Chapter 3

May 24, 2006

Somewhere on Highway 101

3:00 pm

"This can't be normal," fifteen year old Emmett Cullen commented from the back seat of the minivan. He pressed his face to the window of the car and tried to see beyond the flurry of snow swirling around outside.

"What can't be normal?" Alice asked from her spot in the middle row.

"The snow, Alice," Emmett sighed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Dad, when are we going to get home?"

"At this rate? Not for a long time yet," Carlisle said absently, concentrating on trying to see and making sure he didn't slip on a bank of snow or something. The answer was met with three groans as all three of the Cullen children voiced their displeasure. Although it was only three o'clock in the afternoon, it already appeared to be night time. With the blizzard raging mercilessly, the visibility on the highway was only a couple of feet in front of each car. It goes without mentioning that the traffic had slowed to a trickle, everyone moving what seemed like only a few inches at a time. And with good reason. One could barely see the tail lights of the car in front, making driving a very, very dangerous thing to be doing. Like many other families that had been unaware of the storm brewing and had stayed on the road, the Cullens had no choice but to keep trekking on. They couldn't even see where they were at, much less get off the highway.

"This can't be normal," Emmett commented again after huffing out a sigh of frustration.

"You're right, Em," Esme said from the front seat, glancing back at her son with barely masked concern on her face. "A blizzard like this in the middle of September? It's ridiculous."

"See what the radio has to say, Mom," Edward told her and his twin nodded in approval. But when Esme depressed the button to turn on the radio, all they heard was static. After switching to various channels to test their luck, Esme gave up and shut it off. Edward and Alice looked at each other, sharing the same thought: That's not good.

A loud sigh came from the backseat and both twins turned to see their older brother staring out the window with a grumpy look on his face. "This sucks!" he burst out suddenly.

"Emmett Cullen! Watch your language!" Esme said sharply from the front seat, causing Alice to giggle.

"I only said suck!" Emmett protested. "That's not even a bad word."

"I don't care, young man. You need to be a good role model for your younger siblings." The statement made Alice giggle even more and Edward to grin mischievously at his brother who had let out another huff of frustration.

"Oh, you two think this is funny?" Emmett asked, lacing his tone with anger when he noticed a joke being silently shared between the younger siblings in question. He got a great sense of amusement when both of them turned to him, identical green eyes wide with fear. "I'll show you what's funny," he said and nearly lost his facade when both twins shook their heads hurriedly. But then, it turned out the joke was still on him when Edward let a smile slip across his face before his eyes widened and both he and Alice ducked out of sight.

"You two are in for it now!" Emmett boomed, making his voice extra scary on purpose. Sometimes he wished the twins weren't so in tune with each other. A snort came from the front of the car before he had the chance to do anything, however. "Aw, Dad! You stole my thunder!" Emmett whined and Carlisle laughed.

"I can't help it," he said in defense. The twins, thinking it was all clear, peeked their heads above the top of the seats, only to be grabbed by Emmett.

"Gotcha!" he exclaimed and proceeded to tickle his little sister and brother mercilessly. He had long since discovered the fact that both of them were extremely ticklish. Both of them squealed in delight and laughed until their belly's hurt so much that they attempted to yell for Emmett to stop.

"S...s...to...top!" Alice shouted between laughter.

"What do you say?" Emmett asked gleefully, immensely enjoying this.

"You win!" Edward and Alice yelled at the same time. Grinning anew, Emmett stopped his attack and sat back with a satisfied expression as his eleven, nearly twelve year old siblings, gasp for breath from all the laughter. In the front seat, both Esme and Carlisle were chuckling at their children's antics. Emmett turned to gaze out at the darkness that only allowed a tiny amount of light again and nearly sighed again when he found the snow still falling furiously from the sky. He turned back, though, when the twins simultaneously yawned.

"Do you guys have to do everything at the same time?" he teased. "It's kinda creepy sometimes you know."

"Emmett," Esme warned from the front seat.

"I'm only joking, Mom," Emmett said.

"Right," the twins chorused, making Emmett chuckle. When they yawned again a moment later, he rolled his eyes good naturally. They both knew he didn't mean it. He loved them to no end and vice versa, it was just fun to tease once in a while.

"You kids tired?" Carlisle asked and spared a quick glance in the rear view mirror.

"I think laughing tired us out," Alice said, answering for both of them with another high pitched giggle.

"Get some rest then. We still have a long ways to go."

