Fearless

- Chapter Four: Part Three: Cole -

I was in a glass room, a long hall extending out in front of me. The floor was white, the walls on either side made of clear glass.
I started slowly down the hall, noticing that my feet were bare.
The place was quiet, and there was no one in sight. Where were the others?
As I walked on I noticed that the walls of glass on the right looked into rooms---all white with a bed---resembling hospital rooms. But there was no one inside them.
The hall seemed to go on for quite some time, so I continued down it, not knowing where else to go.
Finally there was a room with someone in it. A small girl lying in the bed, red hair tumbling around her. Her skin was pale and she looked so thin and delicate.
I stopped, placing a hand on the glass as I stared at the fragile girl. I could help her, if only I knew how to get into the room.
I glanced up and down the hall. "Hey, anyone here?" If it was a hospital, as it appeared, where were all the staff? Why was the hall so empty?
No one replied, so I refocused my gaze on the girl. She was either asleep or in a coma, hooked up to oxygen. My hand curled into a fist. I can help her. If I could just get in. "Anyone?"
I sighed, tapping my thumb against the glass. How could I just stand there and watch her suffer, knowing I had the gift of healing, and not do anything?
The girl's heart rate suddenly began to drop, the monitor beeping more intensely. "Hey! Someone help her!" I banged my hand against the glass. "Someone! This girl needs help!" I pushed away from the glass, pacing up and down the hall. "Anyone here?!" Again there was no response, and the girl's heart rate continued to drop.
I gave another frantic look up and down the hall, then returned my gaze to the girl in the room. Why did no one come? What kind of a place was this?
I ran a hand through my hair, a feeling of helplessness washing over me. "Anyone..." This time the word came out in a low mutter. If only my gift didn't require I touch the person. If only---the thought left me when the machine flat-lined. I straightened, placing both hands flat against the glass. "No! Someone! Some---" I froze, staring into the room at the helpless girl, the girl whose heart had just beat its last beat. My arms dropped to my sides, my hands forming into fists as I lowered my gaze. There was nothing I could have done. Not without entering the room. Tears formed in my arms, a strange thing for me, and I quickly reached up to wipe them away. What kind of a place is this... I shook my head again, my hands still curled into fists. I let her die... they---whoever runs this place---let her die...
I continued down the hall, unable to look at the girl any longer. Where was Malorie? Jenny? The twins? Why was I alone in this place?
The rooms to my right continued to be empty as I walked further on, until finally I reached another with someone in it. Another patient in the bed, unconscious. I stepped closer to the glass, squinting into the room. My brows went up. "Dad?" It had been years since I'd seen him, and this man looked much thinner, but I was certain it was him. I slapped my palms against the glass. "Dad!" What had happened to him? I glanced down the hall, hoping its end was soon, but there was none in sight. "How do I get to those rooms?"
"You want to save him, don't you?"
I jumped, looking toward my right. "Mom?" She was standing beside me, plain as day, and yet she didn't look at all surprised to see me. I glanced behind her, down the hall, then returned my gaze to her face. "Where did you come from?" Her hair fell in dark brown curls at her shoulders, just how I remembered her, her blue eyes serene as she stared into the room at my father.
She slipped her arms behind her back, ignoring my question. "It kills you that you can't save him... that you couldn't save that little girl... but you can't save everyone, Cole. No matter how hard you try." Her eyes lifted to meet mine. They were almost void of emotion.
"I..." I glanced again toward my father. "What's wrong with him? How long has he been sick?"
Again, she ignored my questions. "He'll die just as the girl did, and there'll be nothing you can do but watch."
"No, mom... he... he can't die! How can you say that?"
My dad's heart rate monitor began to accelerate just as the girl's had done. "No! I have to help him! How do I get in the room? How?!"
There came no response, and as my dad's heart beat its last, my mother simply watched, dropped her gaze to the floor, and then turned and continued on down the hall. "Mom!" I looked in toward my father, tears trickling down my cheeks. "No! Dad... no!" I lowered to the floor, and as I wept for my father, and even my mother, the earth began to shake.