Heart Heavy

Heart Heavy

A rush of sensation caught Brandon by surprise, forcing him to impulsively clench his teeth in anticipation of pain, but only after realizing that it was a positive feeling did he slowly relax and awake from his slumber. As he slowly opened his eyes, light pierced the tiny space between his eyelids, this time projecting a sharp pain back and forcing him to immediately close his eyes again. It was too bright for him to know where he was or what he was looking at, but he knew it was bright. He noted of the sound coming from his surroundings: gentle, distant conversation, the cry of seagulls, and the distant sound of waves collapsing. And judging by the warmth on his back, Brandon could only assume that he was at a beach.

“You really don’t know how to relax, do you?” The voice caught Brandon by surprise, although the massaging hands on his back still continued to move about. It wasn’t that he didn’t expect to be touched, but he didn’t expect Erica, of all people, to be touching him. Her hands gently pressed up his center back again in order to follow cracking his spine. “I hope a massage to break down your body wouldn’t be a problem. After all, I’m pretty sure this is your first time someone has tended to it.” Brandon turned his head so he lay flat on his right cheek and hoped to shoot a glare at Erika, but as he opened his eyes again, the light immediately blinded him. He groaned, more out of annoyance than pain, and let out a long breath.

“How long was I out?” He asked,keeping his eyes closed and trying to relax.

Erica spread her hands to Brandon’s shoulders in order to try to break down his solid form. “Two days. Your heart had to stabilize after the amount of stress you last put on it.” Both her hands met knots at the centers of Brandon’s deltoids and she rolled her eyes in irritation. “Am I going to have to knock you out again?”

Brandon shook his head, both in disbelief that he slipped into another coma and that he wasn't relaxed. The last thing he remembered was Erica’s mumbling voice through the water, screaming for him to stop. But all he did was swim deeper, trying to reach the bottom of the fifty-foot pool.

“I am relaxed.” He said, trying to allocate more effort to relaxing. His muscles only further tensed and Erica gave up, sliding her hands down to his sides. “I told you I could make it.”

Erica shook her head as she pressed against the only muscle that Brandon could not lock up, his latissimus dorsi. “You’re really as stubborn as Harry says you are. Here I thought a near-death experience would knock some sense into you. Instead, you’re just as bad.” Brandon bit his lip as Erica’s press began to break his guard and push against his ribs.

He let out an uneasy sigh. “I don’t believe in limits.” Erica noted of his uneasiness and pressed again, forcing him to exhale.

“Then you’ve learned nothing over the course of the month.” Her voice was dissatisfied, but she pushed her hands back to his solid shoulders and began to break down the knots in his back. It was a constant movement, her hands never leaving his back and moving slowly and smoothly. It was a gentle touch, a touch Brandon had never felt before. Its uniqueness fascinated him, but something else caught his attention. He could feel her hands move all along his back with no interruption between the middle of it. He moved his right hand along his side until he reached his breast and noted that his bandages were gone.

“My bandages?”

Erica’s left hand moved slowly down towards his center, left back section. Brandon could feel her fingers drag along, leaving a residual tickle. But in the exact center of his left side, her fingers fell into a small indentation, a scar that had run deep into his body. Brandon knew that the damage did not stop there. The partial lung damage had created a cluster of scar tissue and below that, his heart was still healing. The touch to that area brought Brandon back to when he was fighting his own brother almost a month ago. In an attempt to justify his irrational actions against the state that he led, Brandon engaged his brother in open combat. But Jonathan was more than prepared for the battle. He remembered when his kick sent his brother back, tumbling to a fall that collapsed into a roll. Brandon proceeded to charge, but before he could see Jonathan throw his sword back a this direction, the blade had already penetrated his entire body, including his heart.

“Does it still hurt?” Erica asked in a gentle whisper, her fingers still remaining on the scar. Brandon ignored the pain he would receive and opened his eyes to find a distraction to take his mind off of his failure.

“Yes.” He said, trying not to leak any emotion into his voice. His eyes locked onto the wooden bookshelf that lied against the wall and he took on the task of reading each book’s title and author in order to distract his mind. Erica noted of his tone and,consequently, the shift in his muscle composure. Nearly all the work she had done within the last hour was gone within seconds. His muscles instinctively locked back into the standard position, the arrangement that he had been in for nearly all his life. It was as if his body didn’t know any better; his body knew no peace.

