Last Resort {Kiah}

[Knuckles]

Ezekiel Alexander

His arms wrapped around the tiny girl holding her closely as he wiped the sweat away from her pale face. Haley was dying, and Zeke knew she was, yet the fight to save her kept him going. Every second of every day he ran through what little amount of medicine he had hoping he wouldn't ever reach the last drop. This was what happened to Mom. He ran out of the medicine needed to keep her alive, and he rushed away to the nearest hospital to steal away what was needed, yet when he opened the door to return home a sobbing man answered the door screaming that they were too late.

Zeke never forgave himself. Regret still floods his veins this very day. Through his closed eyes he won't ever forget the sound of the ribs breaking as he compressed her chest over and over trying to bring the dead woman back to life. Her words always echoed through his mind. "You can't save everyone." He'll never forget the way his father pulled him from the decimated corpse resting on the bed. Tears swam down his face. Violent sobs filled the air. It was a night the boy wouldn't ever forget. Yet when he looked at the lifeless green eyes of his younger sister, all Zeke could see was the same fading expression resting on her face. He wouldn't, no, he couldn't let the same thing happen to his sister.

Sweat saturated hair plastered against her face, but with gentle hands, the older brother pulled it away from her eyes. Dad hasn't been home in a while. He left early in the morning as he does every day since the passing of his wife. Usually it's extremely late when he returns home a blubbering mess reeking of alcohol. Zeke was certain Dad blamed him for the death of Mom. His voice was loud. Always screaming at him telling him he should have gone faster, but Dad doesn't realize one thing. When the Angel of Death wraps his arms around his victim, nothing can stop him. Not even the most experienced nurses in the world.

"Haley, hang in there. I'm going on a run." By 'a run' he meant sprinting to the nearest hospital as fast as he could, find the medicine storage room, grab as much as he could, and run home. It was his plan the night his mother died - only she was completely out of the medicine needed to survive. He was on his feet when the door smashed open and a drunk man appeared in the middle of the room. The run was out of the question. Wherever Zeke went, he knew Haley would come with him. And a run towards the nearest hospital carrying the dying girl wasn't one he could truly understand. Yet leaving her behind with a drunk father screaming horrible insults at her wasn't an option.

Standing guard he watched as the drunk man expelled the contents inside his stomach all over the floor in front of the door. Tears stained his eyes, and Zeke wanted to help him. To get him to his bed so he could sleep the pain away like always. "Here, dad, let me help you." Grabbing a towel from the bedside table, he cleaned his father up. Wiping the vomit from his face. "Let's go to bed." Slowly he turned away heading towards the furthest room. He fell face first in the bed and was gone. Zeke rolled him on his side, place his face at an angle before putting a roll of linen behind him just in case he vomited he wouldn't aspirate on it.

Quickly leaving the drunken man behind the older brother returned to his sister."Okay, Haley, I need you to come with me. I'll leave Dad a note. He'll understand." Turning away he found the nearest sheet of paper with a pen beside it and scribbled a few words. Going to hospital. Need to care for Haley. Be home later. Placing it on her bed, he slid his arms beneath the limp girl and hoisted her into the air. Tears slid down his face. The night Mom died she was running right along with him helping grab what all was needed. Shaking his head, he ran through the door without looking back.

Step by step. Breath by breath. Beads of sweat rolled down his brow. The sun scorched everything in its path. The young girl's pale face glowed bright red, and the sweat wasn't rolling much anymore which only made Zeke run faster. Getting her the help she needed was more important than standing here in the middle of the poverty stricken district. Sure it wasn't as bad as all the other districts, yet it was still a horrible place to live. Shock waves of pain shot through his legs with every step he took. Each time his feet pounded against the ground his knees screamed for him to stop, but it wasn't an option. His breathing grew faster. His heart raced behind the chest wall, and he couldn't breath, yet he kept going until he saw the building growing larger and larger with each step.

