Freedom From the Evil Dead

by Mary Abshire

  I screamed at the top of my lungs as they put a spreader inside me. A pain like no other consumed me while they widened the spreader. A dark spot in the light formed as I stared at it. The doctor cranked the device and stretched my chest apart. Frosty air brushed over my exposed intestines like tiny daggers slicing me to pieces. The dot above me grew and, in little time, it was the size of a person's head. My flaming body weighed a ton, but my mind was as light as a feather. The black blob expanded.

  Voices sounded distant. Vibrations from my heart seemed more intense and thundered in my ears. Thick, hot fluid kept my insides heated. The world was slipping from me, but somehow, I held on. When one of the doctors started feeling around inside me, the spot above expanded to encompass the entire ceiling.

  "Cut a piece from her stomach," a voice said.

  My vision swirled, but one thing I knew for certain was the dark mass was spreading. I was so hot and so weary. They poked and prodded at my insides. Each one left me feeling as if someone had punched me. Sharp stings resulted from their cuts. When they sliced into my stomach, the black hole engulfed me.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Movement hurt, so I avoided it and simply stared at the ceiling. Day three of being hit by a truck, or rather, sliced open and examined, had yet to be any different from day one. Three blankets covered me to help keep me warm. My body temperature had dropped at some point during the procedure and had yet to return the normal. I hated the hospital gown, but it was better than being naked. Not far from the end of my bed, an IV bag hung on a thin pole. Fluid flowed from it and into my arm. Although they'd sewn me up and my bones had fused back together, I was sorer than I'd ever been in my life. I definitely needed more healing.

  The lock clicked and I glanced behind me. Nassar entered dressed in black slacks and navy blue button-down shirt. He carried a tray of food. After days of not eating and being fed intravenously, one would've thought to tell the cook. But who was I to complain?

  Nassar set the tray on the desk, then scooted the folding chair closer to the bed before he sat. "How are you feeling today?”

  "Why do you care?" I shifted my gaze back to the ceiling.

  "Because I do."

  I sighed. "So when's the next experiment?"

  "Later this evening."

  I swallowed hard. "Great. I can't wait to feel more pain."

  Nassar leaned forward over his knees and clasped his hands together. "Jessie…I fear this time…You won't live to see the sun rise."

  He had my attention. I met his gaze. "I hope you're right."

  "I don't…" He rose, then started pacing. "This isn't us. This isn't what the VETOV was intended to do." He stopped and faced me. "Doing this serves no purpose."

  I winced as I pushed myself onto my elbows. Oh, did I hurt. Stitches were a bitch.

  "You're wrong," I said. "You're inflicting agony. You're feeding from it as much as you feed from blood. Death would be too easy. Isn't that the way it's always been?"

  He shook his head. "No."

  "Then you’re blind." I carefully lowered back to the bed.

  He walked back and forth. "Drake had tried to tell me the same thing."

  I closed my eyes. "Excuse me if I don't want to hear your bullshit."

  "The VETOV is acting out of the scope envisioned for vampires."

  "Good luck changing things. You're outnumbered." Why was I talking to him? Why was I concerning myself with his problems? "Do what you want. Nobody cares."

  "Regardless of what you think of me, I am not your enemy," he said.

  "Yes, you are."

  When his footsteps silenced, I opened my eyes. He stood near my legs, staring at me.

  "I have walked this earth since before Christ," he said.

  "I don't care. You're no different from any of them. How many times do I have to repeat this? Are ancients always this deaf?"

  Growling, his incisors lowered and rushed toward me. He stopped above me with his hands braced on the bed, near my head.

  "Why do you not fear me?" he asked. "Why do you not fear death, but welcome it?"

  "You and your merry group have taken everything from me. I have nothing to lose and much to gain. I will be back after my body dies. And I will hunt each one of you down. Can you return after your head is severed from your body?"

  He opened his mouth and forced his canines lower.

  I turned my head and exposed my neck. "Go ahead. Rip my throat apart. I dare you."

