“When did Dad last use his... his Mind Bender thingy?” Emmaline asked, the term still feeling foreign on tongue. It felt strange knowing Dad had this sort of superpower and she had not known a thing about.

  “It’s not something he used on a regular basis, especially since coming to Earth,” Mom replied. “Your father believed using his ability on Earth was like cheating at a game where no one else knew the rules. He kept it locked away, only reaching for it in moments when there was no other choice.

  “In Ethia, such talents are common, so everyone expects them to be used. Many are even trained to know when someone is using a talent or can at the very least block an attempt when it is used on them. Though Dome-ni like your father’s has heavy rules and regulations about when they can be used and when they can’t be.”

  “So if Dad is suffering from this Living Death, then it must be because he used his ability,” Emmaline thought out loud, and then another terrible thought occurred.

  “Do you think he tried to use it on Michael?”

  Mom was silent for a very long moment, too long, and Emmaline knew the answer to that question without her mom having to say a word.

  “Your father believed he was doing what was best for your brother, so he would have done everything in his power to get it done, even using his ability on Michael.”

  Emmaline took that in, not sure she liked the sound of that. “But that’s… That’s…” Emmaline struggled to find the right words. “Mom, that’s basically mind control. He forced Michael to do something against his will?”

  Mom’s face tightened, her fingers curled around the water bottle Em had brought her it seemed like ages ago. She had finally picked it up and was taking small sips. “Arie would have done nothing to harm your brother. He would most likely have sent a simple command like sleep or paralyze to incapacitate him, so Michael wouldn’t interfere with what your father had to do.”

  Like giving himself up to the Ethians. Emmaline didn’t say that part out loud. They both knew what her father had tried to do. Em was glad that Michael had caught up with their father, knowing what would have happened to him if her parent had succeeded in his plan, but she wasn’t glad that Michael had to give himself over instead.

  “What I don’t get is why your father is suffering like this if he was giving simple commands,” her mother continued. “He’s very good at using his Mind Bender Dome-ni. He’s smart enough not to make mistakes that would cause this sort of thing, even in doing more complex tasks. And actually, if he was doing a simple command and got it wrong somehow, I wouldn’t think his injury would be so severe.”

  “Maybe he was trying to do more than a simple command?” Emmaline suggested, but what that would be she had no idea.

  “Maybe. I think we should wait for the other tests. Maybe Jeff is right; maybe this looks like one thing but could be something else.”

  Emmaline sure hoped so. She didn’t like the sound of her dad suffering from anything named the Living Death, or the idea that he might never wake up. She slumped in her chair.

  It was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. Em looked up at the clock near the head of Dad’s bed. They had been at the hospital for nearly five freaking hours! No wonder her butt was hurting her, and her whole body felt cramped and achy. Sure, she’d taken two short trips to the cafeteria, but it wasn’t nearly enough to overcome the hospital chair. She wondered if they put uncomfortable seats in the rooms on purpose.

  Em scooted around on the slick plastic cushion a bit, but there was no comfortable spot to be found. Finally, she stood up. “I think I need to stretch my legs, Mom. Can I go walk around a little and get some feeling back in my legs?”

  Her mother simply nodded as she placed her hand back on Dad’s. “Yes, sweetie, just don’t get lost. Stay on this floor and don’t get in the way of people doing their work.”

  “Okay,” Em said as she was already halfway out the door.

  She released a long breath as she stepped out into the hallway. Em hadn’t realized how stifling the room had become since Doc Williams had talked about what was wrong with Dad. There was a lot that still wasn’t being said, and she could practically feel it all hovering in the air and ready to make itself known any moment. She didn’t know whether she could take any more bad news. It was all just so much. Too much.

  The hallway stretched before her, lined with identical doors and the occasional nurse rushing past with clipboards or medication carts. Em wandered aimlessly, letting her feet carry her away from the heaviness of Dad’s room.

  Around a corner, she discovered a small alcove with windows overlooking the parking lot. A couple of worn couches, a coffee table strewn with outdated magazines, and a small toy box in the corner marked it as some kind of waiting area. It was empty except for a boy, maybe seven or eight, sitting cross-legged on the floor with a plastic spaceship.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  The boy looked up as Emmaline approached, his dark eyes solemn beneath a mop of unruly hair. For a moment, they stared at each other, two strangers connected only by the shared experience of hospital waiting.

  “Is someone you love sick too?” he asked, his voice small but steady.

  Emmaline nodded, sinking onto one of the couches. It at least had more cushion than the seat she had vacated. “My dad.”

  “My sister,” the boy said, returning his attention to the spaceship. “She has something wrong with her brain. Mom says she might not wake up for a long time.”

  The simple way he said it—like he was telling her about a scraped knee—made Emmaline’s throat tighten.

  “I’m sorry,” she managed. “My dad might not wake up either.”

  The boy nodded as if this made perfect sense. “The doctors talk a lot but don’t really say anything. My mom cries in the bathroom.” He made a swooping motion with the spaceship. “I’m pretending this is taking my sister to a planet where they can fix her.”

