The Descent

Chapter 59 - The End of the Road

In the end, his decision was made for him moments later when Dr. Fullerton exited the medical bay. He removed a face mask and a pair of gloves and deposited them both in an Haz-Mat incinerator just outside the door. His hand ran through his hair as he approached the three visitors.

"What's his condition?" Denton asked. He could tell Fullerton hesitated when he took a deep breath and slowly shook his head.

"Not good, I'm afraid. He has severe external damage to his limbs, mostly frostbite. Many of his internal organs are shutting down. It's only a matter of time."

"What do you mean?" Gabi said. Denton could see tears forming in her eyes. This was the part he always hated. "He's going to die?"

"It's not looking good," Fullerton said and nodded gently. "The prolonged exposure really did a number on him, physically. He's come around once or twice, but he's been totally incoherent."

"He's been awake? Why didn't you tell us?"

"There wasn't time. He came and went so quickly, I didn't have time to come out here."

Denton sighed. Fullerton had confirmed what Tanner had told him.

"Is there any chance at all? Can I talk to him? Ask him a few questions?" he said.

"Not likely. If you're lucky, he may come to for a few seconds, but I doubt he'll last through the night."

Unexpectedly, Gabi grabbed Denton's arm with her one hand and wiped a tear from her cheek with her other. "Can we go sit with him?" she said. Denton, surprised by the question, looked at her with raised eyebrows.

Fullerton hesitated. "I don't know-"

"Please. You said he's not going to make it anyway."

The doctor looked at Denton as if hoping for advice from him. Denton just shrugged his shoulders. What could it possibly hurt? Maybe they could catch something from Jarell's incoherent mumblings if he actually woke up.

"Ok, I'll allow it. Just one condition."

"Anything," Gabi said.

"If his condition deteriorates rapidly, I may need you all to vacate the room immediately."

Gabi nodded and squeezed Denton's arm harder.

"I need each of you to grab a mask and a pair of gloves," Fullerton said and pointed to containers mounted on the wall. "Then, follow me." Fullerton stepped over to the door into Jarell's medical bay and was just about to open it when the door burst open, and Carter entered, breathing heavily. He leaned over, his hands on his knees, his eyes on the group of four, all with masks and gloves on.

"What's going on here?" he said and pointed towards Denton's face and hands.

"He doesn't have long. Gabi wanted to go in and sit with him."

Carter stood straight up and furrowed his eyebrows. "Sit with him? Why?"

"Because he's dying," Gabi said and pointed towards Jarell through the window pane. "The least we can do is be there for him."

"Gabi, come on, you can't do that."

"I can and I will," she said defiantly.

"He killed dad," Carter spit out while gesturing with his hands. "Did you forget already? It's his fault dad is gone now. If he had his way, we would all be gone."

"What difference does that make now? He's still our brother."

Carter took a step back, his hands in the air in front of him. "Our brother? Are you kidding?"

"No, Carter, I'm not," Gabi said and took a step towards him. "He's our half-brother, and he was left out of the family."

"What, are you blaming dad for this?" Carter said with a laugh. "You've got to be kidding me."

Gabi sighed, tears now running down her face, leaving wet marks on her facemask. "No," she said softly, "Nothing can change what Jarell did. The least we can do is be the brother and sister we could have been if circumstances had been different."

Carter took a step forward and was about to tear into Gabi when Leah stepped in between them. She put a hand on his arm and gave him a look. "Carter," she said softly. They stared at each other for a few moments before Carter sighed and looked away, shaking his head. Leah nodded towards Gabi and led Carter over to a nearby seating area while Gabi and Denton followed Fullerton into the medical bay.

Fullerton moved two chairs up to the right side of the bed. Gabi sat down closest to Jarell while Denton remained standing behind her. Fullerton moved to the other side of the bed and busied himself with the various equipment that kept Jarell alive. Denton recognized the sinus-rhythm of Jarell's heartbeat on a monitor above his bed. The rest of the information on the displays meant little to him.

After a few minutes, satisfied that everything was in order, Fullerton retreated to a chair closer to the door. He pulled out a portable device of some sort and started reviewing other data, with the occasional glance in the direction of Jarell's bed. Gabi and Denton waited in silence, only interrupted by the ragged breathing of the patient and the buzzing of the machines around them.

Ten minutes later, Carter and Leah entered, quietly. Denton was tempted to ask what made him change his mind but in the end, did it really matter? Although his own emotions were more in line with Carter's, he understood what Gabi was feeling as well. Jarell may have been the man that had tried to destroy their family, but he was also their half-brother. Despite his faults, Jarell was family. He was one of them.

Denton knew that Gabi had made a decision similar to what he had not long ago. Just like Denton had chosen to overlook the role Jonythan had played in the death of his own family, at least for the time being, Gabi had made a choice to not hold Jarell's actions against him, because he was family. At that moment, Denton knew that Gabi's actions went further than his own, and for a moment, he felt ashamed that he had held on to his animosity towards Jonythan for all those years. Gabi's father had died just hours before because of the man in that hospital bed, yet she chose to forgive him. She was so much stronger than he was. He couldn't help but admire her for that.

Denton was pulled out of his thoughts when a moan escaped Jarell's mouth. All four visitors snapped to attention, Gabi got to her feet and leaned over the hospital bed, her ear closer to Jarell's mouth. His head moved slowly from side to side, his mouth opening and closing while his eyelids flickered like a leaf in the wind. Then, his eyes opened wide, the black pupils fully dilated for a fraction of a second before they contracted to pinpricks. He gasped for air and turned towards Gabi. As their eyes met, Jarell's squinted for a moment before his eyes widened and his eyebrows went up. His mouth opened and closed slowly, but no sound escaped his mouth.

Gabi grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "We're here, Jarell. We're all here. It's ok," she whispered. Jarell tried to say something but failed, once again. A tear rolled down his cheek as he squeezed Gabi's hand and then relaxed and let go. His eyes closed and a final breath escaped his mouth as his chest contracted one last time.

Alarms sounded on the monitoring equipment around the bed and Fullerton snapped to attention immediately, closing the distance to the bed in two steps. Red lights flashed around them as the sinus-wave of Jarell's heart flatlined, and the heart monitor joined the chorus of angry alarms with its own high-pitched bell. Fullerton burst into action and did his best to revive Jarell, but as the seconds dragged on, the inevitable became clear. Fullerton took a step back, flipped a few switches to power down the equipment and removed his facemask.

"I'm sorry," he said, nodded and then left the room. Jarell was dead.

~~~

Jarell is dead. Thoughts? Is it the right choice? There are, after all, two other possible endings to this story. Did he deserve to die? Should he have died?  I'd love to know what you think before I wrap up the story in the next two chapters.

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