The Reader's Request Book [REQUESTS CLOSED]

A Better End - Part 3 of 3

To be within a situation where the entire world appears to unravel around you would undoubtedly be terrifying; the feel of being caught within a landslide of events aiming to bury you, flooding you with tidal waves of emotions that drown you, suffocate you, kill you. But watching this happen from an outside perspective, witnessing another whom you care about continuously buckle beneath the pressure of their own nightmares, progressively becoming crushed by a process which you yourself were powerless to stop... arguably, that was worse. Imagine standing by an impassable fence near the summit of a cliff with a deadly drop beneath, able to both see and hear your closest friend dangling from the edge; as they screamed for help, they themselves could hold onto the hope that their cries could be answered, all while you were left with the knowledge that there was absolutely nothing you could do except watch.

That was how Baz, Rhys, Ryan, and Will collectively felt. Powerless.

Completely and utterly powerless.

Outraged at the treatment of their youngest friend, the group of four had almost immediately marched to the main control room. With each man displaying a various extremity of emotion ranging from being visibly stressed to completely distraught, they undertook a highly bitter and hostile debate with whichever workers were unfortunate enough to have been in the room upon entering. Together, they demanded to know precisely why the facility believed the current, "care," being provided was acceptable in any way shape or form, scolding the workers for causing so much fear to someone who had already experienced enough trauma to last a lifetime. Eventually, what must have been a supervisor to the operation, or some sort of high-ranking doctor within the building, entered the argument with the intention to diffuse it as quickly as possible. Directing the group back towards the reception they had first resided in, the highly patient and tolerant worker took nearly two hours to explain the situation to the four friends and answer any question they presented – no matter how aggressively or condescendingly it was asked.

The impulsive, instinctive need to provide some sort of, "justice," to their friend was slowly overridden with a solemn understanding to the necessity of the actions taken by the facility. The alternative options to Lewis' treatment were presented, along with the severe consequences which they could cause. The group learnt about nearly every detail which the research team had managed to identify, thus they too became aware of just how detrimental increased stress levels could be for Lewis. The more emotional the young man became, the more elevated his heart rate would become. In turn, blood would be pumped around his body faster, which would transport more of the toxic materials to otherwise healthy tissue, spreading the volatile infection. This in turn would increase the severity of the side effects which the disease caused, making it harder to treat Lewis for multiple reasons. With the young man currently being adversely against communicating with any of the facility workers, providing emotional support to reduce the reliance on medication alone was nigh on impossible.

Despite the rather poor way in which the group's first visitation had ended, the worker was of the mindset that it would be worse for Lewis' wellbeing if no further meetings were allowed. Working together, future meetings were planned based off of some of the four men's requests, as a sign of good faith from the facility. It was agreed that the previous, "Two visitors at a time," rule would no longer apply, and that meetings could last up to two hours instead of thirty minutes. Furthermore, unless it was deemed absolutely necessary for the safety of any of the four men, or Lewis himself for that matter, the security guards would be instructed to not interrupt. Moreover, the group would provide feedback upon the end of each visit so that any requests or suggestions they thought of could hopefully be catered to.

With all of this in mind, the next visitation was booked. In two days, the group would return, and hopefully have a better meeting than the previous.

But fate would not be so kind.