The Vengeance

by Allison Rios

  “Addie, stop,” he whispered back. Tears fell down his cheeks in droves, his eyes unable to catch her stare again.

  “How long!” she shouted in the loudest whisper she could without waking anyone.

  “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know?”

  “I don’t. I can’t see that. I only see if you are supposed to continue on and that can change at the drop of a hat with the changes that take place in the world.”

  He reached out to her and she turned away. She’d thought since the first moment she fought to wake herself from the coma that she would die; she hadn’t anticipated how quickly it might come.

  He was behind her, his warm arm around her back and his hand bracing her for support, ready to catch her at a moment’s notice if she needed it.

  “Could you do it – save me – even though you’re not supposed to?”

  His silence served as answer enough. Anger overtook her, the fear of dying overwhelming her body. She remembered all they had gone through. He had been ready to give himself up once for her and now he was unwilling, it seemed, to do so.

  “I asked you a question! Could you save me if you wanted to?”

  “Yes!” he screamed at her. “Yes, I could! But I’d lose the ability to save anyone else! And you’d just die another way. Or someone else would have to take your place. Would you forgive me if Rose was hurt again and I couldn’t help her? Would you forgive yourself if it were Rose who took your place? Would you forgive me if I couldn’t save Gram? I’m stuck in the middle of a game I can’t win Addie, because even if I save you and get to love you for the rest of my life, I’ll be saddled with the blame the moment anyone you love gets sick or dies!”

  “So you’ll let me die?” she whispered as they locked eyes.

  He saw the hurt and the fear pouring out of her and he jolted awake from the nightmare. It was just a dream, he sighed in relief. Rubbing his eyes he looked her up and down to be sure he hadn’t disturbed her. AJ noticed something different about her as she lay tucked into the hospital bed, her hands at her sides.

  Tears began rolling down both her cheeks.

  27 PLANNING

  The harried footsteps sounded on the pavement as Robert walked the same five foot stretch minute after minute, hour after hour. It had been like this for days as he struggled with the urge to go into the hospital and the understanding that he would not be welcome there. He would stay out of sight – though he knew AJ felt him – and would watch as AJ came and left for any sign on the Healer’s face that would reveal Addie’s condition. AJ gave no clues.

  He shoved his hands back into his pockets and sat down on the bench for a moment. He had spent a great deal of time over the last few days thinking about his future and staring at his hands. They were the determinant of his destiny. They had the power to give him back to his family or carry on his predetermined fate. He hated them and hated the very depths of both the Grims and the Healers at the moment. He had put Addie into that room connected to a plethora of machines and needles and yet he was profoundly angry with AJ, the man unwilling to give up his gift to save her. In the same thought, he reminded himself of the hypocrisy of such a gesture, as Robert himself wasn’t willing to give up his power, either.

  His thoughts were interrupted by a strange and yet familiar voice.

  “What are the chances of running into you again?”

  Robert eyed the old man, slightly remembering him from the bar the other night. A Grim.

  “Can I help you?” Robert asked in the hopes that his tone would send the man packing.

  “Feeling any better than the other night?” the man bellowed. “Or are you at a hospital because you’re in less than pristine condition?”

  “It’s really none of your business.”

  “Didn’t mean to pry,” the old man smiled. “Just thought you looked like you could use a friend.”

  “No disrespect, but I try not to maintain friendships with … people like us.”

  “Understood. But on the other hand, sometimes it’s nice to have someone you can talk to who understands.”

  Robert looked away. The old man was right. And right now, Robert had no friends within a thousand-mile radius. He had no family, as his parents had moved away long ago after Robert gave up contact with them. The few people he wanted were barricaded in a hospital room that he wasn’t allowed into.

  “May I sit down?” the man asked, sensing Robert’s change of emotion.

  “Go ahead.”

  “My name’s Abraham,” he said, tucking his intricately carved cane gently between his legs to keep it from falling. It looked a hundred years old to Robert and probably was, he realized.

  “I’m Robert.”

  “Nice to meet you Robert. Why are you sitting out here?”

  “You already know. You brought it up at the damn bar. I have someone inside. My head is clearer out here. And I’m not exactly welcome up there. Plus, hospitals aren’t really somewhere I want to be, considering nearly everyone in there is in because someone like me put them there.”

  “You have to learn to separate the work from the person, kid.”

  “Maybe after as many years as you, I’ll be able to,” Robert scoffed. “Why are you here anyway?”

  “Duty calls,” he chuckled. “Sometimes this is the easiest place for me to work, what with this old body. I can do the job and regain strength without really having to search. Sort of a Grim buffet, if you will.”

  A look of disgust shot over the younger Grim’s face, allergic to the very presence in front of him. Robert had never even considered such a thing. He’d fought hard to keep some sort of morality and momentarily prayed that in the end he wouldn’t end up like this angry old man.

  “So why aren’t you up with her?”

  “What business is it of yours? And how do you know it’s her and not someone else?”

  “Because nobody your age downs that much whiskey at a bar over anything, other than a girl.”

  “I’m not welcome in there.”

  “And why not?”

  “Because I put her in there when I got mad at her.”

