“Let him go…let him be with my mother,” I had said, starkly realizing that I held his life in my hands, and the only conscientious thing I could do was to sign his death warrant.
Then it hit me that I was an orphan. Aunt Teran had come running into the waiting room. She had been out of town and had only gotten home. She took one look at my face and knew.
We had settled on a sofa, numbly waiting for the nurse to bring my parents’ belongings. Teran and I didn’t say much. What was there to say? In the matter of a couple hours, my parents had been wiped out—their lives swallowed into the well of time.
I had looked around the hospital, never wanting to see it again. The sounds and smells all jumbled together. The clicking of machines and alarms and the wheezing of oxygen as it flowed into patients’ lungs, the soft hush of the corridors that seemed all too silent for how busy it was, the smell of disinfectant and beneath the cleansers, that unmistakable smell of coppery blood—it all washed together to form an indelible imprint on my memory.
All those memories came streaming back as we followed the nurse. Tad was awake, though he looked pale. And Hank, who was next to him, was still unconscious, but the machines hooked up to monitor his heart rate and oxygen chugged along at a nice steady pace.
I stood back as Caitlin approached Tad. She turned, motioning for me to join her. As we stood by his bedside, he opened his eyes and flashed us a wan smile.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” Caitlin said. I could feel the rush of emotion streaming through her. “I called your parents. They’ll be here soon.”
“How are you feeling?” It was a lame question, but I didn’t want to jump right into grilling him over what had happened.
“Like I’ve been steamrolled. The doctor told me that if they had brought me in twenty minutes later, I might not have made it. Hank’s showing the same symptoms. I asked them to bring in a specialist who deals in ailments for the Otherkin, because while this manifested physically, I suspected the problem’s magical in nature. So he’s got someone coming in. They should be here soon.” Tad deflated, looking exhausted.
“That’s a good idea,” I said. Then, after a pause, I asked, “Do you remember what happened?”
He shook his head. “Not so much. We were waiting for you to return when there was a loud crash in one of the rooms. We decided to investigate and…the cameras! We took a camera in there. It’s probably still there. If you can get the footage, we might know what happened. I blacked out at some point around then, and I’m pretty sure Hank did too.”
“The search and rescue team didn’t mention finding a camera anywhere near Hank. I doubt if we want to go back in looking for it at this point,” Caitlin said.
I leaned forward, looking at the sucker-like spots all over his face. “Did the doctor say what made those marks?”
“Again, they have no idea. The doc said that if he didn’t know better, he’d think I was attacked by…something like an octopus. But Hank doesn’t have any marks on him.” He paused. “You know, I was watching a Star Trek—the original series—rerun the other day. I remember thinking about the creature in it. It was the one about the monster that craved salt—and it left sucker-like impressions on the skin of its victims.”
I blinked. “You don’t really think that’s what attacked you, do you?” I didn’t say it, but I wanted to point out that Star Trek was just a show.
Tad snorted, then groaned. “That hurt. No, but I was thinking about that episode as we were investigating. I wonder…did whatever it was…did it play out my thoughts?”
I suddenly understood what he was saying. So did Caitlin.
“You mean did it read your thoughts and manifest as what you’re most afraid of?” she asked.
He nodded. “That’s it—because Hank doesn’t have them on him.” He paused as the doctor returned, another white-coated person behind him. The woman, who had so much magic dripping off her she practically reeked of it, gave both Caitlin and me a polite nod, then stepped forward to examine Tad.
“I’m Dr. Fairsight, and I’d like to ask your friends to leave the room, so I can examine you now. But before you go, the two of you were there, weren’t you?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.
“Yes, we were, though we were outside. But we can tell you everything we know,” I said.
Ten minutes later, after Caitlin and I gave her a rundown of our experiences, the doctor asked us to step outside. “Nearby magical signatures may interfere with my examination,” she explained.
Caitlin and I sat on a bench in the hallway. For all I knew, it could have been the one that I had sat on, waiting while my mother died.
“I hope…” Caitlin started to say, then pressed her lips together.
“He’ll be okay,” I said softly, giving her a sideways glance. “He’s not in danger now.” I hoped I was right, but I wanted to give her some comfort.
She flashed me a glimmer of a smile. “Thanks. I’ve worked with these guys since Tad first opened Conjure Ink. He’s a geek, but he’s got a heart of gold and is one of the nicest guys you could meet.”
I wanted to encourage her to break her engagement. It was obvious she was in love with Tad, but I held my tongue. There was time enough to discuss emotions later.
As we were sitting there, one of the nurses stopped in front of us. “Would you like coffee?” she asked. “The cafeteria is still open, and there are vending machines down the hall and around the corner.”
I thanked her. That was when I remembered that she had been on duty the night my parents died. I caught her gaze and held it, and saw a tiny spark of recognition in her eyes. “I think you were on duty here when my parents were brought in about five months ago. They had been in a car crash. My father was brain-dead and my mother…she died here.”
The light in her eyes flared. “Oh, yes, I remember. I’m so sorry—we did everything—”
“I know, and it’s all right. I just wanted to thank you for doing your best to help them. I know you don’t get thanked often enough for all you do.” I held out my hand and she took it. “Please, go do what you need to do. We’ll be fine right here.”
As she hustled off, Caitlin turned to me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were dealing with such rough memories.”
“My parents were in a terrible car crash. My father was brain-dead by the time the ambulance got here. My mother was bleeding internally and they couldn’t stop it. I hate hospitals,” I added, shivering.
“I’m sorry. I’ve never lost anybody who matters to me.” Caitlin stood. “I think I’d like a cup of coffee. Would you? I can get it, them, if you’ll stay here and wait.”
“Thanks. Cream and two sugars, please.” I watched her head down the hall toward the vending machines, and at that point, my cell went off. It was Ari. “Hey, we’re still at the hospital.”
“What the hell happened?”
I ran down the day for her. “It was a clusterfuck of epic proportions. I’m going to head home after we talk to the Otherkin doctor.”