Never Ending

Deal

The smell of antiseptic hit Kostas as he walked into the hospital and made his way to where his brother had spent the last six months. The only sound was his footsteps in the empty hallways; however, he could not hear the sound over the noise of his thoughts. His younger brother, Korbin, had a seemingly incurable disease--doctors were not even sure what illness had overcome his sibling. In the beginning, Kostas had kept hope that a break through would occur, but as time went on, Korbin's condition had only worsened.

Finally reaching the door to Korbin's room, Kostas sent a silent prayer that his brother would be asleep--it was the only relief that the boy was allowed. However, his hopes were dashed after stepping through the threshold. 

"Kostas?" The boy questioned cautiously.

"Hey, Kory. How are you feeling?" Kostas asked gently though he could already tell from the paleness of his skin and the way he kept writhing as pain racked his body.

"The doctors are trying a new medicine."

"Is it working?" Once, there would have been hope in the question, but now, it was just a formality.

"They don't like it. They don't like it, Kostas! Tell the doctors to stop. Make it stop! It hurts--it hurts. Please, Kostas!" With each word, Korbin's thrashing increased and tears began to stream down his cheeks.

Kostas hurriedly pressed the nurse button. "Korbin, listen to me. It's okay, I'll get you taken off the medicine, alright?"

A young nurse with fiery, red hair rushed into the room. "Alright, lets settle down." She said as she reached the bed and began adjusting different cords that were connected to Korbin. Gradually, Korbin stopped writhing and finally sank into his pillow in relief. Kostas picked up a rag and began dabbing the perspiration off his burning skin. "Call if you need anything." The nurse said before exiting the room.

Silence permeated the room. "I'm tired." Korbin said as his eyes began to shut.

Kostas bit his lip; he wanted to allow the boy to fall asleep but he also had some questions that had been burning in his mind for the last month. Taking a deep breath, he resolved to finally mention his concerns. "Kory," He said gently.

Korbin made a noise to signal he was listening.

"You've been mentioning someone as if they're the ones hurting you." Kostas began cautiously.

"They do hurt me." Korbin sat up suddenly as he emphatically replied.

"Who hurts you?" Kostas pressed. Within the last month, Korbin had taken to blaming all his pain on some unmentioned person. The doctors explained that the pain was making him delirious and there was nothing they could do. They had tried many different painkillers--each only seeming to make his condition worse.

"I don't know. They don't speak but they are the ones hurting me. They look scary and come in different shapes and sizes."

Kostas furrowed his brows and stared at his brother. The blind boy tilted his head at his older brother's silence. "You don't believe me either." He said sadly.

"Korbin," Kostas started, "You can see them? Can you see other things?"

Korbin shook his head. "No. Only them and fire nurse."

Kostas could almost feel his jaw drop to the ground. "You mean the nurse with red hair? The one who just came in?"

"Yeah, she is the only one who can get them to stop." Korbin replied simply.

"So, they're not bothering you right now." Kostas asked slowly. He did not believe that creatures of the night were coming to torment his brother, but the fact that his blind brother knew the hair color of one of the nurses made him pause. He shook his head. 'I must have mentioned it before' he thought to himself.