Absolution maybe?
Duncan focused on Olsen again. “When I pulled that pipe out of your chest, the blood started pumping like a fountain and I didn’t even think, I just put my hands over your wound, prayed that God would be with me and…healed you. It’s what I do.â€
Olsen could only continue to stare. It was a fantastic story, but yet something inside told him it was all completely true. Duncan had healed him; he had no doubt about it. But what did that mean?
Apparently Riley was trying to understand that, too. “You said ‘It’s what you do.’ You mean you’ve done this before?â€
Duncan nodded. “Ever since I was a child. They’d come for miles, the sick and the injured, to see Pastor Duncan and his miracle boy.â€
Olsen heard the bitterness in his tone and realized there was more to the story than that, but now was not the time. He steered the conversation back to the present. “Can you heal Cade?†he asked, realizing as he did so that he was almost afraid to hear the answer. Almost.
Duncan nodded. “I think so. Yes. At least, I can give it a try.â€
“Then let’s do it.â€
Riley grabbed Olsen’s arm, a concerned expression on his face. “I don’t know, man. What if something goes wrong? What if he causes more harm than good?â€
But Olsen had heard enough. Deep in his gut, he knew it was their only chance. He shook himself free of the other’s grip. “Look around you, Matt!†he said, staring Riley down.
“Does it look like we’re going anywhere anytime soon? If he can heal Cade, then maybe Cade can take us back across the Veil, get us back to our version of reality. It’s our only chance. It’s Cade’s only chance! Look at him for God’s sake; he’s not going to last another two hours at this rate!â€
Riley couldn’t argue with that. Without another word he nodded his agreement. They would give it a try.
“What do you need us to do?†Olsen asked Duncan.
The younger man shook his head. “Nothing, I guess. At least I don’t think there’s anything you can do. It’s up to God, really. I’m just the conduit.â€
Riley moved out of the way, allowing Duncan to get close to Cade. As they watched, their teammate crossed himself, bowed his head in prayer, and then, taking a deep breath, placed his hands on the bandages covering Cade’s head wound.
For several long moments, nothing happened. Duncan just sat there with his head bowed and his hands on Cade, a look of intent concentration on his face. Olsen felt his impatience growing thin and was about to say something when Duncan sat back and yanked his hands away from Cade.
“Fuck!â€
Olsen had never heard his teammate swear before and the oath was startling in the quiet of the corridor, especially given its source. Ominous even. “What is it? What’s wrong?†he asked.
“There’s something….wrong. In Cade’s head.â€
“You mean with the wound?â€
“No. I mean with his head. Inside his head. There’s something in there that shouldn’t be there.â€
Riley didn’t like the way that sounded. “Can you get rid of it?â€
Duncan shook his head. “That’s just it. I don’t think I should.†He turned to face them both. “I’ve seen enough to know that Cade’s encounter with…that thing…what does he call it?â€
“The Adversary,†Riley supplied.
“Right. I know that his encounter with the Adversary left him with a few unusual traits.
Like that thing he does with his hands. Or the way he crosses into the Beyond. He couldn’t do that stuff before, right?â€
“Not that I know of,†replied Olsen. He looked to Riley for confirmation and the other man nodded his head in agreement.
“Okay. So that means that whatever else the Adversary did to him, it also somehow gave him those new abilities.â€
“So?â€
“So we need those abilities to get out of here,†Duncan continued. “I don’t have any control over what I heal. I mean, it’s not selective or anything. What if I heal Ca-de and end up healing whatever it is the Adversary did to him? What will we do then?â€
The three men stared at each other, confounded by the choice before them. If they did nothing, Cade would probably die. If they healed him, they might save his life but might also maroon them all in the Beyond forever. It wasn’t the best had they could have drawn.
“Wait a minute!†said Riley. “You healed him before without changing anything, right?â€
“What? What are you talking about?â€
Olsen knew exactly what the other man meant. And suddenly several things seemed to make sense to him. “Back in the hospital. Before we jetted off on this insane assignment.
Cade was so weak he could barely lift a hand, never mind walk. We left you alone in his hospital room just before our meeting with the Preceptor. Twenty minutes later the Knight Commander walks into the briefing like nothing happened. There was no way he could have done that on his own. You healed him, right? You must have!â€
But Duncan shook his head. “No. I didn’t heal him. I simply said a few prayers and left.â€
Now it was Olsen’s turn to be bewildered. “But if you didn’t heal him…who did?â€
He never received an answer to his question however, for right at that moment the alert came back down the corridor from the rest of the team.
Something was on its way down the tunnel toward them.
CHAPTER THIRTY
FRIENDS IN UNLIKELY PLACES
“Olsen, you stay here with Cade. Duncan, you’re with me,†Riley said, turning as he did to head back up the tunnel and deal with whatever was coming their way.
Duncan shook his head and actually took a step closer to Cade’s now still form.