  “Someone you love?”

  “The only girl I’ve ever loved,” he whispered back. “And this damn Healer’s in town and clearly in love with her and won’t fix her. Says he can’t because he’s not supposed to. If I could fix her, I would give up everything to do it.”

  “You could have given up everything before you came back, right? Then this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

  “Whose side are you on?” Robert growled.

  “I’m just trying to make a point. If you love her, you would give all this up. I mean, this isn’t exactly an ideal job is it?”

  Robert couldn’t argue. He hated every moment of taking a life.

  “I was debating whether she’d be better off without me back. Whether my daughter would.”

  “Your daughter?”

  “Yeah, we have a daughter. I wondered if they’d be better off with this Healer.”

  “Obviously he doesn’t love them like you do. He won’t heal her.”

  “That’s what I’ve come to realize. But I think a part of her heart is still with him, because she can’t let him go.”

  “So fight for her.”

  “I wish it were that simple.”

  “It is. Fight for her,” he hissed. “You forget that we have the ability to remove certain obstacles from our way.”

  “I’m not that person,” Robert growled again. “I don’t do this job to hurt others. I do it to follow the laws laid out for our people long ago.”

  “There comes a point, kid, where you realize that you have an advantage over everyone else. Good people do bad things all the time. One small thing here or there never really hurts anyone. And in the long run, we’re all forgiven right? If you want your family back, then at the end of the day you have to make the decision to make it happen. And you can make it happen.”

  The old man
shifted on the bench and pulled himself up on the rickety cane.

  “I think that might actually be a fun little project for me. I haven’t had the opportunity to wipe a Healer from the earth in a very long time.”

  “I’ll leave that up to you. I’m not attacking any Healers, especially not him. You can do whatever you want. Personally, having him out of the way will make my life a hell of a lot easier.”

  The words escaped so easily and Robert instantly sighed with shame. He was quickly becoming the man he’d worked so hard to avoid.

  “If the loss of one person can change many lives for the better, it’s worth the loss right? I mean, that is the Healer philosophy after all.” He gave Robert a half-cocked grin and sank back into the bench.

  Robert had second thoughts. It was the most sense anything had made to him since he showed back up in Lee.

  He looked up towards the window of the room he last knew Addie to be in and could feel AJ’s presence there with her.

  “Addie! Addie can you hear me?” AJ whispered the sentiment hurriedly, unsure as to what had actually just happened.

  He stood up from the chair, sending it flying backwards. Still grasping her hand in his, he used the other to smooth her hair back and tuck it gently behind her ear.

  “Addie, please! If you can hear me, do something. Say something. Anything!”

  He watched her closely, his gaze moving slowly from the top of her head to the tips of her toes and back again. There was no movement except the same monotonous rise and fall of her chest.

  “Come back to me,” he whispered, tears forming within his own eyes. He wiped the wet streaks from her cheeks and then his own. “Please come back to us.”

  He lightly kissed her hand but was interrupted as the doctor walked in.

  “How’s our patient?” he asked, noting the tears on AJ’s face.

  “Doctor, she was crying.”

  “Crying?”

  “Yes, crying.” AJ pointed to the streaks on her pale cheeks.

  The doctor leaned in to inspect, fumbling with his glasses in order to see more clearly. He stood upright again without even looking at AJ and muttered, “Just another reflex, son. I’m sorry.”

  AJ looked intently at Addie, squeezing her hand in his.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m very sure. We are going to have to hook up the respirator. I’m afraid her breathing is shallower and her lungs are having difficulty working on their own. I think it would be best if you’d step outside for a little while. We’ll get you back in here as soon as we’re done.”

  AJ smoothed the soft skin of Addie’s hand before gently kissing it again. The action felt brazen as it was forbidden for him to show this kind of affection and keep his gift; yet he argued with himself that he was not technically breaking the rules since she was in a coma. And in his defense, he thought, he had followed the rules and not healed her.

  AJ stepped outside and found his way to the waiting room and the limited menu of the vending machines. Cupcakes and chips weren’t exactly what he was hungry for, but he wasn’t willing to risk leaving Addie alone on the floor. He could feel the presence of Grims and would take no chances. Even if she wasn’t awake, he wasn’t ready yet to lose her. When Gram got back he’d head to the cafeteria, he promised himself.

  He wandered over to the window and peered outside at Robert. He’d been doing this for days; watching the man pace outside as though the end of the world was near. For a moment he actually felt a pang of sorrow for the man. He knew Robert loved Addie. He also knew that with the power Robert possessed there came a certain change to one’s personality, a hardening of their soul, in essence. It was a form of protection for a Grim. Their work was one that would wear on even the strongest and kindest of souls. To be responsible for taking lives day after day, decade after decade, would certainly wear on a person’s psyche.

  The thought quickly dissolved with the reminder that despite what Robert might feel for Addie, they would never be safe with him unless he gave up his power. One fight, one too many drinks; the smallest issue might set him off and all it would take is a momentary loss of control to send Addie – or Rose for that matter – into the grave.

