Downward, downward, faster and faster. Suddenly he was aware with certainty and joy that below, ahead, they were waiting for him; and that they were waiting, too, for the baby. For the first time, he heard something that he knew to be music. He heard people singing.
Behind him, across vast distances of space and time, from the place he had left, he thought he heard music too. But perhaps it was only an echo.
Jonas concentrated on the sound so he wasn’t aware that he and Gabriel were approaching the bottom of the hill. He closed his eyes to embrace the sounds which seemed to be coming from all around him. Gabe whimpered in fear, Jonas opened his eyes clutching his baby brother as they went flying through the air. He felt a sharp pain in his back as he landed while his ears were being pierced by the shrieks of Gabe. Jonas saw spots as Gabriel’s cries were getting quieter. His head fell next to Gabriel’s as everything went black.
Jonas rolled over in bed and slowly fluttered his eyes open. At first he thought he was back in his dwelling before he had Gabe, before he was the receiver, before everything. But that all ended when he heard and unfamiliar voice.
“I do not know yet, Doctor, he has not awakened.”
“Okay, thank you nurse, please come get me when he wakes up.” Jonas lifted his head and saw the woman in the full pink nod to the man with the white cloth draped over his tall body. He saw others in the background with many different colors and styles of what looked to be like their type of tunics. They didn’t look anything like anything Jonas has ever seen before.
“They all look so... so” Jonas just could not grasp the word to describe it. He looked around the room he was in and saw a bunch of machines. Jonas still had a faint memory of machinery, although this was more like the things his old community had. It was never used like this though; it was all hooked up to Jonas. He had something on his finger and something that he had thought was water drip into his arm.
A woman in red rushed into his room and started to ask too many questions that Jonas got very flustered. “How are you feeling? Where did you come from Sir? Where are your parents? Do you have any parents Sir? Who was the baby that came in with you? Was he your brother?” Jonas had forgotten about Gabe. All of a sudden he became panicked.
“Excuse me?” Jonas interrupted half way through one of the woman’s questions. “Where is my brother?” She looked puzzled. “The baby boy that came with me?” Jonas corrected himself, hoping he would not get chastisement.
The woman all of a sudden turned sad and left for a brief minute and came back with the man in the white. He was carrying something small, but long around his neck. As he came near Jonas, Jonas flinched. But the man looked kind and loving. He sat down beside him and told Jonas heartbreaking news.
“Son, I am very sorry to tell you this but that baby that was with you...” Jonas cut him off.
“Gabriel, his name is Gabe for short.” Jonas said angrily because everyone was talking about him as if Gabe didn’t matter. Gabe did matter to Jonas at least, and Jonas would do anything for Gabe.
“Ahh, yes, Gabe. Thank-you... umm... I’m sorry, what was your name?” asked the man. “I am Doctor Shepherd.”
“Hi, my name is Jonas” he said quietly.
“Nice to meet you Jonas.” Jonas nodded in agreement. “Well back to your brother, Gabe, I am afraid he has passed away.” Tears welled up in Jonas’ eyes. “We brought him in as fast as we could. We tried to save him but it was too late the bitter cold had gotten to him and...” the doctor began to choke up as Jonas was sobbing. “There was nothing we could do to save him. Trust me we did all we could.” Jonas never heard what the doctor said after that but he exited the room shortly leaving Jonas to mourn.
Jonas hadn’t felt this sad since he found out that his father was a murderer. He hummed that tune that the giver had given him, to help calm himself down. It was the tune that he had hummed to Gabriel because he had no longer any more memories, as they all faded on the long journey that they had taken. At least Jonas still had all the memories of Gabe, his little, dead, brother.
