Rediscover

Part 8

          "No!" Jane screamed, ripping her hand from Eve's grasp as she ran towards where Thor's body had rolled to a stop. Erik tried to race after her but Sif held him back while Darcy grabbed Eve's arm before she could go after her sister. Jane fell to her knees beside Thor, running a hand over his bloodied cheek with a trembling breath. It was clear to Eve that there was no way he could survive the blow; his breath was coming in ragged gasps and his pale white shirt was dyed red by two long gashes down his. Eve had seen injuries like these during her internships and knew the unimaginable pain the former god must've been in, but as Jane leaned near to him there was no expression other than care for the woman before him and perhaps a hint of regret that there would be no more time spent with her. Jane was whispering to him, her face breaking into grief as she shook her head at what he replied, her hair falling around them like a golden curtain. Thor's chest lifted once more with a shuttering sigh before releasing, his body going limp. The despair in the air seemed deep enough to weigh on everyone. Jane shook her head in denial, her hand cupping his rugged chin as her eyes, matching pools of anguish, begged his own to open. Sif looked aghast, her breath halting as she looked on in mute horror. Even Erik rested a hand on Darcy's shoulder, his mouth open in shock. Eve was familiar with death, in her time in the hospital she had witnessed many passing from the world, and a certainty came over her on what she needed to do. She clenched her hands in an attempt to halt their trembling before exhaling deeply. As her breath exited her body, she also felt herself peel away, stepping outside of herself as if in a dream. When she opened her eyes everything was as it was before, though fuzzy and frozen. Time slowed down while she was in this realm, though if Eve were honest with herself she didn't even know where she was. The real world was dimmed , and just above the people around her glistened another outline of themselves; their souls. When she looked down Eve wasn't shocked to see that she too shimmered like the ghostly embodiments of her friends. She had been here before, though only three times, and in the past she had been able to convince herself that it was nothing but a dream, not real. However, as she stood here now she knew that there rippled through her, but Eve pushed it aside, knowing she had limited time. She treaded to where Jane's body leaned over Thor, rippling like a reflection in water. Her soul radiated with familiarity, roiling over Eve like a recognizable perfume. As she approached her sister's emotions flowed from her like beacons: pain, guilt, and grief. It took all of Eve's will power not to move and console her sister as she kneeled beside her. While everyone else's souls glimmered strong and bright, Thor's lacked any vigor as it slowly lost the shape of the strong man below it it began to drift away, leaving its body shadowed and dark like an empty husk.

          "Ha, let's not." With fear forcing her hand to move jerkily, Eve reached out as the soul began to fade like mist in the sunlight. While it seemed like her hand should've went through the thin filaments of life, she easily grabbed ahold of it. At the connection she was immediately able to skim the conscience of the fading made before her. She froze at the unspeakable guilt and pain that Eve felt as if it were her own, though when she reached deeper for the reason behind the feelings she found herself barred, as if Thor had locked that part of his heart away. Then a sense of recognition depended upon her as Thor's very being seemed to swell towards her touch, reaching for her as strongly as she was for him. Clearly, he was not prepared to die yet.  With a deep breath she gripped her friend's soul with both hands and focused intently on the connection between them, imagining forcing the light radiating from her own healthy being and allowing it to transfer into the fading spirit beside her. She recalled the past she had safely shielded from her memory. Her most recent time she found herself reaching for a soul as worn as Thor's was, though this weathered woman had gently refused Eve's assistance and instead took her chances with the world beyond Earth. Before then Eve had the hard decision of which was more terrifying, her powers or the young boy dying before her as the doctors raced for the medicine he needed. Her choice had led her to find a youthful soul fall into her arms, greedily accepting her offering of renewed strength.