Erica bit her lip in nervousness and slowly began to restart the precious, strenuous, and impossible task of breaking down Brandon Start Coulger. “Well since you’re on a negative note, I think now would be the best time to tell you that Harry doesn’t expect you back on the field.”

Brandon made it to Malachi Nkosi’s Delta before snapping back into reality. His fists clenched and Erica watched his body respond to his rage and frustration.

“Do I dare ask why?”

“Well after your latest stunt, Harry doesn’t think you’re able to handle combat anymore.” Erica explained.

“Then what good am I?” Erica paused and thought it over. Brandon was one of the best soldiers in the Illis Military and was the head of Illis Strike Team. His inability to be in combat meant that he was effectively useless to the Illis System. “If I can’t fight, then why keep me around? Why bother to keep me alive?”

“Because The People want you alive.”

“For what reason? I can’t protect them.”

“But you can lead them…” Erica stated. She was staring at Brandon’s eyes, knowing that he could not see her. She saw the frustration and depression in his face, but knew that there wasn’t much he could do about it in his current state. “You forget that you’re more than a soldier; you’re a symbol of hope. You fight when others have no ability or strength to fight.”

Brandon glared at the bookshelf and spoke in an annoyed tone. “So explain to me how I’m useful again.” Erica had enough of Brandon’s negativity and balled a fist with her left hand over his wound and put her right hand over it before pushing down.

Brandon groaned in pain as his chest started to burn. “Erica…”

She released the stress and allowed Brandon to note of his injury. “Did you ever read Harry’s examination?” Brandon put his right hand over the front of his chest and grabbed his left breast in order to sooth the pain. “Your heart was in six pieces after that duel with Jonathan. No one could survive that. Yet, you survived an onslaught dealt by your older brother, the one who claims to be superior to you. Your life alone is a motivation for people not to fear him.”

“But I lost…”

“But you didn’t fail them…” Erica’s emotions began to show in her tone, as she hated when Brandon would attack himself. She removed her hands from his scar and continued to tend to his deltoids. “Your perseverance is enough to give people a flicker of hope.”

“That’s not true.”

“Then why am I still fighting?” Brandon paused and considered her point. Motivating Erica to do anything was incredibly difficult if she didn’t have personal ties to the objective. After finding no argument to her point, he silently continued to read the authors and titles on the bookshelf. Erica sensed his entire thought process and left him in a moment of thought. She took the time to concentrate on massaging the indestructible knots out of Brandon’s shoulders before patting him on the back in order to signal that she was done. After she finished knocking on his spine, she gently grabbed on to Brandon’s right side and slowly rolled him over. “How do you feel?”

When Brandon was turned on his back, he was finally able to see the beautiful Erica Shard, leaning over him with nothing but her black bikini and tropical skirt. The sight caught him by surprise; he at least expected shorts and an open shirt, as he hardly saw Erica in anything less than that.

He smiled. “I’m suddenly less angry.” Erica smiled and rolled her eyes before noting a drop of sweat developing on Brandon’s face. Sweat indicated stress and anxiety, which implied an accelerated heart rate and thus, more stress on his heart. Erica pulled on the string of her necklace in order to pull a blue jewel from inside her bikini. She tightly grasped it in her right hand and blew into it before letting go and placing her hand on his chest, sending a rush of coolness toward his heart and calming it in response to his excitement.

Brandon’s smile quickly faded as the coolness sucked away the heat and comfort. “Don’t get too excited.” She held her hand on his chest a tad bit longer than necessary in order to prove her point before finally releasing it. Brandon looked at his chest as a blue imprint slowly faded away where Erica’s hand was, just above his front scar.

“I hate that so much.” He stated and repositioned his arms to lift his back.

Erica rolled off of Brandon and stood up off of the ground in order to let him move. Of course, his body’s muscle synchronization was altered from the massage, thus needing more energy to move. Erica watched closely, monitoring his heart rate and physical response to awaking from yet another coma and being on his chest for an extended amount of time. Harry modified Erica’s contact lenses in order to more easily detect Brandon’s heart rate. The old model only detected enemy heartbeat signatures. After the patch, Erica’s could detect Brandon’s heart rate as far as a mile away and it gave alerts whenever he reached over fifty-percent of his maximum heart rate. As Brandon struggled to lean up, his heart rate climbed to 100 beats per minute; Erica was instructed to cool his heart if it ever reached over 110 beats per minute. If his heart didn’t cool down after applying her frost ability or if it ever reached 150 beats per minute, she was instructed to freeze his heart with frostbite, a more severe form of her frost ability.Frostbite would indeed freeze his heart, but only in order to stabilize it and stop his heart from tearing. It was a brutal process and it often damaged the lungs and caused some blood pooling, but it was the only process that could save Brandon’s life if he went too far.

