'Beep... beep... beep... beep... beep... beep... beep...'
The terrifying yet somewhat comforting sound rung through the room, Poppy sitting right by Branch's side as he lay unconscious in a hospital bed, the gray troll breathing heavily but slowly...
The survivalist's hip and ear were both bandaged up to cover his horrendous wounds, a ball of cotton having been lodged into his ear canal to help absorb the blood still gushing out of it...
Poppy couldn't help but sob softly at the sight of the condition her best friend was in, tears rushing out of her eyes and sliding down her cheeks...
"I'm sorry, Branch..." the young princess whispered softly, taking the village grump's hand gently in hers. "This is all my fault... I... I should have never trusted that wolf... that... that monster..."
"Princess Poppy?"
Poppy looked up at the sound of her name being spoken, noticing a doctor now standing behind her, a sorrowful expression on their face...
"How... how is he?" the young troll asked softly as she wiped the tears from her eyes, not really wanting to know the answer if it was bad...
"His injuries are severe," the doctor stated in a serious but saddened tone. "The scratches all over his body indicates that it was an animal attack... but he's got a bullet wound in his hip, and another bullet lodged in his right ear drum..."
Poppy gasped at the doctor's explanation, the young princess looking back down at Branch in shock...
"You... you mean..." Poppy started, struggling to hold back her tears. "Someone... someone did this to him?"
"Until he wakes up..." the doctor started, lowering her head slightly. "We won't know for sure. But he's scheduled for surgery in a few minutes to remove the two bullets. They're the main problem at this moment and we're hoping it'll help. But... we're not sure he's gonna make it... surgery can be... dangerous... especially for someone in his condition..."
More tears came to Poppy's eyes as she looked down at Branch in sorrow, seeing just by the look on his unconscious face how much pain he was truly in...
Just then, more doctors came into the room, pushing a gurney along with them.
"It's time..." one of them told Poppy, gesturing slightly towards Branch...
Poppy nodded, and then stood out of her seat, gently stroking her best friend's hair one last time...
"You're gonna be ok, Branch," she whispered to him in a comforting tone, not knowing if he could even hear her or not. "Just hang in there... you'll be ok..."
The doctors gently lifted Branch from his bed before carefully placing him onto the gurney, beginning to wheel the gray troll towards the surgery room...
"Please..." Poppy whispered, watching them take her best friend out of sight with tear filled eyes. "Please be ok..."