Karras

Nearly Scared to Death

Max's unconscious body was zooming down the hospital hall, an oxygen mask strapped to his face. An ER doctor put a stethoscope to Max's chest. "Pulse is dropping!" Mel was trying to keep up with all of the doctors. "He's in shock!" The doctor looked up at Mel, "What happened exactly?" "He was shaking, struggling to breathe. Might've been a stroke, I don't know." The doctor nodded. Mel looked down at Max's face, his eyes were blank, as if he was staring at nothing. The doctors disappeared with the gurney into a room. A nurse approached Mel in the hall with a clipboard, "Could you give us some information?" Mel took the clipboard and plopped down in a chair. She tried to process everything. Karras was still alive, she didn't have his soul and seeing him in pain bothered her. That was a first...

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Mel slowly approached Max who now had a tube down his throat, the respirator doing his breathing for him. Mel looked off to the side, saw his wallet, clothes and phone on a chair. Mel picked up his phone, went to the side of his bed. She picked up his hand and put his thumb on the phone, immediately unlocking the screen. Mel let out a breath as she scrolled through his contacts. She put the phone to her ear.

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Cordelia walked into the room, her eyes went from Mel to Max. She was confused and upset. Cordelia took a seat next to her unconscious son, "I'm here honey." The supreme fixed his blanket. Cordelia let out a breath, "What happened? How do you know my son?" Mel took a couple steps closer, "I'm Mel. I know Max from school. You see I'm...I have this power, sounds crazy..." "Are you a witch? And you don't sound crazy." Mel shook her head, "No, I'm not a witch. I'm a goddess...goddess of ghosts but I give mortals nightmares. I guess I accidentally gave him one and it nearly scared him to death." Mel got a bit closer, "I'm very sorry. I do care about him." Her voice almost cracked; tears formed in her eyes. Mel continued, "Can you help him if they can't?"

Cordelia looked at Max then back at Mel, "I think so." Misty entered slowly, holding a bag, she noticed Mel. "Hi, I'm Misty. Oh, I got your stuff Miss Cordelia." "Thank you." Misty gave the bag to Cordelia, she looked at Max and gently touched his face. "Sweet boy, what happened to you? Your family is here." Cordelia started searching through her bag, "Mel you said you were a goddess?" The raven-haired girl nodded. "Are you from the underworld?" Cordelia was concerned, not sure if Mel was on their side. Mel did seem upset that she hurt Max, but Delia had to be sure. "Because the underworld wants to take over other realms. Including this one and Olympus." She knew, the supreme knew her son was going to become a god. Wow. Mel played it cool, "No, I don't wish to hurt him." That part was true, but she continued with a lie, "It was an accident." Mel shook her head, "I am from the underworld, but I wish to leave there for good one day." That was the first time Mel said that out loud. She really did want to be free from her father. Misty nodded, "Can't judge you for where you come from." Cordelia nodded in agreement.

The supreme pulled out a mortar, pestle and a bag holding a clumpy substance. "The smell can help bring him out of it." Delia began crushing the substance, she stopped to get something out of her bag. Misty took a seat next to Max, looked at him for a little bit, "He's still in there but he needs help." Cordelia took a small brush out of the bag and began applying the crushed substance onto Max's neck. When she finished, his nose twitched a little. "Let me try and give him some energy." "Probably don't need to give him too much. He's not dead thankfully." Mel looked down, ashamed she was the reason he was in the hospital.

Misty got close to Max, gently took hold of his head. She closed her eyes, focusing. Mel got a bit closer, intrigued seeing a witch work. Max's eyes slowly opened, his heart rate increased, causing the machine to beep faster. Misty took a step back. A nurse rushed in and saw Max starting to get uncomfortable with his breathing tube. The nurse slowly pulled out the tube, Max let out a breath. He took deep breaths. Cordelia took his hand. "What happened?" He coughed. "You were in a coma," the nurse said. She shined a light in Max's eyes. "Why was I in a coma?" Mel approached the foot of the bed, "That's my fault. It was an accident." The nurse straightened her back, "I'm going to get Doctor Warner." Max was confused, "What do you mean Mel?"