Undone by a Broken Angel

32.) The Med Bay

"And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, 'He is sick'."

-1 Samuel 19:14

Abraham:

Abraham knows exactly where to go; he's been there before.  As he steps through the halls, he's reminded of his childhood here.  There was so much loss, so much fear, that the emotions seem to be permeated in the walls.  His footsteps echo as he walks.  Sounds always did travel well in the bunker with it being dug out of sparkling marble.  He strides by the portraits of his ancestors, the similarities in their facial features are uncanny- his father's genes are strong, and he notices the deep brown eyes glare at him disapprovingly.

He wonders what room Dianna has arranged for Abigail to stay in, but he has an idea of which one she has chosen.  It would have been expected of her twenty years ago to offer her the most lavish rooms, fit for a queen.  The one queen who did stay here was a strong woman, he recalls, but not at all unfriendly.  She treated him well; he remembers her teaching him how to pluck out a few songs on the piano, and she used to watch over him and David as they ran up and down the halls playing, their fun filling the halls with the sounds of laughter.

He arrives at his destination, the damned door looming over him with dark memories.

"Move aside!" he recognizes David's voice, but it sounds panicked, distraught, almost.

Abe cracks his eyes open and sees the familiar hallways, the golden glow of the lamps, and the plush rugs that run along the most used sections of the bunker.  There are few people left in the fortress, but those that remain are here to attend to the queen and to the wounded.  He sees their shocked eyes as David carries him, but he isn't sure what could make them so stunned.

David shifts his weight to kick open the med bay doors and they slam against the walls with a bang.  The experienced healers and nurses turn in surprise to see the boy standing in the doorway, cradling his wounded little brother.  He's carried inside and laid out on a table, but Abe still has no clue as to why he's being treated as a patient.

A healer looks down on him, and he recognizes other faces too- Dianna, is one of them.  "Tell me what happened," the healer interrogates.

"I was bored," David tells them through tears.  "I made him go up with me.  I thought we were inside the barrier, I promise, but we-"

"It's okay, just tell us what's wrong here," the healer urges, trying to get his brother to tell them the important information, not caring about the lead to.

"I'm not sure.  He told me to go hide, so I did.  When I found him a little later, he was zoned out," David says in one breath, his words coming out rushed.

They nod and begin taking his vitals.

What's your name? Abe hears the question, but can't make sense of where it's coming from.

"Abraham," he says out loud.  The others in the room look at him questioningly and Abe tries to find the person who had asked him his name.

That's a strong name.  I bet you're really strong.

"I am," Abe replies, wanting to be big and strong like his brother.  David can do anything.  He's an expert healer himself, so Abe wonders why he's taking him to others to be healed.  Is it something he's never encountered before?  "What's your name?" he asks his questioner.

Ah, see, I can't tell you.

"Why not?"  Confused people look down on him.  He feels hands prod at his wrists, chest, and limbs.  He assumes that they're looking for injuries, but he doesn't feel pain anywhere.

I can't give you that kind of power.

Abraham doesn't know what the voice means by that, but he doesn't prod.  It doesn't matter, really, he's more concerned about what the healers are doing to him.

"Who are you talking to?" David asks concerned, his brown eyes search his own.

"I don't know," he honestly replies.

They all look at each other with fret.  Understanding dawns on them and they look down on him with sympathy.

"No," David says.  "No," he says more firmly.  He looks up at the other falcone in the room and especially at Dianna.  "No!" he shouts.

"What's wrong?" Abraham wonders, alarm settling in his mind.  There are many things that could be wrong with him.  He could be paralyzed and that's why he can't feel any pain.  Looking down at his hands and feet, he moves them and finds they’re just fine.  So that's not it.  He could be sick with a fever, but he feels healthy.  The only thing left is the illness, and that seems more likely.  He can't explain the distraught that fills him, his stomach drops just thinking about it.  Deep sadness permeates his chest and his mind circles about what this means.  He could hurt his friends, his brother, and even himself.  He can't let that happen.  He'd isolate himself- he will!  He'll run away where he can't hurt anyone!

That's right, Abraham, killing them is what you should do.  They're getting in the way anyway, aren't they?  They won't let you do what you want.  You want to travel the world, don't you?

How does the voice know that?  Not once did he think that since coming back inside, so how would it know that?  He needs to find a way to block it out, to keep it quiet so it can't convince him to do anything unsavory.  Sitting up, he dangles his feet off the edge of the table and hangs onto it with an iron grip, his knuckles going white.

"Leave," Abraham firmly says through bared teeth.

No one moves, but the fear in the air is palpable.

"LEAVE!" he screams and it seems to snap everyone out of their reverie.  They all drop what they're holding and scatter, some bumping into each other in their scramble to get out the door.  When David stays rooted in place, Abe shoots him a bitter look that comes from the pit of his stomach.  "Get.  Out," he tells his older brother through gritted teeth.

He still doesn't move.  Holding his hands out in front of him in a non confrontational way, the way a person would approach a wild animal, David starts to reason with his brother.  "I've seen this before," he reminds him, "five years ago.  Do you remember?"

Abe nods, tears streaming down his face and he hates it.  He hates crying in front of anyone.

"He killed them all," he croaks out, tears threatening to fall from his eye, grief contorting his handsome face.  "He killed them all and he was in so much pain because of it."

"I don't want to do anything wrong," Abe sobs.  "I'm not bad."

"You're not!" David reassures him, "but the illness is and it'll convince you to do bad things."

This only makes Abe feel worse.  The insinuation in David's voice is transparent; he wants to end Abraham's life in order to keep everyone safe.  He shouldn't, but Abe feels a wave of  betrayal wash over him- he's drowning in a sea of despair and no matter how hard he kicks his legs, he can't surface.  "I don't want to die!  I don't want to hurt anyone!" he objects, trying to reason for his life.

David captures him in his strong arms.  "Of course not, but you're young and you're more impressionable."

Abraham shakes him off and climbs off the table, taking off out of the med bay, down the hall, and into his bedroom where he hides under the bed and cries.  He cries until they run dry, but that doesn't seem to stop the sobbing.  The voice tells him things he doesn't like, but he never contemplates on doing any of them.  In fact, he knows what to tell the voice why he won't do them and that seems to anger it more.  Over time, the voice grows silent, waiting to hear something it can use.  The thing is, there's nothing the voice has said that he hasn't thought about in some way, thinking about all the worst possible things that can happen is a way he's coped with making his own decisions.  If he's thought about the worst thing possible, then what he did decide won't ever come to that.  Eventually, he falls asleep and when he wakes up, he decides that he can handle the voice, though it seems like the others aren't as convinced.

Abraham pushes the door open and the smell of sickness slams him in his face.  The tangy stench of vomit is palpable in the air.  He can tell their chamber pots have not been emptied for a long while, and it smells as though some were not quick enough to make it to their chamber pot.  Dianna has them lined up side by side against one wall to make it easier to attend to them, though with her not being able to help them around the clock, she's fallen behind on their needs.

David notices him first and extends a hand to him.  Abe rushes to him and grasps it.  "I'm here, brother.  We'll make you well again," he promises.

"I'm sorry," David sobs, "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."

It would be a lie if he said he didn't know what he was talking about, but it's all in the past, and even he didn't know how he was going to survive the voice.  Abe simply smiles at him and gives him some water, trying to decide what he's going to do about these men.