First off. I-330’s going to be alright. There was some weirdness with the news, but I’ll get to that.

There was some difficulty dealing with the red tape of this place at first. I had a pretty hard time convincing the staff that her name really was I-330. Not to mention the fact that she didn’t have any form of identification on her. At least she was able to tide things over once she woke up. Somehow.

When the doctor came to tell me that I-330 was going to survive, he took me to the side to speak privately.

“Now, you say that when you found her, she had already been bleeding for some time?” He asked me.

“Well… yes, at least, I mean, I think so.”

“Hm….” He didn’t elaborate until I asked him why he looked so thoughtful. “Depending on which artery is damaged, having an artery cut can lead to death in minutes for the average adult woman. She didn’t just have one artery cut; she had a significant number torn apart. Including vital ones such as the femoral artery. Even so, she somehow stayed alive long enough for you to call 911, an ambulance to drive over to your apartment, drive her back here, and then for us to treat her.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “The human body just doesn’t have that much blood in it. And that’s not even taking the serious damage to her internal organs into account. To be extremely blunt… she should be dead. I’ve seen miraculous recoveries before, but never something this extreme.”

He looked at me as if he hoped I could provide an answer to the mystery. But 330’s always been an enigma for me.

I got the opportunity to visit her a few days later. She didn’t speak, or even look at me at first. I sat by her side in silence until the visiting hours were nearly over. As I was about to leave, she grabbed my arm.

“What am I?” She whispered. I didn’t understand the question, so I kept silent. “I’ve heard the nurses talking, and I know how bad my injuries were. There’s no way I should still be alive.” For the first time during the visit, she rolled over to face me. “What the hell am I?”

I wish I could have answered her question. Told her something to take away the pain in her eye. Instead I just continued to remain silent. I nurse stopped by to say that visiting hours were nearly over, and 330 let go of my arm.

Didn’t want to leave it at that. Said the first string of words that came into my head. “It doesn’t matter what you are, you’re still I-330, and I still….” No, no, I was sounding stupid, just shut up. Gave 330’s hand a quick squeeze, but let go when she flinched. Told her I’d be back tomorrow, and then left. If only I could actually do something for her….

-Lisa