Follow the Ashes: Book 1 of the Executioner Trilogy

by Kindra Sowder

  He stood and had a pen light in his hand and asked me one question I wasn’t sure how to answer. “How are you doing this morning?” What a great question.

  How was I doing? I honestly had no idea how I was doing. One minute I was on the brink of death and the next I had been almost revitalized. But I was still in so much pain it was hard for me to function, despite all of the drugs that were being fed into me through a plastic tube. No matter how much blood they wanted to pump into me I was going to continue to lose it all until I was dead. There was no doubt about it. Lilith wanted to see me dead, and whatever this bug was that she concocted was going to see to it. With that thought I figured I would satisfy him with an answer of some sort. It may not have been the truth but it was what all those nurse and doctor types wanted to hear, right?

  “I’m feeling a little better, actually. May even be on my way to a full recovery.” Of course I was lying, but I had to tell him something. My voice was so hoarse I thought it was a miracle I could even speak at all. My throat was raw like fire had made its way through or someone had taken a rake and scratched my throat into ribbons. I wished what I had said wasn’t a lie. It would have been much better for the world if it were the truth because if it was I’d be able to live and be able to save humanity like I was destined to. Now I was going to abandon them to death.

  The remorse and the sadness at the loss of Gordon was still present, but just a waking memory because of all of the drugs being pumped through my system. I didn’t even have the energy to cry anyway. I had cried as much as I was going to at his loss and it wasn’t because I had no more to shed. It was because I had no more will left to shed them. I had lost all of the will I had to live. The only thing that could bring my will back now was the resurrection of my lost love. Then I’d fight whatever this was off and I could get better and take action against Lilith. There was nothing I could do lying here the way I was. Even sitting up was a struggle, but because of the fluids and the bags upon bags of blood they seemed to have pumped into me it was a little bit easier than it had been before now. If we knew more blood was the answer we would have done the same thing and maybe I could have saved him from certain death. This man wanted to be my savior, and all I would be able to do was disappoint.

  “How much?” I asked. He looked very confused at my question, like I wasn’t even speaking English, but some sort of gibberish or a dead language that no one spoke anymore. Then I realized I hadn’t actually explained what I was asking him. I figured I might want to do that to clear things up a little bit. “How much blood have you guys given me?”

  He looked at the IV bag full of the red liquid that was giving me life so I could continue on. He furrowed his brow, thinking and then opened his mouth to give me an answer.

  “About three or four bags, I believe.” Then he reached up and flashed the light in my eyes to check pupil response. The light nearly blinded me as it shown in them. Apparently my eyes still were having a lot of trouble with lights of any kind and him shining it in my eyes didn’t help at all. I cringed and he quietly apologized at any discomfort he had inflicted on me even though it couldn’t be helped. He nodded to himself which told me everything was in working order. “Everything looks good. How about your pain? What is it on a scale of one to ten?” He was asking so many questions. That was the medical mind for you.

  Honestly, the amount of pain I was in didn’t fit on any scale. I made do with a ten out of ten. This made his brow furrow, and the concern in his face had made a quick reappearance. He walked out of the room, almost glided, and returned after a few minutes with a nurse in green scrubs holding a syringe of something I was hoping was strong enough to rid me of my pain. I knew that would be a miracle. If anything, it would slightly dull the pain and I would remain awake to suffer and remain trapped in this bed while Lilith ran amuck through the streets. She would be terrorizing anyone and everyone without a reason. Just because she was pure evil and that’s what evil does. They torture and bully the innocent with no due cause and no one questions it. No one except for me.

  As the nurse injected the medication through the little hole made just for that purpose in the IV, I felt the medication hit my blood stream and then my vision began to swim just a little bit. It then evened out like it had never happened to begin with, though the drugs were still running through my veins. It was like the world had been swaying too and fro, but then just evened out for no apparent reason. The only explanation I could think of was that my body very easily adjusted to any side effects of any preparation that met my blood stream.

  The nurse then proceeded to check my vitals and as the blood pressure cuff squeezed my arm the pain was almost unbearable. It was like my nerves couldn’t stop firing. As it deflated the pain began to ease, which was a welcome relief. My blood pressure was entirely too low, and my temperature was way too high. They gave me Tylenol to bring the fever down and put me on even more oxygen. I knew neither would do any good.

  The sheets and my gown were already soaked with sweat as chills ran up and down my spine like a baseball player taking first and second base over and over again. Back and forth. Back and forth. I couldn’t help but think this was going to be the death of me as I was able to drift off into a dreamless sleep. I was surrounded by the darkness that was threatening to take over everything in its entirety, and I knew this was going to be what death looked like. For some reason I could only imagine it looking this way no matter how many people told me how different it truly was. They explained a white light followed by a heavenly vision of clouds and white and purity where all of our loved ones would come to greet us, but I couldn’t imagine it this way.

  Every single one of my cells screamed that this was untrue and that when we died all we would see was the black. No light. Nothing.

  Even though I knew a higher power had indeed given me my gifts and had given me a destiny to save this world I didn’t think it catered to us in death. There was just no way possible that whatever it was that breathed life into us was a giving and caring being. I had seen so much death and destruction that I couldn’t believe that.

