Jump When Ready

by David Pandolfe

  “Fine. Do you realize you’re parked illegally?”

  “We are? I’m sorry. We’ll move it right away.”

  Don’t let them leave!

  “Please turn your engine off,” Gary said.

  Will opened his mouth to speak, then changed his mind. He killed the engine.

  “Can I see your license and registration?”

  Will reached into the glove compartment for the registration. He took his license out of his wallet. He handed them over. I knew they had to be fake.

  They have my sister! She’s tied up in back!

  Gary looked inside the van, past Will and Karen, but he couldn’t see Bethany in back behind the seats. A moment passed while he thought, then he reached into his pocket and withdrew a worn leather booklet. He flipped it open and slipped out a pen. “I’m going to have to write a citation,” he said.

  I turned to Jamie and Nikki. “What the hell is he doing? No way—this can’t be happening!”

  “He’s hearing you,” Nikki said. “But he doesn’t have any reason to believe it’s true. He’s doesn’t know what to do.”

  Gary wrote the ticket, speaking in a flat monotone, reciting memorized words. “You have thirty days to pay this fine. Should you choose to appeal, you can make an appointment for a court hearing by calling the number at the bottom of the citation. Do you under—” His head jerked up when something pounded against the van’s back window. “What was that?”

  Will looked around. “I don’t know.”

  The pounding came again, louder, more insistent.

  Gary put the citation booklet back into his pocket. “What’s making that noise?”

  “I think it’s coming from across—”

  The pounding sounded again, rapidly, even louder.

  Gary held up his hand. “Enough. I want the two of you to get out of the vehicle. Do you understand me?”

  “This is crazy,” Karen said. “It’s probably just the engine or—”

  “Stop talking, right now! Seriously, I mean that.” Gary stepped back and unsnapped his holster. He reached for his radio and clicked it on. “Dispatch, unit twelve requesting backup. Send any units in the immediate vicinity. Copy ?”

  A blast of static, then a voice. “Affirmative. Your position?”

  “Main and Turner, right outside the pharmacy.”

  “Finally!” Jamie said. “This is freaking awesome!”

  “I know,” I said. “But what’s making that noise? It can’t be Bethany—she’s totally unconscious.”

  Gary kept his eyes on Will and Karen. “Get out and keep your hands visible at all times. Do it now.”

  They got out of the van.

  Gary pointed to the curb. “I want you both to sit and place your hands on top of your head.”

  “On the ground?” Karen looked like she was about to start crying.

  “Yes, right there on the sidewalk.”

  It was like a frozen moment when suddenly Will’s eyes locked on Gary’s. They stood staring at each other as approaching sirens grew louder. The pounding kept coming from inside the van. The radio on Gary’s shoulder hummed with static.

  Suddenly, time kicked in again.

  Will reached behind his back. Gary realized what was happening.

  Gary’s gun came level first. “Drop it!”

  Will held his gun pointed at the street, his hand shaking.

  “Drop your weapon!”

  Will raised the gun. Karen screamed.

  Gary fired, the shot sounding like a cannon as two cop cars tore around the corner, sirens blaring. Doors flew open and cops ran with guns drawn. Karen stood crying, her face in her hands. Will struggled back to his knees, his eyes wild, one arm limp and blood spreading at his shoulder.

  “Down on the ground, both of you!” a cop yelled.

  “Now! Do it now!” another one yelled.

  Gary ran to the van and lifted the back door. He found Bethany lying there, her hands and feet still bound, her face bloodless and pale. He didn’t see Curtis, who knelt next to her crying.

  Curtis saw us, of course. His eyes met mine. “They overdosed her,” he said. “I think she’s dying. I’m really sorry, Henry.”

  14

  Sister in a Coma

  The paramedics secured Bethany’s gurney and slammed the ambulance doors closed. They remained oblivious to their other passengers, a group of friends visible only to each other. The engine roared, the siren blared, and the ambulance shot off toward the hospital.

