Emergency

The day had started like any other. I went to work, a lot of paperwork, and people annoying me everywhere. As I commonly did, I went to get myself some coffee (I like looking for it myself). Suddenly, as I served myself the expreso, about three cups exploded in the cupboard. I knew at once it was a bad omen, and I'm not superstitious, but hell, three cups exploding have to mean SOMETHING. I rapidly got back to my office and phoned Lucy (she hadn't perceived anything). For one moment I thought it could have been something related to excessive amounts of magic in the air or that kind of shit... that was until I called Ashley. She didn't pick it up. She usually picked the MIF phone, in fact... she always picked that phone up. I didn't think after that. I told my secretary I was leaving early, I teleported to Ash's and I found her. She was in the floor, pale as I've never even seen the dead. I thought she was gone. With trembling fingers I held her body... I don't know how I was able to tell, she was still alive. Next thing I knew I had appeared Leo, I know I was crying and holding Ashley. His eyes widened and for a second I think he didn't know what to do. Though we hate each other... in this particular moment, everything else was non important.

Various things happened afterward, phone calls, emergency room... treatment, panic attacks... Finally, Leo walked to me, hours later. He sat next to me, and for the first time, I actually wanted him to talk to me as my older cousin, give me advice, shed some light into the situation. He stared at me.

"Ashley's in a coma." he sighed

"What? WHAT? That's not possible! There was nothing wrong with her to start with. She's an Ouun! They're supposed to be NEAR to immortal!"

"Creatures of Fantasia have different reactions when they're in the human world. Ash's own self is turning against her. I don't know how it happened, but her energy channels were reversed."

"...?"

"It means... instead of receiving dark energy, the dark energy she usually has is recycling itself inside her. There's nothing wrong with her physical body. It's her mind... it locked itself within its own darkness."

"I still don't get you Leonardo, damn you speak clearly."

"Imagine you keep repeating the same images over and over in your head, your brain suddenly starts thinking they're real and orders the body to feel the same way it felt before. Imagine Ash is repeating endlessly in her head the moment she destroyed Imbross... her body feels the strain of back then, just as if she were reliving it... suddenly it's too tense, there's too much tension to bear. This happens."

I remained quiet. "She went alter a few days ago... does that have something to do?"

"I don't think so. This is something that's been going on for a while. Thing is, it got to her now. Maybe due to her own way of thinking herself invincible, she just ignored the pains and the ways she was feeling."

"And now?"

"Now.... there's nothing to do, except wait. She might recover herself from this, wake up, and reverse her own channels....."

"... or she might die?"

Leo stood up, and gave me his back. "When you're a doctor, you consider death as something natural, however, it's still annoying how it manages to make sure of showing how fragile we all are. Hope, Eric. It's all we have now."

-----

That was yesterday. I've been with Ashley ever since. How could it have happened? Such a strong person, what kind of things was she harboring inside? Her hand is cold, and she seems almost too peaceful.

She won't die, right?

Ashley... die? I don't want to think about it.