Excitement pranced throughout his body, and adrenaline took over, and he ran as fast as he could. Walking through the front door he stopped for only a moment praying the young girl was still alive. Carefully he watched for the rise and fall of her chest, and the moment he saw it he kept going until he stopped at the nearest desk. Panic replaced the excitement. "Please help her. Save her. Please." He gasped hoping that someone there could save her.

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[k!ah]

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Today had been rough. I had watched, helpless as a young boy had fought for life. I had watch his small body spasm over and over again and there had been nothing I could do. The doctors had told me to stand back as my eyes had filled with tears, as I watched this boy lose his fight to life. Seeing someone so young, just lose control like that was something that I wanted to forget but I knew that I wouldn't, I knew that i would be seared into my brain, into my memories for lifetimes and despite how much I hated it I knew that it would make me stronger.

Tears had fallen down my face and one of the more experienced nurses had try to guide me from the room, but i had told her that I couldn't leave, that I had to watch. I had to watch, I wasn't allowed to escape this. Every death, every time someone lost a life to my incompetence I knew that I would have to watch, have to remember how pathetic I was. It was my punishment. It was my way of torturing myself because I wasn't good enough and I would never be good enough.I couldn't save anyone. But the Nurse had not allowed me to stay, dragging me by the arm from the room, her voice harsh but comforting.

"Nina, Nina look at me." She said, moving to stand in front of me, her cold hands cupping my face. Slowly I bring my teary gaze to me hers and I am shocked by the amount of understanding a fiery determination that I see. "Nina you aren't going to be able to save everyone. You are going to lose people, so many people.... but you cant to that to yourself- no don't interrupt me," impatiently she cuts me off, "You have to be able to accept some death, let them go or you will not be a nurse here but one of the patients. Nina, to be in this job you have to be strong, okay? You have to know when to turn off and when to flick that switch back on because if you don't...  I'm afraid that you wont make it."

She looked into my eyes for a moment longer before dropping her hands and walking away. I watched her leave, her words dancing through my mind and I knew that she had spoken the truth. I knew that I had to learn to let go but I just couldn't. I could allow myself to forget because if I forgot about them, who would remember them?

Now I am walking away. My shift was over but the boy was seared into the back of my eye lids and every time I closed my eyes I would see his withering body, the foam around his mouth and the pain I his eyes. Taking a deep breath I open my eyes just as a frantic boy runs into the hospital lobby. His arm carry the very still figure of a small girl and instantly I find my feet racing over to them. I reach his side hearing his desperate pleas for help. 

The girl at the desk picks up a phone ready to all someone but I reach forwards, my fingers fishing it from her grasp. "Its okay, I got this one." I as I turn to the boy, not allowing the girl to question me anymore. I could to this. I was not loosing another patient today. Looking past the boy and at the girl in his arms I feel my heart begin to race. Her hair was dripping with sweat and her cheeks were red like they had been stained with the blood of a rose. Instantly I am taken back to another time. The time when my younger sister had looked exactly the same, her small chest heaving for breath that refused to enter her lungs.

Suddenly I steps back from the girl, my had over her mouth. It looked so similar, like the way I had lost my own sister. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears and it took all I had to push it down and to take that step closer to the girl, to look her in the face. "Uh, uh she needs help right away." I try to safe with a sense of professionalism but I can hear my voice falter. I had to be strong. I could do this. "Hurry the girl needs urgent medical attention," I almost snap taking the boy by the shoulder and leading him deeper into the the hospital. 

I could do this. It wouldnt repeat its self. Not again. Not this time.

[Knuckles]

Ezekiel Alexander

She was light in his arms. Almost weighing nothing as every breath she drew became shorter and shorter. Her lungs were expanding, yet moving the air throughout her entire body was lacking. Sweat dripped from her locks of hair. And for a moment he saw his mother laying in his arms begging him to save her. Tears stained the brim of his eyes as he looked around hoping that someone would help him. That someone could save the young girls life before it was too late.