“I’d rather stay here.â€
Riley knew it was concern for their commander rather than fear that prompted Duncan’s actions, but he didn’t have time for his teammate’s independent streak right now and his answer to it came fast and sharp. “Tough. You’re the closest thing I’ve got to an expert on this place at the moment and that means I need your eyes and ears up front with me. Let’s move.â€
Reluctantly Duncan joined him and the two of them moved quickly back up the tunnel to Ortega’s side. All of them were tired, worn out, confused by the situation they found themselves in, particularly with their leader injured and out of the action. Another firefight was the last thing they needed right now and yet it looked like that was exactly what they were going to get.
Riley hated days like these.
It didn’t take them long to reach the spot where Ortega was standing guard a short distance back up the tunnel. His position just this side of a sharp turn allowed him to stay under the cover of darkness while giving him an excellent vantage point from which to observe the long stretch of tunnel they’d already traversed. As Riley stepped up, he found himself unconsciously mimicking their injured leader. “What have we got?â€
Ortega didn’t say anything, simply pointed down the tunnel in response. At its far end, a pale glow could be seen moving slowly in their direction. It was still faint and a less observ-ant individual might have missed it but very little got past Ortega and Riley found himself thankful that he had men like him beside him in this place.
“Good work,†Riley said, clapping the other man on the back. As he watched whatever it was move slowly closer, he considered their options. They had yet to encounter anything in this hellish landscape that had their best interests at heart and he didn’t expect it to be any different this time around. Standing their g
round probably meant ending up in another firefight. Their other option was to cut and run, try and put as much distance between them and this new enemy as they possibly could, without getting themselves lost in the process.
Not that they weren’t lost already.
Neither option was all that attractive, but in the end it was Cade’s condition that tipped the balance for him. Riley knew that Cade needed time to rest, so he opted to stand and fight.
Decision made, he settled down to wait for whatever it was to get close enough for him to get a good look at it.
It didn’t take long.
The glow became a shape and the shape quickly became a human figure as it continued moving toward them. As it got closer they began to see details.
The figure was dressed in a thick brown hooded robe that completely concealed its face.
Its hands were also hidden from sight, tucked as they were inside the voluminous sleeves hanging off either arm. The individual was of average height, Riley would have guessed about six feet if asked, but even under the bulky robe he could tell that the newcomer was of slight build and probably didn’t weigh more than a handful of pounds over a buck ten. The pale glow they had seen was still there, surrounding it, and Riley had the sudden sense that the figure before them was far less substantial than he believed.
That brought another, perhaps more disturbing, thought.
If things got ugly, would their weapons even work on this thing?
Unlike everything else they’d run into in this place, however, the newcomer did not give off waves of hateful malice and Riley took what little comfort there was in that fact, hoping they might have finally caught a break.
Then Duncan opened his mouth and everything changed in a heartbeat.
“You gotta be freakin’ kidding me…†he breathed, so quiet that Riley doubted he’d actually heard it at first, until Duncan began moving forward.
“What?†Riley asked, snatching at his teammate, but Duncan was already past him and all he could do was stand and watch as he stepped out around the bend and stood in the midst of the tunnel, revealing himself to the approaching figure.
Around him Riley felt the rest of the men stir and he knew their level of intensity had just gone up a few notches. He held out his right hand, palm down, and slowly brought it down, indicating that they should remain in position and not interfere yet. He had no clue what Duncan thought he was doing out there, but he’d proven himself under fire and Riley was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Then again, really, what choice did he have?
While Riley and his men had gotten into position the figure had maintained its steady approach and was now roughly twenty feet away, only stopping when Duncan stepped around the corner into full view.
The two of them stared at each other and Riley watched them both, the muzzle of his weapon locked on a point over Duncan’s right shoulder that afforded him a good shot at the newcomer and he knew the men around were doing the same.
Time stretched and Riley felt his senses come into sharper focus just as they usually did in the seconds before an assault went bad, from the way the stranger’s robes whispered against the floor as they swayed in the non-existent breeze to the whiteness of Duncan’s knuckles where he gripped his MP5.
Riley’s heart rate kicked into overdrive.
Here it comes, he thought.
But to his surprise, violence didn’t erupt and it was the stranger who broke the silence first.
“Do you know who I am?â€
The voice was at once achingly beautiful and savagely terrible, both melodic and discord-ant, if that was at all possible, and Riley’s heart twisted in his chest to hear it.
Duncan’s answer was the biggest shock so far, however.
“You’re Gabrielle. Gabrielle Williams.â€
Cade’s dead wife? Riley couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but there was no time to consider it in more detail for the conversation was going on without him and he dared not be left behind. He’d ponder it all later, once they were out of this mess. For now, he’d better follow along as well as he could.