  He leaped away from me, growling. He moved to the desk, then lifted it and threw it across the room. It shattered into pieces against the wall. The tray clanged on the floor. A reddish-colored food splattered on the wall, then slid to the floor. I think it was spaghetti.

  I looked over my shoulder. Fists clenched and pupils fully dilated, he stared at me.

  "Why don't you just kill me? You know you want to," I said.

  "No! I don't."

  "But you'll let your partners cut me into pieces?" I asked. "You're worse than they are. Coward."

  He stormed out, then shoved the barred door closed. I flinched from the harsh clank of the metal.

  After a deep breath, I closed my eyes. Why couldn't he just kill me? Stupid vampires. Listening to the buzz from the lights above, I drifted asleep.

  * * *

  Loud rumbles roared from above. The building shook and the barred door rattled. More thunderous booms sounded from far away. I removed my arm covering my eyes and pried them open. Bright light from the ceiling forced me to squint. After a short silence, there was another deep roar. Sighing, I wished I was outside to see the storm passing through. It had been so long since the last time I felt heavy drops rain, the gust of the wind and fresh air, the flashes of lightning, and the ominous clouds moving quickly in the sky.

  Since I was stuck in my cell, I closed my eyes and listened to the music of the storm. The phase of rumbles held a steady rhythm that fostered my drowsiness. There were big booms, silence, little bursts, more silence, and so on. Sometimes, the building shook from the large rumbles. I dozed off, but not completely. The outside noises kept me awake.

  The sound of fireworks roused a memory of the time I'd been in Arizona on the 4th of July. I recalled how the pops echoed, then a shower of light illuminated the dark sky. Over and over again, various sparks of color flashed above me. A shame I'd never see such beauty again.

  The sound of distant snaps persuaded me to wake up. Although I was in a dream state of mind, it was as if I knew fireworks couldn't go on in the middle of a storm.

  I opened my eyes and saw smoke lingering near the ceiling. A nearby boom caused the light to flicker. More pops interrupted the silence after the burst. As the cloud above me grew, a feeling of déjà vu took hold of me. My vision.

  I removed the tape holding the tube to my arm, then carefully tugged on the needle. A bubble of blood formed, but it was the least of my concerns. My body ached as I pushed myself upright. Stitches from the top of my chest to under my bellybutton held my flesh together, but my skin in that area stung with every move I made. Sitting up was not an easy process and hurt like a bitch.

  The smoke thickened and irritated my lungs. Coughing, more pain surfaced. It was as if a knife had sliced me. I wasn't certain, but a stitch might have come loose.

  Following a boom, the light struggled to stay on. The room became cloudier. Each breath hurt, so I lengthened the time before I inhaled again. My pulse raced, which didn't help slow my breathing. The smoke was more transparent near the ground. Somehow, I had to get to the floor and then to the door.

  I scooted to the edge of the bed, then turned my body slightly. Legs bent, I fell until I landed on the concrete on my hands and knees. The drop might have been a foot, but the impact made the fall seem ten times greater. A sharp, tearing pain branched out from my abdomen. Fluid rolled down my stomach while sweat dripped from my head. I gasped for air, then choked.

  "Jessie?" someone called out. I barely heard my name.

  Every breath a
nd every movement brought a world of flaming agony. Yet, I crawled to the door. Smoke filled the hall. The lights flickered.

  "Jessie?" said a distant male voice.

  Hand wrapped around a cold metal bar, I inhaled. My lungs tightened, refusing to accept more of the cloudy air, so I choked.

  "Here," I managed to get out before I coughed. "Here," I said louder.

  Smoke burned my eyes. Sweat fell into them and singed them more. My chest ached fiercely and my fast beating heart intensified the pain. Why couldn't the vamps have killed me? I didn't want to die in a fire.

  Barks sounded like angels singing in my ears. I hadn't heard any animal yelps since Pittsburgh. Coughing, I tugged on the bar and the lock above me clanked.

  "I'm down here," I said, then sucked in the horrid air.