"Dad, can we go in the backseat?" Edward asked.

"That's not a good idea," Esme quickly put in. "I don't want you kids to unbuckle your seat belts."

"But we're not even moving!" Edward pointed out, stating the obvious. Esme stared at her son for a brief moment before giving them the affirmative. Sometimes, she could never deny them anything.

Grinning, Emmett scooted himself to the middle of the seat, knowing what the twins wanted. He watched in amusement as they quickly unbuckled their seat belts and scrambled to the back of the minivan. They plopped down on either side of him and re-buckled their seat belts, making Esme nod and turn back around in approval.

At fifteen years old, Emmett was bigger than average, as he had always been. Now that he had started working out, he was layering on quite a bit of muscle as well. Compared to him, his younger siblings were rather small. Which worked to their advantage when they wanted to snuggle up with their older brother. Edward and Alice each placed their head on his chest and he wrapped one arm around each of them, protecting them as he had promised himself to do since the beginning as well as providing them with a makeshift blanket. He was secretly happy that they still trusted him enough to do this, though he'd never admit it out loud. He had a fifteen year old boy's reputation to keep after all.

"I remember when you two were about the size of Dad's palm," he said quietly, his little siblings humming in response. They had been told about their birth a couple years ago. Their eyes were already drooping, not really paying attention to their brother. Carlisle and Esme were, however.

"You remember that?" Carlisle asked, astonished. Emmett had never mentioned it before. "You were so young!"

Emmett gazed down at his brother and sister, already asleep in his embrace. "Yeah, I think it may very well be my earliest memory," he whispered. "I remember feeling so incredibly awed at seeing how unbelievably small they were. I mean, I had never imagined babies could be so small. Even to my three year old understanding, I had known that babies were supposed to be bigger. And I suppose it was because of seeing them like that that I swore to myself to protect them. As a big brother should."

"We have been so proud of you, Em. Edward and Alice could never find a better brother in this universe," Esme said, her voice suspiciously rough.

"You were so excited when we told you we were expecting your new siblings. Do you remember that?" Carlisle asked.

"Not really," Emmett said, "I don't recall that moment, but I know I was excited."

"I still can't believe that they had been so small," Esme mused. "That day was the scariest yet the best day of my life. And... oh god... they nearly died on that day."

"What?" Emmett gasped, causing the twins to stir beneath his arms. Keeping his voice at a minimum, he tried again. "How come you guys never told me this?"

"We never had the reason to, son," Carlisle answered. "It wasn't something that you really needed to know since it was all in the past and both of them survived."

"But... but... How could you keep something like that from me?"

"You weren't aware of it, so why should we have burdened you with it? It was the most terrifying experience ever. Besides, would telling you have changed anything?" Esme asked, shuddering as she recalled the memory of those few minutes in which her twins had been fighting so hard to live, exhausted from the effort of breathing.

"I... I guess not," Emmett said. "But I just feel like it's something that everyone should know about because it just adds to how much of a miracle my little sister and little brother are." A moment of silence stretched between them as Carlisle and Esme contemplated their son's words.

"You're right, son. We shouldn't have kept that from you," Carlisle finally sighed before adding in a teasing tone, "You know, you are becoming quite wise. Never would've guessed with that joker face you put on."

Emmett smiled and stuck his tongue out at his Dad, knowing that he wouldn't see it anyway. Then he settled back into the seat as the car continued to inch forward bit by bit. Glancing down, he saw that Alice and Edward were holding onto each other again. Lips tipping up once more in a smile and blue eyes glittering with adoration, he hugged them both just a little tighter to his muscular body. "Some things never change," he mused aloud and his parents chuckled in agreement, knowing what he was referring to just by his tone.

~To Heal~

4:00 pm

As the minivan rounded the turn, the wheels met a sheet of ice and the car swerved dangerously, remaining in control only because of Carlisle's quick reaction. They had finally found an exit off the highway, but the weather had only gotten worse. A good foot and a half of snow now blanketed the town or city they had ended up in. Just which town/ city, they weren't sure, for the name had been covered by snow when they had passed the sign. Regardless, their priority was to get to somewhere they could wait out the storm.

"Daddy, are we there yet?" Alice asked as she blinked sleep from her eyes, having been jolted awake when the car had swerved.

"No, we just pulled off the highway to wait out the storm," Carlisle told her while keeping a white knuckled grip on the steering wheel.

