1Okay everybody This story is very near the end now, and I hope everybody has enjoyed it so far. So…the suspense continues. The girls just pulled together their friendship and their powers united again got them out of the Dream Catcher. Will got back the Heart of Candracar and the Guardians made the Evil Guardians gone for good. Last time, the girls helped Elyon by restoring her crown and then had a meeting with the Oracle where they finally realized that everything in the Dream Catcher really wasn't real, except for one dreadful catch. What will happen to Susan now that she is still in the hospital(and those who have read the preview are probably more anxious about this?) Will she survive, or will Will have to go through the tragedy again…for real. Read this chap to find out!
Chapter 25: A Reason Behind Everything
Will's POV
The Oracle's words still cut through Will's heart like a knife.
"She isn't dead, Will…yet."
Will gasped at the thought that she might not get her mother back. Air finally ripped through her lungs for a dreaded breath that made her feel like crying. Anger swam in pieces of this sorrowful feeling like a shark swimming in the rough, powerful waves of the ocean, and biting away at her heart.
How…? Why was it that once everything finally seemed like it was going to be better, bad luck seemed to reel her back in. And why was she the catch of the day? Everyone else had been told that their worst fears weren't true.
But not mine, Will thought angrily. Why is this even happening to me?
She felt like she had been swallowed up into the emptiness of space. No, really. Will felt blind as a purple mist clouded her senses and made her shiver in a sharp wind that went through every particle in her body. She felt so cold…
("You must learn to take all of your hardships in your mind as something that has shaped you indefinitely.")
("Control your powers blissfully and keep your mind clear of negativity.")
("Keep your friendship together and strong.")
("And never make the mistakes you have made again.")
Will's eyes widened and she spun around.
"They- the Whispers are back" she exclaimed. Hay Lin looked at her with a worried glance.
"Come on Will. We've got to get to Heatherfield. They're not here. You're just worried about your mother." Will squinted her eyes in confusion. Only she could hear them?
"What?" she whispered. "What did I do?"
("It's not what you did that's important.")
("It's what you have learned from your experiences.")
("Through all of the danger and confusion, you took it on.")
("You proved that you are a great leader, Guardian, and the true Keeper of the Heart of Candracar.")
"But- but I was so lousy at being by their side when I was all lost and confused after my mom died…in the Dream Catcher. I ditched them. What if something happens to her for real this time…" Will whispered panickly.
("DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT?") The chorus echoed so loudly in her ears, Will clutched her head painfully.
("You have to believe in yourself and in your friends.")
("Trust your powers and your heart because they will never fail you.")
("You now have the choice to change your life forever in whichever way you choose.")
("What are you going to do about it?")
"Will, your mother is dead."
Did she really want to hear those dreadful words again? Will's heart filled with sorrow at the thought of how she felt in the nightmare of the Dream Catcher.
Lost.
Confused.
Heart broken, and it wasn't the Heart of Candracar either. Will knew that they needed to hurry.
"Will?" Taranee questioned quietly. Will sighed and opened her fist where the Heart of Candracar floated in her hand. There had to be some way to keep Susan alive!
At least she hoped so. They were running out of time!
"Heart of Candracar." Will called out. "Take us to the Heatherfield Hospital!"
Will felt her feet hit the back parking lot to the emergency room. She looked down at herself quickly. They were back to their average teenage selves. Too bad because it would be so easy to barge in there and get everyone away from them so they could save Susan. "Everyone out of the way! This is an emergency!" she would call as Irma, Cornelia, and Hay Lin would keep the people against the wall as they easily fixed her mom. The doctor then might say "No problem, but can I take you out for dinner this Friday?"
Will wanted to hit herself! What am I thinking, she screamed in her head. I'm joking around when my mother's life is on the line? What is wrong with me?
