Earthbound

by Melora Johnson

  Matt wordlessly paced off about fifty feet and nailed the target to a tree. I kept looking around, nervous being even that far from him.

  He returned and got a handgun out of the case. “This is a .357 magnum. It’ll knock a fair hole in something. This is the safety. Are you right-handed or left-handed?”

  “Right-handed,” I replied. I wasn’t afraid of guns, but I had a healthy respect for the power behind a weapon. Would I be able to handle it?

  Matt moved around me with the gun pointed at the ground and held it out to me that way. “Two hands, take your stance, feet shoulder-width apart, point it at the target, and shoot when you’re ready.”

  I did as he said. It rocked me backwards when the gun went off, yanking my arms upward. The shot barely caught the upper right of the paper target. We had foam earplugs in, or I think I would have been deafened. “Whoa.” Matt took the gun from me. “I’m not sure I’m cut out for a gun like that.”

  “No, you did fine. You just have to be patient,” he said, demonstrating. “Flex your knees, and you’ll have the stance down. You have great hand-eye coordination. In general, women are much better at shooting than men because they wait for the shot. Aim, take a deep breath, let it out slowly, and just let your finger naturally tighten on the trigger. Don’t think about it, it’s not intentional.” He handed it back to me.

  “Does that mean if I kill someone, it’s only manslaughter because my finger really did it?” I joked.

  He flashed a quick grin. “Maybe you could convince them to just take your finger? No, I don’t think so.”

  I took my stance and aimed at the target. “It was a great time for me,” I muttered. “Learning to fence, fight, anything anyone would teach me.”

  “I’ll most likely kill you in the morning.”

  “What?” I spun around, adrenaline shooting through me. Matt knocked the gun down. “Watch where you’re pointing that thing.”

  “Sorry,” I said sheepishly, pulling one ear plug out. “What did you say?”

  “I’ll most likely kill you in the morning.”

  I blinked, startled. I’d gotten caught up in the lesson, forgetting my nerves, then they came rushing back.

  He explained. “You know: good night, Wesley, sleep tight, I’ll most likely kill you in the morning.”

  “Oh, yeah, right.” Duh, I’d just quoted The Princess Bride myself. What was wrong with me? I screwed the ear plug back in, turned to the target, and took a deep breath, then let it out before bringing the gun up again.

  I sighted along the barrel, took another breath, and released it slowly, concentrating on my breathing instead of the trigger. The gun seemed to go off by itself, drilling a hole through the upper right quadrant of the circles.

  “There you go,” Matt said grimly as he took the gun back from me. “With some practice, you won’t miss anything you’re aiming at. I’ll get you familiar with a few different guns, but I think this is optimal for your ability to hold it and shoot straight while making a fairly big dent in a demon.”

  “That’s it? All I have to do is shoot a demon to get rid of it?” It sounded like there should be a hitch.

  “No, and even that’s not as easy as you think. One, some of the beasts are invisible, as you’ve discovered.”

  I rubbed my hands up my arms. Yeah, that did present a horrifying problem.

  “Second, some you won’t know if they’re demons or not because they look like humans. You can get a clue as to whether or not they might be demons by reading their auras. Demons tend to have black auras, though even that’s not foolproof. Some have yellow, or green, or chartreuse, and humans can have those auras too. The only way you’ll know for certain whether it’s a demon or not is if you touch them. Then you’ve lost the element of surprise because they’ll sure know who you are at that point.” He stared at me.

  I gulped. “Ah, I hadn’t thought of it cutting both ways.”

  “Also, the gun is just for incapacitating the demon if you can get a shot,” he went on. “It may kill the body; however, that leaves the spirit free to possess someone else. You still have to banish it. That’s a hell of a lot easier if it’s still in the body, confined.”

  “That doesn’t sound too difficult,” I replied. “I just put my hands on them and bless them, right?”

  Matt shook his head. “That’ll work for the minor ones. I suspect the one you came across as a kid had found you by accident and took the opportunity to advance his position in the hierarchy. It would have been quite a coup if he could have stopped you before you even got to adulthood.”

