Inside the back of an ambulance, a woman lies unconscious on a stretcher, pale and wrapped in blankets. Her left arm is missing, with a thick bandage over the stump. Two figures stand on either side of her, mostly in shadow. The scene is lit with red emergency lighting. Still in the back of an ambulance, the unconscious woman lies on a stretcher with her left arm missing and a bandaged stump exposed. The lighting remains red and dim. One figure on the left gestures toward her while another stands on the right, both mostly in shadow. The atmosphere is tense and clinical. Inside the ambulance, two EMTs urgently lean forward under red emergency lighting. The one on the left has medium-length brown hair and a tense expression. The one on the right has a short, faded hairstyle and a compassionate look. Both appear deeply concerned as they focus on a patient out of frame.Inside the red-lit ambulance, Ran abruptly jolts awake with a panicked gasp. Her eyes are wide, and she's breathing hard, sweat and stress visible on her face. She's clutching a blanket over her heavily bandaged left arm, which ends in a stump just below the elbow. A medical monitor glows faintly in the background.

Panel 1 Inside the back of an ambulance, a woman lies unconscious on a stretcher, pale and wrapped in blankets. Her left arm is missing, with a thick bandage over the stump. Two figures stand on either side of her, mostly in shadow. The scene is lit with red emergency lighting. Panel 2 Still in the back of an ambulance, the unconscious woman lies on a stretcher with her left arm missing and a bandaged stump exposed. The lighting remains red and dim. One figure on the left gestures toward her while another stands on the right, both mostly in shadow. The atmosphere is tense and clinical. Panel 3 Inside the ambulance, two EMTs urgently lean forward under red emergency lighting. The one on the left has medium-length brown hair and a tense expression. The one on the right has a short, faded hairstyle and a compassionate look. Both appear deeply concerned as they focus on a patient out of frame. Panel 4 Inside the red-lit ambulance, Ran abruptly jolts awake with a panicked gasp. Her eyes are wide, and she's breathing hard, sweat and stress visible on her face. She's clutching a blanket over her heavily bandaged left arm, which ends in a stump just below the elbow. A medical monitor glows faintly in the background.

Transcript

Panel 1:
EMT 1: She lost a lot of blood.
EMT 2: No kidding. Did you see the arm? She hacked it off herself.
Panel 2:
EMT 1: You think she cut it off in time? Before the infection spread?
EMT 2: No way to tell yet.

Panel 3:
EMT 1: She’s fading.
EMT 2: Hang in there, Miss Kimura.
Panel 4:
Ran (thought): Stay awake. Don’t black out.
Ran: Gasp!

Dead shall rise – Chapter 2 page 1
Posted on June 16, 2025 by Maho Noir

Sometimes survival isn’t about strength-- it’s about stubbornness.
Page one drops us back into the aftermath of the apartment fight, with Ran somewhere between blacking out and forcing herself upright. The EMTs are doing their job, but there’s more concern in their voices than confidence. That little yellow narration box? It’s not magic. It’s sheer willpower. Ran’s not safe yet-- just too damn stubborn to go down.