  Robert wasn’t alone this time. An old man sat next to him and AJ could feel the intensity off of both. Another Grim. Perhaps Robert’s father? Addie had never spoken of that side of the family and at least in the past six months AJ had never seen Rose spend time with anyone other than the usual group. He shook it off. He wasn’t too worried. He could sense Robert’s remorse and as for the other, the man appeared too old to be any real threat.

  The doctor appeared at the door letting him know he could return to the room.

  28 TOUGHER

  AJ needed a break and found a welcome opportunity when Gram returned for her shift at the hospital. He walked as quickly as his feet would carry him to Addie’s beat up pickup and hightailed it back to the B&B. He had no intention of being away from her long.

  As he pulled up the drive, he noted the car a football field length away pulling up behind him. Robert.

  The heat already surging in his blood, he had no plans to disclose any information about Addie to the Grim. He personally wanted Robert to suffer more than all of them, a retribution for what he’d done. He grabbed the keys and jumped down from the vehicle but wasn’t quick enough.

  “AJ!”

  AJ stopped, his head dropping and his hands balling into fists. He didn’t want to have this conversation. Not now, not ever.

  “AJ, how is she?”

  “I’m not having this discussion with you.”

  “Come on, AJ! I love her. She’s the mother of my kid. You have to tell me she’s going to be okay.”

  The adrenaline rushed through the Healer and he turned swiftly to bring himself an inch away – and eye to eye – with Robert.

  “She’s gonna die Robert. That’s how she’s going to be.”

  “And you won’t heal her?” he screamed back.

  “I can’t heal her, you jackass. You know the rules. I did it once; I saved her once and we somehow escaped the consequences of that. I can’t do that again.”

  “Or you won’t do that again.”

  “Get out of my way,” AJ yelled, stepping around Robert and towards the B&B.

  Robert stepped in his way again and AJ’s face grew harder, his stare penetrating the depths of what was left of Robert’s soul.

  “I wouldn’t have to make this choice if you had done what you were supposed to do in the first place,” AJ snarled.

  Robert couldn’t hold back anymore. His human side kicked in. He took a swing at AJ, landing the hit squarely across AJ’s jaw. It threw the Healer’s head to the side and Robert instantly regretted it. He stepped back, realizing that he’d now unleashed the opportunity AJ had most likely been waiting for – the opportunity to take all of his strength away or quite possibly, his life.

  “It was going to happen anyway,” Robert called out.

  “What was?” AJ yelled back at him.

  “Addie. It was going to happen anyway. When she hugged me I saw it. I was chosen to take her life away, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t give this power up because I needed to protect her. If I gave it up, someone else would come and take her from me. It was only a matter of time.”

  “Why didn’t you say something?” AJ screamed.

  “To who, you? The Healer? The guy who loves her just as much as I do? What if I’d told you that day what I saw? You would have obliterated me right then, found some way to get rid of me. I need to be a part of Rose’s life and I can’t do that if Addie loves you. I’m Rose’s father and I need her to know me. I need to be here for her, just in case.”

  “In case she what?” AJ interrupted. “In case it’s her turn to die next? And then you try to handle it on your own again? Because it turned out perfectly this time!”

  “In case she turns into this,” Robert whispered, his arms outstretched.

  It was a moment o
f clarity for AJ.

  Robert did indeed love Addie; but he loved Rose more. And Rose was what he had come back for. He had come back not purely for the sake of rebuilding his family, but rather to protect Rose from her potential destiny.

  “I love Addie, AJ, but I know you love her, too. I only wanted to be a part of Rose’s life; Addie and I have grown up and she doesn’t feel for me what she did back then. Maybe she wants to feel that way about me again but she doesn’t. She loves you. Anybody can see it. But you told me from the start you couldn’t give her what she wanted. So I wanted to give us the chance to be the family we missed out on, because it is the least I could do for Addie, after all she’d gone through because of me. I hated seeing her spending time with you but truth be told, I’m glad you’re around, because I figured that maybe when Addie’s time eventually came, someone who loved her on another level would be able to stop the future from happening. Maybe you could change her life, save her life, and then give her the type of love she deserved. I have always been able to see how much you loved her, too.”

  Robert was exhausted now, stooped on the splintering stairs with his head buried in his hands. His black shirt was dusty as the wind whipped up the dried earth and scattered it across the county.

  “I’m not a monster, AJ. I went away to save them. I came back to save Rose. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I know how a loss like a mother can have long standing repercussions on a Grim and which way they turn later in life. I would never wish that on Rose. Please, just help me make this right.”

  “Don’t you get it? I can’t make this right, Robert! There is no fixing what has been done! Not by me, not by anyone. Addie is not meant to be healed. I’ve seen the visions. She dies on the damn ventilation machine they hooked up to her today! She doesn’t wake up! Neither one of us will get the opportunity to love her, because even if I heal her today, something else will happen and her time will come and then what? You’re acting as though I don’t want to save her! I do. With every inch of my soul, I want to rescue her and make this all a distant memory for her, but I can’t! I have loved her since the moment I saw her. I don’t know why the world works the way it does, but this is the hand we’ve all been dealt and we have to play it. We can cheat all we want, but in the end it will only burn us more than we feel we are in this very moment.”