The Boarding House
The End of My World
I waited in the corridor, pacing restlessly, sitting on the cold plastic seats, gazing out of the window, counting the minutes since I had been stopped from following my brother into the operating room. The minutes turned to hours, the hours turned to half a day. Still no one had managed to reach our parents. I shrugged that last piece of information off without another thought. My brother and I were used to their absence. They were part of the union and very powerful in the union. They were often absent so my brother and I had learned to deal with it. We were both also given the best schooling and care money could buy with many different inputs from all kinds of races. I looked at the ticking clock on the wall, ignoring the seventeen other clocks for the different time languages
This wasn’t just any old hospital, because this wasn’t just any old patient or any old injury. My brother had been hit full on by a car speeding and over our speed limits, a mere mortal didn’t stand a chance. No, my brother and I are not mortal. We are Mythicals. We were also the last of our race. It was only the extremely gifted magical pulses running through our bloodstream and jumping in our minds that had kept my brother from losing his life right there on the road.
The other being didn’t stand a chance; he was hurtled through the glass and died in the shockwave emanating from my brother as his body tried to shut down to preserve his precious life. I had to be with my brother in the ambulance just to keep his subconscious power from killing everybody in a five mile radius. He had been made top priority as was customary and no one had cared when his need had taken the top doctor out of another operation.
I glanced at the clock again; I had been here for seven hours, forty-two minutes and nineteen seconds and counting. How much longer would it take? But at least it meant that he wasn’t dead. My brother and I had had a falling out a few months back, today was meant to be our day to make up. I wanted amend everything; I needed to make up with him. I know we had both suffered terribly, we were normally so perfectly tuned to each other that any mental separation was just unbearable. Oh we could be halfway across the world or in another dimension and not feel any discomfort but the minute one of us tried to enter the other’s mind and found it barred, the pain was agonising.
Another four hours passed, they were still trying to reach our parents. I wanted to tell them to stop, but then it would have made the family looks broken and we couldn’t have that. Still, the fact that the message still came was just making the whole experience worse. I saw the woman that was supposed to go into the theatre before my brother, saw her family swarm around her, all excited that she was safe. I had to turn away from the happy reunion and still I don’t know why.
“Lady Skalett? We’re all sorry to hear about the tragic incident. We sure do wish you and your family all the best.” I turned at the low, thick accented voice and nodded, raising a small smile to my lips to reassure the male.
“Thank you for your concern. I’m sorry we took your wife’s theatre room. I’m so happy for you that she’s out of theatre.” I replied, meaning my words. I’d had a friend who had a relative die before they reached theatre. It had been one of the hardest days of my friend’s life. I heard the man mumble thanks and I bowed my head, he took this as a dismissal and ran to slip into the lift before the doors closed.
Glancing at the clock again nearly twelve hours had passed. Suddenly I was glad that there was no one around, I wouldn’t be able to face having to keep up a strong front. I was a Mythical, Mythicals didn’t break down, they were the eye of the storm, where you can look up and see perfect blue sky while chaos erupts around you. No, I needed the empty silence of being alone, I didn’t want my parents to be there, all I wanted was for my brother to come out of that room groaning and moaning that he was hungry and then moving too quickly and wincing from the pain as he always did after an injury.
I heard the door open and I turned expectantly, I didn’t see the solitary doctor coming towards me, I only heard the door swing shut and knew. The doctor stopped a foot away from me and spoke.
This wasn’t just any old hospital, because this wasn’t just any old patient or any old injury. My brother had been hit full on by a car speeding and over our speed limits, a mere mortal didn’t stand a chance. No, my brother and I are not mortal. We are Mythicals. We were also the last of our race. It was only the extremely gifted magical pulses running through our bloodstream and jumping in our minds that had kept my brother from losing his life right there on the road.
The other being didn’t stand a chance; he was hurtled through the glass and died in the shockwave emanating from my brother as his body tried to shut down to preserve his precious life. I had to be with my brother in the ambulance just to keep his subconscious power from killing everybody in a five mile radius. He had been made top priority as was customary and no one had cared when his need had taken the top doctor out of another operation.
I glanced at the clock again; I had been here for seven hours, forty-two minutes and nineteen seconds and counting. How much longer would it take? But at least it meant that he wasn’t dead. My brother and I had had a falling out a few months back, today was meant to be our day to make up. I wanted amend everything; I needed to make up with him. I know we had both suffered terribly, we were normally so perfectly tuned to each other that any mental separation was just unbearable. Oh we could be halfway across the world or in another dimension and not feel any discomfort but the minute one of us tried to enter the other’s mind and found it barred, the pain was agonising.
Another four hours passed, they were still trying to reach our parents. I wanted to tell them to stop, but then it would have made the family looks broken and we couldn’t have that. Still, the fact that the message still came was just making the whole experience worse. I saw the woman that was supposed to go into the theatre before my brother, saw her family swarm around her, all excited that she was safe. I had to turn away from the happy reunion and still I don’t know why.
“Lady Skalett? We’re all sorry to hear about the tragic incident. We sure do wish you and your family all the best.” I turned at the low, thick accented voice and nodded, raising a small smile to my lips to reassure the male.
“Thank you for your concern. I’m sorry we took your wife’s theatre room. I’m so happy for you that she’s out of theatre.” I replied, meaning my words. I’d had a friend who had a relative die before they reached theatre. It had been one of the hardest days of my friend’s life. I heard the man mumble thanks and I bowed my head, he took this as a dismissal and ran to slip into the lift before the doors closed.
Glancing at the clock again nearly twelve hours had passed. Suddenly I was glad that there was no one around, I wouldn’t be able to face having to keep up a strong front. I was a Mythical, Mythicals didn’t break down, they were the eye of the storm, where you can look up and see perfect blue sky while chaos erupts around you. No, I needed the empty silence of being alone, I didn’t want my parents to be there, all I wanted was for my brother to come out of that room groaning and moaning that he was hungry and then moving too quickly and wincing from the pain as he always did after an injury.
I heard the door open and I turned expectantly, I didn’t see the solitary doctor coming towards me, I only heard the door swing shut and knew. The doctor stopped a foot away from me and spoke.