Paralyzed
Pain takes my heart's place
- Pitter-Pat, Erin McCarley
Kate Wetherall didn't speak. She didn't cry. She didn't even move a muscle. No, Kate Wetherall just stood there staring at the cold body lying in front of her.
She couldn't even recognize it. Was this really her father? The person who took her to the mill pond when she was two? The person who saved her life and her friend's not just once but many times? The one person she thought could do anything? Her hero? She could not believe it.
She could hear Dr. Cahill talking about why her father died, using words only Sticky would understand, but she didn't listen. She didn't really care. All she could think about was her father coming home and all of the sudden he was slumped to the floor. They hurried him to the hospital. They waited for a while and then Dr. Cahill told them to come with him. Dead on arrival, he said. All of Kate's wits suddenly left her after that.
She kept replaying this in her mind over and over again. Where did she go wrong? What could she possibly have done to prevent this from happening? The irony is that if it was an ordinary encounter with a Ten Man or any intruder for that matter, her father would have overcome it, most probably unharmed. But he didn't stand a chance to something invisible, something creeping up to him, unseen. He didn't stand a chance to this disease.
Kate looked down. She didn't really understand what she was feeling. She had always been a cheerful person. It's not she hadn't felt sad before. No, she had, but not like this. This was unbearable, almost numbing – not like anything she had ever felt before. Maybe it wasn't just sadness – maybe it was a sense of helplessness. Kate always thought she could do anything, but now, seeing her father's cold body before made her realize that whatever she does, she cannot bring her father back. Whatever she may do, she cannot hear her father's voice again. She could not hear his laugh again. She could not feel his hugs again. She could not hear him call her "Katie-Cat" again.
Kate blinked and tears fell down from her eyes. Beside her Rhonda put her arms around her. Kate buried her face in her shoulder.
"It's going to fine, Kate. Everything will be all right", Rhonda said. Oh, but everything will not be all right. Milligan's dead. Her father is dead.
A/N: So, how was it? Good? Bad? Feel free to correct me about the hospital part. I don't really know how things in there work. And please don't ask me what was the disease Milligan died of. I don't really now either. Please, please review. I'm begging you.