  The yaps sounded closer. I held my breath because it hurt too much when I didn't. I pushed and pulled on the bar, banging the door against the metal. I heard more barks. Choking, I scooted lower to the floor. When a wet tongue licked my face, a tiny shred of hope gave me strength. I hurt and struggled to breathe, but my fight wasn't over yet.

  Lying on the floor, I listened to the different yelps on the other side of the bars. I blinked several times to clear my watery eyes. Three large wolves stood outside my door. One licked my hand.

  My lungs started to refuse the smoke. I tried to stop choking, but my body needed oxygen badly. Between my painful gasps, I heard snaps and cracks. The fire had to be closing in above me. If I didn't get out of the cell soon, I never would.

  "Hold on, Jessie," a man said. His voice sounded familiar.

  Moisture poured from my cloudy eyes. I could barely make out the image of a naked man standing inches away, yet separated from me by the bars. He tugged on them, then another man appeared. Together, they both pulled on the metal door.

  Lying with my face on the cold floor, I tried to suck in traces of clean air through my puckered lips. My aching lungs accepted the intake. I rubbed my eyes and found a third pair of feet past my cell.

  "Together, one, two…" said a man.

  The metal groaned and whined, then there was a loud snap. The gate moved.

  "I'll stay with her. Get Jeremy," the familiar voice said.

  The smoke had a death grip on me. Every tiny breath brought agony. When I started choking again, I couldn't stop. My head throbbed while a sharp pain in my heart grew. I didn't fear leaving this world and going to Hell, but I didn't want to go yet either. I had been ready to die before, but the werewolves had inspired me to want to live.

  The man put his hand on my cheek. "You're almost free," he said while my skin twitched from his touch.

  My vision started to darken as if shades were closing. Not only was I struggling for the tiniest bit of air, I was fighting to stay conscious. Then something wet and heavy fell over me. Someone lifted me into their arms with the dripping cover hiding me. Heat surrounded me as if I were in a sauna. I couldn't be sure if the high temperature was from the person carrying me, or the fire. The dark fog wanted to seize hold of my mind. I tried to avoid it, but the pain overwhelmed me. I felt weightless, floating in a sea of warmth. I was failing my fight to stay awake.

  The person carrying me set me down, then removed the wet cover. A bright light blinded me. I couldn't see my savior. Eyes closed, I inhaled. Salty air mixed with rain trickled into my lungs. Drops of water hit my face and body. I was on the brink of passing out, but hope kept me from falling into the dark well. Someone had rescued me. I still had a chance to get the evil bloodsuckers.

  "She's bleeding," a man said.

  "We need to go now," said a familiar voice.

  The ground underneath me moved. I was floating again, but something was holding me up. An engine hummed while more rain caressed my flesh.

  "Stay with me, Jessie," the familiar voice said.

  My lips were parted, but I couldn't feel my lungs filling. My body felt numb. I didn't want the black mist to engulf me, but I couldn't stop it anymore. As I succumbed to the darkness, I prayed to my father to return me so I could claim the souls of the evil vampires one day.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  "She needs to be taken to a hospital," a man said.

  Oxygen, clean and pure, filled my lungs. It hurt to breathe, but it also felt wonderful. The hard surface underneath me was cold. I was soaking wet and sore, but I could move my feet. And I did.

  "Her pulse is steady," another man said before he removed his touch from my neck.

  "She might be waking up," a familiar voice said.

  I struggled to lift my eyelids. The fog that had swallowed me wanted me to stay longer. When something icy touched the area above my heart, I managed to pry my eyes open.

  "I have no way of knowing if she has any internal injuries," said the man from before who wanted me to go to a hospital.

  "Her heart sounds good," said the man standing next to me.

  I blinked, trying to clear my cloudy vision. Where was I? Who was checking me out? Why did I feel so wet and naked? I started to see clearer. A clear plastic mask covered my nose and mouth.

  The man at my side removed the stethoscope, then shined a bright light into one of my eyes. "She's coming out of it." He blinded me in my other eye, then clicked off the laser beam.

  "If her pulse and heartbeat are steady, is it possible she could have an internal injury?" the familiar man asked.

  Jeremy?