Well, maybe it was better than facing the real situation. Will started thinking as the girls ran toward the doors. I don't want to feel like I did in the Dream Catcher again, ever, Will realized as Irma opened the door and ushered the girls through. I didn't act like the leader I am supposed to be. I let my confusion and feelings of loss get in the way of what I needed to do, which was to get the Guardians to stick together and figure out what was going on, not to abandon everything until I could figure it out. What about this time though, Will wondered to herself again slowing into a fast pace when the strict nurse Will had seen a couple days earlier, or well, today as they had gone back in time, came out and told them that no running was permitted in the hospital if you weren't wearing a uniform. I can stop myself from feeling like I did when my mom was stripped from my life last time. The thing is, would she feel as confused and empty if something did happen to Susan, or could she somehow pull it all together and face through it with her friends like she had faced it through with all of the obstacles they had to encounter? After all of that, Will hoped that it would be the lather. After all, the Whispers had never let her down before, they used to be Keepers of the Heart of Candracar. They must know what it's like.
The hospital seemed to be in a haywire. Nurses and doctors were running in every which direction with no telling if they even knew what they were supposed to be doing or where they were going. Some children were yelling and their parents were screaming to hush them up. Babies started to cry along with the wailing of people from rooms and the nurses yelling out the orders to the other clueless workers. And to add to all this confusion, Will could hear the whines and barks of the animals outside in the neighborhood. Things couldn't get crazier. One woman with a ponytail of black hair started running down the hallway until she accidentally bumped into Hay Lin.
"Oh, I'm sorry young lady. Excuse me." She said apologetically and then continued to talk on the walkie-talkie she held in her hand.
"Dr. Jason to room 303 for the Keller's triplets. Dr. Reynold, there's a woman who just arrived seven minutes ago. She fell and hit her head and blood is everywhere. Get down to the emergency room, now!" she looked apologetic again and shrugged.
"It's a little crazy right now girls. You might want to go outside where it's quieter, unless those dogs are still barking out there." She turned back to yell into the radio.
"Dr. Reynold You are needed in the emergency room right now A lot of blood Now Oh for God's sake." She started sprinting down the hallway and Will couldn't see her anymore before she disappeared around the corner.
"A lot…of blood…" Will stated faintly. Irma grabbed Will's hand comfortingly.
"Come on" she yelled with alarm. Will's mouth was open and she seemed rooted on the spot. Irma threw Will's hand back down with exasperation.
"Somebody slap her or something" Cornelia cried. A man started running down the hall with a bottle of water and Irma instantly grabbed it sending the man spinning around in bewilderment at the end of the hallway.
"Sorry" Irma yelled before squirting the water into the now blinking redhead in front of her. "We needed it more than you did"
"Oh, did I just zone?" Will asked breathlessly while running and peaking through each door in the emergency room. Most of them were sad sights. Two teenagers were lying on beds with nurses around them trying to give them more blood in place of which was lost in an accident of some kind. A man had something weird done with his arm and another older woman had burns all over her face and arms and wasn't moving. Window after window, lights flashed in Will's eyes and she started to get nervous by every passing second that her mother was probably inching toward death.
"Wait a second" Hay Lin squealed after the other girls looked through a window in a door and moved on. "I think that's her" Will ran back and sighed with relief. What would life be like to know that she just passed the gateway to saving her mother's life, if she could perhaps, prevent her death.
"Good eye Hay Lin." Will told her before opening the door and letting everyone walk in. The room was empty Not a single nurse or doctor trying to help That definitely wouldn't go well with her Will instantly moved her eyes directly on the sullen woman on the bed. She ran over and gasped when she saw how shrunken Susan's head looked and how pale every part of her body was. Cold and shaking, Will just noticed the blood-stained bandage wrapped around Susan's head and spun around to face her friends with horror. Cornelia gave her a quick glance and stormed over to the door. Will couldn't make herself look directly at anyone in case she poured out a flood of tears. She couldn't even look at her mother. Looking at her would prove that this was really happening, that she actually may never see her mom again…
Will bit her lips and let a soft cry escape her. Cornelia looked through the window angrily.
"Ugh! Where are all the doctors? We need help" she screamed out the door before slamming it shut again. Will looked down at her mother, lying as still as a statue. A choked sob came out and Will gently placed her hand on Susan's bandaged head.
Suddenly, Will found herself someplace else. It was dark and windy as the grass and trees surrounding her swayed fiercely. What am I doing here, Will thought while pulling her hair behind her ears. She jumped when she saw her mother yards ahead of her in a white nightgown, passing out of the darkness and into the light.
"Mom!" she cried out. Susan looked over her shoulder curiously.
