The man behind the counter had a kind and comforting voice. His warm eyes provided sympathy as he calmly inquired what terrible predicament had brought them to this cold building that reeked of death.  Two nurses with faces lacking any emotion took him back through the wide doors almost immediately. She fell into a chair beside the door she watched him disappear through, defeated. Her hands shook and the sounds of the receptionist's fingers hitting the keys echoed in her ears.  As every doctor strolled nonchalantly by her head snapped up, eyes hopeful but filled with sadness.  But they all looked past her. She needed desperately to know how he was faring but could not even dare to see him in the state he was in. She knew she would break down and cry and only make matters worse. A chill racked through her body and settled in her heart. Her throat ached with the force of the sobs she suppressed. Her eyes stung but she would let no tears fall from them. The only other people sitting in the horribly repulsive chairs were a young, homely couple. They were frantic and wept helplessly. Her head snapped forward and she tried to drown out their sobs with prayers to a God she never before believed in. God, I promise I'll believe in you if you just save him. Save him for me. He's been such an amazing person, there's no way he deserves to die. What did I do to deserve this fate? I'll give you my soul for his health. With her eyes clenched shut to shield herself from the horrible room she sat in, she failed to notice someone sit beside her. He moved quietly, not even a breath escaped his lips. Shrouded in a dark cloak he was obviously out of place, but no one in the ER noticed him; the receptionist typed on his computer, the couple continued to cry together. Her lips moved frantically in a hushed whisper. Her hands rhythmically clenched each other. Her back was ramrod straight. "Please, I'll do anything to save him," she whispered, a tear escaping her scrunched eyes. Her body convulsed and the sobs racked through her body with the escape of that one tear. The sound of a wounded animal escaped from her lips and the tears began to flow freely. Her heart was broken. She could no longer imagine life. She knew she lost him. Her body was cold and her head felt heavy. She clenched onto the chair's arms but refused to open her eyes. Bile rose in the back of her throat. The world felt empty; there was no other way to describe it. The man sat and watched her with a graceful ease. A large figure completely shrouded in darkness. Her world turned black and she crumpled to the floor just as the nurse came to give her the terrible, earth shattering news.