"Go back to sleep if you want, sleepyhead," Emmett said. "We're going to be here for a long time yet."

Shaking her head, Alice slipped out from under his arm and leaned over to look out the window. The world outside the car was a blur of hardly visible lights and snowflakes that were still falling rapidly. "Has this ever happened before?" she asked. "A giant blizzard like this in September I mean."

"Well, it happens in different parts of the world I'm sure, but I don't know about California," Esme told her daughter.

"Why is it happening now then?" Emmett asked. Pressed to him on the other side, Edward slept on.

"I don't know."

"Do you know where you're going, Dad?" Alice asked and Emmett thought he could hear just the tiniest trace of fear in her voice. He put his arm around her shoulders in assurance.

"Well, not really," Carlisle said. "But I'm sure we'll be able to find some place to stay."

"Don't worry, kiddo, the worst thing that'll happen is if we have to sleep in the car right?" Emmett tried to lighten his sister's mood by employing his trademark humor, but Alice only appeared to get a little more anxious. Changing tactic, Emmett decided to lose the fake lightheartedness and get into big brother mode. "What's wrong, lil sis?"

"Ali? You okay?" Edward suddenly said, blinking awake and making Emmett jump. Oh why did the twins have to be so attuned to each other?

"I don't know," Alice shrugged. "Just want to be home is all."

"We'll be home soon," Edward reassured her and reached out to give her hand a squeeze. "Right, Emmett?"

"Of course, baby bro," Emmett confirmed and smiled reassuringly at his younger siblings. One of the things he liked about being the older sibling was the fact that his siblings would look to him for reassurance.

"Don't worry kids, we...," Esme started, but her words were cut off by the sound of the blaring horn of a car. Nobody had any time to react. They never saw it coming.

One moment they had just slipped into the other lane because theirs was moving too slowly, and the next, a blinding light filled their vision. No one would ever figure out why that car had been barreling down the street against the traffic. Tires squealed as they fought for purchase on the snowy ground that offered little traction. The Cullens' world was blown into oblivion when glass shattered around them as the incoming car hit them dead on. The impact threw the car to the side, tilting it precariously on two wheels before it righted itself with a muffled thud. Eyes squeezed tight, Emmett was holding his little siblings so close to him they would have bruises the next day, though it was the least of their worries. Alice's scream rose in a wail through the car and into the flurry of snow. Not even a second later, another car hit them from the back, sending the three children crashing to into the back of the second row seats. Blood spewed from Emmett's nose and Alice screamed again. As the scream died on its last note of terror, near silence blanketed them.

Sitting there, dazed and bleeding from various lacerations, hearts racing and breaths coming in hard gasps, Emmett, Alice, and Edward opened their eyes to the crumpled remains of the car, lit eerily by flames that had started in the engine of the other car. Outside, the snow still swirled relentlessly, touching down upon the wreck that composed of four cars, now mangled hunks of metal, and melted upon the flames that grew ever brighter.

"Dad!" Edward yelled, voice high and terror ridden as Alice yelled for their mother. They were both dangling out of car in twisted positions as their seat belts anchored them to the wreck, the doors of the car having been torn out sometime during their crash. Neither parent answered their children's desperate pleas. Their spirits trickling out of their mutilated bodies even as their children trembled in the back seat. Emmett, though just as teary as his siblings, was the first to come to his senses and see that the fire had grown and was threatening to come into the car.

"Move, move!" he cried and his voice trembled so much that it no doubt frightened all three of them further. He fumbled with his seat belts, then went on to help Alice, whose hands shook so badly they were incapable of even depressing the release button.

"Ahh!" Edward suddenly screamed and Emmett reeled around to see his brother's face twisted in pain as he stared at the shard of glass protruding from his side. "Emmett!" he screeched and turned agonized eyes to Emmett, pleading him for help. Emmett could see the dazed look in his eyes as well, an expression that made him look like he was about to pass out.

"It's alright, you'll be alright," Emmett whispered placing his his hands on either side of his brother's face as if he was attempting to hold on to Edward's consciousness. He didn't know what else to say. "We're all gonna be alright." He wiped his still bleeding nose with one arm absently as he searched for a way to get out. All of the windows were broken, though he saw that it would be a tight fit, even through the biggest windows on the sliding doors. Nevertheless, he quickly told Alice to climb out, boosting her while reassuring her at the same time. She managed to get out, but obtained a few more cuts in the process.

