Pulled (30 page)

“
Naya, can you hear me?” Her eyes open a crack and when she sees me, she smiles. “What did he do to you?”

“
...drugged ... so weak.” She is struggling to get the words out.

“
Shh, it's okay, the police are on their way; just hang on.” I brush some hair away from her ashen face.

“
I’m … sorry,” she croaks.

I take both of her hands in mine. “No, don’t be sorry. I’m here. You’re safe now.” She shakes her head, and licks her lips, needing to say more, so I lower myself to her again.

“
I’m sorry ... you'll have to … find me again.” For a second, I’m confused, but when I look in her eyes, I know what she means. She doesn’t think she’s going to make it.

“
Naya. Stay strong. Help is coming. Do you hear me?” But she shakes her head weakly.

“
Promise ... me,” she gasps. “Promise me you'll find me again.” Tears streak down her face. She squeezes my hand lightly, needing an answer.

“
I promise,” I say, “but I won't have to look hard. You're not going anywhere. I'm going to be right beside you.” She gives me a weak smile, then grimaces with pain.

“
I … love … you”

“
I love you too,” I moan, and lean in to kiss her, hoping my touch can be healing for her again. But when my lips touch hers, I feel it. I actually feel her soul slip out of her body.

“
No! Naya! Damn it, you open your eyes! You are not leaving me!”

There is a small frozen smile on her face which makes her look so peaceful that it hurts to look at her. I bend over and press my lips to hers again, unable to believe she's gone, and as I do, I feel something sharp sink into my back, hot and acidic. I turn my head enough to see Seth holding a butcher knife, which is now lodged deeply into my back.

“
Burn in hell, asshole,” he says.

Blood pours out of me, running down my back, dripping down my legs.

I hear sirens blaring in the distance, but I know it's too late for me. Seth hears them too. He looks down at me, scared. There is a small satisfaction that, at last, he will pay.

His eyes gloss over as he walks to a gun cabinet in the corner. Like a robot, he smashes in the glass with his fist, and pulls out a rifle. He's going to finish me off, and I can't help but feel grateful. At least then I'll be with Naya.

But he denies my request, and instead points the barrel at his own head and pulls the trigger before I can open my mouth to stop him. He crumples to the floor as pieces of his head rain down around him.

I start to close my eyes against the whooshing sound filling my head.
This is it; I'm going to die, too.

A flicker of light forces my eyes open in the few seconds I have left, and I am awed. Hovering just over Naya’s body is the most brilliant flame dancing over her in shades of gold and amber. It begins swirling in the air, where it gets overshadowed by a brighter, hotter light. I find myself needing to see where this other light is coming from.

But as I turn my head, I discover that
I
am the source of the fire. I look at my own body and find an identical set of flames rising above my own broken body.

Even in the moments before my death, I know that these are our souls, finally joined and dancing together, and the most wonderful sense of relief floods over me. A smile creeps across my face. I
will
find you again, Naya. I promise. Then I close my eyes for the last time.

Epilogue

The gentle beeps from the monitors fill the hospital hallway with a hypnotic rhythm indicating the steady heart rate of the hospital's three newest patients.

A tall, lanky woman in her late forties approaches the nurses' station, obviously coming to gossip about the evening's events.

“
Brenda! Did you hear the news?”

Of course Brenda had heard. It was all everyone could talk about. Not wanting to deflate Marilyn's balloon, Brenda plays dumb.

“
No, what happened?”

Marilyn's eyes grew bright with anticipation at being the first to tell someone the story. “Well, you remember the Weavers out on Tucker Road?”

“
Sure.”

“
Turns out that the parents were off in Florida
on a vacation, when their son, Seth, you know the one, big beefy guy, not bad on the eyes? Well, he kidnaps his girlfriend, brings her to his folks' house, drugs her causing her to OD, then this other boy, who I'm guessing must have been the girlfriend's lover, he gets stabbed in the back, like literally. One guess who did that, right? Then the cute one up and shoots himself in the head!”

Marilyn is practically panting from the amount of exertion she put into the story. “I can't believe you haven't heard this, Brenda. The entire hospital is in a tizzy about this!”

Brenda smiles politely. “I'm sorry, Marilyn, I guess I've got a lot on my mind right now. In case you didn't notice, we've had a busy night here, too.”

Walking over to the door nearest her, she pushes it open with her bottom. Tormented cries instantly fill the room.

“
Have you been crying all night honey?” Brenda asks, walking among the other empty bassinets to get to the infant who is wailing. “Hush now, Jada, there’s no need to cry. Your mama’s gonna be just fine. She’ll be out of surgery soon and then your papa will come down to see you.”

She hugs the small child in her arms and tries to soothe the infant who had been whisked away from her mother just moments after birth in a hurried attempt to save the young woman’s life.

“
Hush now,” she whispers again, “you’re not alone. I’m here now.”

She continues to try and calm the screaming child without success.

“
Hush now, or you’ll wake up the whole town,” she teases gently.

Just then, another RN, Julie, walks into the nursery carrying Tobias, born just a few hours ago. Tobias is screaming almost as loudly as Jada.

“
It’s not easy being a baby, is it?” Julie jokes. As Julie inches around Brenda to put Tobias down, both babies instantly stop crying and small, gentle coos escape the babies’ lips.

“
Well, I guess you just were waiting for Tobias to show up, huh?” Brenda chuckles.

Julie laughs too, but then moves away from Brenda and places Tobias in his bassinet. The moment she sets him down, the cries of misery begin erupting again from each of the babies.

“
Now don’t that just beat all?” Brenda exclaimed. “Let’s try something.”

Shifting Jada in her hands, Brenda places Jada next to Tobias in his bassinet. All at once both of the infants' cries stop.

Brenda stands over them, amazed. Her lips curve into a smile watching the two lovebirds, astonished that even though each child has its limbs swaddled snuggly inside its hospital blankets, they each manage to turn their tiny bodies toward the other.

“
Looks like they fancy each other,” Brenda sighs.

“
Looks like,” Julie agrees. “But wait till she gets a look at the little one in Room 111.”

Brenda nods. “True. That boy has got the most amazing blue eyes. He’s going to be quite the lady-killer when he grows up.”

Brenda crosses her arms and shakes her head in awe of the two infants who lie side by side, drinking each other in.

The End?

Or the Beginning?

Danielle Bannister
lives with her two small children and her husband in Searsmont, Maine. She holds a BA in Theatre from the University of Southern Maine and is currently working on a Masters Degree from the University of Orono. This is her first novel. She is currently working on the sequel to
Pulled.

You can visit her website at:

[email protected]