Ecesis | Peter Parker

17- Helpless

Charles opened his eyes. He still had his fingers pressed against Alger's temples, but her body suddenly stopped jerking around.
He looked at her and sighed.

We all still sat on the floor- Hank included. We sat there and watched Charles mumbling and concentrating for an hour as he traveled throughout Alger's mind.

I glanced at Peter. I could see him jump up to run to Alger's side.

"Did you do it? Did you get her back? Is he out of her?" Peter asked him quickly. He touched Alger's shoulder lightly. "Why isn't she moving?"

Charles wheeled himself back from the operation table. He didn't take his eyes off of her. "Hank, can you unstrap Alger's body please."

Hank jumped to his feet and did just that. Peter still was confused.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

Charles sighed defeatedly. "I tried to save her. I tried to revive her, but she was too weak. It was as if she accepted her fate."

I stood on my feet. "You were in her mind for that long and you couldn't save her?!"

Charles lowered his head. "I'm sorry."

"No! I saw her alive in my vision. I saw her leaving from here, alive. No!" Tears formed in my eyes.

Peter stared at Alger numbly. Hank awkwardly stood behind Charles and Charles sat there and shook his head.

I went back to the wall and slid down and sat there with my head in my hands.

Alger was really gone this time. My vision was just a dream.

"Do you guys have a defibrillator down here?" I shot my head up as I heard Peter run around the table and went to Hank while he asked him the question.

Hank began stuttering. "Well, I-"

"Do you have something to restart Alger's heart or not?!" Peter asked loudly.

"Where are you getting at, Peter?" Charles wheeled himself closer as Peter still ran around all fidgety.

I walked back over to the operation table as Peter opened a drawer and said "aha!" once he found what he asked Hank for. He placed the large, heavy defibrillator on the table beside Alger and asked Hank to charge it up for him.

Peter took a deep breath. "Alger absorbs electricity. If we give her enough shocks, maybe it'll restart her heart."

"That's what defibrillators are made to do." Hank said.

Peter motioned at Hank desperately to continue to hook up the defibrillator.

"Peter, defibrillators only work if the person's heart hasn't been beating for a couple of minutes," Charles said, "Alger has been dead for hours."

"It'll work!" Peter turned to Hank. "Is it on?"

Hank flipped a switch and the contraption started to hum. He picked up the two handles and began to rub the two slabs together quickly.

He pulled them apart and glanced down at Alger. "Stand back," He instructed us.

Peter and I took a step back as he placed the slabs down onto Alger's chest. Her body reacted when she was given a shock of electricity, but she still laid dead.

Peter was agitated.

"No! You have to do it more than once!" Peter yanked them from Hank and started to rub the slabs together vigorously.

"Peter, you need to accept the truth!" Charles yelled to him.

"I can't let her be gone!" Peter shouted back. He pulled them apart and held them inches away from her chest. "Clear!"

He pressed them down into her and her body reacted again, but she still had her eyes closed.

Peter rubbed the defibrillator slabs more desperately. He started to sob and his hands were starting to shake.

"It's gotta work!" He said as tears streamed down his face.

Hank grabbed the slabs from him and Peter covered his face with his hands and cried.

We all watched silently at Peter as he broke down in front of us.

I glanced down at Alger. She was still the same, but her face suddenly had a light tint of blue to it.

"Peter?"

He looked up at me and I pointed to her.

"Look," I told him, "Her face is starting to shine a light blue."

He sniffed and got a closer look at her. He turned to Charles. "Do dead peoples veins glow blue?"

Charles shook his head dumbfounded. "I don't believe so."

Charles leaned closer and lightly placed his hand on Alger's forehead. The moment the tip of his fingers touched her, he pulled his hand back in pain.

"Ouch! It felt like I was touching a hot stovetop." He blew on his fingers. "She's burning up."

"Now I know that's not normal for a corpse." Hank said.

Charles immediately turned to Hank. "Turn the voltage up as high as it can go," He commanded him, "And try to resuscitate her again."

"But that could fry a hole in her chest!"

"Just do it, Hank!"

Hank turned the knob on the machine and started to rub the slabs together again. The defibrillator hummed louder as he pulled them apart and took a deep breath.
He pressed them against her chest and I could've sworn her body jumped feet up off the metal table. Her veins were now glowing brightly as the florescent light above us began to flicker. It flickered so fast, we all looked up at it and prepared ourselves for the bulbs to blow.
But they didn't. Like her veins, the lights simply became brighter to the point where we all squinted our eyes and had to look away.
The light dimmed as quick as it started to flicker.

Alger's veins were still shining, but we all could see how the light traveled throughout her body. All the light went to her chest and I stood there with my mouth open as the glow completely disappeared.

We waited. We waited for something to happen.

And finally, from all that, came a gasp of breath.