Edward watched his twin sister get out, and felt a quick pang of relief. Emmett turned to him next and told him to do the same thing. But every movement sent soaring agony throughout his being and he cried from the pain. "Come on, Peanut," Emmett said, calling on the baby nickname again. "We have to get out. You can do this" Edward saw his brother spare a quick glance at the fire that had spread from the other car (which was squished against theirs) and onto the hood of their minivan, becoming dangerously close to their unconscious parents. Gritting his teeth from the agony, Edward followed his brother's instructions and was given a boost out of the window. He landed on his side in the snow, but didn't have time to really register the pain before Alice quickly pulled him to his feet and pressed her face to his as they gave each other a quick embrace.

They both turned to see Emmett trying valiantly to squeeze out of the window. He eventually managed to, but as he was doing so, the jagged pieces of broken glass cut into his flesh and some embedded into his hands and legs. Though he tried, Emmett didn't manage to contain his scream of pain. "Emmett!" both twins cried as he slumped to the ground, breathing heavily.

"Don't worry, guys," Emmett managed, but squeezed his eyes shut as more blood flowed from his nose. Edward and Alice shook their heads and simultaneously and Edward placed his hand on his older brother. Within seconds, Emmett had been healed of all lacerations and his nose bleed had stopped. Pieces of glass that had previously been embedded into his flesh fell out and onto the snow on their own. Healing Emmett brought some sense back into the shock stricken twins and they immediately realized what they had to do. Edward turned to Alice and quickly healed her wounds and she did the same for him.

"Go to Mom," Edward said to Alice, and she nodded. Emmett got up and went with her after Edward's instruction to do so. He then rushed over to Carlisle, who was still dangling lifelessly from the car. Suppressing wails of horror at the mutilated flesh covering Carlisle's face and body, as well as the twisted angles of the limbs and the protruding bones in one leg, Edward reached a shaking hand into the car and quickly found the release for the seat belt. The heat of the flames scared him. They It was so close now. Releasing the seat belt, Edward barely caught his father as he fell, and went down with him to the blood stained snow.

"Dad!" he sobbed as he checked for any signs of life. He placed two fingers against Carlisle's neck, as Carlisle had taught him to do when he had expressed an interest in medicine two years ago, and felt sickened to his very soul when he felt no pulse there. Tears blurring his vision, he found that his dad wasn't breathing either. "Dad," Edward choked all the while drawing as much power as he was able to. He didn't know if he could do this, but he would. He had to.

With tears cascading down his face, he laid his forehead against Carlisle's, not thinking about the blood bathing the skin. Through their extraordinary bond, he felt Alice do the same with Esme. Concentrating harder than he had ever done, he focused all the energy flowing around him and within him into a channel and let it flow from him into his dad, whom he adored to no end. He sensed, rather than felt, all the wounds healing themselves, however bad. But he neither sensed a heartbeat nor heard the sound of breathing, for there were none.

It seemed to Edward that he was there for hours and hours. Sirens wailed in the distance and snowflakes continued to fall from the sky. The flames from the cars growing ever brighter, turning a lot of the snow to water. He wasn't aware of the other survivors of the wreck trying to save themselves, nor of the fleeing souls as many passed on, beyond the veil of tears. Nor was he aware of the cold bite of wind and snow against his exposed skin and the dry heat of the flames at his back. He wasn't aware of anything but Alice, who was also locked in a battle with death. Both of them were using their gift to their fullest extent as they fought to untangle their parents from their tango with death, their would be last dances as mortals. It seemed like an eternity, but within the world that Edward and Alice had both retreated to, blessed heartbeats poured at last into their awareness as breaths of life whispered against their ears.

Edward pulled back just as Carlisle blinked up at his son. "Edward," Carlisle whispered and sat up to embrace his son who trembled and swayed wearily within his grasp. Sighing against his baby boy's head, Carlisle shook with him as he comprehended his near death experience. He was only alive now because of his son. With Edward held securely within his arms, he remembered a lifetime of holding him, from the time he was only the size of his palm to now, and sighed again, knowing he had come so close to leaving his family behind. After a prolonged moment, Carlisle released his son to reunited with the rest of the family. Pulling himself and Edward off the ground, they made their way around the car to find Alice held firmly within Esme's arms as Emmett wrapped his arms around his mother and sister. They were all sobbing from exhaustion and shock, relief and an insane feeling of a mixture of joy, thanks, and disbelief at having both parents returned from the dead due to their twins' supernatural abilities.

