The Difference Between Fear and Terror

Part 59- The end

Several hours later the entirety of the Blackbourne team had finished being screened and spoken to. They all sat in silence as they waited for the Academy head and Dr. Roberts to return.

The door wailed as the wood rubbed against the frame. You'd think that for such a nice facility the private offices would be better.

The already palpable tension rises as the two males enter. Their eyes glazed with pity and a touch of frustration they addressed the team, "To put it very bluntly, you are all fucked up. Now you have a choice, you will both attend group therapy and recover or we will have no option but to boot you from The Academy and prevent your contact with Miss Sang Sorenson. It is for your safety as well as hers."

He found their weak spot. They couldn't lose Sang, not after all they had done to bring her back.

A nervous chatter started. They can't be serious. Take away Sang? Most of us are fine. Only a couple of us are having issues.

Dr. Roberts brought them back to silence with a wave of his hand. "You all don't see it. Obviously, Luke has depression, he's sick, he tried to kill himself and you all stood idly by," they cringe as his voice rises, knowing his words hold truth. "Dakota has anxiety. Victor has regressed to the mindset of a small child in order to cope. Can't you see what you are doing to yourselves?" He takes their stunned silence as a no.

"Silas has depression and has become addicted to a substance he formerly hated. Nathan has been exercising until he passes out from exhaustion. Gabriel is getting blackout drunk. North has gone mute again. Sean has become a workaholic again. Owen is abusing prescription drugs. What do you want us to do, let us kill yourselves?" A muttered yes can be heard.

"That's it. You will all be staying here. You cannot be trusted to be alone in your current states.

...

They've been in the hospital for over a month now, making step towards recovery. Sang has moved in with Erica and visits the boys ever so often. The guilt of causing them this turmoil eats at the interior of her stomach. She doesn't even attempt to resist anymore.

Erica is a better mother than she has ever had. They told each other stories of their pasts, using each other to fill that hole that Kota's absence left.

The family is doing better, not well, but it was coming back in slow increments. Sang has been asked to attend a few group therapy sessions along with her own.

It might take a while for them to all be okay again, but they're progressing. That's all that can be asked for.

...

They are all released in a little more than two months. They were still inactive from the Academy, but that gave them a goal to work towards. To get reinstated, this time with Sang on the team.

Sang proved herself just two days after being reinstated. They were given an assignment to pull a thirteen year old girl out of a suspected abusive home. She had potential in the Academy. She was a ghost.

They weren't given details and they most certainly hadn't expected to see a girl trapped in a closet, just as Sang had been all those months ago.

Where the boys had started to panic, Sang stood up, paying no attention to the same grime she had been coated with when she was rescued. With a light touch, she pushed the girl's earmuff up and promptly stepped back. "Hi," she said softly, "I'm Sang. I'm here to help you. May I take off your blindfold?" The girl remained stock-still. "Sweetheart, I'm going to pull off your blindfold. I'm going to reach behind your head. I'm not going to hurt you. Close your eyes, it is going to be bright."

She was speaking from experience, she knew exactly what the girl needed. Motioning to the sports drink in Luke's hand, she says, "Go dilute that with water. It'll be too strong otherwise." She turns back to the girl. "We are going to take you to the hospital, alright? Can you stand?"