Hope
Other World Protection Novel - One
By: Serena Simpson
Acknowledgements
This book is dedicated to my daughter. She is my biggest cheerleader. I also want to acknowledge my mother who keeps telling to keep trying I will get there. A big thank you to Lori, without her this book would still be sitting in my computer.
Text copyright © 2014 Serena Simpson
All rights reserved
Editor/Beta reader: Lori Merlotti
Book Cover: SelfpubBookCovers.com/Shardel
Table of Contents
By: Serena Simpson
Acknowledgements
Table of Contents
Chapter one
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter one
April got up and stretched. She was tired of resting. She had followed her boss’s orders. ‘Take a mini vacation’ he said. It would take an Earth week before her new assignment was revealed. Time ran so differently in the realm she was in. An Earth week ended up being three weeks for her. There had also been times an Earth week was a day for her. No one understood why time between the realms changed constantly.
She slowly stretched her wings to show their impressive span. She loved her wings. She always wondered why the Earth people did not have them. They really were missing the beauty of flying. That was the one reason she hated working on Earth, because she could not use her wings. At least not when she could be seen. Unfortunately the inhabitants of Earth needed some slight course changes at times to get them ready for the big reveal.
Smiling she heard the pop; that small almost inaudible sound that let her know her next mission was ready. Walking over to the small disc that she had been given, she watched as it grew in size. There would be a video of who and what needed to be done. There would also be a hologram of her charge, so she would recognize the next target.
April walked closer to get a good look. There before her was the picture of a light skinned black female. She moved to read the stats. She stood five feet eight inches with hazel eyes. She weighed one hundred sixty pounds and had short brown hair. All in all she was an average Earth female. She looked to see what was so special about her and read the word “CLASSIFIED”.
She pulled her wings in tight to her body and tried to control her rage. How dare they classify this information when they wanted her to help the silly Earth chick? It was times like these when she wondered if Earth was really worth the time and effort to save. No time to pop into headquarters and her boss would not tell her anyway. Grabbing the hologram she disappeared, aiming for the woman’s position. What was her name? Scanning over the image she found it. Taraja. She hovered for a minute to locate her exact position and materialized.
She found her and wished she hadn’t. She was on the dusty floor of some long forgotten warehouse. The place was overrun with rats and other four legged creatures. Insects had made a home here long ago. There was even what looked like a drunk in the corner.
Taraja lay on the floor as if she had already succumb to death. April moved a little closer, wrinkling her nose at the stench that rose from her body. It was not the stench of death, but rather an unwashed body and a soul that had given up. Taraja was not dead, but she might as well be.
Looking around, April found herself debating what she should do next. She could pick her up and get her food, but would that make a difference? No. She would end up back here or someplace worse. This case looked lost before it began. Letting all logical thought leave, she did what she had always wanted to do. Taking her foot, she kicked Taraja hard. Her body never even moved. April reared back and kicked her again. She jerked just a little, but ignored April as if it had not happened. Moving a little, April lifted her leg and aimed at her midsection. Rearing back one more time, April kicked her in her stomach, watching her body dance as if a jolt of electricity had just entered. Smiling she dissolved and waited to see what course Taraja would take.
Taraja, had been laying on the floor for days. She had not moved, not even to do her business. She was ready for it to be over. It almost was. She was drifting on a cloud. Every day she was getting further and further away from her body. Each day she asked no one in particular to let this be the day it all ended. She couldn’t kill herself. Not that she didn’t want to kill herself, but she physically could not do it. She knew because she had tried. That was not normal and she knew it, but others seemed to think it was a joke when she asked them about it. It was ok. This time she was sure she would die. She closed her eyes and waited for the end.
She could feel something in the room with her. Something other than the rats that had tried to eat her. They had learned quickly that her body couldn’t be touched. If she was a believer, she would say that God was protecting her. But she gave up on him ages ago. This was something else. Maybe it was death coming to collect her. She could feel it coming closer. She relaxed even more, waiting for the end.
At first she didn’t even feel it. That small kick. Is this how your soul leaves your body? Was this the angel of death punishing her? Then the second kick came. It was harder this time. No she thought. Please don’t do this to me. If she could have, she would have ran away. As it was, she was too weak to even crawl away. She was at the mercy of the evil being standing by her side. Then there was a third fatal kick. She could feel it as it coursed through her body. She mentally screamed, no! But nothing helped. It felt like jolts of electricity going through her body, waking her up. Yet it wasn’t electricity. Electricity would have been welcomed. It was something much deadlier than that. She had been filled with hope. That dreadful, insidious feeling that all would somehow be well.
She had worked tirelessly to kill that in herself, in order to just give up. Now it was back. Her body had finally stopped shaking, so she slowly made her way to her hands and knees and started crawling towards the exit. All had been lost. She could lay here for months, but she would not die. Hope had a price. It was not free, but no one, except her seemed to realize it. She cried, but no tears fell. She had no more liquid left in her body. She made it out the door just before she passed out.