"Will?" Will blinked and she was standing beside her mom again. Something had broke her out of her trance. It was Taranee's scream.
"Will! She's not breathing!"
"No!" Will shouted. She started gently shaking her mother. "Come on Mom. Please! Wake up! Stay awake, breathe!" Taranee grabbed Susan's hand and put her fingers on Susan's wrist.
"The pulse...it's very faint." she said weakly. Irma looked very pale and trembly while Hay Lin was pacing and saying 'this is like Grandma all over again.'
"Grrr!" Cornelia growled before opening the door violently.
"I AM GOING TO SUE IF A DOCTOR DOESN'T GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW" Cornelia shouted with her face turning ever redder.
"A WOMAN IS DYING SO GET YOUR MEDICAL BUTTS IN GEAR!" she slammed the door shut with such force, that the paintings on the wall fell and crashed on the floor.
Tears started springing uncontrollably from her eyes. There was a lake being holed up for so long behind those brown eyes that started to stream down and cover her face in salty water.
"We're losing her Will!" Taranee cried with her own tears coming down her cheeks. Hay Lin had her arms wrapped around Irma who was rocking back and forth mouthing 'please, pleasohplease.' Hay Lin looked straight at Will and was strongly fighting the urge to burst out crying as she stared at her leader.
"What are we going to do?" she asked hopefully. Will shook her head back and forth.
"I don't know!" Will cried and she put her hands over her face. She couldn't handle this again! How could she take her hardships and let them shape her? Could she possibly stand tall and watch her mother die?
I can't do this, Will shouted in her head. Please don't do this to me! I can't handle it!
She had to try and get her mother to wake up.
Irma broke away from Hay Lin and started punching at Susan's chest like she had seen done in movies. Hay Lin ran over and calmed Irma down.
"The doctors are running down the hallway!" Cornelia shouted to them. Will grabbed her mother's hand and started speaking softly.
"Please Mom." she started painfully. "Don't give up. The doctors are coming and they're going to save you. You have to stay strong...I can't lose you again."
"It's getting slower." Taranee whispered while looking at Will fearfully. Will didn't look back though. She only had eyes for her mother.
"They're almost here." Cornelia said with her now horse voice. Her sentence got lost in Will's mind as if she were silently moving in slow motion through water. Her tears got lost and her head felt heavy...
Sundays eating breakfast together and talking.
Gone.
Arguing matches, however disliked.
Gone.
Being a Guardian and protecting the universe with her best friends...
Gone...
Will could barely think of anything being different than what it already was. Somebody was playing with her This couldn't really be happening. Will realized with a jolt how very real this all was.
She glanced over to the machine checking her mother's pulse. A zigzagged line appeared. It was slowly a few seconds later that it showed up again, but smaller.
"Mom! You can't leave me!"Will shouted. Hay Lin and Irma were both bawling now. Will looked at her mother and held her hand and put her other hand on her mom's chest while shaking away the tears.
Footsteps thudded down the hall, nearing the emergency room.
Will heard her heart beat in her ears.
A soft beep came from the machine.
She felt a heartbeat thump through her mother's chest into her hands.
And then...she didn't.
BEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPP the machine whined. A doctor and five nurses burst into the room and realized what was happening at once. They started to jolt her with electricity and Susan hopped on the bed. Will still had let go and was staring in stillness.
"Clear!" he shouted before zapping her again. The long beep was still heard.
"Come on!" he said desperately. "Clear."
Beeeeeeep. The doctor silently put away the equipment. Will's heart beat again.
"Time of death. 12:37."
"No!" Will cried and she put her face over her mother's.
"Please, no. I'm sorry! I'm sorry for being so secretive! I would have told you if I could. I'll keep my room clean, and bring up my math grade. We won't fight ever again. Come back! Please come back! I need you!" Will started crying and Cornelia gently pulled Will back as the nurses pulled a white sheet over her head. Will started struggling.
"Will..." she started softly. "She's gone."
"She's not gone! She can't really- Mom!" Will shouted. Hay Lin grabbed Will's other arm and held her in place.
"You can't leave me!" Will screamed and fell hard onto the floor and shook with sobs.
Susan protecting her and being by Will's side, like a mother should.
Gone.
