Minutes passed and Maya was starting to feel uncomfortable being stared at by Ares. She cannot understand why but it felt like she was stripped bare and exposed. Maya shook her head, thinking that what she thought was nonsensical.
Ares's gaze lingered on Maya's face for a while before turning to face the window once again. Even after witnessing Maya's imminent death, her expression didn't change even for a second. For someone like her, who can see a person's whole life from start to finish, death was the most natural thing.
Everyone will eventually die.
The only difference was how the person lives their life, and how they die and how it affects the people they left behind. She has seen many deaths and Maya's was not any different from others. Except for the fact that she will not be the only one dying today but a whole lot of countless lives who will die because of three people's recklessness.
The second Ares turned her gaze to the window, she caught a glance of the three figures of the people responsible for the oncoming assault, limply making their way to the emergency room.
Detective Cross and his wife unwaveringly watched her. Their minds were filled with thoughts of their own. Detective Cross was in the process of suggesting something to his wife but was cut off by the sound of his phone ringing.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
The monotone sound of his ringtone filled the silence in the room. He answered his phone in a hurry, looking at his wife apologetically before leaving the room. With Detective Cross gone the atmosphere became even more awkward between the two of them. Maya continued to watch Ares gaze out the window till a glint flashed in her eyes. An idea crossed her mind. She quickly spoke out, "Would you like to go outside?"
Ares, who was still gazing outside the window, suddenly turned her head to look at Maya and then lowered her head, thinking. Although it didn't concern her whether Maya dies or not, she was still curious about how her newfound ability works. So far, the things she's seen in the other people's [life] came true but what got her thinking was how much change can she bring about in other people's [life] when she intervenes.
Maya gazed at her lovingly, thinking just how cute Ares was when she's contemplating whether to say yes or no. After careful consideration, Ares turned to look at Maya again, steadily nodding her head unhurriedly.
Maya felt a warmth in her chest, as her lips spread into a tender smile. Now I want to have a daughter!
At the same time, Detective Cross felt a chill run down his spine.
"Come on then. Let's go." Maya said, walking to the door and looked back at Ares, waiting.
Ares looked outside of the window again for the last time before making her way towards Maya.
Today would be the first day Ares ever stepped outside of her room since she arrived at the hospital. She's already seen the hospital through the doctors' and nurses [life] that she came into contact with. However, this was her first time experiencing it herself.
When Ares pushed herself off the bed, she walked and stopped before Maya, only a foot away. She stood there towering over Maya.
Maya found herself staring at the girl, who she was told was not even ten years old yet but was 5'8" tall. She slightly tilted her head back to look up at her and noticed that she would barely reach past Ares's shoulder if she wasn't wearing heels. Her husband had already filled her in on everything about Ares but seeing was believing and now she most definitely believed.
Ares noticed Maya's probing gaze and knew that it was because of her height. She didn't pay too much attention to it and made her way towards the door. She stood at the threshold of the room looking at Maya, who was already outside, beckoning her to take that step through the door. She felt the gazes of people passing by as she took that step.
The nurses at the triage desk watched in astonishment. Because God only knows how long they talked to the girl, practically begging her to talk but she didn't. They had also suggested if she wanted to go on a walk but all they got back was complete utter silence. They sometimes wondered if she was listening. Turns out she was, but just didn't say anything.
Maya was smiling the whole time, watching Ares take that last step until she was finally outside of the room. She was about to say something until she saw a familiar face at the end of the corridor and her smile widened even more.
"Ben!" She called out, thrilled to see him.
"Maya!" Ben, also known as Dr. Wells, replied, sounding surprised. He walked towards Maya and embraced her in a friendly hug, "James told me he was bringing you to meet our Jane Doe today, but I didn't expect you'd still be here."
"Yeah. James had to take a work call. While I was just about to go on a stroll with our Ms. Jane Doe here," Maya said, shifting her gaze to Ares who was silently watching them with an unchanging expression.
Dr. Wells only then noticed Ares's presence. If Maya didn't say anything, he would've never noticed her. He peered at her with a surprised look. "You got her to leave the room. I'm impressed. Why didn't James bring you sooner?"
"Hahaha. I didn't do much. She still hasn't talked to me, but this is a good first step for her. Want to join us?" Maya asked.
"It's fine. I don't want to intrude. She's obviously taken with you." Ares stood there quietly, watching them. Dr. Wells and Maya exchanged a few words before going their own way.
Maya silently accompanied Ares through corridors, leading her to the garden section not too far from the emergency room. The gaze of passing people fell upon her countenance. Some stared at her in curiosity and others were enchanted by her ethereal beauty. When she was finally outside of the building, she felt the breeze lightly brushing against her skin. She closed her eyes, feeling that feathery touch of the air as she took in a deep breath.
