Night settled gently over the National Medical Center.
The crowds outside had not grown smaller.
If anything, they had grown larger.
Candles now stretched across the sidewalks like rivers of light.
Volunteers handed out bottles of water.
Pastors prayed quietly with strangers.
Imams stood beside priests.
Young people sang softly beneath the glow of streetlights.
Inside the hospital, the atmosphere remained just as quiet.
But it wasn't peaceful.
It was the silence of people waiting for news that could change everything.
Sebastian stood alone outside Hayes' room.
The corridor was empty for the first time all day.
Vivian had finally convinced Elena and Magnus to get something to eat.
Even the security officers had rotated shifts
.
For the first time in nearly forty-eight hours...
Sebastian was alone with his thoughts.
He looked through the small glass window.
Hayes hadn't moved.
The machines continued their steady rhythm.