Will's head hit the ground and she willed her heart to stop.
You killed my mother again, Will thought angrily in her head. How can I possibly live through this?
What had she done wrong?
She was never going to see her mother again.
"We need some more help out here!" Irma yelled. Will's eyes went fuzzy and she couldn't see the doctor bend beside her and rub the pads together.
"Clear." he said once more before pressing it hard against Will's chest.
Electricity, pure energy poured through her bloodstream making her feel light without worry. The jolt was connecting with her powers and making her feel stronger. The dizziness left her and Will finally felt herself blinking again in light.
"Will?" Taranee questioned quietly.
Will blinked. Then she blinked some more.
Huh?
She was in Candracar again! Will looked around with an amazed expression on her face that sent confused looks to spread across her friends' faces.
"You blanked out there for a second." Hay Lin said. "You said that the Whispers were here, and then you weren't quite here.
"It's the stress!" Cornelia exclaimed. "Are we going to go save her or what?"
"You okay Will?" Irma asked with her eyebrows raised. "You're acting like she died already." Will gaped at the other Guardians and gasped. Had what happened before been just something that came from her head?
And if it was!
Will was about to jump up with joy before she realized that her mother wasn't dead yet, but could be soon.
What went wrong the last time? She didn't do anything to mess it up...That's when it hit her like the electric shock she had felt earlier. She hadn't done anything! She sat there and waited for the doctors while crying. Will shook her head at how stupid she had been. She was a Guardian! She had magic and could do anything if she wanted to. The Whispers' words rang through her head one more time. Just like in Elyon's castle, Will felt the strength and power to face any obstacle thrown her way. It was like somebody had been testing her and her friends through a series of trials to see if they could learn from their mistakes and be stronger as a result of them. Or even just to learn a lesson that they would carry for the rest of their lives. Whether it was the Oracle, the Whispers, destiny, Will didn't know. She did know that she could pass through this with flying colors! Particularly pink, blue, orange, green, and silver!
Will closed her eyes and opened her fist where the glowing Heart of Candracar pulsated above her palm and filled her with undying energy. Something had changed, and Will didn't know what it was, but she felt more in control of herself. She knew that they could do something great and powerful!
Seconds went by as the Guardians' footsteps echoed down the hallway toward the emergency room. Everything was going to be different from now on if I can save her, Will thought before pointing back to the ward door they had almost past. She opened the door and wasn't surprised to see that the only people in the room were the five girls and Susan on a hospital bed.
"Ugh Where are all the doctors? We need help" Cornelia screamed out the door before slamming it shut again. Will shook her head. Deja vu much?
"Forget about the doctors." Will said. "We have to do this ourselves." The girls blinked at her.
"Are you sure Will?" Hay Lin squeaked nervously. Will nodded firmly.
"Positive." Irma looked at Taranee and rolled her eyes.
"Will's gone nuts! She wants us to perform and operation!"
"Just trust me okay! It won't end up like last time." Will muttered.
"But last time you were in the Dream Catcher." Taranee reasoned.
"No the-" Will paused and thought better of continuing her sentence. Her friends didn't need to know, at least not right now.
"So Miss All-Of-A-Sudden-So-Confident." Cornelia stated. "How are we supposed to do this. We have powers over the elements. Not medical supplies or a magic lamp."
Will smiled confidently for the first time since hearing that her mother might die.
"Exactly! We have magic over the elements. We have the Heart of Candracar. We have a strong friendship that will let us do anything if we work together." Will exclaimed.
Hay Lin nodded and Cornelia stretched her hands up in front of her.
"Very optimistic for a girl whose mother is close to death." she responded. Will shrugged with a frown.
"We have to do something, and I'm not prepared to just let my mom slip by because I'm afraid she will slip by." Will looked up and saw that the girls were standing with their arms crossed.
"Well?" Irma asked slyly.
"We're waiting." Taranee said, full of sarcasm. Will lifted her hand and the Heart of Candracar released five colorful teardrops that went spinning toward it's owner.
"Water!" Irma yelled with glee.
"Fire!" Taranee exclaimed.
"Earth!" Cornelia said firmly.
"Air!" Hay Lin giggled lightly.
"Let's do this!" Will exclaimed and they each crowded around Susan's bed.
