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Cole had dozed off once or twice throughout the night, but thoughts of the Horseman kept snapping him right back into wakefulness. Aaron didn't change much, and really just sat there on the couch staring at nothing. There were a few times when he thought the boy might have actually died for good, but every time he was mistaken.
When the sun rose, Ichabod slipped away easily - one minute he was there, and the next it was Cole, blinking in confusion. It took a few seconds to realize what had happened, and he let out a sigh that turned into a strangled cry when he remembered the Horseman. Fuck, there was actually a Headless Horseman in the building. That was just what he needed, to worry about a headless thing trying to behead him--
In the midst of his panic, he suddenly remembered Aaron. He leapt to his feet, gazing upon the decomposing body across from him in disbelief and horror. "Shit-- Aaron?" Cole approached him quickly, trying to figure out if he was still alive or not. "Please, don't be dead, there has to be a way to fix this..." There was no response from the body, and with sickening horror he realized it was too late. They changed back, which meant the thing on his couch was just a corpse. It wasn't Aaron, not anymore. He'd been here but Cole hadn't, and now it was too late. Always too late.
"It's not fair," he said numbly, shaking his head and backing away from the body. "It shouldn't be like this... you weren't supposed to die. If Sam were still here, his machine, it could have..." He trailed off, remembering what had happened to Jude. No, nothing could save the dead. Things like machines and this fable shit could pretend to, but it was a lie.
Cole sat down on the floor, not needing the note to know that Aaron needed to be preserved. Maybe Micah would come soon, maybe he wouldn't. But he was going to wait anyway. Not even the gashes on his arm mattered right now. If he couldn't take care of Aaron, the least he could do was take care of his body.