Ha! Ares breathed out. It felt nice.
Maya's gaze was on her the entire time, watching her in amazement. Since the moment she met Ares, she's only ever seen one expression on her face, nothing more. If she hadn't witnessed it, she never would've believed it. She watched her expression soften as her face glowed with an unknown look of absolute freedom. "It's quite nice, isn't it? Being out in the open, the air," Maya spoke, filling the silence.
Ares's eyes opened and nodded her head as her gaze shifted along the garden of flowers that was filled with different shapes and vibrant colors. To others, it was just another passing sight. To her, it was a sight to behold. Among the view of the garden, the scene of people walking or pushing people in wheelchairs, wearing identical hospital clothes as her, was what she saw as well.
"Hahaha!" The clear innocent sound of a child's laughter caught her attention.
"David! Slow down!" The voice of a woman called out.
Ares registered this perfect scene as she started walking, brushing her fingers against the bushes of flowers. She passed by a water fountain that stood amid rows and rows of flower beds.
"Hmph!" Ares felt a small body suddenly collide into her. She looked down and found a little girl with blonde hair and hazel brown eyes, rubbing her forehead in pain.
Maya saw what happened and was about to step in but was soon surprised. She never expected that something like this would occur.
She watched Ares reach down and scooped the little girl by her underarms, bringing her back onto her feet and crouched down to her level. They both locked gazes and Ares saw the girl's [life].
The little girl's name was Alexandra. She was raised in a happy, healthy environment and will become a teacher in the future. Ares witnessed and experienced her [life]. Even though Alexandra grew up in a safe environment she struggled as a child because she was deaf.
Ares experienced all the emotions Alexandra bottled up. The pain and suffering, struggling to try to live a normal life like her friends but she knew she wasn't normal. Ares saw how Alexandra's struggles molded her into the beautiful woman she will become in the future.
As she witnessed Alexandra's [life], more and more knowledge flooded into her mind, and thanks to it she learned American sign language. After the insight into Alexandra's [life], Ares finally got a clear look at her face.
The "Alexandra" in front of her right now was eleven years old, who was still young and vibrant.
Ares scanned her body for any injuries and when she saw that she was fine she carefully dusted the leaves off of the girl's denim overalls. After doing so, Ares turned to face her again and signed, "Are you okay?"
Alexandra stood still, staring at Ares with a big smile on her face. She quickly shook her head in response and signed, "You're very pretty!" She was captivated by Ares's beauty that she couldn't help but stare at her.
Maya watched as the two of them talked using sign language. She didn't know how to respond and could only continue to observe them, completely in awe. She knows how to sign?
"Your daughter knows how to sign?" A woman asked, approaching Maya, and stopped at her side.
"I didn't even know she could sign," Maya said in a low voice but it was loud enough for the woman beside her to hear. "I'm sorry. You are?" Maya asked, only now turning her attention to the woman.
"Oh, where are my manners. I'm Bridgette Landry. My daughter, Alexandra, is the girl talking with yours," the woman politely introduced herself.
"Maya Cross. And she's not my daughter."
"Sounds complicated. But from what I can see, she's special," Bridgette said, looking at Ares, and continued, "My Alexandra is deaf so it's hard for her to make friends. I've never seen her smile like that the way she does with her. What's her name?"
"That's something I want to know too," Maya spoke, turning her attention to the two girls signing with each other.
"Hehehe! Hahaha!" Alexandra laughed out loud. She was happily talking with Ares until she caught sight of her mother and she went running into her arms.
"Mommy, I made a friend," Alexandra started signing excitedly.
"Oh! You did? Did she tell you her name?" Bridgette curiously asked with a doting smile.
Her question instantly caught Maya's attention. She waited for her to answer and took note of Alexandra's hand movements. While her whole attention was on Alexandra, Ares got back up on her feet and walked towards them, standing right beside Maya. But Maya didn't take notice of her.
"Wow! What a pretty name! Ares. Like heiress but without an 'h'," Bridgette reacted, finally revealing her name as she glanced at Maya.
"She's also very pretty. Just like mommy," Alexandra replied almost immediately.
"Yes, she is. What else did you guys talk about?"
Alexandra simply signed, "It's a secret. Right?" She turned to look at Ares, asking, and Ares simply nodded in response.
Maya was still trying to wrap her head around the situation. She still couldn't believe that she had finally learned Ares's name. Her husband spent almost a month trying to figure out her name, but she easily gave her name away to an eleven-year-old. Maybe they looked at it wrong. They often forget that, despite how Ares appears, she's still nine years old after all.
