I'm A Myth -- On hold

Chapter Thirteen

  Ethan rushed to Emma's side, shouting her name. He rolled her onto her back, cradling her head gently in his hands, as he called to her.

  Helen Eldridge rushed to his side, her fingers immediately searching for Emma's pulse.

  "Shit" she murmured as she shoved Ethan back. "Back up, she's not breathing, her hearts stopped, I need to help her."

  Ethan scurried out of the way, his eyes locked onto Emma's still form as he watched Helen begin to work on her.

  She tilted Emma's head back, opening her airway, placing her hands on her center mass she began pump her chest rhythmically, whispering "C'mon c'mon, you can do this, you can make it"

She bent over, breathing air into Emma's lungs, before returning to getting her heart beating.

  Time seemed to freeze as Ethan watched on helplessly.

  He felt someone put a hand on his shoulder, he turned to see who it was, only to see every Myth In the clearing had created a circle around them, watching breathlessly. Waiting for the girl who had saved them to take a breath.

  Ethan knelt by her head, as he begged a girl he had only met that day to survive, to fight, to come back to him.

        *                   *                      *

  Voices swirled around her in the darkness, she dropped through the blackness, plummeting like a stone, falling towards an abyss that had no name.

  She felt ready, that darkness offered a peace like none other. What was there to fight for?  She had never been so tired, so unbelievably tired....

  She felt something slam into her chest jarring the darkness, a great force trying to tug her away from the abyss. Just let me go..

  But the force pounding her chest refused to stop, crushing the peace of the darkness, jarring her world.

  And then she heard a voice, her memories were too steeped in darkness to find a name, but she knew that voice, deep and comforting, a safe haven, a lifeline. It begged her to fight, to return.

   You have something to fight for..

  She grabbed ahold of the lifeline, fighting with all her might against the dark. Breath filled her body as her heart relented to the pounding, beginning to beat once again. She rose into a different darkness, one of unconsciousness, and sleep.

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Emma's slowly eyes opened to see the familiar sight of her unpainted pine slat ceiling. She turned her head, pain shrieking through her body, causing her to groan.

  "Woah woah, easy now. No moving yet, let your body heal." Said a voice.

  Her eyes flicked to the source of the voice to see Ethan rushing to her bed. He knelt by her  side, eyes filled with worry.

 He looked into her eyes, searching then before saying "You have to promise me you'll never do something like that again" his voice serious and tinged with fear.

  "Mmm.. I'll make no such promises" Emma said as she pushed herself up in bed, almost falling back again with a groan.

  Ethan helped her, propping a pillow behind her then sitting on the edge of the bed, looking deep into her eyes.

  "I mean it Emma, we almost lost you.... you almost died....These gifts are dangerous."

  "If I was given the choice to save that many people again I would do it, I don't know why y'all were, but they were out there for me. I couldn't let them die for me." Emma said, her voice filling with determination.

  "They were willing to." Ethan said

  "Why?!" Emma asked desperately. "They don't even know me."

  "You didn't know them, but you still did what you did."

  "There's more to it then that, you know that. Why?"

  "I don't know, honestly. I've never even heard of someone who can do what you can. I'm just an apprentice, there's alot of things I don't know."

   He got up, beginning to pace around the room.

  "After you're rested and healed, we can talk to Daniel. I'm sure he knows."

  He walked over to one of her sketch covered walls.

  "You did all of these?"

  "Yeah, it's my curse." She said with a small laugh

  "Curse? These are awesome. I wouldn't call talent a curse."

  "Well when you're getting up in the middle of the night with you hands shaking 'cause all you can think about is drawing whatever it might be, its kinda curse like. Or having to stop in the middle of lunch rush at the diner and hide in the ladies room scratching away at a piece of paper." She laughed again.

  "And I'm always drawing a bunch of weird depressing stuff, I don't even know much of what it is."

  "It's beautiful." He said, his eyes running over the art covered walls. They seemed to freeze at one sketch, he stepped forward, taking a closer look at it.

  "When did you draw this?"

  "That one?? Oh wow, I'm not sure, that's an older one. I don't know, maybe four years ago... Why??" she asked quizzically, seeing his strange facial expression.

  "Um, no reason," he said, his voice jerky and awkward, like he was hiding something. "It's.. Nice."

  "Thanks," she said, deciding  she wasn't gonna press it right now, she had to many questions to start asking more.

  "Everybody, the ones that were hurt, they're ok?" she asked

  Ethan didn't answer for a second, running his hands through his thick hair.

  "Not everyone" he said, not looking at her. "There were some that had already died before you tried to help them. But that's not your fault, you did everything in your power and more."

  Tears filled Emma's eyes, a cold pain striking at her center. "They would have been alive if it wasn't for me, if I hadn't have gone out there."

  Ethan was silent again before saying "they made their own choice, no one forced them out there, it is not your fault."

  "And yet, somehow it is." she said sadly