An expensive world

" What are you girls doing out here alone ? " A concerned head popped out from the window of the vehicle .

'Why did I expect to see him?' Nora shakes her thoughts of the man away, forcing them to the back of her head.

The truck driver was a decent man , used to making deliveries here and there but it was the first time he had encountered something like this . He knew first hand that it wasn't a safe place for women .

Then again , most places aren't .

A spark of hope arose inside Nora's chest , her drooped eyes begged for help as she brought attention to her sister's injury .

" Shit . Who did this ? " The man - with ragged hair , tousled shirt and dark eye bags from working day and night - gets out of the truck hastily .

" Mother . " Nora whispers . It was not a pained response but a factual one .

She wondered why she wasn't surprised . Considering their treatment , she knew that one day Amanda would go too far , sooner or later . Though she was terrified of it , she found slow beatings much worse than sudden ones .

At least they were away from her shackles now .

Nora had wondered for a second , if death would bring them peace . She was planning to lie down with her sister until one bled to death and the other starved to it . That was until , she saw there was a chance .

" Well get on . I'll take y'all to a hospital . " He carefully carried her in his arms and placed her in the open back of the truck ; Nora stuck to her like glue , not wanting to let her out of her sight for even a second .

The helpful man considered alerting the police of the matter as he drove to the nearest hospital which was 8 kilometres from here . It occurred to him that the girls looked young , it's likely that if they are under 18 they could be returned to their mother if alerted to the cops .

The law was ridiculous indeed . The foster system care was no better .

Finally he concluded to stay quiet for now . It felt it was none of his business and the girls could decide what to do themselves from this moment on . He had his own plate of things to be concerned over ; a family to provide and getting involved with the police could never bring any good .

What would he do if they pinned this on him ? Saying that he was the one who stabbed the girl ? How would he get out of it with no connections ?

Many cops are full of boredom , pleading for such victims to arrive so they can play with them as a toy .

" You'll be okay now . " Nora whispers in her ear , slightly patting down the extremely short blonde hair on her head .

The whole ride Nora tried to divert her mind to hold her tears back . Even though she knew that Amanda wasn't here anymore and she could freely let them fall if she wanted to .

She just couldn't bring herself to do it . Instead she zips open Nova's blood stained pocket and with her clean hand , takes out the money she had taken from their mother . Though it had a few stains on them , she hopes that the hospital would accept it . She carefully places it in the duffle bag's inner pocket .

She looks through the rest of the content of the duffel bag , her eyes settling on the magazine present in it . Taking it out , a sense of wonder flows through her as she looks at all the various clothes and bags . Glancing at the numbers , she knows all of these things would be very expensive and she couldn't possibly get it in her lifetime .

It was by a brand named Michael Kors .

" One day , I'll buy you one . " She says quietly to her still sister , wondering when she would open her eyes .

The blood loss had made her drowsy and her body was slowly going into cardiogenic shock .

As they entered the town , Nora noticed that there were many shops here . It wasn't as advanced as the places on the television but it was still quite fascinating compared to the place they had lived in . There were many shops . The roads were cleaner .

A quite a few cars passed by as well . Nora wondered if one day she could drive such a machine but quickly buried down her expectations . She knew nothing of this world .

" This is it . " The kind man called out from his front seat .

Nora regains her composure from her thought process as the man puts down the back door of the truck . He helps bring down her unconscious sister .

Thankfully there was already an ambulance in front of the huge hospital , which meant a few stretchers were ready not far away . They were spotted by a few doctors and received immediate attention

Nora struggled , finding it hard to let them take her away but was assured that things would be alright .

" I'll get going now . Call a relative , alright ? " The man smiled as he stepped back into the truck .

Nora was hesitant . She felt relatively safe under the kindness of the man but she knew that he owed her nothing so she simply nodded and waved lightly as he left .

Returning to the inside of the hospital , she gazes around at the busy life . People in white coats were roaming here and there in a hurry . Children were crying and the elderly were coughing at the waiting centre . There were around 50 chairs and all of them were occupied , the rest of the people were pacing anxiously .

Seeing how there was a line accumulating outside a tall table . Nora assumed that was the place to get her information but before she could reach there , a doctor stood before her .

" She seems injured too . Take her to the first unit . "

Only after she was made to lie down on the bed did she realize how tired she actually was . From carrying Nova for almost an hour to the mental stress she endured , she had a hard time .