  I shuddered at the thought. I had apparently been very lucky.

  “It wasn’t all luck,” Matt said as if following my thoughts. I frowned at the intrusion, but he just grinned. “You have good instincts and a compassionate heart. It has stood you in good stead.”

  I felt shy under his positive regard. I had never been the focus of compliments, certainly not from a gorgeous hunk standing there with his sleeves rolled up, flexing some mighty strong hands and forearms as he checked gun clips. I shivered again, though it had nothing to do with the breeze.

  Blissfully unaware of the turn my thoughts had taken, Matt continued. “The moderately dangerous demons might be slowed down by a blessing, but it won’t take them down. You’ll need something stronger. The strong demons won’t even blink. They’ll snap your neck before you finish.”

  That brought me up short.

  Matt took a step toward me. Our eyes met. “I won’t let that happen. They’ll have to go through me first.”

  I swallowed. God, he confused me. My attraction to him felt wildly out of control, though I couldn’t say I trusted him wholeheartedly. I supposed I trusted him more than I had almost any other person I’d met, other than my parents. Well, and maybe Jen. Though I hadn’t trusted her to know my secrets and still want to be friends.

  “I’m going to teach you everything you need to know. There isn’t going to be a demon you can’t take down when I’m done.”

  Matt showed me several more guns, explained the purpose of using the different weapons, and had me try each one. Finally, he loaded the gun case, and we headed back up the road. I felt bad letting him carry the heavy case all by himself, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it. I still felt a bit weak from the healing process.

  “We should have driven down,” I commented. I wouldn’t have felt so exposed either.

  He shrugged. He hadn’t broken a sweat or struggled at all. It was a little disconcerting. Something niggled at the back of my mind. He had been sweating when he dealt with the wounds on my arms. Why? Was it mental instead of physical? I certainly hadn’t weighed any more than that gun case, and he’d been sweating for a while after he’d carried me in. Had it been fear? Fear for me? I felt a rush of warmth at the thought and smiled.

  “What’s that smile for?” Matt asked.

  I froze, straightening my face. I hadn’t realized he was watching me. Oops. “Um, just never thought I’d be firing a gun like that in the woods.”

  He didn’t look like he quite believed me.

  When we got to the house, my phone message light blinked steadily. It jarred my memory. “Shit.”

  “What is it?” Matt asked, tensing.

  I grabbed the phone and punched in the number for my voicemail. “I totally forgot I was supposed to meet my friend Jen for lunch today.”

  Matt chuckled. “I think she’ll forgive you.”

  I keyed in my pin, and the message began. It wasn’t Jen. “Allyson,” the voice stopped, then the sound of sniffling filled the silence. “This is Denise, Jen’s mother. There’s been an accident. Jen is going to… to be okay, but she’s at the hospital. I’ve left word with the desk so you can visit. We’re at the Montgomery Memorial hospital. I know she’d like to see you when you can get here.”

  I stared at the phone in horror. The date and time stamp placed the call an hour before. “I have to go,” I murmured, dazed.

  “What’s
going on?”

  “It’s Jen, she’s in the hospital. There’s been an accident.”

  “I’ll drive you,” Matt said, taking the keys out of my hand.

  That was probably a good idea since my worry for Jen was making it hard to focus. My nerves jangled as we headed out the door for my car.

  Chapter 8

  At the hospital, we parked my green Subaru and hurried in the front doors. I didn’t know where to go. No one was manning the information desk. What kind of hospital is this? I stood there uncertainly for a minute, then I saw Denise down the hallway to the left, walking toward us along with a priest. I hurried to meet them.

  Her eyes were shadowed and tired, but not reddened as if she’d been crying. I took it as a good sign. A slightly more matronly version of Jen, with shoulder length curly hair and dark brown eyes, she held out her arms to me. I hugged her.

  “Oh, Ally, I’m so glad you’re here. I know Jen will be too.” She looked past me to Matt questioningly.

  “Denise, this is my friend Matt Blake.”