  Emmaline watched him guide the toy through an imaginary atmosphere. It reminded her of the ship that had taken Michael as it zoomed away after they’d brought him on board. Her throat tightened even more. Maybe coming out here wasn’t such a great idea, but she couldn’t make herself get up. She just kept watching the boy fly the ship, and all the while, Emmaline wondered what Michael was doing on the Ethian ship. Was he missing them? Or maybe he was already starting to let them all go as he readily embraced his new life? Em wiped at her eyes to find them damp.

  “My ship has healing rays,” the boy continued, oblivious to her distress. “They can fix anything, even brain stuff.”

  “That sounds nice,’ Emmaline said, her voice catching. “I wish we had ships like that.”

  The irony wasn’t lost on her. There was a real spaceship—a massive, terrifying one—that had come for her family, but had left with her brother. And instead of healing rays, it had brought only more suffering.

  “Want to hold it?” The boy extended the plastic toy toward her, its faded blue paint chipped at the edges. “It has extra power when more people believe in it.”

  Emmaline took the spaceship, turning it over in her hands. It was nothing like the sleek, menacing vessel that had appeared over Lake Thurmond—just a cheap dollar store toy with uneven seams and a missing thruster. Yet as she traced her finger along its hull, she felt a strange comfort in its simplicity.

  “Thanks.” She held it tight for a moment and wished for this cheap little toy to actually have healing powers, and for a second she allowed herself to hope that would actually would work to heal the boy’s sister and her father. She then handed the ship back. “There. Maybe now with both of us believing, it will help your sister.”

  The boy’s face lit up as he took the toy. “Thanks! I’m sure it will!”

  Emmaline continued to watch the little boy. She wasn’t sure how long the two of them were in that waiting room, but eventually, the mother came to collect her child. Then Emmaline was alone, and still she did not move. Instead, the sight outside had caught her attention.

  They were on the second story of the hospital, and the window across from the couch she sat on overlooked a small courtyard. The green space had winding sidewalks and lovely flowering bushes and small trees. It would be a nice place to eat lunch or take a little stroll. But her eyes were mostly caught by the swaying of the tree branches and the leaves starting to turn.

  Fall was just around the corner. It was her favorite time of year––normally. She loved all things pumpkin spice, being able to wear colorful scarves that fluttered in the wind, and dressing up for Halloween.

  “Emmaline?”

  Em looked up at the sound of her name. Someone was standing over her. She had to blink a few times to register who it was. Shock coursed through her when she recognized the man. It was the last person she’d expected to see today.

  “Mr. Delaney?” Em asked.

  The middle-aged man stood just inside the waiting room, staring at her as if he couldn’t believe it was her either. His warm brown eyes were full of questions. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. She had known Mr. Delaney her whole life. He was not only a close friend of the family, but a partner at New Horizons. He was also Anna’s father. Em knew the sort of questions he had, but how he’d tracked them here to the hospital was a mystery. Surely, Mom hadn’t turned her phone back on, had she?

  “My God, it’s good to see you. I’ve been looking for your family for hours. Are you okay? Where’s your parents? Where’s Michael?”

  Crap on a cracker.

  Emmaline felt her mouth go dry. Her mind struggled to figure out something to say. “Yummm… Mom and Dad are in the room down there?” She pointed down the hall she’d come from.

  “How did you find us?” She blurted out, because she really was curious how he’d tracked them down.

  Mr. Delaney walked a little further into the room and stood beside a chair, clearly not wanting to sit. “Anna’s been worried sick about Michael, so I tried calling, but no one was answering their phones. I started to get concerned too, so I went to the townhouse, but no one was there. Then I decided to try the farm when I found out Michael had taken the company helicopter out there.

  “When I was there, I ran across one of the neighbors. He said an ambulance had been out to the house earlier, but he didn’t know for whom. So I called the local hospitals. They say Arie was admitted here. They gave me the room number, but wouldn’t tell me anything else. Is he okay? What happened? Is Michael here too?”

  His questions stumbled over one another as if he couldn’t get them out fast enough. He looked agitated, which was a weird look for Mr. Delaney. He normally looked so calm and collected. This must be the day for adults to be cracking up.

  Again, Emmaline felt trapped. Should she tell him? And what exactly should she say? Would he even believe her? In the end, Emmaline decided it wasn’t for her to tell, none of it. Mom should be the one to do it.

  “You should probably talk to Mom about all that. She’s in the room. It’s room number––”

  “I know. They told me. Thanks.” He paused for a moment before leaving. “Are you alright, Emmaline?”

  She looked at the other man through sudden unshed tears. “Not really. Maybe you should go talk to Mom.”

  The man looked as if he were stricken, but nodded and slowly turned away. He made his way down the corridor, but at a slow pace with a quick look back to Emmaline. She could see the growing concern in his eyes, but she turned away and went back to watching the swaying branches of the trees in the courtyard below. The leaves were starting to turn gold, and fall was her favorite time of year.