All he could hear was the sound of his mother's voice as her dying words embedded deep inside his brain forever. Ever since she passed away, his entire life was devoted to saving people. To protecting them throughout their darkest hours, yet no matter how hard he tried he couldn't push the failures away. The loss of his mother taunted his every waking second especially as he kneeled beside her bedside crushing the ribs begging with a god above to save her.

Yet his prayer wasn't answered.

Lights reflected off the tiled floor. Every hair stood at end as person after person looked at Haley with hopeless eyes. It was impossible for him to realize that she was dying. Step after step he counted each time his foot hit the floor. Every second felt like an entire life time as he waited in front of the desk. His pleas didn't go unheard, though, as a person seated at the desk starts to pick up a phone, yet her attempts are slaughtered as a girl stopped her.

He was about to open his mouth to speak, to tell her that Haley was in dire need of attention, but her words stopped him. Turning to meet her gaze, his entire mind froze. Every thought swam away before the words formed on the tip of his tongue. His heart pound inside his chest, and all he could hear was the drum beating behind his ears while he looked around praying that this girl was capable of saving his sister.

He couldn't save his mother.

He wasn't about to lose his sister.

"Just help her." His voice cracked as each word slithered past his lip. The entire world ceased to move as the girl led them further into the depths of the hospital away from the front doors.

Each step he took echoed through his mind. Each breath caught in the back of his throat. His eyes darted back and forth between the girl leading him, and the tiny girl resting peacefully in his arms.

The white walls and tiled floor felt like it went on forever and forever into the depths of the unknown. His legs drew him forward inch by inch without him approval, yet he couldn't fight against the unknown even if he tried.

Each speck on the ground grew larger and larger. His mind raced as he counted every single one of them. "Her name is Haley." He began as the tears poured from his eyes. "I've done all I can do. I don't know what else to do. Please. You have to save her. Please."

Was he asking too much of the girl standing before him?

He knew saving everyone was impossible, but he couldn't give up hope.

[k!ah]

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She was in my hands again, her small body hotter than the suns surface. Her eyes closed, the edges crystallized with a layer of crust. I remember it all to well. I remember as I held her tightly, her sweat morphing into mine as I tried to beat the sickness that was beating her. But even as my mother wailed, I could do nothing but hold the damp cloth to her burning brow. I could do nothing but watch as her life slipped between my very fingers. And here I was again. This girl so small wrapped in the arms of her older brother, slowly, ever so slowly, slipping away from this world. 

I look over my shoulder quickly, the girl looked so vulnerable, so small in her brothers arms (Just like she had in mine, smaller than ever). I wanted to say something, something like it was all going to be okay, assure him that she would be okay. But I don't. I don't because I don't know. I don't know weather his small girl will live. I don't know weather she will perish, perish because of me. Looking back I take a deep breath, trying to stabalise my emotions. I could do this. I had to do this- if not for me then for the boy. I had to do this.

"Just help her." His voice is filled with desperation, a desperation that encased my body, wrapping its greedy fingers around my heart, around my very being. I couldn't escape it. I was trapped, trapped in his words, trapped in his undying perseverance to save this young girl. "Her name is Haley." The hold tightens as her name slips past his lips, suffocating me. To know a name was to know a face. Knowing a name meant pain, meant another lifeless soul haunting my waking memory- but to know a name also meant to lend some strength. I felt myself able to breathe again. 

"I've done all I can do. I don't know what else to do. Please. You have to save her. Please." I don't have to be looking at the boy to see his tears. I can feel them. Feel them though the way he speaks, through the way that he cares and once again I am trapped, trapped with no signs of escape this time. No matter how many times I was to repeat this girls name, I was gone. This boys desperation, this boys need to see his sisters life replenished drowning me. 

I try to speak. I try to tell him that I'll do my best but words do not come as I lead him into an empty room, switching on the lights bathing the room in a harsh brightness. I gesture at the bed, before taking a deep breath and forcing the words past my teeth. "What happened to her? I need you to tell me what she was doing. Has she gone through this before? What have you done already?" My voice lacks emotion, muscle memory possessing my movements, my words. Taking a deeper breath I try to find my real voice, "I know this is... I know this is hard to watch- hard to deal with. But I need you as much as you need me now." I reach over to him, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "I need you to work with me, okay? Tell me what happened." 