  Chapter 26: The Great Escape

  As I laid there in the uncomfortable and lumpy hospital bed I couldn’t help but think that I needed to get out of here. I couldn’t sit around and let Lilith wreak havoc on the world, starting with Los Angeles and working her way over towards the East, spreading like a plague until all life was gone. Nothing on me was broken or stitched together. I was only sick, so I had no excuses as to why I shouldn’t be up out of this bed and out there tracking her down like the animal she was. There was no telling where she would be right now, but I had a feeling she probably hadn’t left her cozy hideaway.

  Chase had been sitting by me, trying to keep me from going crazy with boredom. I did have to say he was doing a pretty good job, but my heart was still breaking from the loss of Gordon. If it weren’t for me, neither he nor Beth would have gotten hurt. Gordon wouldn’t have had his entire digestive tract torn into pieces in a disgustingly bloody display. I could still see him in my mind, lying on the floor, the life draining out of him. He had tried so hard to hold on but couldn’t. I honestly didn’t blame him for letting go. I would have done the same.

  There was no way that he would have made it through any kind of treatment if he was able to hold on long enough to make it to the hospital. Surgery would have taken hours if they could put him back together, which I doubted entirely. Even with the most skilled hands wielding the needle and scalpel there would have been no way Gordon would have been able to power through it and hang on to life. The only way he would have been able to would have been by magical means, and the repair of his body would have taken a very skilled and very powerful practitioner. Even then it may not have been enough. Chase’s voice pulled me out of my depressing thoughts.

  “I know it may be too soon, but I want to ask you who the man was that was killed. That’s if you don’t mind me asking.” The concern in his voice and on his face was heartbreaking.r />
  I looked down at my hands in my lap and couldn’t hold back the tears that started to flow. “The love of my life.” After hearing that all he could do was look down at the floor like his heart was breaking for me, but I didn’t need that. I didn’t need anyone else feeling sorry for me. Not now. I felt sorry enough for myself.

  My heart was broken. My light had been extinguished and there was no way to bring it back. There was no way to stitch my heart back together, or to breathe new life into it and get it to start pumping away for me to feel renewed. There was nothing that could renew me now, but I absolutely had to get out of here, so I could defeat Lilith and try to carry on afterward as best as I could. I had to do it for him.

  I was going to take her life away just like she had his. I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to do that at the moment. If I could just get out of the depressing confines of the hospital then I’d be able to formulate a plan on how to defeat her once and for all. Now, just to figure out how to get rid of Chase. I would say I needed pain medication, but it only took him a matter of a minute to return with the nurse and the syringe of clear liquid that made me feel like I was swaying on a cruise ship. I couldn’t leave this place like that. I wasn’t sure how to get out without being seen.

  I still wasn’t sure why Chase chose to continue to hang around. It wasn’t like he actually knew me or my situation. Was it because he felt sorry for me? Or was it because he wanted to be able to fix the broken girl who had lost her love and was suffering greatly from that loss? Yes, I was suffering on an emotional level, but I wasn’t going to let that translate into the physical. Lilith would pick up on the weakness before she even had to dig around inside of my mind to know the pain was there at all. Then something happened that I wasn’t expecting. Something that made my escape much easier than I had thought it was going to be. The lights went out, the red colored emergency lights came on, and the whining sound of the alarm echoed as a white light strobed. This made it hard to concentrate on anything at all.

  Chase stood and looked out of the glass doors, his body rigid with anxiety, and I knew this was my chance. If I didn’t take it now I might as well admit defeat, but how would I get rid of Chase? I didn’t want to have to hurt him by rendering him unconscious or anything as severe as that. I needed to do something that wouldn’t put him in harm’s way and keep him as safe as possible. I didn’t want someone else dying because of me.

  I spotted one of the red biohazard bins in the far corner of the room sitting right below where they kept the nitrile gloves and other very flammable medical supplies that would surely catch fire very easily. This was the closest to safe I was going to get. I sat up, which was now a lot easier than it had been before. I was betting it was because of the blood being forced into my system by a series of machines, tubes, and needles, but I wasn’t going to complain. That blood was going to be the only reason I would be able to do what had to be done to get out of this dank hospital. I needed to get to Lilith’s hideout to take her down once and for all. After everything she had put us through and what she was about to do to the world, I couldn’t let her live any longer.

  I let the energy build up in my gut, and I could see the swirl of golden light through my hospital gown. It was like a tiny nebula floating right behind my navel, and it emanated such heat it licked up through my chest. It was beating behind my ribcage along with the rhythm of my heartbeat. The heat would come and go with the rhythm of my heart as well, which was an interesting and completely new feeling. It was like this illness was going to make sure I couldn’t defend myself by trying to zap the power out of me. To me, this proved that I was more alive than before, and I would take that as a good thing.