Alice and Edward ducked out of their parents' embrace and ran to each other. Their embrace desperate, foreheads touching as they conveyed to each other assurances and love and all their fears that they couldn't put into words. Carlisle, Esme, and Emmett came to both of them and the three family members made a tight, safe circle around the twins that were not only miracles, but bringer of miracles as well. The scene would've been a perfect picture, as perfect as it could be while taking place in the middle of a terrible wreck, but like many other things in life, it wasn't perfect.

"Edward?" Alice's voice suddenly cut through the temporary calm. The family was startled by the evident fear and concern permeating the voice in which she had said her younger twin brother's name. Edward blinked at her and gave her a soft, knowing smile, feeling the darkness around him already. Wet droplets flowing down his cheeks as if he were crying.

"You're bleeding," Alice whispered and lifted a finger to brush at the drop of blood that had cascaded down Edward's cheek. She stared at it in horror, but then felt wetness drip from her nose the same time as Edward did.

"Ali?" Edward whispered in return and touched a finger to his sister's face as well. Identical green eyes met, terror almost like electricity flying between them as the rest of the family stared at them in horror, frozen in shock. "Alice," Edward said again as he felt more tears, no, blood cascade down his cheeks. Their hands were clasped tightly when, not even a few seconds later, they collapsed, suddenly going limp like rag dolls. Their falls were intercepted, however, when Emmett quickly caught his brother and Carlisle caught his daughter. The three of them gazed down at the youngest members of the family in fear. Blood still trickled out of both their noses, as well as from under Edward's closed eyes.

Carlisle's mind reeled as he tapped into his doctor's mentality and ran through a list of possible causes for the bleeding and sudden loss of consciousness. Causes such as facial fracture, infections, liver disease, and leukemia ran through his head, as well as numerous others. But he knew that liver disease and leukemia couldn't be the cause since they were long term conditions and such bleeding would've been noticed earlier if they were recurrent symptoms. "What's wrong with them, Carlisle?" Esme whispered in a strangled voice as she worriedly smoothed the hair on her babies' heads.

"I...," Carlisle started, at a loss of what to say. Without proper tests, he couldn't get a diagnosis. Right now, the top priority was getting the twins to the hospital. Looking around, he saw that driving there wouldn't be an option as their car was totaled, beyond salvageable.

"Sir, sir...," a voice suddenly said behind him and he turned to see two paramedics peering at him. He vaguely wondered how he hadn't noticed the ambulances' arrival at last, but the thought was quickly lost within the network of his mind as he realized that they had a means to the hospital now. The thought had just crossed his mind when the paramedics saw the unconscious Edward and Alice lying in their family's arms and quickly instructed them to follow them to the ambulance. Both twins were snatched from their arms as the paramedics, seeing the blood, jumped to work on them while ushering the Cullens into the back of one ambulance. Since each ambulance only carried one patient, Edward was taken to another one parked nearby.

"I'll go with him," Emmett said and didn't wait for an answer before leaving his parents and hopping into the back of the ambulance. Carlisle and Esme nodded anyway before pulling themselves in next to the stretcher that Alice was lying on.

"Were you all in the car wreck?" one of the paramedics asked as he worked slipped an IV into Alice's arm for fluid and drug transport if she needed it later at the hospital. They were all silently worried when Alice didn't even flinch. She was completely out cold and unaware. Esme nodded at the question.

"And you came out without a scratch? How did you manage that?" the blond paramedic asked, voice skeptical with good reason. "That was one crazy mess!"

Carlisle and Esme looked at each other. They had no answer to that. They've never told anyone about Edward and Alice's ability, and they didn't know whether they should or not. Drifting their gazes over Alice's small form lying on the stretcher, dark hair framing her deathly pale face, they decided to keep the secret a little longer. After all, they didn't know what would happen if the information reached the wrong ears.

~To Heal~

Scripps Memorial Hospital

8:30 pm

The emergency room was packed full of people, many of them obviously homeless looking for shelter. While many of them were anxious family members no doubt awaiting news of their loved ones. The weather being the way it was, many accident victims were pouring through the doors. All the chaos weren't directly affecting the Cullens, however, as they were all gathered in a quiet room upstairs, watching the youngest members of their family sleep. Though various tests had been done on both of them, the doctors had found nothing to explain the bleeds, nor the fact that none of the family had any wounds from the crash. They were spending the night at the hospital because the doctors had wanted Edward and Alice to be observed for any new symptoms overnight. No one was complaining, the hospital was a nice shelter from the storm. As well as a good place to rest and discuss what they were going to do next. All the stuff they had taken on their trip had been lost in the wreck, though police had managed to salvage Esme's purse. But everything could be replaced and the twins mattered more than any belongings.