[ ooc: Knuckles hey look I did you a post hun <3 ]

[Knuckles]

[googlefont="Jim Nightshade:400"]

Ezekiel Alexander

Eighteen | Male | District Six

Broken, shattered dreams were becoming an reality as his downcast eyes gazed upon the limp body of his sister. Tears stained his eyelids, yet they failed to fall down his face. Losing mom was one of the hardest adventures of his entire life, but Zeke had found the hope he needed and held onto a small light in the midst of all the darkness. It was all leaving him now. Haley wasn't supposed to die. She ran to the hospital with him on that horrible night. They snuck through the back doors together scavenging through cabinets finding any medicine that could save her. Together they ran home only to find out she had already died. Zeke refused to let the same thing happen to his sister, however, it wasn't looking good.

Behind his chest wall, a beating heart raced rapidly grasping for a reality to hold onto. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead mixing with the tears that finally fell. All he could do was look upon the almost lifeless face of Haley. Flushed cheeks stood out vividly on a pale face. Tiny, ragged breaths shook through her body, but it wasn't ever good enough. Nothing was good enough anymore. A horrible disease stole away mom, and now it was threatening to take his only sibling away leaving a broken man with a drunk father.

Each step he took grew frantically larger and larger until the nurse walked into a room flipping the lights on. His eyes burned for a moment, yet he quickly looked away as his eyes fixed upon an empty bed. The sheets were pressed so neatly that for a moment he was afraid to touch them. Afraid to let his dying sister lay upon them, but the constant reminder in the back of his mind told him he had to.

Ever so gently, he placed his sister on the bed grasping her tiny hand in his own begging for some hope. A clam in the midst of the storm. Anything to distract his wandering mind of the many thoughts ringing throughout his brain. Saving people was what he had done all his life, but he couldn't save mom, and now he was about to lose the only person he held close to him. ""What happened to her? I need you to tell me what she was doing. Has she gone through this before? What have you done already?" Taking his gaze away from his sister, his eyes foced on the nurse standing inside the room. For only a moment red spots danced before his eyes as his teeth clenched shut. Anger radiated throughout his body for just a moment before her words filled the air. "I know this is... I know this is hard to watch- hard to deal with. But I need you as much as you need me now. I need you to work with me, okay? Tell me what happened."

Her hand rested on his arm and every single bit of anger he was once feeling flew away replaced by intense sorrow. Why did it matter what he had done? Why did it matter what happened? His sister's dying, and all the nurse wanted to know what happened. Truthfully, he wasn't sure what had happened. One day she was fine, and the next day she was sick. Coughing and vomiting. And then out of nowhere diarrhea. Yet the medicine given to her worked. It made her better for only a couple days before whatever it was fought back twice as hard. Taking a shaky breath, his eyes faced the floor as he forced words from his tongue. "One day she was fine. She was being as normal as she could. But it all changed. She was coughing a lot. Coughing and coughing. And then came the vomiting. Mom had this cough medicine that made the coughing go away, and something that made her stomach better. And it worked. She was doing fine. Doing well. But it all came back. Worse. She stopped eating. Stopped drinking. Stopped doing everything. More coughing. More vomiting. Horrible diarrhea. She couldn't take any medicine anymore."

Silent sobs shook his body tearing him apart. "I've tried giving her water and food. But she kept getting worse. Placing wet rags on her head wouldn't even break a fever like it had done before. I only left her alone when I went to get more medicine, but dad was home. He was always home." He stopped dead in his tracks trying to think about everything that could have happened. "Mom, she died two years ago. I couldn't save her. I did everything she taught me, but it wasn't enough. I hate asking for help, but I need it." His forehead rested against the bed as tears fell down his face forming a puddle beneath him.

ooc notes goes here

[k!ah]