  I let the energy fill me to the brim and then proceeded to move it into my hand and as this happened I could see it moving through my veins to collect there. Its warmth spread through me almost like when you sit in a tub full of hot water after you’ve been freezing for hours. As it began to pulsate in my palm along with my heartbeat, I couldn’t help but think about how beautiful this light truly was. Even though it came with such a hefty price tag for its use, at this moment the price was worth what using it would accomplish. It was my key to the gateway to banish Lilith and save the world from her destruction and turmoil. I still wasn’t sure how I was going to kill Lilith, but I knew as soon as the time came I would know exactly what to do.

  I was then able to easily let out enough of that energy to set a small forest on fire while aimed perfectly at the biohazard bin. It lit up like a Christmas tree and was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen besides Gordon’s glorious face surrounded by first morning light when the sun had just begun to rise in the morning. That image of him flashed through my mind as soon as the flames began to take over the cabinet filled with medical supplies above it with such a ferocity I couldn’t help but envy it. I was only hoping I could attack Lilith with the same ferocity and overpower her so I could remove her from this world just as she had Gordon.

  I began to scream like I was in frenzy as if the fire wasn’t my doing to draw Chase’s attention to the billowing flames. It was so much like Lilith’s bonfire it was frightening, and I almost froze in place as it began to spread towards the open window and along the walls of the secluded room. That wasn’t in my plan at all, but unfortunately once the flames left my body I no longer had control over them. I saw his amber eyes widen in fear, reflecting the orange and blue of the flames that were taking up residence in the room. He hurried to pull the fire alarm and I knew this was my chance.

  Once his full attention was on the flames, I pulled the adhesive pads off of my chest in a hurry and the long, loud beep of the machine as it detected no heart beat almost frightened me. I remembered it was the only because I had pulled them off of my skin. I tugged the IV out of my arm with one single motion. There was a trickle of blood that came out of the small hole. It began to run down my arm as I made my way off of the bed that had been my prison. At that moment, water began to pour from the sprinklers. Chase had found the lever for the fire alarm.

  My legs were so weak as I leapt from the bed that my knees buckled and I fell on the floor. I ended up landing on my forearms with the IV needle I had removed from my arm lying right in view on the linoleum. The blood from the bag it was hooked to was steadily flowing from its tip and mingling with the water that was coating the floor. It reminded me of the blood that had flowed from Gordon in the moment of his death. I shook the image out of my head, and grabbed the pole holding the IV machine and pulled myself up. I felt like I couldn’t walk without it, but I had to. It would only slow me down at this point, even more than falling over every few feet and having to struggle to get up.

  I walked a few steps toward the door and let go of the pole on wheels. I made it as quickly as I could on wobbly legs to the doors leading out of the room. Once I made it there I had no doubt Chase would realize I was on my way out. I looked outside the door to see nurses and doctors rushing around, trying to protect delicate equipment. They were quickly in and out of patient’s rooms. I used this moment to blend into the immense crowd so if Chase came looking for me, he wouldn’t be able to find me no matter how hard he searched for me.

  I took a chance at a quick glance to see if Chase had noticed that I was headed away from where I should be, and he had. His eyes and face showed a mixture of confusion and a reluctance to let me leave. The flames gave him a glow that almost had me staring in awe. That’s when I knew I had to move faster or I would never get out. In my weakened state he would’ve been able to stop me with little effort, and that wasn’t what I had needed at that moment.

  I took off at a run and knew that this new blood had given me a renewed life. Even though I could still feel the ravages of Lilith’s illness within me, it had given me new energy. It was enough to get me out and make it to her before I was completely useless. Being trapped in this hospital for even a short time had taught me one new thing about this illness. I knew that transfusions would help treat
the weakness and give me enough resolve to do what needed to be done. But I only had one chance to do this, and I couldn’t continue to sit there in the hospital bed and play nice with the gorgeous emergency tech. If I didn’t succeed she would know that I would make another attempt, and she would be prepared for it. This left me no choice but to kill her and do it right the first time. There would be no second chances.

  As soon as I hit the stairwell, I knew I had lost Chase in the crowd of doctors and nurses. There was no way he was going to be able to follow me if he couldn’t find me. There were other patients and nurses in the stairwell, and they were headed in my same direction. Down and out of this trap that was being consumed by the flames I had generated. That was if the sprinklers hadn’t extinguished them yet. I knew Chase wouldn’t be able to spot me among the crowd of others dressed in the same hospital garb, which was good. I didn’t want to take any chances of him catching up to me because he would most certainly stop me from leaving or meet his death, because he would insist to come with me if I refused to stay.

  I just seemed to fly down the steps. I was running completely barefoot, and once I made it to the first floor I exploded through the door leading out to the hospital lobby. I had to push my way out through the crowd, but once I made it outside and into the fresh air I could feel Lilith’s energies beating down on me. The evil that she was made up of was like a beacon, and in that moment I knew exactly where I needed to go and how to get there.

  Chapter 27: How to Take a Life

  I knew I had somehow made my way through the giant maze of warehouses when I came up to the one with the crimson door. All you had to do was follow the stench of the evil she was made up of. I could feel her inside like a presence crawling up my back and breathing on my neck, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Her evil could be felt for miles. I knew that much. I had felt it all the way to the hospital as soon as I had made it outside.