By: Luke Skywalker
Dedicated to Jimmy Piper and his family.
Young Seamus Harper sat with his mother and aunt in the blinding white hospital. In the halls of the medical facility on Earth, time seemed to stand still. Harper still couldn't believe what was happening to his life. He had known about the Magog attacks from the beginning. He had heard about what they did to their prey: leaving them alive to host Magog eggs. He had thought, "No, that only happens on the data links. It will never happen to me." But it had. Well, not to him exactly, but to his best friends in the whole world: his twin cousins Declon and Shevon. The trio did everything together.
Now, it was as if the trio was dying. Harper thought back to those many months ago when his cousins first were paralyzed and infected. Now, as they lye on their beds the medics were faced with a difficult choice.
Finally, a medic came into the hallway from the sterile room which held his two cousins. She walked toward Harper's aunt and she stood up. "How are they?" she asked. The medic shook her head.
"We have only two options," she said. "But still, the situation is a Catch 22."
Harper's aunt hung her head as his mother stood. "What are our two options?" his mom asked.
"Well, we can perform euthanasia…" the medic began.
"Killing my two children," Harper's aunt said, her voice wavering. The medic held up her hand.
"Or, we can wait until they eventually die and the Magog kill us all." Harper stood up, tall enough to reach his mother's shoulders, even at ten years old. He had known this would be inevitable: the death of his cousins. Even though they were a year apart, Harper felt as if they were inseparable. He couldn't imagine his life without his cousins, his two halves. He would always feel incomplete and alone. But, he knew what had to be done, had to be done.
"I'm sorry," the medic said, leading them into the room. "We've done all we can."
Harper's aunt was silent. He knew she was contemplating the hardest decision of her life: whether to kill her own children or to wait for the Magog to come and kill them all. How could this be happening Harper asked himself as they entered the room.
There they were, pale faced and thin. They scarcely were even alive, but Harper could tell that they were in great pain.
The trio stood next to their beds, waiting his aunt's decision. Harper's mother squeezed her shoulder and she looked up. A tear trickled down her face as she nodded. She turned to the medic.
"Listen," she began. "I'm their mother. And I would just as soon die before they do. But I can't stand to see them suffer like this. They don't' deserve this." She took Shevon's tiny hand in her own. The medic nodded.
"As you wish," she said gently. She left the room.
"Seamus, go out and wait in the hallway," Harper's mother said.
"But mom, I want to stay with Declon and Shevon," he said.
"Now!" she snapped. Harper bit his lip and walked out of the room and sat on the bench in the hallway. He waited for several minutes.
When the medic entered the room again he knew it was over. He would never be the same. But he vowed to himself that he would avenge his cousins. He would have to move on now, but he would hate the Magog until the day he died.
After a half and hour, his aunt was led out of the room by the medic. Harper stared at her. Until now he had never seen her cry. She had always been so happy.
Then his mom sat by him and stroked his blonde hair away from his face. Tears streaked her face as well.
"Are they sleeping now?" he asked, his voice wavering with age. She nodded and put her arm on his shoulder.
"Yeah," she said, her voice wavering with grief. "They're sleeping."
To those who have lived, yet died so young. We honor you.