Brandon lifted himself onto his knees and stayed in the position for a moment, internally noting his own heart rate. He stared at the fibers of the white plush carpet and examined its design before looking up to see Erica analyzing him.

“Can I help you?” His tone hinted some aggression.

Erica smiled. “Just taking notes.”Brandon rolled his eyes and pushed off of his arms and then slowly lifted off his knees. He kept his back arched as he rose, trying to minimize the physical stress and blood flow.  After pausing at full stance, Brandon slowly arched backward until he was standing straight. Erica noted of the immediate physical guard that developed when Brandon stood and assumed that her massage work was completely undone. She eyed the scar on his left breast.

“Can I help you?” He repeated again, his aggression more apparent this time. He crossed his arms in order to partly cover the scar.

“Your precautions to reducing the amount of strain on your heart are working. I just ask that you maintain those provisions.” Brandon shook his head and turned to look out the sliding glass door and onto the balcony that overlooked the beach.

“Where are we?”

“Avella Beach, off the coast of the Diego Sea.” She answered as Brandon unfolded his arms. She started to slowly walk toward him until they were standing beside each other.

Brandon analyzed his location,taking note that he was in a beach-front building and approximately ten floors up. Judging by the steps outside of the main door and the chatter, he assumed it was a hotel. Just past the sidewalk that separated the hotel’s building property to the beach property was the warm, dry sand. The wind gently blew some of the sand back toward the hotel, lightly coating the sidewalk and grass barriers that separated itself from the beach. Judging by the amount of people at the beach and the position of the sun, Brandon guessed it was around midday.

He looked to his left and watched Erica also look into the distance. His eyes began to wander, but he quickly fought the temptation to look at Erica in any sensual manner, as it would likely result in his demise.

“Why are you dressed in that?” He asked, trying to change the matter. Her appearance still made it to the conversation, in which Brandon felt slightly embarrassed.

Erica smiled and slightly shook her head. “I was going to lounge on the beach, but you were stirring around last night, so I assumed you would awake sometime today.” Brandon resumed looking out the window. “I would offer you to join me, but knowing your insecurity over a simple scar, you’d likely refuse.”

Erica turned to leave.

“You look nice.” He responded, taking the blow she dealt to his pride, but still dishing out a compliment. Erica stopped and looked back at Brandon, desperately searching for some distinct thing to stare down after his compliment. Her smile rose again after a moment of silence and she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Thank you.”


Unsure as to how he was persuaded to do so, Brandon thought back to how a simple touch could motivate him to ignore his scar and accompany Erica down to the beach. Contrary to what he wanted, Erica carried the ice chest and umbrella while he held onto the towels. Despite what Erica thought, Brandon believed that he could carry an ice chest of water and a couple Coronas.He used to help push tanks out of pit traps and even grabbed a collapsing bridge to save a wife and her child. He was certainly able to carry a simple,twenty-pound ice chest a couple hundred feet. Erica felt it would damage not only his body, but his pride if he failed. Brandon thought otherwise.

“Here.” She said, setting the ice chest down on the warm sand. It was a point probably halfway from the beach, but still in front of a major traffic area in the center of the beach. She knelt down to smooth out the sand as Brandon started to unroll the beach towels, mentally disapproving of the location but remaining quiet. As he unrolled the towels, he noticed many of the Avella citizens slowing down as they passed by. Brandon attempted to not acknowledge their existence or fascination on either his identity or his scar, but when the children began to point, he began to glare back at them.

“Brandon?”

He shook his head and looked down at Erica. “Sorry.” He finished unrolling the towels and laid them on the sand before helping Erica bury the base of the sun umbrella. Even as he dug into the warm sand, he could feel the glares and attention pointing in his direction.Erica watched as Brandon fixated himself on burying the umbrella and not addressing reality.

