Swept Away: The First Bloodline

by Crystal Smith

  Then taking a deep breath, she pressed the button.

  “Can I help you?” A voice on the other end spoke to her.

  “I’m Taylor James. I’m here to see my sister Liz….” The woman on the other cut her off.

  “We have been expecting you Ms. James. Door is open come on in.” The door buzzed.

  Slowly she started putting one foot in front of the other. Damien’s hands on her shoulders, guiding her where to go. She kept her eyes straight in front of her no wanting to see in the doors. His fingers halted her movement.

  “To your right.” He whispered. Taylor could hear his voice crack.

  She turned watching as Jarrod held Liz’s hand. A very swollen hand. She gasped as she got her first look at her. She didn’t even look like Liz. Her face was bruised and swollen severely. Intubated, blood hanging, foley bag in place with a minute amount of dark urine.

  Taylor walked slowly to her bed. She looked up at the bags hanging and running through Liz’s central line. Dopamine and normal saline. That can’t be. There should be more if she’s hurt bad.

  “Mrs. James.” Taylor startled by the male voice. A man stood in the doorway, she quickly know he was the Doctor.

  “Yes. Call me Taylor please.”

  “I’m Dr. Netherland. I’m the attending in charge of your sister’s care. I was actually here last night when they brought her in.”

  “How is she?” Tell me. Tell me something.

  “I understand that you and your sister are both ER nurses and that you are also part of rapid response.”

  “Yes. And?” Come on.

  “Because of that, I’m not gonna beat around the bush. If you don’t understand something, please stop me and I will explain. Unfortunately your sister’s injuries are more severe than we can do anything for. When she arrived to us, we coded her. We worked on her for about twenty minutes and we were able to get her back.

  “She underwent surgery immediately. We had to remove her spleen. Her pelvis was severely fractured and she had lost a lot of blood. She also has a severe closed brain injury. There isn’t anything that we can do for her. I’m sorry to have to tell you this. She is right now clinically brain dead. We have Dopamine running to keep her pressure stable at this point but the truth is, she was gone when she got here.”

  “I’m s…sorry. Did you say she’s brain dead?”

  “At this point, I think you need to think about what is the best thing to do for her right now. Think about her quality of life. I don’t know many nurses who see the things we see who would want to remain on support. Do you know how she felt about organ donation?”

  “GET OUT RIGHT NOW!” Taylor was pissed. How dare he come in here and talk about her like that. She stared as he turned and walked out. Jarrod followed behind him stopping him. They were talking but Taylor couldn’t hear what they were saying nor did she care at this point.

  “Doctors don’t know everything. She’s gonna be just fine.” I know she is. She has to be. She reached out grabbing her hand, leaning down to her ear. “Fight Lizzy. Come on. Prove em wrong. You can do it. I know you can. Just keep fighting. Come on Lizzy hear my voice. Follow my voice Sissy. Please don’t leave me. I need you.”

  She stared losing it literally. She couldn’t take it. She felt as if it were her fault. She shouldn’t have had her run, then she wouldn’t have wrecked. She wouldn’t have been in the hospital, brain dead. She wouldn’t be lying there. And somehow Taylor knew what the doctor had said was right. But she couldn’t let go. She wouldn’t let go.

  Night came. Day went. Night came. Day went. No changes. Taylor never left her bedside for longer than to go to the bathroom or change her clothes that Damien was sweet enough to fetch for her.

  “Sweet.” Taylor turned to him, seeing the look in his eyes, she knew he was holding something back from her.

  “What, what is it? Not the twins.”

  “No. The twins are fine. Ramee is taking excellent care of them. Jarrod. Well he. You know we have a bond. And you can hear me when you concentrate and I can always hear you.”

  “You can hear everyone.” She chuckled. His facial expression remained flat.

  “Jarrod can’t feel the bond anymore.”

  “What’s that mean?”

  “That means she’s gone Sweet.”

  “No! No! It can’t be.”

  “Think about it. How would you feel, if it were me in that bed? You know what he says is true. He wouldn’t say it if it weren’t.”

  “No it’s not. It’s just because she is so hurt. That’s all.”

  “No Sweet. It’s not.”

  She turned walking away from him. Get out! She heard his steps as he walked away. Her heart torn. She knew what it was that she needed to do. What she would want Liz to do if the shoe was reversed. But Taylor couldn’t do it.

  “Damien, I want to see Jarrod. I want to see Jarrod now.” And just like that Jarrod was there.

  “Tell me. Tell me she’s gone. Tell me there is nothing I can do for her. Tell me I should have them pull the support. Tell me.” She started out speaking calmly but they soon turned to rage and she went from raging mad to crying.

  “She’s gone. She isn’t alive anymore. If she were I could feel it. I don’t feel anything from her anymore.” His voice was dry. Blank. No emotion. Nothing. And she realized that a part of him had died with her.

  “Oh my God! Oh my God! I can’t believe it! Your saliva. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner. Lick her.” Taylor became excited and relieved briefly.

  “I can’t. I can’t because I can’t heal the damage on the inside and she was by herself for too long.” His words choked out of his mouth. His eyes were turning red just like Damien’s had. You blame yourself. And he disappeared just like that.

  “Wait, how long? Damien damn you.”

  “Sweet. Only but a few seconds. Jarrod was right there as soon as it happened. He brought her here before I even knew what had happened. He is blaming himself.”

  Her heart sank. She couldn’t believe any of this. “Do it. Lizzy, if you can hear me I love you. Thank You for always being there for me. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you like I should have been. I am so sorry. Please forgive me.”

  “Tay, there is one way. You don’t have to do this, this way. I don’t know how to say this, I know how you feel about it.”

  “What way? Tell me. I’ll do anything.”

  “Change.” His eyes brightened as if he knew her answer before she spoke the words.

  “What if she doesn’t want this?” Can I make this decision for her? Can I make this decision for all of us?

  “She does. She had already told Jarrod. She actually told him to give you time and you would do it. This is what she wants. For all of you.”

  “Will it hurt? I mean will she feel it?”

  “Neither of you will feel pain. It’s not the same as turning a human into a vampire. It’s different. You have always been a vampire, it’s just been sleeping. You merely have to wake it up now.”

  “What will we become?”

  “Different. But you will still be you Sweet. Don’t fear this.”

  “What if we can’t live a life like you do? What if we want blood from humans? How does that work?”

  “You don’t have to worry about it. I know you. You will be fine. Your strong, she’s strong.” Taylor didn’t know if she needed to reinforce that with Liz, them, or herself.

  She took a deep breath. She could do this. She didn’t have a choice but to do this. And in all reality, she really wanted this.

  “Take us somewhere else. I don’t want to do this here. It will raise to many questions.”

  He nodded and just like that Jarrod was there. Taylor could see the change in Jarrod.

  “Ramee’s. As soon as we get there, make sure the twins are moved out of sight, have some blood on standby. We don’t know how they will react. Be ready.” Just like that they were gone and Taylor right there with them.

  Tayl
or immediately seen the life support didn’t come with. Liz wasn’t intubated anymore. Fuck! She wasn’t breathing either.

  “What do I do? How do I do it?” She screamed.

  “Just say it.”

  “I want to change! I want her to change! We want to change together! We want this life!”

  The air remained quiet around them. Liz didn’t move. Taylor kept watching, waiting for a sign of life. But there was none.