(Formerly known as "When Our Paths Crossed")
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A tale of two lost souls brought together by pain, grief and trauma.
Atlas tries to find a place in a world he's worked so hard to escape. Elijah struggles to balance the life he's building and the...
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I DON'T KNOW what to expect, but the cold draft that slides over me is foreboding as I step into the morgue. It a pretty typical, unassuming place, with a wall of small doors, presumably to hold bodies...which is incredibly unsettling.
For a moment, I forget that I'm walking in there to identify my brother's body, and I feel the creeping sensation that zombies will come flying out of the doors and devour us. Dan would have teased me to the end of days if he knew what I was thinking about at t his moment.
When the zombies obviously don't appear, I still eye the drawers suspiciously while following Joey to a table set up in the back. I don't know if the chill is now because of the room or if it's because each step brings me closer to my brother's body. The image of the other young man in the car flashes into my head, and my breath catches. He's upstairs somewhere, in surgery, while my brother is down here. At least Dan didn't take Atlas down with him. It's that little reassuring comfort that keeps me steady.
A single white sheet is drawn over the body, which Joey grips, before glancing at me tentatively.
"I'll ask you once more, are you sure you want to do this?" he asks. It's as if he knows I'm internally recoiling at what I'm about to see. "Your parents can still come in."
"N-no," I start, but my voice cracks. Quickly, I clear my throat and shake my head. "No, I need to do this."
"Alright. I'll show you. All I need for confirmation is a nod," Joey explains.
Before I can nod to that rule, he pulls the sheet back.
It's as if I'm pushed into an icy lake. My whole body goes rigid and numb. My knees feel like giving out again. I don't even fully register what I'm looking at, but it's my reflection. A hollowed-out, gray, reflection.
"Mr. Diggs? Is this your brother?"
Joey's voice sounds distant, muffled by the sudden ringing in my ears as the reality of what's happening comes crashing down around me. This is the moment I was preparing for, but seeing Dan, on the table... It's my brother, undoubtedly, but it's not. It's a hollowed-out, dead shell of my brother.
Everything happens in cut frames.
Mutely, I nod.
I'm running out of the morgue.
I'm collapsing against the nearest garbage can.
I throw everything in my stomach up, clinging to the bin desperately.
Someone's hand grips my shoulder.
All I see is my brother.
He's gone. Really, truly, gone.
When I'm done, I pull away, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. My cheeks warm as I notice both my parents standing beside me. Awkwardly waiting for me to finish my breakdown. My mom wrings the strap of her purse, her lips downturned in an embarrassed frown, while my dad is looking anywhere but at me. I don't see Joey.