"Ares. That is a beautiful name," Maya mumbled while turning to look at Ares with an indescribable look.
Hearing Maya speak her name caught Ares's attention. Despite knowing that her biological parents, who did unspeakable things to her, gave her that name, she wasn't attached nor did she feel revulsion toward it. It just held no special meaning.
Ares disregarded Maya's glances and looked at Alexandra. She stared at her smiling face, recounting everything they talked about to her mother. Ever since she got to the hospital, the only people she came into contact with were grown adults, and when she at long last met someone close to her age she didn't know how to feel or interact.
Even when she learned about the world through people's [life] from her powers, it didn't prepare her emotionally because those feelings are not her own and right now, that's what she wants the most, to feel her own feelings, not other people's feelings. But it was a start.
When she looked at the time on Maya's watch, she knew that it was almost time. She reached out to Alexandra's shoulder, turning her to face her.
"Alexandra, do you remember what I told you?" Ares signed.
"I do!" Alexandra signed back in response.
"Good! How about we have your mom join too?"
"Really?! That sounds fun! Mom?" Alexandra asked her mother.
"I would love to, Peanut!" Bridgette delightedly agreed.
"You and your mom have to hide together. You can hide anywhere but there," Ares signed, pointing at the emergency room, "Remember neither of you can come out until I find you. Okay?" Ares reminded.
"Okay. I promise," Alexandra signed with a cute smile on her face.
"Good! The game starts now."
With that Alexandra started running with her mother in tow and Ares watched till their figure was out of sight. Not too long after the mother-daughter pair left, Detective Cross returned.
"Hey, sorry it took so long. My boss has been on my back, trying to get me to drop this case," Detective Cross went to his wife's side and planted a kiss on her cheek.
"Never mind about him. What if I told you that I know our girl's name?"
"I would say that I would cook for you till the day I die," he said, both excited and impatient.
With Detective Cross and his wife being too caught up in their talk, and Alexandra and her mom gone, Ares slipped away unnoticed. She ran at a fast speed, nimbly passing people, and hurriedly made her way to the ER.
She stopped right in front of the entrance to the emergency room. From the outside, she can see the layout of the emergency room through the clear glass automatic door.
The first thing you can see would be the triage desk only fifteen feet from the public entrance and a wall behind it. To the right of the room was the waiting room and lines of hospital beds were at the left of the room. She saw the staff hustling and bustling to help incoming patients. As she was about to go through the doors, gunshots went off.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Aaaahhh!"
Screams erupted and people started storming out of the ER, aggressively shoving Ares who was in their way while trying to run for their lives. Ares stood her ground and safely made her way through the crowd.
She walked into the ER and found the waiting room deserted. Some nurses hid behind the triage desk, shaking in fear. While the other nurses cared more about their defenseless patients and went ahead to protect them. She walked toward the wall, peeking on the other side of the emergency room.
The EMS entrance was completely blocked off with stacks of gurneys and there were more rows of hospital beds lined up against the wall with patients lying on it. She witnessed nurses and doctors move to protect their patients while a few people were lying prone on the ground. To the right of the room were treatment rooms. In front of the treatment room that was in the furthest corner, one of the perpetrators stood with a gun in his hand pointed at a male doctor, point-blank.
The doctor was on his knees with his hands behind his head, faced down. He didn't make any subtle movements or noises, trying not to further agitate the gunman.
"Nobody move!" The gunman shouted. "Now here's what's going to happen, I want all of your phones out in front of you and lie down on your stomach with your hands behind your head."
The hostages didn't move and were hesitant because of terror.
When no one did what he instructed he shot a warning shot upward and screamed, "NOW!"
Without a moment of hesitation, they quickly followed their captor's instruction. Even the patients who were lying immobile on the hospital beds were now scrambling on the floor, trembling with fear. With their phones out in front of them, the man with the gun pointed at the doctor ordered the other captor to collect them into a trash bin.
While outside of the ER, in the garden before everything went down, Detective Cross and his wife were exchanging notes of what the other missed. While listening, Detective Cross's expression shifted from a smile to being shocked. Maya had a lot more she wanted to tell him, but their conversation was abruptly disrupted by the sounds of gunshots.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
They looked in the direction of where gunshots came from and witnessed people screaming and running in panic out from the emergency room.
Detective Cross hurriedly said to his wife, "Call the police and find a safe place to hide."
He was about to run in the direction of the emergency room but was stopped by his wife. Her hand tightly clasped around his arm and he felt her body trembling. He turned to look at her and noticed the color was drained from her face.
Maya then spoke in dread, "Ares. James, where is Ares?"