Chapter 4 Helping Hand

"I can help," Sara pleaded with the girl. The scoff that escaped the girl's lips burned her damaged throat. "The voices will only get worse."

Angel stiffly faced the doctor with her body pressed against the wall. The cold cement chilled the girl's body, or was it the eerie way the doctor knew more than anyone was willing to listen to? With a face that showed no pity, the woman leaned forward on her crossed legs while resting on her forearms. Those green eyes held a fire that engulfed Angel in a flame that caressed the girl's stone walls. The doctor's eyes had more emotion than the child could feel wafting through the air. Even in isolation, the thick walls couldn't keep anxious thoughts out of her head, but this woman who sat before her was silent. The doctor gave a smile that caused the sides of her eyes to crinkle as she sat back, folding her fingers together.

"You died, but you brought yourself back to life." Angel narrowed her eyes at the doctor's words. "No EMT helped coax you back to consciousness because you were pronounced dead."

The trauma is overwhelming the poor girl.

Angel could remember the earlier doctors stating the obvious with their fingers that dug into her skin.

"We have a word for people like you." Sara's voice never changed pitch nor came out domineering. She spoke with care that was foreign to the girl. "Ambulatis." Sara let the word hang in the air, letting it soak into the girl's skin before continuing. "You now have the powers of a supernatural, so you can feel the emotions of the entire world resting at your shoulders." The thought that went through the girl's head was this doctor knew too much to be ordinary. Angel could not comprehend much, but she knew that her parents and this woman were involved in something much more than a traumatized child.

"My job is to help you through this process." Sara continued to explain, slowly giving the girl time to cope with her new revelation. "I am only here to help, but in the end, it is up to you." Angel shook her head, trying to process that mass bomb presented to her, but she could not fathom what was required. She needed strength that dissipated the minute the emotions sunk into every cell that circulated through a heart that was clenched tight.

"You will never be able to truly keep the voices out, but you can gain control." Those words did not comfort the panicked girl who gripped the roots of her hair. The doctor's left hand slipped into the pocket of her lab coat, pulling out a purple stone. As the girl loosened her grip on the wild strands of hair, she watched the vibrant mineral glow dimly in the palm of Sara's pale hand. The woman did not offer the stone but presented the amethyst. Her pleasant smile never cracked from the unresponsive girl.

"This is my first step in teaching you." The doctor's voice was strong while her gentle eyes coaxed the girl to let down her walls. "This stone does not completely block out your empath abilities, but it gives you time to build your walls."

Sara stood up from her seat slowly as she kept an eye on the tense girl. The woman's green eyes took in the presence of the scared child with a smile. With the stone resting on the chair, the doctor's determination dug into the girl's bones. Strength came from this woman who stood poised, yet there was still uneasiness in the air. The doctor's smile cuddled the imaginative thought that she cared, but Angel was far too broken to let those emotions take her whole. Sara walked out the open door where the girl had forgotten about the two men who stood at attention.

"I want this room monitored at all times." Her words turned sharp as she led the men down the hall. The metal door clanged shut, causing the child to flinch.

Angel admired the mineral from across the room, but she could not bring herself to grab it. The paranoia swam through her mind, yet the curiosity picked at her. So many possibilities that could release a butterfly effect like no other.

What if she became worse?

How much worse could it get?

What if it helped?