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The boy clasped his sisters hand, his tears running down his face, leaving little trails of his grief. It made my heart clench to watch the way he sobbed, to watch the misery which seemed to drown him, making my words almost seem distant. I am so sure that he hadn't heard me when suddenly his eyes lock with mine- his blood shot glassy eyes- and words slip past his trembling lips.  "One day she was fine. She was being as normal as she could. But it all changed. She was coughing a lot. Coughing and coughing. And then came the vomiting. Mom had this cough medicine that made the coughing go away, and something that made her stomach better. And it worked. She was doing fine. Doing well. But it all came back. Worse. She stopped eating. Stopped drinking. Stopped doing everything. More coughing. More vomiting. Horrible diarrhea. She couldn't take any medicine anymore..." His voice shakes, his whole body shuddering as he fights the sobs that tear through him, making the tears fall fast making small puddles on the sheets of Hayley's bed. 

"I've tried giving her water and food. But she kept getting worse. Placing wet rags on her head wouldn't even break a fever like it had done before. I only left her alone when I went to get more medicine, but dad was home. He was always home."  He continues and I can tell in the way that he strains his voice that he was exhausted making me realise it wasn't only this little girl I needed to help but I him as well. I needed to care for him- just like he cared for his sister. "Mom, she died two years ago. I couldn't save her. I did everything she taught me, but it wasn't enough. I hate asking for help, but I need it."  The pain in his voice made my heart break, and I am tempted to reach out to him again, just to touch him gently, to make him realise that he was not alone- not like I had been, I would not allow him to be alone because I knew how it felt, how it felt to be hopeless and alone. 

His brows is pressed to the bed, his sobs filling me, and I no longer allow myself to think of myself, and only of the boy in front of me- because right now I didn't matter. My past didn't matter, the only thing that did was this boy and this girl. They were my priority. Thats when he reality of his words hit me- "What was the medicine?" If she knew the name then maybe she could give Hayley some, not curing the girl but buying them both more time.  "If we could just find some of that medicine then maybe we could buy some time- and time is something we need. I haven't seen this illness before- but knowing more about this medicine will help me know more about this illness." I turn my eyes to the boy, before running them over the small fragile girl before the two of us. I reach out with my hand, placing it on the girls forehead. As soon as my finger tips brush across her brow it feels like they are on fire and I from moving away from them my fingers rummaging through a draw my fingers closing around a piece of cloth quickly fishing it out. 

Running over to the sink I run it under cold water before racing to her side gentling dabbing her face with it, my eyes searching her face, her shallow breathing making my heart flutter with panic- what if it was to late? What if she was to late? 

[Knuckles]

[googlefont="Jim Nightshade:400"]

Ezekiel Alexander

Eighteen | Male | District Six

The bed was soft yet firm, but it stood in between him and Haley. It separated them from life and death. The broken dreams, the shattered nightmares, the terrifying reality of a precious young lady laying before him dying before his very eyes because his options ran out. If only this nurse could save her, Ezekiel wouldn't take life for granted anymore. Losing a mother was hard enough, yet even thinking about losing a sister tore his heart into millions of tiny pieces. Haley wasn't well. Thousands of thoughts pranced through his mind shattering every piece of sanity left inside of him except for a small strand tethering him to the earth. What if I waited too long? What if I'm too late? What if she dies?

It felt impossible. Thinking was far from over. A heart beat inside her fragile chest keeping her alive, but it wasn't enough. It wouldn't last much longer. All he could do was stand and watch as rivers flowed down his face. The nurse kept questioning over and over trying to figure out what was wrong. What had happened. What Ezekiel had done to help her before, yet none of the answers was ones he was looking for. Frantic hands dug into the sheets of the bed begging for a piece of reality to hold onto, but he couldn't let go of the hand of his sister. The love he shared for her was far more than anyone could ever imagine.

"What was the medicine?"

Her voice snapped him out of another daze. The name of the medicine could save her. It could make her well again, but how? She wasn't keeping anything down. Each drop of water only returned worse than before. Dehydration was a killer, and it ruined the lives of many. It turned healthy people to critical patients fast. But it never changed his mind. All he could do was stare at her wondering what could happen. What he could do. Lifting his head from the bed, he once again turned to the nurse.