  They murmured a ‘nice to meet you,’ and Denise turned back to me. “And this is Father Patrick.” She indicated the priest with a wave of her hand. “He’s been here to give Jen last rites.”

  I felt a shock run through my body at the words. “Last rites? Is she?” I swallowed, not wanting to say the words.

  “No, no,” Father Patrick replied. “Like the phoenix, she has risen. The doctors are quite confident she will be just fine now. Anyway, we don’t really call it last rites anymore. It’s the sacrament of the sick and includes the laying on of hands. Many feel it aids in the healing process when recovering from an illness or accident.”

  “Excuse me for just a moment,” Denise said. “I’ve been with Jen for the last couple hours, I just need to powder my nose.”

  “Of course,” I replied.

  As Denise walked around us, the priest stepped forward. “Have you ever visited someone in a burn unit?”

  “Burn unit?” I echoed.

  “Yes. You weren’t told?” Father Patrick asked gently.

  I shook my head.

  “She was burned rather badly in the accident. In fact, her respiration and heartbeat stopped for several minutes at the scene, but the paramedics were able to administer CPR. She rallied beautifully.”

  “So... she died?” I asked, taken aback.

  “Technically, yes, but there were no monitors to record brain activity.” He took my hand in both of his. “Rest assured, she is speaking clearly, though she’s tired and on morphine. She is perfectly aware of who she is, where she is, and what day it is. There doesn’t appear to be any lasting damage in that direction. Only time will tell about the rest.”

  I took a deep, shaky breath in and exhaled slowly. This was all my fault.

  The priest looked from me to Matt and back. “They are limiting visitors to her due to the danger of infection, so I’m afraid your friend won’t be able to go in with you.”

  “I understand,” I replied, as Matt murmured, “No problem.”

  “There’s a waiting room just outside the burn unit.” He paused for a moment, seeming to choose his words carefully. “You will see she is swathed in bandages. The morphine makes her somewhat comfortable. As I said, she is burned rather badly. There will be a long road to recovery, from my experiences ministering to other burn victims. Still, there is every reason to have hope. The most important thing is to help Jen maintain her hope.”

  I nodded, swallowing hard as I pictured her covered in bandages. I thought of my own bandages being removed with only a faint scar this morning. What could I do for her? And how, with so many people around? Miracles tended not to go unnoticed.

  Denise re-joined us. “Ready to go up?” she asked me with false cheer.

  “Sure,” I replied, though I was more than a little nervous about what I would see.

  She looked at Matt. “I’m sorry, but you won’t be able to go in.”

  “I understand. I’ll just cool my heels in the waiting room. I’m sorry I haven’t gotten to meet Jen yet. Ally has spoken very fondly of her. I’ll look forward to meeting her in the future.”

  Denise studied him for a moment, then nodded. “Good.”

  “I’ll say goodbye for now,” Father Patrick said, giving Denise a hug. “I will keep you all in my prayers, and I will be back to check in on her regularly. Please, don’t hesitate to let me know if there is anything I can do.”

  “Thank you, Father,” Denise replied.

  He left, and we headed for the elevator.

  “So, what happened?” I asked Denise hesitantly.

  “Well, we’re not entirely sure,” she said, stabbing the elevator button viciously. “She was headed back to work from the bar and grille you two like.”

  “McGinty’s?”

  “Yes.”

  Crap, crap, crap. If I’d just called her and let her know I wouldn’t be there, she would never have gone. Matt gave my arm a squeeze, perhaps sensing my agitation. The elevator arrived, and we moved inside.

  “The police implied she had a bit too much to drink and was driving too fast for the road conditions. Well, you know Jen, she always drives too fast, doesn’t leave enough room between her and the car in front of her. Still, she says she only had one glass of wine, and she hadn’t even drunk most of it. They took blood for tests. I suppose they’ll do a tox screen so that should be answered, not that I care. Life will change for her, but she’s alive to live it. That’s all I care about right now.”

  The elevator dinged, and the doors opened.

  “What does she say happened?” I asked.