  "Anything is possible. Look what they've done to her," said the man on my other side. He sounded irritated. "But she's not showing signs of any major damage. She's dehydrated and this patchwork is a mess. She doesn't appear to have an infection, but we should pump her full of antibiotics just in case." He removed something over my stomach. "She's still bleeding, too. I can't stop it unless I sew her back up. And to do that, I'll have to undo most of the stitches first."

  I tried to look at the stranger. He stood on my right side, above my hips. He had light blond hair and wore a green sweater with the sleeves rolled midway up his arms. I'd never seen him before in my life, if I was alive.

  Jeremy stepped into my view, next to my head. He wore a baseball cap backwards and a black shirt. My heart jumped. I had to be dead.

  "Will it hurt her?" Jeremy asked, looking at the blond man next to him. The two were nearly equal in height, but Jeremy won by a few inches.

  "Of course it will hurt," the tall blond said.

  "We can sedate her," said the man on my other side.

  "Jeremy?" I squeaked with my attention focused on him.

  He lowered his gaze to me, then pressed his hand to my forehead. "Shh, be still."

  His touch and the smile spreading across his face warmed me. He felt real. He looked real. But so much had happened to me recently that I couldn't be sure if I was truly alive or dead.

  Jeremy looked at the man on my left. "I don't want her to feel anymore pain."

  I lifted my arm. It felt so heavy, but I had to touch him myself. I had to know if he was solid. I'd visited the devil once before and he'd taken Jeremy's form. Could he be tricking me again? I reached over my chest for him.

  Jeremy captured my hand. "Easy now."

  I stared at the snake tattoo on his arm and the tongue extending toward his palm as he lowered my hand back to my side. He felt solid and as real as real could be. Heat spread up my limb from his touch. I wasn't dead and neither was he. How?

  The man across from him took hold of my arm and laid it flat. He held a syringe in his gloved hand. I took in air faster. I didn't want to go back into the darkness.

  "Jeremy," I said.

  He slid his hand into my hair, then planted a kiss on my forehead. "I'm not leaving you. I'll be right here."

  I swallowed hard as I felt the sting of the needle.

  "I need to get a few things from my room," the blond man said, and Jeremy nodded.

  "There," the other man said as he withdrew the shot. "It shouldn't take long."

  "Make sure to watch her. Anything you give her s
hould be at least twice as strong or it won't last long in her system," Jeremy told him.

  I couldn't take my gaze from Jeremy, and he seemed equally pleased to stare at me. Although I could only see his face and part of his chest, he looked normal. He looked healthy.

  "I thought you would die," I said.

  He chuckled. "Your father wouldn't allow it."

  Feeling woozy, I struggled to keep my eyes open. "Did you… Did you see him?"

  He grinned, then gave me another kiss on my forehead. "Rest. I'll be here."

  I closed my eyes and all the questions I had piling up suddenly disappeared. I floated into the darkness.

  * * *

  Warmth spread up my head, down my neck, and along my spine. I inhaled, and energy flowed through me. My heart felt stronger. My blood felt hotter. The pain in my body lessened. I sucked in the power and wanted more.

  Opening my eyes, I found Jeremy above me, his lips brushing mine. I was lying on my back and he held me by the nape of my neck. He still had on a baseball hat with the flap in the back. Being so close, I breathed in his soft scent of burning leaves. I closed my mouth and he lifted his gaze.

  "Hi," he said.

  My heart swelled with joy. I'd missed the demon more than words could say. I couldn't begin to express how glad I was to see him alive and well. Yes, he often caused problems for me, but he always pulled through when it came to helping me. I owed him a lot.

  "Hi," I said.

  He backed away from me, taking his hand with him. The loss of his touch and heat left me feeling cold and alone. I dreaded both. Before he sat upright, I quickly snatched his hand and squeezed it. The tube connected to my arm jiggled, but it didn't disconnect from me, or the bag near the bed.

  "Please, don't go," I said.

  He grinned as he stared at me with his caramel eyes. "I won't."

  I turned the upper part of my body slightly and acquired a world of hurt. Wincing, I fell back.

  "You need more rest," he said.