" Papillary response is present . " A light was shone into her eyes , resistance prevented her from shutting them .

It's as if she was snapped awake .

" Where's my sister ? " She called out shakily .

The tightness in her chest , the numb feeling , delirium daze , it was all replaced by anxiousness and the desire to see her sister alright .

" She's in the emergency ward . Can you please remove your clothes . " The female doctor caressed her hand softly in an assuring manner as she cleared all other doctors out of the room .

It was not a big room , made for the examination of a single patient .

" Please remove your clothes hun . I need to treat your injuries . " She said with such a light airy voice that Nora couldn't help but flash towards her to see .

How could she sound .. so soft ?

The sound baffled Nora's ears .

Even though Nova always spoke kindly to her , she hadn't ever heard so many emotions from a single voice .

Her voice was persuasive enough that she followed her instructions and stripped down receiving deep heavy breathing in return .

The doctor's eyes hardened significantly as she saw the damage that had been done . Bright red sore lashes covered her skin from neck below . Even her arms weren't spared . Some of the lashes even had dried up blood stuck to them .

" It burns . " Nora tells her calmly as the doctor carefully cleans the wounds with plain water mixed with a mild antiseptic . Dr.Miller looks astonished at how inexpressive her face was , even as she applied the ointment on the sore wounds , there wasn't a single flinch .

In all honesty , it had scared her .

" Who did this to you ? " She asks softly .

Despite only having been asked the question twice , Nora was getting annoyed . Did it matter who had done it ?

" My mother . "

Dr. Miller inhaled deeply and closed up the box , deciding that none of the wounds needed stitches , she resorted to gauze and bandages .

" I should alert the police . "

Nora didn't like the idea in the slightest . She pulled on her coat with her skeleton hand and pleaded with her eyes .

" Well , I guess it can wait . " She gave her a small sympathetic smile .

" Where is my sister ? " Nova asked once again .

" She's undergoing surgery in the emergency unit . "

Dr.Miller found Nora's behavior strange so she hesitated to inform her of it . Though it's expected from an abused child .

" Surgery ? " Nora's brain tried to rack itself in search of the proper meaning of the word but she couldn't quite comprehend it until the doctor explained it to her in detail .

" She went into cardiac shock . Her system doesn't have enough blood in it because her heart was punctured . They need to fix the puncture as soon as they can . It's a good thing you girls didn't take out the knife , it helped in saving some blood . "

Nora nodded slowly , finally understanding the reason Nova had stopped her from pulling out the knife . How did she know ? Sometimes Nora found herself admiring her sister's intelligence.

She was the one who got them out of hell .

For a split second , she considers telling the doctor about smashing her mother's head with a glass bottle . Despite hating her , she didn't want to be the cause of her death .

However , she decides against it . No one should know where they live , she can't have them take her back . Not after everything Nova did to save them .

" Dr. Miller . " A figure knocks at the door to the room .

The doctor gives Nora an apologetic look and walks to the door , standing outside with the person who had called her .

" She won't make it without a heart transplant . Even though the puncture in the left ventricle was fixed , the cutting off of blood vessels resulted in rapid tissue necrosis . " A stern male voice said .

" An immediate transplant ? There's a long waiting list and I doubt these girls have either the documents or the money to go through with it . "

Nora couldn't decipher the definition of the complicated words , she could understand the main feeling behind it .

It was bad .

" How long does she have ? "

" A few days , give or take . Without the initial deposit , the surgeon refuses to do anything , he says he has other patients to work on . "

Dr. Miller curses under her breath , reminded of the emotionless injured figure who lay on the bed inside the room . She hated the medical system of the country .

First documents and payments , then treatment . None of it was covered on medical insurance.

She melancholy opens the door and greets a worried Nora .

" I don't know about documents but .. I have 600 dollars . " Nora says nervously , the clawing at her heart grows stronger with each second and her gut falls at the subsequent words .

It almost brings tears to the doctor's eyes . She isn't sure if she should say it or not .

" Hun .. the surgery costs .. 1.6 million dollars . "

" How many zeros is that ? " Nora asks against her thumping heart .

" 1,600,000 . " The doctor writes it down on a paper . " The initial deposit to receive approval , however is 800,000 . Is there anyone you can call ? For the documents and the money ? "

Nora curses inwardly .

The only person she knew of family was her mother . Any money that her mother received , she would blow it on cigarettes and alcohol . Nora doubts that she had more than what they had stolen from her .

Should she take a chance ?