She frowned as he finished and sat down under the umbrella, trying to preoccupy his worried mind. “You don’t have to be here.”

“I rather be here with you than holding out by myself at the hotel room.” He said almost immediately and put on his sunglasses at the same time. As he did so, he slowly began to fall back, using his abdominals to control the fall to the towel. Erica watched as his stomach tightened in order to reduce the impact of his lean and also conserve his heart rate. “Insecurity is only a fictional flaw. The moment you realize it’s not a weakness is the moment it no longer is one.”

Erica lied down next to him on her side and stared at Brandon as he looked at the umbrella and the sky above him. The umbrella cut off half of the light, leaving Erica a majority of the shade. Brandon wanted to remain warm.
After letting a moment go pass,Erica propped her head up with her right hand and slowly extender her left toward Brandon’s chest. At first he didn’t feel her touch, as her index and middle finger landed on his chest. But as she began to walk her fingers toward his scar, Brandon realized what she was doing and shook his head.

“Does it still exist?”

Brandon paused and smiled. “More than you know.” Erica took back her hand after a moment and Brandon continued to watch the sky. Low-level, commercial planes would hover by with banners of sales and discounts and flags of nearby visiting commercial entities. But as he focused more, he could make out the occasional fighter jet or two flying by at higher elevations. He figured they were standard planetary defense fighters, as Avella was a neutral planet. If they were Illis fighters, he would be able to hear them soaring through the skies even at that elevation.

After a few minutes passed, Erica broke Brandon’s silence. “You really didn’t read Harry’s evaluation on you?” She innocently asked after thinking about his frustration in the hotel room.

Brandon sighed and rolled his eyes underneath his glasses. “No.”

“Why not?”

There was a moderate pause as Brandon quickly thought of an excuse. “Too depressing.”

“The evaluation wasn’t just a report of your injury, but also a gauge as to how to cope with it and encourage its recovery.” She paused and rolled on her back before fishing in her bag fora book. “It would help if you actually read it.”

“I’m pretty sure I understand the wound more than you. I’m the one living with it.”

“And I’m the one saving your life every time you misunderstand it.” Her voice hinted of some annoyance.

“A metal blade pierced my heart and one of my lungs. Because I was in combat at the time, I was moving, which caused the blade to cut and tear away at the muscle, skin, bone, and any artery that was near it. I’m certain that there is nothing more to understand about it.” Brandon turned his head to the left in order to look at Erica, but she was also looking to her left.

“When do I have to freeze your heart?” She continued.

Brandon sucked at his teeth. “That’s easy…” A number didn’t pop in Brandon’s head after a moment and he awkwardly thought about it. “Wait, what’s the average heart rate of someone in their early thirties again?”

Erica turned around and placed her book on her chest. “With or without a blade injury to their heart?”

Brandon scowled. “300.”

She smiled with an uncertain expression. “Wow, I don’t think that’s even humanly possible to reach.”

“I meant that 300 bpm was the highest heart rate obtained record-wise…” Erica fought a smile. “You’d freeze mine when I reached around 200, wouldn’t you?”

Erica giggled. “No. You’d be long dead before that.”

“I can reach 200 bpm.”

“And you can also die trying.”

Brandon paused to think again. “…180.” Erica shook her head. “…175?”

“Lower.”

Brandon shook his head in disbelief. “I’m not going under 175.”

Erica rolled her eyes again. “This isn’t negotiating. I freeze your heart if it ever climbs above 150 beats per minute. Do you know how much time that leaves me to stop the internal bleeding and stabilize you?”

“…an hour?”

Erica frowned at Brandon’s negligence to his own health and security before rolling back around and reaching into her bag again. Brandon could hear an assortment of clings,clicks, and crunches before seeing a bundle of paper fly towards his face. He gasped as he instinctively extended his hand to stop the packet from hitting him and then looked to see the bundle in the sand. “Health and Injury Status for Brandon S. Coulger” was on the top of one of the pages in the report. Brandon ignored the document.

“Read it.” Erica uttered in a dragging tone.

“Why are you ruining to moment? I thought we were getting somewhere…” Erica slowly turned to face Brandon. He smiled as she turned around but frowned when he saw her glare.

“Do not test me.”

