Damien and Michael agreed, promising to review all their information the next morning before Alexander called on Celine. When they arrived home, they went straight to bed, exhausted from the draining experience.
Present day, Bucksville
Celine laid awake in the darkened room. The glow from the medical equipment monitoring Damien’s vital signs provided enough light for her to make out Damien’s features. She stared at the monitor, counting the seconds until the next spike appeared, marking his heartbeat. She held her breath between beats, afraid the next one wouldn’t appear. His chest rose and fell in rhythm.
She held his hand in hers. Cold to the touch, it reflected the drop in his body temperature. Try as she might, Celine could not manage to warm it. They had added extra blankets to the bed, tried hot water bottles, built fires in the room’s fireplace, but nothing raised his or Michael’s body temperature. In fact, it had dropped further since the initial drop Millie noted.
As midnight approached, the activity on the monitor changed. Damien’s heart rate raced, spikes appearing on the monitor closer together than before. His chest rose and fell in rapid succession as his breathing increased. Celine glanced to the monitor representing Damien’s brain activity. It showed an increase in activity.
Celine leapt from his bed, racing to Michael’s room. She glanced at his monitors. They told a similar story, increased breathing and heart rate along with brain activity. “What is it, Celine?” Gray asked as she raced in the room.
“The monitors,” she answered, pointing at them. “Damien’s are doing the same. I’ll wake Millie.”
“No, you stay with Damien. I’ll wake her,” Gray offered.
“Thanks, Gray,” Celine answered, squeezing his hand as he exited the room.
Celine returned to Damien’s room. She stared at the monitors, wondering what story they were trying to tell. Millie rushed into the room moments later. She glanced at the monitors. “And Michael is experiencing a similar phenomenon?”
“Yes,” Celine answered.
“Just a moment, I want to see his stats,” Millie answered, excusing herself.
She returned moments later. She noted a few things on her chart, then checked a few other vitals. She wrote a few more observations, then rejoined Celine and Gray, who waited at the foot of the bed.
“Well?” Celine asked, clutching Gray’s hand that sat on her shoulder.
“I’m afraid the news isn’t good,” Millie admitted.
“What? Isn’t this the same as before? Some sort of stimulus?”
“The symptoms are similar and do correspond with the idea that they are a reaction to some kind of stimulus. However, we haven’t identified any stimulus that could be the cause.”
“And that’s a bad thing?” Celine questioned.
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then what?” Celine prodded.
“Their body temperature has dropped again. I’m afraid it’s becoming serious at this juncture. We haven’t had any luck raising their body temperatures and instead, their temperature continues to drop.”
“What does that mean, Millie?” Gray asked.
“They will soon begin to turn hypothermic. Without the ability to raise their temperatures, we won’t be able to reverse the process.”
“What are you saying?” Celine demanded.
“I’m saying that if their temperatures continue to drop unchecked and without our ability to raise them… they will die of hypothermia.”
Celine’s jaw dropped as a tear rolled down her cheek. “No!” she cried. Gray squeezed her to him. “There must be something we can do.”
“I’m sorry, Celine,” Millie answered. “I’m afraid their bodies are failing. The temperature drop coupled with their other symptoms suggests this is the case. We’ll do what we can to keep them comfortable, but you may want to prepare yourself.” Silence surrounded them for a few moments. “I’ll leave you to process everything and check back later. If there is anything you need, either of you, please ask.”
Celine whispered a thank you to Millie, before perching on the edge of the bed next to Damien. The door closed as Millie exited the room. “Celine,” Gray began, putting his hand on her shoulder.
The gesture triggered an emotional response from Celine. She buried her head in her hands, weeping. “Hey, hey, hey, Celine,” Gray whispered, pulling her hands away from her face. “Come on, he’s not gone yet.”
“Yet,” Celine repeated, staring at him. She stood from the bed, pacing the room. “He’s dying, Gray. And there’s nothing we can do about it. He’s just… stuck from whatever that electrical pulse was that Marcus and I generated during our battle. I mean, what…” Her voice trailed off mid-sentence.
“Celine,” Gray answered. “It’s not your fault it’s…” Celine held her hand in the air, stopping him. Her brow furrowed. “What is it?”
“That electrical pulse,” Celine began.
“What about it?”
“We’re assuming that’s what did this to them.”
“So?” Gray questioned.
“So, whatever that impulse was it was powerful enough to send Marcus and I to Shadow World.”
“Okay?” Gray inquired.
“What if it did something similar to Michael and Damien?”
“Sent them to Shadow World?” Gray queried. “They’d be dead by now, Celine.”
Celine shook her head. “No, not Shadow World, somewhere else.”
“Why would it send you to Shadow World and them somewhere else? And it didn’t affect us at all!”
“The magnitude of the effect must have waned by the time it reached everyone beyond Marcus and me. It was too weak to affect you, Alexander and Celeste, but Michael and Damien are human. It could have easily been strong enough to have affected them. But by the time it reached them, perhaps it had morphed, and the effect was different. Or the effect was different because they were human. Perhaps both.”
“Okay, so what does this tell us? Where could they be?”
Celine stalked around the room, deep in thought. “I’ve only seen this once before. Marcus and I traveled to Germany before you and I met. A man there told us about Alterra. Given the symptoms, their apparent reactions to stimuli at the same time and the drop in their body temperatures, I’d imagine they are there.”
“What is
