Carnations for Emily

Chapter 28: Despair

"Emily? Emily?! Open your eyes!"
Jamie screamed these words into the night as he shook Emily in his arms, trying to wake her up.
But nothing was working...
Jamie was panicking, he was scared.
He didn't want to lose her...
"Jamie calm down, let me take a look at her." Louis walked over to them.
"Sh-she's gone Louis... gone for good."
Jamie stuttered as he put his hands up to his head.
"We don't know that yet." Louis kneeled down to Emily's seemingly lifeless body and checked her vitals to see if she was still alive.
As he got back up, Jamie feared the worst...
A few moments pass...
"She's not dead, not yet." Louis announced.
"Really?" Jamie's ears perked up.
"But she will be if we don't hurry.
It's true, Zack did inject her with a vile toxin but it doesn't seem to be enough to kill her out right.
Not yet anyway.
We need to get her to a hospital, I doubt the medication they have will be enough to save her, but it should be enough to keep her alive til we rip the antidote from Zack's hands." Louis proclaimed.
"We?" Jamie thought for a moment.
He then shook his head and picked Emily up in his arms.
"There's a hospital just a little ways away from here, come on Jamie." Louis took the lead and Jamie soon followed.

After a few moments Jamie raced into the local hospital with Louis close behind.
Panicked, the two called for doctors who finally arrived in minutes.
After Louis explained to the doctors what happened, they took Emily away to one of the rooms on a stretcher.
Jamie tried to follow, but they wouldn't let him.
"I don't completely understand Jamie, why do you care about that girl so much?
You don't even know her." Louis questioned.
"I do know her, not only that but I made a promise to someone that I'd keep her safe.
A part of me cares for her...
Probably more than anyone else..." Jamie said.
Louis chuckled.
"I don't think Sarah will be too happy to hear that."
"Sarah?" Jamie asked.
"Well, while you were panicking about that girl.
I've made a call to the old group.
Though the two of the are a little angry that you beat them so hard, they both agreed that they'd be willing to help go after Zack for your sake." Louis said.
"The old group..." Jamie tried to recall everything.
Bits of his memory were still from the throwing knife when he was little and from years of being trapped in his mind.
When the memory finally came back...

"Jamie!" A girl with brown hair and a heavier set boy came running up to young Jamie.
Louis just laughed at them and how silly they were.
The boy was out of breath but smiling and the girl had a light blush along her face. They were all so young but the memory was so clear...

"Sarah, and Marcus." Jamie mumbled. "Ah, so you do remember us." A female voice spoke.
Jamie turned around and saw a brown headed woman as well as a very muscular man walk through the entrance of the hospital.
The man had a bandage on his jaw...
"You've gotten so much stronger Jamie." He spoke.
"I'm sorry Marcus..." Jamie frowned.
"Yeah yeah, I'm okay too." Sarah huffed.
"Ah... Sarah, can you forgive me?" Jamie asked.
"Hmm.... fine, alright." She smiled.
Marcus rushes Jamie with a bear hug.
"It's good to see you again after so many years." Marcus said.
Jamie recalled that Marcus was a kind natured person who never would've hurt a fly.
"Down boy, down." Jamie smiled.

After a few moments of conversation, the four of them decided that they would meet up tomorrow to plan the next step.
"I guess I'll see you all tomorrow..." Jamie smiled.
Louis, Marcus, and Sarah all waved good bye to him threw up their hoods and took off into the night.
Jamie stayed behind and managed to sneak his way into the room that Emily was in.
Sure enough, she was still almost lifeless. Her eyes were closed and her skin had paled.
She had an IV in her arm and was hooked up to a heart monitor.
As worried as Jamie was, he did calm down when the heart monitor was beating away.
They were slow periodic beats but they were beating regardless.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hey, at least she's still alive." A familiar voice rung out.
In the chair next to Emily's bed a figment of Jamies imagination came to life.
It was Jack with his red and black hair.
He seemed well rested and had a small smile on his face.
"You're doing the best you can, don't beat yourself up about it." He smiled.
"I'm not mad that I had to disappear.
You had to wake up and I'm okay with that.
You're the real one, so do your best.
Go get him."
And with those words of encouragement, Jack faded away once more.
Jamie sat down in the chair and looked at Emily, he was frowning.
"I'm so sorry..." he said.
Jamie ran a hang along Emily's face, brushing her hair out of her eyes.
Jamie felt horrible, he felt depressed.
He honestly wanted to die.
He couldn't keep her safe...
He couldn't keep his promise...
"But I swear I'll do better." He said.
Biting his lip, Jamie leaned in and planted a kiss on her cheek.
Then her turned around and left the hospital.

As he made his way back home, Jamie noticed it was starting to rain.
Shortly, the rain fell hard.
"Dammit." He mumbled.
Realizing that he didn't actually have any coats at home, Jamie rushed home, making a mental note to buy a jacket or something tomorrow.
He had a feeling a storm was coming...

Hellen was standing at the oven cooking breakfast for herself, Jill and Jack.
Though she never heard Jack come in and noticed that it had rained all night, she was hoping he was okay.
Soon enough, he came in.
Soaking wet and shivering.
"Jack! Welcome home, where have you been?" Hellen said.
"Something bad happened last night mom...
I've been at the hospital all night." Jamie said.
"While you do look a little roughed up, you seem fine." As soon as Hellen finished her sentence she remembered that Jack had went out with Emily yesterday.
"Emily. Where is she?" Hellen asked.
"That's the thing, we were attacked by someone last night...
I couldn't protect her...
She's in the hospital mom..." Jamie said nearly breaking down.
"Oh hun...
I'm sure she'll be okay, how bad was she?" Hellen continued to ask.
"She looks fine, her skins pale and doesn't respond to anything though, as if she was in a coma..." Jamie spoke feeling worse by the second.
"Hmm, well go to your room and get some rest, you look exhausted.
I'll call Emily's parents and let them know what's happened." Hellen said.
Jamie just shrugged and walked past her.

Finally getting to his room, Jamie collapsed onto the bed.
As tired as he was... he struggled to fall asleep.
His mind was torturing him.
Jamie inside had given in and let despair take hold of him.
He couldn't even doze off.
"You're a failure.
You lost your birth mother, you killed your father.
Hurt your own friends, the one you love is in the hospital because you couldn't do more.
You're the worst Jamie."
Finally, as the screams and thoughts of his own mind began to take over and drive him crazy, Jamie found frustration and anger through it all and swore vengeance on Zack.
Vowing that he'd make him pay, take the antidote from him and saved Emily.

As that's last thought crossed his mind.
Jamie blacked out.

Chapter 28: End.