“I know enough about my injury to know that I don’t require a back massage.” Erica raised an eyebrow to the statement and looked dead in Brandon’s eyes before shifting her body to get up.Brandon slowly rolled on his back and smiled before staring down the next fighter jet to soar in the atmosphere. “What’s wrong? Ran out of-” Erica loosely tossed her book to the side before rolling to her right and on top of Brandon. Brandon didn’t expect her response, but before he could think, Erica was on top of him, face to face and her eyes locked dead on his. She positioned herself until their noses were touching, their lips only an inch apart.

Brandon’s heart quickly accelerated in excitement and although he tried his best to compose himself, all of his practices failed. Erica smiled to his weakness as she detected both his awkwardness and discomfort to the situation. His heart was beating rapidly, close to 120, as she could feel his heart beating against her chest. Brandon froze from under her, keeping his eyes on Erica’s and daring not to move. He watched as they crossed noses and her dangerous smile rose.

“Don’t make me break you.” She whispered. Brandon didn’t know what to do or say and could only hold a solid face. He held his breath as Erica’s left leg slyly moved along his. She smiled as she did so, which burned Brandon’s pride. He never liked how she had a hold on him and he hated even more that she knew it.

“I never break…” He loosely said,fighting the unknown urge to stutter.

“Mhmm…” Erica walked her fingers down Brandon’s chest again before pressing her hand flat over his heart and using her frost to cool down his heart. Brandon exhaled in both shock from the temperature change and in relief as Erica provided a distraction for the situation.

After holding her hand for a few seconds, Erica rolled back on her side and stood up before brushing herself off. Brandon watched and then rolled on his chest to continue to watch where she was going. “Hey, I’m not done with you yet.”

“I’m going to get a drink. Plus, I don’t feel like breaking your heart, Brandon.” She replied as she continued to walk toward the hotel. “Read up on your status, please.”

Brandon sighed and rolled on his back again before grabbing the packet on his left. Contrary to how he displayed himself, it pained Brandon to read the information within. He had already read through the document on his own without anyone knowing, but he had a hard time accepting that he was that badly injured and couldn’t recover in time. His friends and family were still on the battlefield while he lounged on a beach. Harry was right to assign him this vacation for the sake of his health and safety, but Brandon couldn’t willingly sleep at night, knowing that his father, best friend, and many more that he cared about, were risking their lives to protect the people he governed. He felt helpless and undeserving of the vacation he put off ever since he was first pulled into the war.
Brandon was analyzing the display of his heart, showing the tears along his left and right ventricles and his cut pulmonary vein when he heard a yell followed by a number of screams. It didn’t immediately register to him that it was a sign of panic until he heard someone yelling, “That’s my daughter!” By the time he put down the report, he was already too late.

A feral current rushed in from the south-side of the shore, so strong that it carried boats out to sea by itself. Avella’s beaches were notorious for their strong currents, so much so that the water was off limits to civilians and beach staff during tide changes unless with the proper credentials. Brandon noticed that the water was mildly attended to, indicating that now was that time. But approximately 100 meters out was a child, no more than eight years old, waving her arms while desperately trying to stay afloat. She was drowning.

Brandon’s heart skipped a beat as civilians crowded near the shoreline, but couldn’t move any further. Them jumping in the water after her meant that there was a considerable chance that they wouldn’t even make it to the girl. The opportunity arose where Brandon knew that he was the only person that could possibly reach that girl in time to reach her. But that was in his prime before he was injured. He wasn’t the same man he used to be anymore, able to defy the rules and constraints binding men to their imperfection. He was just like them, wanting, needing, to do something but not possessing the ability to do so.

The little girl’s head dipped under the water, horrifying Brandon. He jumped to his feet and took of his sunglasses before watching the little girl pop up above the water, screaming for help. One man, her father perhaps, ran into the water, but before he could get far, many grabbed him and pulled him back to shore. Brandon’s hands and arms couldn’t stop moving, as he desperately wanted to act. But he knew all too well the consequences of his future actions. If he committed to going, getting to the girl was questionable itself; surviving the swim back with her in time to save her life was an entirely different question.

