Dynamite

Chapter 19: Fade Away

"Come on, we have to hurry him to the hospital!" Rose exclaimed. Adam and Jake picked up Nathan and carried him into Jake's car, with Rose following closely behind. They quickly drove away, leaving everyone else behind.

Everyone else stood in shock and silence. Nathan's mom was covered in tears, as well as Nathan's older sister. His dad stood stiff, a cold look on his face. Nicole, Tony, Gavin, Jess, and Ethan all were shocked at what had happened. Emma looked like someone had slammed a door into her face. Pain was scribbled all over her face.

"We should probably meet them at the hospital," Nathan's dad blurted, breaking the silence. Since Ethan's car was still at the house, Ethan took his car and drove Emma, Jess, Gavin, Nicole, and Tony to the hospital. Nathan's parents and sister took their car and drove to the hospital.

When everyone arrived, there was no sight of Nathan, Jake, Rose, or Adam anywhere. They searched the entire hospital for them. Later on, they found Rose and Adam waiting outside of a hospital emergency room.

"Nathan's in there," Rose quietly informed them. "Jake's in there too with other doctors. They're getting him comfortable and taking care of him right now."

"Is he going to be ok?" Nathan's mom asked, seeming like she wasn't crying as much as before. Rose didn't know what to say, so she stayed quiet.

"I'm not sure," Adam answered. "He didn't seem too swift on the way here." Again, Nathan's mom broke down into more tears. Nathan's dad put an arm around her, comforting her. Everyone stood in silence, waiting for what felt like hours piling on top of hours.

After 30 minutes, Jake came out of the room. A few more doctors left as well but didn't stop by to inform them of what was going on. Jake stared at the ground before opening his mouth. Everyone was staring at him with wide eyes, waiting for what he'd say.

"This is good news and bad news at the same time," Jake whispered. "Nathan is in a coma." Nathan's parents and sister were the only ones who were shocked by the news. Everyone else wasn't as surprised, expecting it because of the blow he had. Nathan's dad exploded, looking furious. He stood up and got into Jake's face.

"HOW IS THAT GOOD NEWS?!" Nathan's father yelled. "OUR SON IS IN A COMA!"

"Yes, but he isn't dead," Jake shot back. "Be grateful." Nathan's father stayed quiet. "I'm sorry sir. I shouldn't have snapped at you." Nathan's dad nodded, forgiving him. Jake turned to Nathan's mom and sister. "We think that he'll live. He's on life support, but he's doing better than when he was first admitted. At this rate he should awake from his coma soon."

"Thank you so much," Nathan's mom thanked. Nathan's sister nodded, too upset to try and talk. Jake nodded and smiled. He then went back into the room to continue taking care of Nathan.

"Emma," Jess spoke up. Emma turned, feeling like she hadn't moved her head in forever. "My mom isn't letting me stay any longer. She's here to pick me up. Keep me updated on what's going on."

"Yeah," Emma sighed. "I'll see you soon." Jess waved bye and left the hospital.

Gavin, Tony, and Nicole eventually were forced by their parents to leave the hospital as well. Rose, Emma, and Ethan all stayed with Nathan's family since Nathan was just as important to them as he was to his family. Adam and Jake both stayed to check on him as doctors.

"Still no change yet," Adam replied, two hours after Nathan was announced into his coma. "We don't really see any negative or positive changes in his health. Anything can happen at this point."

"C... Can we see him?" Nathan's sister asked. Jake nodded and walked away, into another room. Nathan's family went inside of the room for a few minutes, just to see him, cry in peace, and hope that he'd turn out ok. Then they left the room, standing at the waiting room again.

"Emma... do you want to go in there?" Rose whispered to Emma. "You can if you want to." She slowly nodded and turned the handle of the door that lead to Nathan's hospital room. She felt numb as she was stepping inside.

Nathan, connected to many machines through tubes and an oxygen mask on his face, was sleeping peacefully in the bed. He looked pained, yet it seemed like it was a relaxed pain. Emma sat in a chair by his bed and sighed. She covered her face with her hands.

"It's my fault you're like this," Emma muttered. "It's all my fault. I shouldn't had hit you so hard. Or I should've hit you only once. Maybe you'd only have a concussion. I'm so stupid." She frowned at herself and sat in silence. She held Nathan's hand and squeezed it. She could've sworn she felt a squeeze back. It gave her hope.

~~~~~~~~~

Nathan was locked inside his own mind and was trying to escape the coma. Everything was dark. He walked around the darkness with no light to guide him. He felt lost, and he didn't know what to do.

Then a blast of light glimmered in the darkness. The blast of light came from the leader Dubleka, who was airborne, floating in the sky.

"Well Nathan, looks like that banishing spell worked," the leader Dubleka laughed. "My spirit is going to die in five minutes. Not only will my spirit die, but all of the other Dublekas' spirits will too, since our spirits technically merge when we die. So... this is the end of the Dubleka legacy."

"Good!" Nathan spat. "Now the world will be gone from evil! I won't miss you, father!"

"Well... that is true," the leader Dubleka sighed. "But just because my spirit is about to die doesn't mean that I have one last trick up my sleeve, my son." Nathan stayed quiet. The leader Dubleka snickered at his silence.

"Nathan... you know you're in a coma right now," the leader Dubleka sighed. "There's a chance you will die, and that has struck your loved ones with peril. They fear you will fade away and be gone. You mean so much to all of them and they don't want to lose you. Do you have any idea how much grief you will give them if you leave this world forever with me?"

"I'm not going anywhere," Nathan laughed. "Just give me some time, I'll get out of my coma." The leader Dubleka laughed.

"Wow, you don't understand, do you?" the leader Dubleka laughed. Nathan shook his head angrily. "I'm not dying alone. You're going with me." Nathan crossed his arms, boldly standing his ground.

"You can't make me," Nathan growled.

"Yes I can," the leader Dubleka laughed. "For these last four minutes, I still have control of you. I can choose whether you die or not." He continued to laugh.

"I have to stop him," Nathan thought. "I have to use lucid dreaming, I have to. For my family... and my friends. And for Emma. I can't fade away." Nathan closed his eyes. He thought about saving himself. He thought about getting rid of his demon, the leader Dubleka, his father. Forever.

It didn't seem to work. He slowly felt the leader Dubleka take him over again. Except instead of taking over his mind, he was taking over his soul. It was like a darkness was settling inside of his soul, and he started becoming numb. But Nathan continued to mentally fight. He tried to break away from the leader Dubleka. As he felt darkness continuing to slip through him, he suddenly felt defeat. But his pride, determination, and hope overpowered. And it worked.

The leader Dubleka was gone. His spirit couldn't haunt anyone anymore. The world was free of evil aliens. Nathan was out of his father's spell. He won.

After a day and a half, Nathan woke up from his coma. The world seemed... different to him. For the last month, Nathan was stuck in a dark hole. A dark hole of suffocating, peril, and hopelessness. He was worried about losing his life to the leader Dubleka and losing everyone he loved. But he didn't. And he felt like a new person. He knew he had to live life to the greatest and respect the world he had. He almost lost the world and the people in it, so there was no reason for him to hate anyone anymore.

Everything was better, and the world was free from the Dubleka threat for a second time.