Sapphire Angel - Superheroine

Chapter 18 - Fading Away

Stanley and Beth rushed off the elevator and charged down the hall toward the waiting area. Beth clutched her bag tightly at her side to keep it from banging against her hip. The added bulk of her boots, tucked away in the bottom with the rest of her costume, made the bag unwieldy.

Mrs. Devor stood in the waiting area, her eyes a mix of dark circles and redness. She had been through hell.

Stanley embraced her, and after a moment they pulled Beth into their hug. Beth could feel the woman choking back sobs.

As they broke off from the hug, neither Beth nor Stanley spoke. She was afraid to hear what Mrs. Devor had to say. Was John dead?

"He's still hanging on," Mrs. Devor finally spoke, her voice cracking. "But he's taken a turn for the worse. I almost..."

Her voice cracked and she held a hand to her mouth, biting on a knuckle. She composed herself and continued.

"I almost can't look at him. He doesn't even look like our John. The doctor said he won't make it through the night."

The room spun around Beth. She stumbled sideways, reaching for a chair, and lowered herself into it. Despite what Stanley and Mrs. Devor had said, this was her fault. If she hadn't pushed John to enter the Fizzure building, they wouldn't be here right now.

She barely heard Mrs. Devor speaking as she focused on her trembling hands in her lap. By the time she looked up, all three of them were crying.

"I'm sorry," Beth said, not sure if she was apologizing for not hearing Mrs. Devor, or for causing this whole mess.

"That's okay, sweetie. The doctor said they can bring him out of his current state for a few minutes. Enough for us to say goodbye before he goes back under."

Beth nodded. "You go, first," she rasped. "If he doesn't stay awake long enough, you should be the ones to talk to him."

Mrs. Devor hesitated, before taking Stanley's hand and heading off to John's room.

Beth hung her head and let the tears flow. Her shoulders trembled with her sobs as the bitter taste of helplessness boiled up within her. Despite all her newfound powers, there was nothing she could do to save John. She reflected on the happy times in their years together, when they wouldn't have considered the events of the past two days to be possible. They had assumed they would marry and spend their lives together. And now this.

She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there, lost in her memories and sobbing, when footsteps approached. She looked up to see Stanley and Mrs. Devor walking toward her, holding hands. Their bloodshot eyes told the story.

"He should be awake for a few more minutes," Mrs. Devor said, and nodded toward the door.

Beth rose and headed for Ethan's room. She walked like a zombie, wanting to see him, but not wanting to see him like this. No matter how hard she tried to prepare herself, she wasn't ready for what awaited her when she reached his room.

She paused in the door and looked toward the bed. John was a shell of his former self. Most of his body was covered with tubes and masks, or wrapped in gauze and bandages. The only skin visible was around his eyes, and that hung loosely from his face, mottled and grey. But his eyes were open.

Seeing him brought a flood of emotions, and Beth's inhibitions evaporated. She rushed to his side and gently took his hand, reaching around the various tubes running into his arm.

"Hey," she whispered, forcing a smile.

"Hey," he replied. His voice was dry, like someone had taken sandpaper to his vocal cords.

"John, I am so sorry," Beth said, choking back a sob. "I should never have pushed you to enter the building."

"Stop, now," he answered, and for a moment his voice was rich and full of command. "I'm an adult. You don't make decisions for me. Promise me you won't blame yourself for this."

Beth stared at him as tears blurred her vision. She didn't know if she could make that promise.

"Promise me!" he commanded.

Beth bit her lip before finally nodding. "I promise."

He sighed, as if relief had washed over him. Neither of them spoke for several moments until he broke the silence.

"My parents have filled me in. On Fizzure. On Gruden. On you and your powers. This is crazy, huh? Like our Halloween costumes came to life."

Beth nodded. "If we weren't living this nightmare, I wouldn't believe it."

John studied her before squeezing her hand. He leaned back and his eyes drooped. She thought he was fading off to sleep, but a moment later his eyes opened.

"Kind of fitting, huh?" he asked, before wheezing. He coughed and continued speaking. "The girl who cares so much about other people gets the ability to help them."

Beth shook her head. "I know what you're thinking, John. But, no."

There was another long pause as he closed his eyes. A few seconds passed before he opened them again and spoke.

"No, hear me out," he said. "What if this really was your destiny?"

"God didn't put you on this earth to play a role in some sick cliché, John. This isn't one of your comic books, where tragedy spurs the hero to a life of fighting crime. This is real life. Things aren't always fate. Sometimes they're just coincidences. I refuse to accept that fate led you to this hospital bed."

"But what if it is more than a coincidence?" he asked. His eyes were closed as he spoke, and he paused between words. "You've always wanted to help people. People who couldn't help themselves. You've always jumped in when you see someone being taken advantage of. Now you really can help."

She refused to believe this was some higher calling for her. He wanted her to be something she wasn't cut out to be.

"John, I'm using my powers now to save you. And I'll admit to you it feels good. But this isn't a permanent thing. I'm no hero. I'm just a girl who wants her boyfriend back, and to finish college. That's it. I can't consider, not for a moment, that you were destined to end up in this hospital bed. Because that's the flip side of believing I was destined to become Sapphire Angel."

"I'm sorry," he said, opening his eyes for a moment before closing them. "I guess it just makes it easier for me to accept all this, if I can imagine it happened for a reason."

His words hit her hard. He wanted his sickness to have meaning. He needed it to be more than just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He'd read one too many comic books, but she couldn't deny him hope right now.

"We'll see," she murmured. She felt his hand go slack. For a moment she panicked, thinking he had died. But she glanced over at the heart monitor, which still recorded his vitals. He had just faded off. As she looked down at him, she wondered if his talk of her powers would be the last words he ever spoke.