Taraja opened her eyes to see a blonde nurse looking at her.
“Welcome back, Tiger.” The nurse greeted her with a smile. “I know that’s not your name, but we had to call you something. So we voted. It was between Miracle and Tiger. Tiger won.”
Staring back at the nurse, she just waited. The questions would come, she was sure. How had she gotten to a hospital, she wondered? Why was she so weak? This had never happened to her before.
“You know we thought we were going to lose you. You were so dehydrated. In fact, the doctors were sure you were dead when you came in. I heard them say it was impossible for you to be alive.”
She just looked at the nurse and tried to convey her disinterest with her eyes. The nurse was right, but there was no way she would tell her. She had laid on that rat infested floor for three weeks. She should be dead. They would call her a medical miracle and want to study her. She would have to get out of here quickly. Why was she so tired? She had always recovered quickly. Had she almost succeeded this time? Now that was worth thinking about.
�
�So what is your name? I guess I can’t keep calling you Tiger now.” The perky blonde nurse smiled at her again.
She opened her parched lips to speak, but nothing came out.
“Oh I bet your throat is dry and sore. Let me get you some water. She quickly left the room and came back with some room temperature water. Using a straw she put it to Taraja’s lips.
“Personally, I was hoping your name was Toni with an I. That way I could keep calling you Toni the Tiger.”
Taraja closed her eyes and shut the nurse out.
“I guess it’s too soon for jokes. Just rest. The doctors will be in shortly to see you.”
Hearing the door close, she tried to get up to leave, but fell asleep instead.
“Wake up miracle.”
The sound of a masculine voice intruded on her dreams of terror. The sound was beautiful, almost lyrical. For a moment she thought she had died. Maybe she had gone to heaven instead of the hell that she thought was waiting for her. Opening her eyes, she looked into a beautiful pair of greens ones. Eyes that were way too close.
“How’s that for no personal space?” He said with soft laughter as he backed off. “Sorry about that. I was in here earlier and you were asleep, so I decided to come back later. You guessed it. It’s now later.”
“I bet the nurse told you that everyone was calling you Tiger. They are, everyone except for myself. Miracle just seems to fit you. My name is Dr. Charles, Paul Charles. Do you remember your name?”
She frowned at him. Why couldn’t she remember her name?
“If you don’t remember, it’s ok. You suffered from almost total dehydration. Even now it’s hard for me to believe you’re alive.”
She wanted to keep him talking. That was never a good sign. Maybe he would just go away if she closed her eyes.
“Miracle.” He said in a sharp tone. “You’re allowed to say yes or no, but you’re not allowed to shut me out.”
She could feel herself swelling up with righteous anger. Who was he to tell her what she could or could not do? Ever since she was little, people always did what she wanted, except her mother of course. Although she refused to think about her.
“You want to tell me to go away? Then I guess you will have to speak. Let’s start with your name.”
Opening her mouth she tried to make a sound, but nothing came out.
“Let’s get some more water into that throat of yours.” He quickly got a cup and a spoon. “I am going to spoon feed you this. It will be easier for you.”
She opened her mouth and he put small amounts of water in, letting her take her time to swallow.
“Now I am going to use some of this spray on your throat. It will numb it some. It will also taste nasty.” Tilting her chin he sprayed it after she opened up. He laughed at the expression she made. “I told you it would taste nasty.”
“Let’s try this again. What’s your name?”
Pursing her lips to be able to get sound; she managed to form one syllable. “Ta.”
“Ta?”
She nodded then added, “ra.”
“Tabitha? Tamera? Taylor?” Savagely she shook her head.
Glaring at him she tried again. “Ja.” This came out just a little easier. For that she was grateful.
“Hmmm Ta and Ra and Ja. I wonder if that could be a name.” He smiled and winked at her as he gave her a puzzled look. “Finally he shrugged. The best I can come up with is Taraja. Is that your name?” She didn’t want to, she really didn’t, but before she could catch herself she was smiling at him and nodding yes. “Well hello Taraja. I am Dr. Paul Charles. It is nice to meet you.”
He held out his hand and she raised hers, happy to see she had more energy than earlier. Just touching his hand sparked something in her. Quickly she dropped it. She would not hope. She had almost died. She was sure of it. She needed to get away so she could do it again.
“Taraja, would you like to tell me what happened to you?” Immediately she started to close her eyes. “Taraja, remember we agreed no eye closing. A simple yes or no will do.”
“No.” She would have tried to shout the word, but that would mean she felt something. She refused to feel anything. Some water would be nice though. Her eyes flicked to the cup for just a moment.
