Lucas curled into a miserable ball on the ground.
He had lost everything ( his lair, his best friends... everything!)
" Oh God!" he cried; he gazed at the burning building that had been set ablaze.
It kept burning.
He survived alone.
His best friends couldn't make it out of the lair before the fire began.
He sighed softly.
He would forever remember this sacrifice for the rest of his life.
They had sacrificed their own lives for him to get away.
Cassidy lay lifeless at some distance. He had let go of her when they were falling.
Lucas stood up from the stony ground and trudged absentmindedly towards Cassidy.
His steps were heavy and sluggish.
He yelped unconsciously and inched backwards when he saw her bleeding head.
He hastily bent over her body and moved her caramel coloured hair from her face.
He realized that she had hit her head on the large stone close to her body, and that was the reason behind her bleeding head; it bled profusely.
A wave of terror welled up in his belly as he stood rigid - uncertain whether to breathe.
He couldn't risk things at this point.
He couldn't let her bleed to death as it seemed like the injury was deep.
Lucas looked around with a blank expression on his face.
The lair was really out of habitation and It would take a longer time before they would get to any place that had habitations around.
He bent over her and lifted her body; he carried her and slowly picked his steps out to avoid stumbling on a stone.
****
Lucas paced around in the hospital with a blank expression on his face.
At the moment, he was literally confused about things that he couldn't understand ( he gritted his teeth and brushed his hand roughly across his chocolate brown hair.)
They had carried Cassidy's unconscious body on the stretcher into the hospital.
They had gotten to the hospital earlier through the help of a good man that they met on the way.
Lucas didn't know for how long he stood pacing around, but he found himself praying immensely for her consciousness.
" She can't die."
The doctor called from a distance.
" Mr Lucas."
Lucas almost stumbled upon a chair in the bid to reach the doctor.
" She's finally awake," Doctor Tony announced; Lucas unceremoniously embraced him.
" Thankfully, the bleeding has stopped, so you can see her now."
His impetuous rush into the room startled the doctor but he only smiled broadly.
Lucas' gaze met with Cassidy's.
She only sat down on the bed like something had happened to her.
Of course, a lot had happened.
He observed her painstakingly as she tilted her bandaged head to the side.
There wasn't any violent display.
She had an immunity from the zombie bite?!
" She's been this way since she woke up, and she has refused to speak about anything," doctor Tony gave extra information when he approached the door.
Lucas turned with a start.
" What does that mean?"
" I can't say exactly but there might be some slight issues."
" Did it affect her speech?" Lucas questioned.
" No, it didn't. She doesn't seem to remember anything."
" It affected her memory?"
" I think so but I'm not certain about it yet. We'll need to carry out the diagnosis."
" Excuse me," doctor Tony said and walked towards Cassidy.
" Can I take your information from your husband?" he requested politely; he smiled at her.
" Husband?"
Cassidy only nodded obediently and doctor Tony plodded towards Lucas and they proceeded to the office.
" Have a seat," doctor Tony hinted when they arrived at the office that was just a bend after the ward Cassidy was placed in.
He continued after Lucas sat down.
" I'll need to rule out other possible types of memory loss, including those caused by dementia, Alzheimer's disease, depression, or a brain tumor. Now that I've gotten her permission for you to talk about her medical details, we may proceed."
" There are actually some questions you'll have to answer for her."
Lucas nodded.
" Well, I guess we have the first answer already. She can't remember events further back in time - I questioned her about past events and she seemed to have difficulty coming up with something. I'm afraid she can't remember her name too."
" Could any factors have caused the memory loss, such as a head injury, surgery?"
" There was a head injury," Lucas answered.
" Is there a family history of any neurological or psychiatric condition?"
" Not at all," his faltered voice answered.
" Does she consume alcohol?"
" Not at all."
" Is she taking any medication?"
" No."
" Has she taken illegal drugs, such as cocaine or heroin?"
" No."
" Does she have a history of depression or seizures?"
" Not at all."
" Has she ever had cancer?"
" Not at all."
Doctor Tony sighed strangely.
" I'll need to do a physical exam. This exam will include checking the brain and nervous system function, like: reflexes, sensory function and balance - this memory assessment will help determine the extent of memory loss. I'll also need to check her judgement, long term and short term memory respectively. Just hold on for a moment."
****
Doctor Tony returned after what seemed like eternity.
He was looking drained as if he had a tough time.
" Blood tests revealed no infection or nutritional deficiencies. There are no physical damage because nothing was discovered in the EEG ( electroencephalogram.)"
Lucas opened his mouth but no words came out.
Doctor Tony continued.
" She has retrograde amnesia."
" A person with the retrograde amnesia can't remember events that occurred before their trauma, but they can remember what happened after the trauma. In rare cases which is likely to be seen in her case, the retrograde amnesia will occur together with the anterograde amnesia. A person with the anterograde amnesia cannot remember new information. They have full memory from the time before the injury."
Lucas suddenly felt suffocated inside. This was too much for him to take in.
First, he lost his lair alongside his best friends, and now this.
He would be saddled for life with the responsibility of catering for a lady who had lost her memory.
" Oh God," he uttered silently.
Just where did everything go wrong with him?