“Erica!” He yelled, as he carefully watched the girl move further out to sea. He knew it was only a matter of time before he couldn’t get to her. He knew Erica may stand a better chance, but even still, her swimming strength was questionable as well. He turned to still see Erica walking back to the hotel, just crossing the sidewalk and onto the hotel patio. “Erica!” He cried again, hoping she could hear him. But no matter how loud he yelled, she was out of earshot. He clenched his fists in frustration and turned back to see the girl completely gone. He dashed a couple steps before a searing pain shot through his chest. It was then that he realized that his heart rate was over the limit it. The fact that he may not live after this was very real in his mind and he thought about it for a moment.Could he bear watching the girl drown? As he thought about it, the girl popped up one last time and let out a frantic and terrified cry for help.

Brandon shook his head and closed his eyes as he gritted his teeth in frustration. “Erica, forgive me…” Without any physical or mental hesitation, Brandon kicked off his sandals and sprinted toward the water.

“Move! Get out of the way!” He yelled as he approached the crowd of people in front of the water. He kept his eyes on the girl’s last known position, now realizing as he got closer that the girl was further out than he expected. Shocked by his voice, many of the civilians not only moved out of the way, but they also examined Brandon run into the water until he was waist deep and then dove in.

Was that…?

Is that who I think it is?

That’s…that’s Brandon Star Coulger

Brandon emerged from the surface of the water and stopped to hold his position. Although remaining afloat, he could feel the current sweeping him to the left and out to sea. He would have to use the current to his advantage and then fight it once he got the girl. He pushed,taking in a large breath and diving again. The water on Avella was practically clear besides the sand that moved about due to the movement of the water close to the shore. The salt burned his eyes, but he had no other choice but to look for the girl. He swam harder and harder in order to gain speed. No matter how far he was and how little oxygen he had, Brandon’s drive was forcing him to continue.

His chest erected a spike of pain, causing Brandon to cough and lose his breath. It caught him by surprise, almost inciting fear in his heart. This pain was very particular. It was the exact same pain he felt just before blacking out when he saw all the blood on the airstrip where he fought his brother that one day. He was terrified by the sight of it, but when he discovered that it was his blood, that was when fear had consumed him. Brandon had to come up for air, but he resisted. Brandon knew he was close, as he could sense the little girl’s fading life energy nearby. But if he went up for air, he risked losing track of it. The current was accelerating at their position and he may not be able to find the girl or get her back to shore if he did find her. Another spark of pain tore through his scar, forcing Brandon to yell in pain. But as he did so, he noticed that the water ran red. He was bleeding.

Seeing that he had no choice, Brandon suspended his dive and swam back up to the get air. It physically and mentally pained him to make that call, but he knew he wouldn’t last long if he didn’t. He took in a large breath as he reached the surface and went to dive back down when he heard a gunshot. Brandon turned to look back at the beach, which was now much further than he expected to be. The tide was taking its toll and was indeed taking them out to sea. But from his distance he could see Erica running toward him with her Illis M9 in the air. She fired a second shot, knowing that she saw him and was recalling him back.

“I can make it.” He said to himself, as he could still feel the girl’s presence nearby. Erica tossed the gun in the sand before running into the water and diving in herself. By now,Brandon’s chest was on fire and blood was dripping out of his mouth. He knew that even if he made it to the girl somehow, he was in no condition to carry her back. Maybe hand her off to Erica? Brandon immediately accepted the slight chance that he could recover the girl and hand her over to Erica and dove in.He took in another large breath before submerging again, but as soon as he was under water, he choked on his own blood. Brandon coughed and spat out a mouthful of blood and knew that blood was filling his lungs.

He was dying.

His fingers and legs felt numb and his heart still pounded in agony. Brandon could feel that his oxygen levels were critically low, as his vision was becoming even more blurry than the effect that the salt water had on his eyes. His energy levels were rapidly declining. His breathing was becoming increasingly sporadic. After finally recognizing that he would have to reconsider, he desperately swam to the surface again.

“Brandon, go! You're gonna die!” Erica yelled, no more than a few feet away from him. He was shocked to find that she had not only found him, but covered so much distance so quickly. But judging by his blurred vision, he knew that something wasn’t right. As Erica made it closer to his position, she looked at the water and then horribly looked back at Brandon. “Go back to shore! You’re dying!” Brandon could barely understand what she was saying, but he noticed not only that, but the water they were swimming in was red. Although it made him fearful, Brandon made the assumption that he was going to die regardless and was determined to stay.

“Freeze my heart!” He yelled back at Erica.

She squinted her eyes in frustration. “No.”