"It's an antibiotic. I can't think of the name of it right now." His voice shook with each word. The entire world was collapsing down upon him. A weight pressed so heavily against his shoulders that it took every ounce of strength he had to keep the world from crushing him. In the midst of the storms it turned the weak strong, and the strong, stronger. Each breath guided him into a new life. One where he was in charge, but right now in this very moment his emotions were in charge. His life was failing. His world was breaking away, but the tiny thread tethering him to reality reminded him of a helping hand who was trying.

Scratching his head, he fights his brain to bring forth the name of the medicine. Anything to help. Perhaps describing it? "It's a red and yellow pill. It's an antibiotic. I just can't think of the name."

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[k!ah]

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The girl lay so still, not eyes the flutter of an eye lid and for a moment I was not sure she was still breathing. Quickly I press my fingers to the side of her throat, waiting. Waiting. waiting... Then I feel it, the small, faint, beating of a dying heart. I breathe a sigh of relief, and step back pressing my hands to my face as I tried to calm my racing heart. I did not wish to lose this battle this is one that I wanted- that I had to win. I press the palm of my hands against my eyes, rubbing them roughly in a way to calm myself dow. It was a habit I had gotten when I was younger. Whenever I was stressed I would push my palms against my eyes, telling myself that it was going to be okay, blocking out everything around me because if I couldnt see it it wasnt really happening. Of course as I grew up I understood that even if I did cover my eyes the problem as still there but the movement still managed to calm me, calm me in a way that nothing else could. 

"It's an antibiotic. I can't think of the name of it right now." My hands drop as he speaks, my vision blurry for just a few moments as they got used to the light once again. I frown at his words anger that I could not hold back burning through my veins for a mere few moments. There were so many different types of antibiotics, I think angrily, how could be possibly think that could help me? like in all honesty I wanted to pound my fists against the bed in frustration because every moment he thought was a moment that I lost, that Haley lost. 

I am about to tell him to think harder when words burst from his lips, his hand scratching his head as he fought to think the exact name. My heart begins to bur with guilt as I watch the boy struggle my anger dying as quickly as it had come to life. "It's a red and yellow pill. It's an antibiotic. I just can't think of the name." I force myself to smile at him, thanking him without words before I begin to search my mind, summon up all the training that I could remember that involved pills of the colors red and yellow. It was hard considering I was still in training, meaning I shouldn't even be in here alone with this boy and girl, but there had been no one else around and I knew for a fact that it would have taken ten minutes for someone to get down here, ten minutes to long for this girl- and even if they had, one look at this girl and at how far gone she was they would have just sent him home, they didn't have the time or the resources to deal with cases that could not be solved. And it was also the fact that this girl looked so similar to her that I knew that I had to be the one to help her, to save her because then, in a way, maybe I could save the one I lost too.

I knew it was selfish, it was wrong and would cost me my job, my career, but I had to be the one.

It had to be me. 

Then it hits me. I didn't know the name of the pill but I knew what it was and where it was. My heart beings to pound harder, just like before until i am not sure I can tell the difference between breathing in air and breathing out air. I couldn't do this, the pill I needed was one of the many pills locked away for fully qualified nurses and doctors to handle, not someone like me. I try to hide my fear as I look from the boy to the small girl. I had to tell them. I had to tell them that I was not what they were expecting, that I was just training that I didn't have the full qualifications- but I also had to tell them, him, that if I hadn't of stepped forwards to help that they would have just turnd him away, he had to understand that me doing this may have been a stupid mistake, but it was a mistake that not only but his sister in danger, but also my own future, my own life. 

"Look, I have to tell you something and I don't want you to get mad. I am not a fully trained nurse, I am just training and in all reality I should have turned you guys away. Sent you back out on the streets because we don't have the resources, the medical aid to treat cases like this, not after the drought that happened a year ago. We are struggling alone and if anyone ever found out about this I would lose my job. I just want you to know that I know what drug it is that we need, but it is out of my reach. It would defiantly cost me my job, my life..." My lips begins to tremble as I speak, out of fear of what I was about to say, "But I am going to help you, okay? I am going to try and save your sister."

