trust in anyone this quickly. It looks like you're taking a step ahead.' as a smile formed on his face. 

He stood up and turned towards Suzie, who was leaning against the wall. He smiled, seeing the old friend, and said while stretching his hand out towards her, "How are you, Suzie? It looks like Mark managed to find you." 

But as his hand was about to reach her, she squirmed to the corner, trying to evade his hand. Her body was shaking, looking at the hand. Kevin felt confused, seeing her severe reaction.