“How rude of me. Of course you want more water. Let’s try the straw this time.” Opening a straw, he inserted it in the water and held it for her to sip from.
Sipping from the straw, she studied him from under her eyelashes. He wasn’t that remarkable. He was at least six feet tall, black hair and clean shaven with thick eyelashes to go with his beautiful eyes. He looked like he weighed about two hundred pounds, and he had the face of an angel. Ok, so he was remarkable, but she shouldn’t care. She had never cared in the past.
“I think we should try and get some food in you. I am going to order you a soft meal. Something that will be easy to swallow. Don’t worry if you can’t get it all down.”
Pushing herself up in the bed, she knew she needed to get out of there soon. Already she was getting lost in his eyes and his melodic voice.
“I need to go, maybe to a free clinic.” She said very slowly and tentatively, as if she was unsure the words would come out.
“You can’t leave. You’re in no condition to go.”
“How will I pay for this?” She could care less about the money, but she was sure they would find her soon. If they didn’t, then her mother surely would.
“You can talk to the financial staff when you’re better. They will help you make arrangements. Until you are given a clean bill of health, you will be here. So lay down and let me get that order put in for you.”
He left the room before she even nodded her head yes. She knew it was the wrong decision. She should run, but she was tired of it. She had been running for years. Laying back, she wondered if death would find her this night. Would the blonde perky nurse or the doctor with the green eyes pay for her tiredness?
Once again someone came into the room. She expected it to be someone with a tray from the kitchen.
“Looks like I am back.” She turned her head to see Dr. Charles holding a tray. “I don’t usually make house calls, but for some reason I can’t seem to get too far from your side. That sounds bad.”
Walking over he brought the tray and set it up. “Let’s get you fed and then I will be out of your hair for the night.” Giving her the standard I am friendly smile, he sat on the edge of the bed and began to unveil the food.
“In this corner we have chicken noodle soup, the favorite of sick people far and wide. Then we have soft vanilla ice cream. For your drinking pleasure, we have grape juice, apple juice and the ever ready stand by, a cup of coffee. Open up.”
He slowly helped her to eat as she asked herself the standard questions. Why is he here? Why do I want him around? Almost dying must have knocked a screw loose. Obediently she ate until she felt it, that dark drowning feeling of fear. The one that licked at her nonexistent soul and told her that hope was for children and only children.
“You have to go. You have to go now,” she said in an urgent voice trying not to shake.
“What’s wrong? What has gotten into you?” He pulled out his stethoscope. “Your heart rate is elevated and your pulse is up.”
She jerked away from him. “We don’t have time for this. You have to get out of this room. Get out of the hospital. Drive as fast as you can and maybe it won’t find you.”
“What won’t find me?”
“Something you can’t see, but it can see you. It will kill you and you will never know why.” The temperature dropped dramatically and a chill filled her. “It’s too late.”
Stepping into the room was a monster straight out of her dreams. At first it looked beautiful like Adonis come to life. Then it let the illusion drop and there stood a figure darker than the darkest shadows. It was not a color. To call it black would be unfair to the color. It was just evil and so very dark that it simply reflected no light. It slowly opened its bla
ck wings and then showed its teeth. Teeth that looked like steel picks. The end had come for one of them.
Chapter Two
“What is that?” Paul said in a voice that didn’t believe he was seeing what was in front of him.
“You can see it?
“Of course I can see it.” He was still talking like it was an illusion.
Taraja would have done the happy dance around the room if it had not been there. Her personal life size doll of evil incarnate. Who needed Lucifer when this was chasing you?
“The human can see me. This will make it a lot more fun.” Raising its hand, it shot a bolt of lightning out of its hands into Dr. Charles’ chest cavity. Taraja screamed as she watched him die.
Why was he still alive? She stopped screaming. “Why are you still alive?”
Almost faster than she could track, he shot another bolt of lightning at Dr. Charles. Again it simply fizzled out. He turned and shot a third bolt at the window and all the glass shattered.
“Taraja.” He said with a mocking smile and a tusking sound. “You naughty girl. You went and found yourself a shield. It’s too little, too late. We will still win. It really would have been easier if you had just died.”
“I know that.” She mumbled realizing she was holding a conversation with her enemy. “We are not friends and today you’re not winning, so just leave.”
The door opened and the blonde nurse from earlier walked in. She was not looking as perky and must be pulling a double shift. Taraja knew immediately she was dead. Without thinking, she gathered her slowly recovering strength and jumped in front of her knocking her down. She took the full impact of the blast that was aimed at the nurse.
With grim determination, she canted a series of words that she wasn’t sure she understood and watched as her personal nightmare was pulled away. It threatened to find her soon, so they could finish what they started. She collapsed to the floor, while Dr. Charles escorted the nurse out with instructions to stay out of the room.
Hope (Other World Protection Agency Book 1) Page 1