  I crouched next to my sister, speaking softly. “Bethany, we rescued you. You’re going to be okay. Please say something. Nod, blink, anything. Can you hear me?”

  Bethany didn’t say anything. She didn’t nod or blink. She remained pale and still, her chest barely rising and falling.

  I looked at Jamie, Nikki and Curtis, desperately hoping for any sort of advice. None of them had anything to offer. Jamie shook his head, indicating he didn’t know what to do. Curtis looked down at the floor. Nikki stared out the window as the ambulance raced past the other cars. I’d never imagined seeing tears fall from her eyes.

  ~~~

  They took Bethany to Charlottesville, the nearest city with a hospital. It wasn’t long before we were in the Emergency Room watching as a team of doctors repeatedly tried to revive her, their efforts so far failing.

  For a while, none of us spoke. I’m sure we were all thinking the same thing—all we could do was wait and hope. It was up to the doctors now.

  Finally, Curtis looked over at me. “At least they caught the people who did this.”

  Considering Bethany’s situation, it almost didn’t matter. Still, I understood what he meant. Within another few minutes, if things had gone differently, Will and Karen would have gotten away. Even if Bethany had died in their van, the world probably never would have known.

  “Thanks, Curtis,” I said.

  Curtis watched as the doctors continued trying to help Bethany. “I should have been there for you.”

  He’d changed completely from the angry kid who’d sneered at my predicament not long ago and I couldn’t help wonder why. At the same time, there was too much going on to give it much thought.

  “It’s okay,” I said.

  Curtis looked me in the eye. “I hope your sister pulls through.”

  I put my hand on his shoulder. “If she does, it was because of you. She wouldn’t have been rescued if you hadn’t been there.”

  “Thanks. That means a lot,” Curtis said. “More than you can know.”

  ~~~

  The following days were the longest of my afterlife. By the next morning, the team at the hospital had still failed to revive Bethany from her drug induced coma. They didn’t give up on her but it became clear there was nothing left to do but wait and see if she came around on her own. Meanwhile, we remained by her side, hoping that once Bethany’s body rid itself of the toxins she’d regain consciousness. Her vital signs started to rebound but she remained in some other world between her own and the one now natural to us.

  Nikki did her best to read Bethany’s mental state but she didn’t come away with very much. “It’s like she’s put up some sort of wall,” Nikki said. “I don’t think it’s just the drugs. I think it’s more about the nightmare she’s experienced. She’s afraid it might still be there if she opens her eyes.”

  To make matters worse, the doctor assigned to Bethany’s case, Dr. Jackson, had no idea who she was. He was a nice man in his forties with kids of his own. He seemed truly worried about Bethany and desperately wanted to contact her family but he had no way of knowing her identity.

  I kept trying to tell him when he checked on her, saying the same thing each time. “Her name is Bethany Connors, she’s from Richmond. Her parents are Thomas and Cheryl Connors.” I tried pushing the same thoughts at him as well, but Dr. Jackson dismissed hearing me either way, probably because I didn’t know enough about him to get through. Nikki told me he thought it was just his imagination playing tricks si
nce he was overworked and tired.

  So it was a strange moment for Dr. Jackson when a nurse stepped into Bethany’s room on the third morning. “How’s she doing?”

  “About the same, I’m afraid.” Dr. Jackson glanced up only briefly from making notes in Bethany’s chart.

  “Sorry to hear that. But at least we finally have some information. The police just called to say her family has been notified. They’re on their way here.”

  Dr. Jackson loosened the blood pressure cuff on Bethany’s arm, then gave his attention to the nurse. “That’s great news. It could make a huge difference for her to have her family here. Who is she?”

  “Her name’s Bethany Connors,” the nurse said. “She’s from Richmond. They said she’s seventeen years—” The nurse stopped speaking, noticing the same thing I did. Dr. Jackson had just gone pale. “Are you okay, doctor?”

  Dr. Jackson took a deep breath. “Yes, I’m fine.”