Carlisle was stroking Edward's bronze hair and Esme mirrored him on the other side with Alice. Both parents were relishing in the soft hair of their children and what blessings they were, while thinking about all that had happened. Neither of them knew what had happened tonight. As far as they were concerned, Alice and Edward had never bled after healing someone. And somehow, they knew that the bleeding had to have been related to the healing. There was no other plausible explanation they could think of. For now, though, what mattered the most was that they were both safe and sound.

"Man, I'm tired," Emmett yawned, breaking the stillness.

"Go ahead and get some rest, son," Carlisle told him, tilting his head at the couch that sat in the corner.

"I think I will," Emmett said and dragged himself over to plop down on the plush cushions.

"We're very proud of you, Em," Esme said as she pulled a blanket over her oldest son. Emmett had shared a little of what had happened while his parents had been unconscious, but hadn't gone into many details. Nevertheless, his parents were extremely proud of him for keeping enough cool to get his younger siblings and himself out of the car. He had been the perfect older brother he had sworn to be, looking out for Alice and Edward. In turn, their whole family was safe. "Sleep well now. Don't worry about a thing." Esme placed a soft kiss on Emmett's head, meeting no protest this time from the fifteen year old boy who normally opposed to such displays of affection since he deemed himself too old for such things. Within moments, he was out cold to the world.

"Would you like me to go get a cup of coffee for us?" Carlisle asked Esme. He stood from his chair and gave his wife a gentle kiss. They were still a bit shocked at all that had happened, as to be expected. He was eternally grateful to still have all of his family safe and sound, and a feeling that he would never be able to fully comprehend how lucky he was on this day.

"That'd be nice," Esme said. "I don't think I can sleep tonight. Nor do I really want to."

"I'll be back in a bit then." Carlisle gave her another kiss and hugged her to him before turning to head out the door. Pausing to look back, he saw Esme tending to each of their children, all the love of a mother in her eyes. The tender moment stretched, not even broken by the soft click of the door as Carlisle left the room.

Carlisle found the cafeteria easily, as the hospital had signs all over the place so one wouldn't get lost. The cafeteria reminded him a bit of home, of the hospital in Forks. He smiled as he saw a doctor reading the latest medical journal, a coffee cup in hand, reminding him of himself. Only a few people were present, some talking, most just taking a well earned break from the chaos brought on by the storm. While he waited in line to order two cups of coffee, two nurses stepped up behind him.

"Isn't this just the freakiest weather you've ever seen?" one of them said in a high soprano voice. Carlisle wasn't sure whether she was talking to him or not. Having nurses randomly come up to him was a daily thing since they found him attractive. Too bad he was married to the best woman in the world. But a moment later, the other nurse answered in a lower voice.

"No kidding. I've lived here my whole life and freak blizzards just don't happen in the middle of September." Carlisle was about to tune them out, since he didn't like eavesdropping, but couldn't help but listen quietly as their conversation went on.

"You know, strange things have been happening lately. Did you hear about the plane crash today?"

"No." As always, news of disaster perked Carlisle's interest and he now listened with rapt attention.

"It's unbelievable. Two giant commercial planes colliding head on! Somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic I think."

"How did that happen? Aren't they supposed to know when another plane is nearby?" the second nurse asked.

"I'm not sure. I heard it on the radio when I was coming to help out in the ER. It said something about a super thunderstorm messing up the navigation or something like that. I have no idea. The strangest part is that the storm manifested in a matter of minutes. Crazy huh?"

"No kidding," the second nurse said again. "What is the world coming to? Were there any survivors?"

"Not that they know of," the woman said in her high sing-song voice. They went on to talk about other stuff after that, hospital gossip for the most part. Tuning them out, Carlisle went over the conversation in his head and inwardly shivered. So many deaths today. First the storm and now two planes crash over the Atlantic after a freak thunderstorm. He found himself agreeing with the second nurse. What was the world coming to?

~To Heal~

A/N: As always, thanks for reading!