“DO IT!” Brandon yelled, blood spilling out of his mouth as he commanded Erica.

“No! You’ll die right here!” Erica yelled back and attempted to swim by Brandon. As she paddled by, Brandon’s anger forced him to grab onto her shoulder.

“Freeze my heart; I can make it!” He pleaded.

“Are you crazy?! You could die right here!”

“I’m dead anyway. Just give me the chance!”

“Brandon, go to shore!” She screamed, her voice filled with fear and sadness. Although water had dropped from her hair and ran down her face, he could still see a tear fall from Erica’s eye. “Go! Please…” By now, Brandon’s logic was erratic, corrupted by the loss of energy, oxygen, and blood. But his resolve came back online when he heard the desperation in Erica’s voice. It made him fearful not only of the pain that would follow if he continued, but also helped him understand the reality that he could very well die if he didn’t listen to her. Erica looked back at Brandon before taking a deep breath and diving into the water. As she dove in, Brandon looked back to shore, and immediately noticed that he was further out than he had expected. The girl was originally out by 100 meters. By the time he got to her approximate location, she had drifted to 150 meters. He gauged that the current distance to shore was nearly 250 meters. He didn’t know if he could make it.

He swam, staying above the surface and maintaining a steady pace while countering the powerful current. As he swam, he noticed that his oxygen levels were no longer depleting, but blood was still dripping from his mouth. His heart rate had stabilized to 175 bpm, still over the limit to Harry’s guidelines, but Brandon’s biology was still able to handle the stress. He knew it wasn’t out of development or strength, but out of contingency. He would have been dead at any other time, but was fortunate that he was still alive by some miracle. Every time a wave splashed against his face, the actuality of him dying kept him more driven to fight the current and get to shore. It quickly turned to a battle for his own life.

Although he wisely paced himself, it took him ten minutes to return to shore, the crowd responding in screams and shouts. Some were of fear that Brandon was dead due to the amount of blood that followed him to shore. Others were out of disappointment that he did not return with the girl. Their calls sparked anger and hate toward them, but his wisdom reminded him that they were ordinary people, fearful of death and frustrated by limits. He ignored them, focusing on his own health before responding to the crisis around him.

He put all of his efforts to compose his heart by himself without the assistance of Erica’s frost or frostbite. The only thing he could do was mentally slow down his heart. But as he tried to compose himself, all he could think about was the girl. He knew she was gone and that her death was because of his failure. Even though he tried, he failed to even make it to the little girl’s position and recover the body, and if it wasn't for Erica, he would have likely killed himself in search for her. The disappointment angered Brandon even more and his self-hatred returned.

Brandon looked at the sky again to see an absence of commercial planes at low elevation meaning that air traffic was blocked. Someone had to have called the emergency units in order to clear the skies. It meant that help was on the way, but he wasn’t concerned about his own safety. In his mind, he didn’t deserve help. He deserved to die for his failure.

“I got her!” Brandon’s heart skipped a beat in excitement to hear Erica’s voice. As he rolled to his side to see her, his heart gave way again and he fell on his back. Erica treaded through the knee-high water with the girl in her arms in cradle position. The girl’s body was slump and partially blue, indicating suffocation. As she reached the shore, Erica walked to the crowd, now falling back from her location and allowing Avella Crisis Units to make their way to Erica and Brandon. Erica fell to the sand with the girl in her arms, exhausted from the fight against the current. As she cradled the body, Avella units moved in, two soldiers armed with submachine weapons and two, unarmed life support units. Erica presented her badge as they arrived before moving out of the way. As soon as they addressed the little girl, Erica crawled to Brandon’s position. Brandon saw the disappointment in her eyes as she grabbed her necklace and blew onto it.

“I’m sorry.” He spoke, coughing up blood as she met his position. She only slammed her hand on his chest and rapidly cooled it. The water between his skin and her hand froze and Brandon coughed in pain before losing the ability to control his breathing. His heart drastically slowed in response to the coolness and after seeing Erica’s frustration with him, he turned to look at the girl. Avella Life Support Units were performing CPR, pressing down on the little girl’s chest before listening for a beat. He kept his eyes on her hand, hoping, praying that it would move.

Erica dragged her hand from Brandon’s chest, not sparing him any attention and only looking at the crowd. She crawled to her Illis M9 and picked it up before walking away, fighting the urge to cry.