  “Okay, just being sure. You looked a bit unsettled there for a moment.”

  Naturally, Dr. Jackson didn’t let on that he’d been hearing that same information in his head. That just wasn’t possible. “Thank you for letting me know,” he said. “Please keep me informed if you learn anything more.”

  ~~~

  My parents and brother arrived that afternoon and it was plain to see they were at the breaking point. They had barely gotten through my own death, which they still thought of as a suicide. Now, they were being tortured again. While they were overjoyed at finding Bethany alive, they were terrified to learn that there was no way of knowing when, or if, she would regain consciousness.

  I bet you’re thinking I must have tried everything possible to get through to them. I didn’t. I couldn’t see what good that would do. It seemed to me that it would be just too much more for them to handle. Besides, this was about Bethany. Her being okay and with them again would help them start to heal. That’s what they needed—the future, not the past.

  Later that evening, my mother and brother went out to bring back some dinner from a nearby restaurant. The hospital staff had cleared my family for staying beside Bethany night and day since Doctor Jackson hoped their presence would somehow spark her back to consciousness.

  My father sat in the chair next to Bethany’s bed, offering my mother and brother a smile as they left.

  “Remember, no onion on that burger, okay?”

  “Got it,” my brother said.

  “See if they have caffeine free Diet Coke too, please.”

  “Yes, dear,” my mother said.

  As soon as he was sure they were gone, my father took hold of Bethany’s hand. He spoke softly, his eyes filling with tears. “Little girl, can you hear me? Honey? Please, we need you to come back to us. We’re all here for you, waiting for you to rejoin the family. Please come back to us.”

  A nurse passed by the doorway and my father fell silent. When he felt sure no one could hear him, he whispered to Bethany again.

  “Everyone misses you. Your friends, your teachers, the whole town. Please come back.” My father cleared his throat, trying to regain control. He tried to brighten his voice. “Don’t forget, we still need to keep your goals in mind. We have a bunch of new college applications at the house. The ones you sent for before you, well, before…”

  At that point my father broke down crying.

  It seemed wrong staying there, so we all left the room. But my father’s words gave me an idea that seemed worth trying. Bethany had always been very motivated by goals and I had one in mind.

  ~~~

  That night, after my parents and brother fell asleep in the reclining chairs the hospital had provided for them, I told Jamie, Nikki and Curtis to head back home.

  “Why don’t you guys get some rest? You’re starting to look like ghosts.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re not looking so great yourself,” Nikki said. “But we’re not going anywhere.”

  “I mean it, I’m fine,” I said.

  The fact was, they did look beat. All three were pale almost to white, with dark circles under their eyes.

  “Listen, you’ve been through way more,” Jamie said. “How about you go and we stay here to cover things.”

  “Seriously, no problem,” Curtis said. “Maybe you should head back and take a break.”

  “Agreed, totally,” Nikki said.

  “No, go,” I said. “But I might need you tomorrow. If so, I’ll need you all at full strength. Okay?”

  All three of them nodded without saying anything. They waited, but when I waved them toward the ceiling they went, leaving me the only one still conscious in the dark hospital room.

  I went closer to Bethany and crouched next to her. “Total B, it’s Henry. Can you hear me?”

  Nothing.

  Just her light breathing and the humming of the machines next to her bed. Of course, she couldn’t hear me. She couldn’t even hear the living right now.

  Still, I tried again. “I’m right here. Just nod or something if you believe I’m here next to you.”

  A minute passed. Then another. Bethany took a breath. Finally, she turned her face in my direction. I waited but she didn’t open her eyes.

  “Bethany?”

  Nothing more. It would have to do.

  “Okay, taking that as a yes,” I said. “Listen, you have a new goal. It’s super important. Mom and Dad need you to do this. John needs you to do this. I need you to do this. It may be the most important thing you ever do for the family. Are you ready to hear what it is?”

  Bethany didn’t move. Her breathing didn’t change. Outside, in the dark city, I heard cars and busses on the street below.

