Chapter 9: Dying Light
Me: *inhales and exhales deeply* Ahh, sweet peace.
Disclaimer: *pops up* Hi!
Me: *eyes snap open* *deadpan* Oh no.
Disclaimer: *innocently* What?
Me: You know what? I'm just gonna go…hang out with the crew in an undisclosed location so….*runs*
Disclaimer: *chases* YOU WILL NEVER ESCAPE ME DRAGON! *in distance* DRAGON OWNS NOTHING!
Ezra let his eyes slide open and light flooded his vision. It hurt his eyes for a moment, but he slowly adjusted. He could hear laughter and chatter, backed by the slow, steady beeping of a heart monitor. The room smelled like it always did, of disinfectant and the scent of clean that he couldn't quite name. He glanced around and spotted Sabine and Aris joking about something.
"What's so funny?" he murmured. The two girls looked up.
Sabine ran over and hugged him. "Ez, you're awake!" she exclaimed happily. Aris let them have their moment.
"You know it takes more than a little snow to keep me down," he joked.
They both knew he was lying through his teeth, but Sabine still smiled. It quickly turned to a concerned frown when he let out a hacking cough and groaned, squeezing his eyes shut.
"Aris, go find Hera and tell her that Ezra's awake, and that he's coughing," she ordered.
The younger girl nodded and practically disappeared. Sabine reached for his forehead. She hissed and jerked back like she'd been burned. She might as well have, with the head emanating from his skin in waves. Hera and Aris showed up in the doorway a few minutes later to find her laying a cool, wet rag on his forehead.
"Aris, get me the thermometer. Sabine, get the fever reducers out of the cabinet above the sink," the Twi'lek barked.
Sabine rushed to the cabinet, rummaging through the various medical supplies in search of the requested meds. When she found the box, she peered inside and was met with a frightening sight.
"Hera, we're almost out. These'll only last us a day, tops!" she cried, pulling out the two vials.
Hera slammed her hand, which she'd balled into a fist, into a small metal table sitting nearby.
"Dammit. Damn it all, why is it always him!?" she growled angrily.
"Here's the thermometer Hera," Aris said, handing her the little electronic device.
Hera took it gently and placed it under Ezra's tongue. They waited tensely in silence for a moment before it beeped. She snatched it quickly and looked at it. Her eyes took on a horrified look.
"Not good. Definitely not good," she whispered in distress.
"Hera?" Aris tried.
"105. It's 105. If it gets more than two degrees higher, we might lose him," she murmured, her voice laced with terror.
Aris and Sabine exchanged scared glances. They'd both paled. Ezra, on the other hand, was a little less than lucid, but he heard every word. But at the moment, he was focusing really hard on trying not to throw up, and continuing to breathe at the same time.
Hera monitored her charge's vitals closely. They didn't look good. His vitals were those of a dying person. And that's what he was doing:
Dying.
The worst part of it was, the boy was still conscious, which meant he was suffering. A lot.
Ezra had never begged for unconsciousness in his life. But now, he was praying for the sweet release of darkness. But he felt like dying. And he didn't want to die this way, helpless in a med-bay. So he fought it. But death was inevitable, as was unconsciousness. His vision ebbed away slowly as he passed out, his eyes drooping. He tried to force them open again, but they soon closed. But it wasn't dark this time. Instead, he was standing amidst the tan fields of grass and huge hills that so clearly belonged to Lothal, and all was peaceful. He knew instantly that he wasn't awake.
Hera nearly leapt out of her skin when the slow and steady beeping of the heart monitor sped up, before the room was filled with a long, ominous whine. She dove for the crash cart and the defibrillator. She removed Ezra's shirt and the oxygen mask. That whine meant only one thing:
Ezra's heart had stopped.
A/N
Me: Dun, dun, DUN!
Disclaimer: *rolls eyes* Ezra and Dragon sittin' in a tree…
Me: You are SO DEAD! *lunges at*
Disclaimer: *runs* Ahh, much better!
-SWMCDC227