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[Knuckles]

[googlefont="Rock Salt:400"]

Ezekiel Alexander

Hope was fading away quickly. His heart sank deep into the pits of his stomach as tears continued pouring from his eyes. It was a pain he experienced before with mom. Many of his days were spent looking after her, bringing her the items needed to survive, yet when she needed Zeke the most, he wasn’t there. The memories linger in the back of his mind haunting each waking second. The sounds of crushing her chest beneath the weight of his body, of his father screaming and pleading, of Haley sobbing behind him. And now the tables are turned. His eyes stare at the tiny girl resting on the bed before him praying to a god above that she’ll survive. Even the thought of living life without her was far worse than losing mom. It was the worst pain imaginable. Yet each breath proves it wrong. Sheets cling to his head from the amount of sweat pouring from his brow and the tears staining his pale cheeks. Shaky fingers wrap around the edges of the sheets holding onto some strength needed to keep going despite the many questions floating through his mind. All of them have horrific answers as they end with the death of the tiny girl fighting for her life. Each second becomes critical and knowing that these lady was kind enough to take her in meant the entire world, but in a quick second it comes crashing down around him as he listens to her speak. She wasn’t a nurse. His heart sank deeper into his stomach shattering against his insides sending shards flying in every direction. A void grew bigger, and the pain became unreal as his entire body turned numb. Rage boiled throughout his body as his hands balled into fists around the sheet of the bed. Why? Why did she offer to help if she couldn’t do anything? She was only learning, yet as more words fell from her lips, Zeke realized that it was the truth. Most would’ve turned them away because Haley has slim chances of survival. It’s a reality he didn’t want to face, but it slapped him across the face. Tear stained eyes focused on the white tiled floor for what felt like an entire lifetime. She had no chance of living. Nobody can save her. Haley was too far gone. The only chance was this lady losing her job. Zeke didn’t want anyone to risk their future over medicine. Every single day people fall victim to Panem, and it would only claim another person in a matter of seconds. Yet it brought back a small piece of hope knowing that someone cared, that this lady was willing to help. But why? Was losing a job worth it? Was it worth saving one child? Was it worth the risk of being arrested and sent off to torture for stealing from the supplies at the hospital? Zeke had done it for many years keeping his mother alive, yet it wasn’t enough. Even she fell victim to the harsh world. “But I am going to help you, okay? I am going to try and save your sister.” These words echoed throughout his ears over and over. Each word bounced through his skull. His first instinct was to stand up and stop her because her future wasn’t worth his. It wasn’t worth the chance of losing everything she had worked for, yet his heart was pleading with him to listen to her. She was going to try to help Haley when nobody else would’ve. It’s something he’s not used to. Something he didn’t expect, but who would? The right thing to do in this situation would be to stop her from risking her future, and the wrong thing would be to allow her to risk it. Zeke knew right from wrong. He knew what he should do, yet it didn’t register in his mind. He couldn’t think. Couldn’t speak. A complete stranger wanted to help him. But wasn’t that her job? To help people? No, it didn’t matter. He couldn’t let her risk her entire future for it. From the looks of it, she had worked so hard to get to where she is today. And the offer was appreciated, yet the answer was simple. “As much as I want to accept it, I don’t want you to risk your future. I don’t want you to lose the job that you’ve worked hard to get.” Tears swam down his face rapidly. His heart hammered inside him. It felt like his heart was a trampoline and an energetic child was jumping on it. “Yet you helped when nobody else would. And you want to help. And I appreciate it more than you can ever imagine.” Sniffling, Zeke raised a shaky hand to wipe away his tears as his eyes fell on Haley. Such an innocent life teetering between life and death. “But I want to help. I can’t let you take the fall or the blame. If something happens, it has to be on me. Not you.”