"Will! She's not breathing!" Taranee shouted. Will grabbed Taranee's hand and looked into her eyes. She then looked at each of the girls' eyes in turn and took a deep breath.
"This is it. Either it works or..." Will faltered and thought for one second of what would happen if it didn't work. Just for one second. They joined their hands together like they had so many times before, as they got ready to use their magic together!
"Hold on Miss Vandom!" Hay Lin called out.
"Yeah!" Irma yelled dramatically. "Whatever you do, don't go into the light!" Will didn't have time to laugh at Irma's drama queen ways, or even to think of what they were doing. There was no hesitation before the Guardians released their energy and magic to revolve around Susan. A pink glow flowed around in the room and Will hoped with all her heart that this would work, that she could see her mother well again.
Will heard her heart beat in her ears.
A soft beep came from the machine.
She felt a heartbeat thump threw the gentle vibrations of magic swaying with life around in the room.
And then...she didn't.
Seconds feel like hours...
A minute felt like a day...
Wishing for all of their powers...
To make her mother be okay...
Beep!
Will snapped her head toward the screen and thought she had mistaken it.
Beep!
Will jumped up and squealed with joy! She had her pulse back. Now Will would only truly believe it when her mother opened her eyes.
"Will, we have to change back now." Taranee said.
"Yeah-huh?"
"Taranee's right." Irma explained. "Unless you want your mother to have another fatal accident."
"Oh, right." Will said while using the Heart to change them back to their original selves.
"Will?"
Will's heart skipped a beat and she turned around with happy tears.
"Mom?"
"My head." Susan replied with pain. Will ran up to her and squeezed her with a big hug.
"I'm so happy! You're okay! I thought you were gone!" Will cried. Susan barely moved her weak hand and wiped away a tear that had fallen down Will's cheek.
"I'll always be here." Susan said. Will gave her another hug and then Susan looked at the other girls.
"Well, we do have a party here. What happened?" she asked weakly.
"You tripped or something and hit something sticking out of the ground." Taranee offered. "You were bleeding and had to go to the hospital."
Cornelia gave a warm smile and walked up to peer out the door.
"The doctors are running down the hallway." Cornelia shouted to them.
"Will, I had the strangest dream. I saw you and the other girls as some kind of older, beautiful fairies. Then, this one man with blonde hair was yelling for a crown, and people said that you were murdered. Then every-"
"Save your strength Miss Vandom." Hay Lin told her soothingly.
"They're almost here." Cornelia said.
"But Will. I heard you saying that you were sorry. You were going to do things, and not fight anymore. I don't think I was really conscious..." Susan faltered and she started closing her eyes.
"But I heard you." she whispered.
A doctor and five nurses burst into the room and didn't realize what was happening at once. They stared and stared some more at the moving patient on the bed.
"What- um, keep her awake. If she falls asleep with a head injury, she can lose consciousness." the doctor ordered. Cornelia walked over and gently shook Susan who opened her eyes at once.
"I'm not sleeping." she said and Hay Lin giggled.
"It's- it's a miracle!' one of the nurses exclaimed. Will stroke her mother's hair with a sigh. That was exactly what it was!
Or, maybe it wasn't.
A miracle was something that just happened out of pure luck or coincidence. Or even miracles had a reason to back it up. Will knew that she sounded like Cornelia thinking this, but there really was a reason behind everything, whether it was girls from an alternate universe coming to steal the Heart of Candracar, or a Crown getting broken, or even going through the Dream Catcher and still retaining sanity. Will felt very grateful, for everything at that moment. At the moment that the nurses were giving Susan a treatment with the girls surrounding her bed with relieved sighs.
The thoughts of never being able to be with her friends.
Gone.
The thoughts of never being strong enough and not being able to do what she knew, in her heart, was the right thing to do.
Gone.
And this whole series of traumas and lifelong lessons.
Gone.
Sort of sadly though.
"Will. So now, is everything going to change?" Susan asked softly. Will grabbed her hand and smiled at Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin.
"Yes." she answered.
"Everything is going to be different from now on."
Wow! I finally finished this chapter. I can't believe that I only have one more chapter to write until this story is over. I hope all of you guys liked this chap! If you can, please review!