  As more minutes passed, I thought about all she’d gone through and how hard we’d tried to save her. Could it all have been for nothing? What if Bethany was never coming back? I looked out at the night sky, wondering where she would go when she died.

  Then, Bethany whispered one word in her deep sleep.

  “Ready.”

  ~~~

  I sat waiting the next morning as sunlight forced itself through the blinds that had been drawn closed the night before. After a few attempts at getting comfortable again in his chair, my father sat up blinking and yawning. For a moment, I don’t think he remembered where he was. Then his eyes went to Bethany across the room and his face fell. He looked around to be sure, but my mother and brother were still asleep.

  My father went to Bethany’s bedside. “Good morning, little girl. Did you think about what I said last night?”

  Bethany remained pale and still. The machine monitoring her heart rate flickered its lights, the only proof she was still alive.

  My father hung his head and closed his eyes. “Okay, I guess you couldn’t have heard me. It’s okay, honey. We’ll wait for you.”

  He turned and started to walk back toward the window. My guess is that he was planning to open the blinds. He didn’t get there.

  “Dad?” Bethany didn’t open her eyes and her voice was barely audible. If there been any other sounds in the room, her speaking might have gone unnoticed. Had that been the case, maybe she would have just gone back to sleep and joined us at some point on the other side.

  But that isn’t how it went.

  My father stood stock still for a moment, then turned around. “Honey, did you just say something?”

  Bethany’s throat was dry and her words barely squeaked out. “Dad, are you here?”

  My father ran to the bed and took hold of Bethany’s hand. “Yes, I’m here, honey! And your mother! And John! We’re all here with you!”

  Bethany’s eyes fluttered open. “And Henry,” she said. “He’s here too.”

  ~~~

  Comas are strange things that even doctors don’t fully understand. Some people never wake up from them. Others wake up eventually but are never the same. Sometimes people wake up and after a short while they’re just fine. Thankfully, Bethany was one of those people.

  By late morning, Bethany was sitting up
in bed sipping ginger ale and had managed to eat some breakfast. The morning had been filled with hugging and crying and questions, then by my parents and brother calling everyone under the sun to report the good news. Meanwhile, Dr. Jackson and his team did every possible test on Bethany to get a sense of how she was doing.

  Bethany was already starting to get worn out when a detective arrived that afternoon—a guy in his forties with bags under his eyes, stubble on his chin and a receding hairline. He introduced himself to my parents, doing his best to smile, but it seemed clear that this was a guy who had seen a lot more than he’d bargained for in his time as a police officer. Charlottesville was a small city, but it was still a city and, no doubt, plenty of bad stuff happened there.

  He’d just finished shaking my father’s hand when Dr. Jackson came into the room. “Are you sure this is necessary right now?” he asked. “My patient has been through a lot.”

  The detective nodded. “I understand,” he said. “But right now I’m trying to build a case against the people who did this. I’ll try not to be too long, but if I could just get started while Bethany’s memories are still fresh, it would help a great deal.”

  Dr. Jackson considered, then said, “Of course.” He turned to Bethany. “I’ll be back to check on you later today.”

  The detective spoke with Bethany for about an hour, asking her to recall as much detail as she could about what she’d gone through. Finally, seeing she was exhausted, he left Bethany a pad and pen in case anything occurred to her later. Then he asked my parents to step into the hall.

  “I have to watch what I say in front of your daughter,” he said, once the door fell closed. “We need to hear her side of things first. We don’t want to influence her or confuse her memories in any way.”

  “I understand,” my father said.

  “But here’s what we’ve got. We’re pretty sure they’re actual names are Kevin Burke and Olivia Evans. They had fake IDs, of course, but she’s been very cooperative. Word is the D.A. is thinking she might get off with a reduced sentence if she turns state’s evidence. Anyway, it turns out Mr. Burke worked for your brother. The plan was to fleece him for pretty much everything he had. I guess you and your brother must be really close.”