Through the Haze - Part Thirteen

When we live in doubt, we let our fears rule our lives. We must have the courage to hope. --Rancholo McGala, Book of Hope
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Isaac made his way down the hall, feeling hopeful for the first time in a long while. He opened Ember's door and entered, closing it quietly behind him. Edging toward Ember's bed, he took in a deep, calming breath.

"Everything's going to be okay now, Ember," he whispered. "Everything's going to be okay. Help is on the way. You'll be okay. You'll get through this, Emb."

Of course, Ember was still ever the silent.

Isaac picked the rag up from the bowl and rang some of the water out of it before he folded it and gently ran it across Ember's forehead. It still hurt him to see Ember like this, but at least now there was hope. There was hope that Ember would live, if Gabriel would get there quick.

Maybe he'd be able to help Gabriel, too. He hoped so. Gabriel had seemed nice in the dream, and he was another gifted. Maybe they could help each other.

But where was the other gifted? Surely they knew they needed them. Right? Maybe they were on their way at this very moment, though Isaac doubted it for some reason.

If Gabriel could hurry there, maybe everyone had a chance.

"You're going to be okay, Emb," he said into the silence of the room. "Everything's going to be okay now."

He prayed he was right, that everything really was going to be okay. What if Gabriel didn't come in time? What if Ember died before he got there? What if Gabriel died before he got here? So many questions, so few answers.

It seemed strange that Gabriel was dying because of the chill. It sounded almost like he was dying in the same way that Ember was, except that he could wake up and move a little, and eat and drink. It was weird.

It all made him wonder about the gift. If the gift had protected him from the illness the chill brought, why hadn't it protected Gabriel? It made no sense at all, and it both confused and worried him.

There was still so much about that gift that he didn't know. He wanted to figure it all out, but doubted that that was going to be happening anytime soon.

Right now, all that mattered was that there was hope. There was hope of Ember getting better, and that was all that mattered.

All he wanted was a little hope.
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Karaya sat next to the fire as the doctor checked over her brother. Cassius looked worse than ever before, with his pale face and inert form. She'd never seen him so still, and it frightened her.

The doctor got to his feet and shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said. "I don't know what's wrong with him. He's got a high fever, but that's all I can tell."

Karaya sighed heavily. "Okay...thanks."

"His pulse isn't very good, but I'm sure that's just from the fever. His body is trying to fight it off."

She nodded, feeling sick to her stomach. She didn't want her brother's pulse to be different than normal. She didn't want his body to have to fight off the fever, because he shouldn't even have a fever to begin with. But he did. And there was nothing she could do about it.

She was about to speak when something in the nearby bushes rustled and moved. She froze as a sudden chill crept upon her, and snapped to when the doctor moved toward the bushes to see what was there. "No!" she cried. "Don't!"

But her warning came too late. An arrow stabbed the doctor in the chest, and he went down, where his body convulsed a few times before it went perfectly still. Karaya flinched and got to her feet slowly.

"Who's there?" she asked.

A figure came out of the bushes, looking rather disgruntled and angry. He stalked toward her, glaring at her and her brother. Karaya took a step closer to Cassius, ready to protect him if necessary.

"What do you want?" she asked of the figure.

"I have been told to capture you."

"Capture me?" she questioned. "Why?"

"The Master wishes it. That's why." he lunged forward with lightening speed and before she knew it, she was on her back on the ground, looking up at the sky. She groaned and brought a hand up to rub at her head. Something grabbed her foot and she was flug through the air, where she collided with a tree, hitting her head hard and sliding to the ground. Through hazy vision, she saw the figure head toward her brother.

"No..." she whispered, fading out. "Leave...him alone..."

And then she went unconscious.
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Gabriel woke with a start when the carriage gave a sudden stop, forcing him to lurch forward. Lou steadied him with a hand on his shoulder, and then put a finger to his lips, a signal to be quiet. Gabriel nodded and watched as Lou moved toward the front of the carriage to talk through the window to the driver.

When Lou gave a startled yelp, Gabriel propped himself up by his elbows, trying to get a better view of things. He felt his fever burning behind his eyes, his vision slightly blurred. Ignoring it, he asked, "What...?"

Lou turned around, looking a little pale. "He's dead."

"Dead?" he asked quietly. "What...do you mean?"

"Just that. He's dead. There's a knife in his chest. He's dead."

Gabriel frowned. Lou turned to look out one of the side windows, and he could almost feel the tension coming off of him. Jsut as he was about to say something to break the tension, something wrapped around his body and began to drag him out of the carriage. He tried to yelp, but a hand went around his mouth, forcing him into silence. In his weakened state, he couldn't fight back.