  We stepped off the elevator, and Denise stopped. “She said, it was as if an invisible hand swiped her car off the road and spun it into the tree.” She shrugged. “She didn’t actually break anything, but she was trapped in the car with it burning.” She pressed a hand to her mouth, her eyes filled with tears.

  My own tears welled up in sympathy as I put a hand on her arm. She wrapped her arms around herself, took in a shuddering breath, and let it out slowly as she stared up at the ceiling. “Thankfully, she wasn’t actually awake for most of it. She wasn’t…” Again, Denise had to pause and take another breath before continuing, “…wasn’t breathing when they pulled her out, but they managed to revive her. Everything seems fine except for the burns.”

  We were silent for a moment or two, then Denise looked at Matt and gestured down the hallway to the left, “You can wait down here. There’s only an hour left for visiting anyway, so we’d better get in there.” She studied me, puzzled. “She was adamant about seeing you, wouldn’t rest until I promised to call you.”

  Denise led me down the hallway to a door. She pressed the button to the side, and we were buzzed in.

  The young nurse staffing the reception desk smiled in greeting. “Hello, Mrs. G. Is this the friend you were hoping would visit?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay.” She put a clipboard in front of me with a list of instructions and a place for me to sign at the bottom. “When you visit, you’ll sign in to the right here. Don’t worry, you’ll only go through these instructions once.”

  She read down the list with me, then walked with us down to the scrub area. “You’ll stop here and push your sleeves up, scrub all the way up to the elbows very thoroughly. We ask you not to visit if you have any sign of a virus. You can pick up a set of scrubs to go over your clothes here, as well as a mask.” She indicated a cupboard. “There are lockers in this room here where you can leave personal belongings. Lock it up and take the key with you, just make sure to leave it in the lock when you retrieve your belongings and leave for the day.” She spoke cheerfully. “I know that’s a lot to throw at you when you’re concerned about your loved one, so don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions.”

  “Thanks,” I replied softly.

  “Get changed, and I’ll take you in to see her.”

  We scrubbed up, following the directions about using s
oap, hot water, and the duration, then put scrubs on and went back into the hallway where the nurse waited.

  “Okay, here we go.”

  She led us down the hall to a room. “The rooms are on the small side, but that lets us give each patient their privacy and limit contact with possible contaminants by limiting their contact with people visiting other patients.”

  When we walked in, we saw a form with white bandages lying on the bed, partially covered with a thin blanket, as if she’d been wrapped to play a mummy at Halloween. The right side of her face and jaw lay bare, her eye closed. “She passed out in the car with her head down and to the right, which protected that side of her face,” Denise said.

  “Hey, sweetie, are you awake?” the nurse asked. “Your friend Ally is here.”

  The uncovered eye fluttered open. “Ally?” she mumbled.

  “Hey, Jen, I’m here,” I said, moving closer to the bed.

  She started to shift in the bed then winced.

  “How’s your pain level, sweetie, on a scale of one to ten?” the nurse asked.

  “I’m okay,” Jen replied, her lips barely moving. “Maybe a two or three.”

  “Okay, I’m gonna let you folks visit. Let me know if you need anything, sweetie. Just use your call button.”

  The nurse left, and Jen looked at her mom. “Can I talk to Ally alone for a minute?”

  “Well, sure, honey. I’ll just be in the hallway.”

  “I’m so sorry, Jen,” I whispered as I started to cry. “I should have called, then you wouldn’t have been there.”

  “Oh, stop it,” Jen rasped with quiet vehemence. “We don’t have much time, and I need to tell you what I saw. If I told anyone else, they’d think I was drunk, or I’d bumped my head or inhaled too much smoke.” She stared straight into my eyes with her one uncovered eye. “I know what I saw. It was a demon.”

  I stared at her in shock. With what I’d learned recently, I couldn’t rule it out, but what if she was suffering from a concussion or something, and I didn’t tell anyone? She could need pressure relieved on her brain or something. Shit.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” she said wearily. “He was big and red and had horns. I hit him. He didn’t even blink, just reached out, grabbed my car, and sent it spinning into the trees. I don’t know what’s going on around here, something is not right.”