Gabrielle cocked her head to one side as she considered Duncan’s reply and in the seconds that followed Riley noted that Duncan still had not relinquished the near-stranglehold on his weapon. They weren’t out of danger yet, apparently.
“Yes,†she replied at last, slowly, almost hesitantly. “Yes, that is my name.â€
Duncan nodded, accepting her response, but he still did not relax. “What do you want?â€
Again, she was slow to respond. Her actions puzzled Riley. Was she considering her answers, trying to find the proper response to the questions posed or was there something else going on? Was she even who she pretended to be? How could they know?
This time her response came a little quicker than before. “Take me to Cade.â€
Yeah, right, Riley thought and apparently he wasn’t the only one who was a bit uneasy at the idea.
“You can tell me what you came here to say and I’ll pass it on,†Duncan replied.
The muzzle of his weapon shifted almost imperceptibly closer to the woman standing before him.
Gabrielle, if that was truly who she was, shook her head. “He is dying. I must see him.â€
Riley watched as it was Duncan’s turn to hesitate. He knew Cade was too far up the tunnel to be visible, even with supernaturally enhanced vision, and so there was no chance that Gabrielle had simply seen his wounds and guessed at his condition. She had come here specifically because her former husband was in mortal danger. Somehow, someway, she had known and that alone was a very sobering thought.
But Duncan wasn’t yet finished. “How do we know you are who you say you are?â€
Gabrielle stared at him and unknowingly both Riley and Duncan held their breath. If things were going to go sideways, this was the point it would happen. In unconscious mimicry of each other, they both placed their fingers on the triggers of their weapons, preparing to defend their comrades and their wounded leader.
Their actions were unnecessary. Gabrielle seemed to understand the position they were in. Without a word she reached up and grasped the cowl of her hood and Riley couldn’t help but flinch at the gleam of white bone that was revealed amidst the flesh of her hands as she did so. That might have been bad enough, but it was the sight of her face, now revealed to all who stood there, that shocked him into immobility.
She’d been gorgeous once, beautiful even, and the right side of her face still showed how she must have looked in life, her skin silky smooth and unmarred by even the smallest blemish, her lips rich and full. Her hair fell about that side of her face in a gentle wave and it shone in such a way that you just wanted to reach out and run your fingers through it.
But the left side of her face was a study in tragedy and horror. The skin had been stripped from the flesh, leaving the muscles, tendons, and blood vessels exposed for all too see in their scarlet glory. Her teeth gleamed brightly against the bloody texture of her face, her lips no longer there to tuck them away from view. Similarly her eye was a white marble in that sea of red and it rotated to fix Duncan in its baleful glare.
“I am Gabrielle Williams and my husband is dying. You will take me to him or I will go myself.â€
After a moment, Duncan nodded his agreement. After all, he was in no position to argue.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
REUNION
Duncan turned and, gesturing for Gabrielle to follow, headed back down the corridor to where the Olsen was watching over their wounded comrade. As Gabrielle passed, Riley felt a wave of cold wash over him, as if he’d just stepped barefoot into knee deep snow. He let her get a few feet ahead and then followed obediently behind. If Gabrielle was concerned about being sandwiched between two well-armed soldi
ers, she didn’t show it.
Riley called Olsen over the radio. “We’re headed your way. And we’ve got a visitor with us.â€
“Roger that. You want to let me in on who it is?â€
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.â€
By then their small group had gotten close enough that Gabrielle could see Cade lying motionless on the ground a short distance ahead. She pushed Duncan aside and rushed toward her injured husband.
Surprised by her sudden actions, Olsen stepped in front of the body of his friend, his weapon raised, but Riley had been expecting something like this and he waved his teammate out of the way before anything could come of it. Truth be told he had no idea what Gabrielle was capable of, but there was no sense testing her determination at this point.
Olsen moved aside as instructed.
Ignoring him, Gabrielle knelt down next to her wounded husband. She looked him over slowly and carefully, but made no move to touch him. She closed her eyes and was silent for a bit and then, “He’s bleeding internally. If we can’t stop it soon, he’ll die.â€
It was all spoken in a voice devoid of any emotion, as if she were talking about a refriger-ator rather than her beloved husband, so different from her actions upon first seeing him; a matter of fact recitation of events, a simple puzzle to be solved rather than a mortal threat to her beloved.
Slowly she turned her head and looked at each of them, until her gaze came to rest on Duncan. They stared at each other and Riley had the sense that something passed between them, but he wasn’t sure exactly what. In the end he supposed it didn’t really matter; Duncan stood up and moved to sit on the other side of Cade, opposite Gabrielle.
“What do you want me to do?â€
As Gabrielle began explaining to Duncan what she intended, Riley found himself standing there, simply amazed at what had happened over the last twenty-four hours. From reaper demons to resurrected angels, from crossing the Barrier to sitting here taking medical advance from the long dead wife of his unit commander, it had been one freakin’ strange day.
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