Lou seemed to notice that something was wrong. "Gabe!" he cried, jumping toward his friend. Gabriel felt a hand grab his right wrist and pull him back toward the interior of the carriage. The hand fell away from his mouth, but he was still being forced out. "Leave him alone!" Lou shouted, kicking at something or someone. Gabriel stared up at the top of the carriage, feeling out of it and dizzy.

Suddenly, he was yanked out of Lou's grasp and out of the carriage. He hit the dirt ground hard, making dirt fly up and filter into his mouth and nose.

"Gabriel!" Lou's voice echoed down from the carriage. He blinked his eyes a few times, trying to clear his hazy vision. "Leave him alone!" there was a thud and more dirt sprung up, clouding his vision. Someone grabbed him and hauled him into the back of the carriage. He was left alone for a moment, and then the horses snorted and began to run, bringing the carriage with them.

They came to a stop a little ways away, in the cover of the shadows of some buildings and houses.

"Gabe? Are you with me?" Lou asked, suddenly next to him, pressing a hand to his forehead. His friend breathed a huge sigh of relief when Gabriel opened his eyes. "Your fever hasn't gotten worse, thank God. How're you feeling?"

Gabriel let out a small breath. "Same...A little sore, though..." he blinked. "What...happened?"

"Someone killed the driver to stop us. Then they tried to take you. I got them away from you and took off, and now, here we are."

Gabriel sighed slowly. "You okay?"

Lou nodded. "I'm fine. I was worried about you, though. When you fell....you hit the ground hard."

"I'm okay..."

Lou nodded again. "I'll pay for another driver. But for tonight, we're staying in a hotel." he helped Gabriel into a sitting position. "Are you okay to be moved?"

"If I wasn't," he mumbled, "I would have made a fit when I hit the ground."

Lou smiled slightly. "Good point." he jumped out of the carriage and grabbed Gabriel under the arms, pulling him out as well. Gabriel didn't hit the ground like he had before, though. Lou held him up right, and Gabriel tried to get his footing.

Lou began to walk toward a building, Gabriel's arm draped over his shoulder. Gabriel walked as best he could, but it almost wasn't enough. He felt so tired; he just wanted to rest and sleep, without having to worry about being attacked.

Opening the door to the building, Lou helped Gabriel inside and went up to the check-in clerk. "We need a room," he said.

The clerk looked at the two of them. "One bed or two?"

"One is fine," said Lou. "I'll sleep on the floor or something."

The clerk nodded, faded gray hair moving with the air the fan was giving off. "Okay. Room 107, here's your key. You pay when you check out." he handed Lou a faded gold key.

Lou nodded and said thanks, taking the kay, and then helped Gabriel to the stairs. "I don't think you're able to go up those..." he murmured, frowning.

Gabriel said nothing, feeling out of it, feeling strangely detatched.

Lou went up the stairs backward, pulling Gabriel along. Gabriel climbed them slowly, with Lou and the rail helping him. Once they got to their floor, Lou helped him down the hall to their room. He put the key in the door knob and opened the door, helping Gabriel over to the bed. Once Gabriel was settled down safely, Lou moved back to the door and shut it, locking it.

"How're you feeling?" Lou asked, sitting on the floor next to the bed.

Gabriel paused. He felt a lot of different things. He felt pained, he felt cold, he felt hot, and he felt sick and detatched. If he told Lou any of those things, though, it'd only make him worry all the more, and he hated having Lou worry about him. "Same," he uttered.

Lou frowned and got to his feet, disappearing into the bathroom. When he came back, he had a wet rag in his hand. "Lie down," he ordered.

Gabriel sighed and gladly did so. His head was spinning and he felt himself blacking out. Again. Lou ran the wet cloth over his forehead, pushing back some of the flames and the darkness that threatened to claim him.

"You don't look so good," Lou commented solemnly.

"Don't...feel so hot...either..." he breathed.

Lou frowned suddenly. "Shit," he cursed.

"What?" he asked slowly.

"Your fever's suddenly spiked. I'm not a doctor, but that's not good."

Gabriel sighed heavily, allowing his heavy eyelids to slip closed. "Tell...me about it...."

Lou grabbed the cover of the bed and threw it over Gabriel, pulling it up to his neck. "Get some rest. Try to take it easy."

"Try..." he mumbled, already slipping away into the grip of unconsciousness.

The last thing he remembered was Lou running the cloth over his forehead. And then he was out.

Again.