Chapter One

Emilea Cambell

I’d never really considered death. To me, death was something that happened to people around me. My grandmother in the nursing home, who’d I’ve only visited once, so no big loss there. Darcy Cambell, my mother, died in childbirth. Not to mention countless others, people whom I might know except in passing.
Death’s followed me for longer than I can remember.
So, it’s strange, now that I have nothing to think about besides my untimely demise, to realize I’ve never truly thought about it.
Isaac Asimov once said that “Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.” Even now, I can’t think about this without laughing. The transition is troublesome?
If he only knew.

Chapter One:

The crisp fall wind rushed past me, lifting my tomato red hair, and flipping it every which way. I tucked my jacket closer to myself, and trudged on through the bite of the cold. My heavy book bag on my shoulders was becoming uncomfortable, so I distracted myself with mental lists of tasks I had to complete once I reached home, a couple blocks away.
Katy wouldn’t be home yet, she was a nurse at the hospital, and she picked up a lot of night shifts. I was beginning to think she was avoiding me. Things had been awkward between us ever since Dad.
Groaning at the path my thoughts had taken me, I stopped at the highway intersection I crossed every day to get to my house. It was busy, as usual. After a few minutes of waiting with no breaks in traffic, my foot started to tap impatiently.
In the back of my mind, I registered a woman sitting in her car across the street. She had long brown hair, wore a business suit, and was having a heated discuss with someone on the other end of her cell phone. I saw a slight stutter in the never end line of cars coming up. My glance flicked back to the woman. Too, busy yelling to notice.
Holding on to my backpack to steady it, I made a mad dash for the other side of the intersection. I felt exhilaration rush through my veins at my sudden burst of speed. Basking in the glorious feeling of stretching my limbs after having to sit in a crowded classroom all day, I wasn’t paying attention.
Tires squealing, loud and unpleasant.
A flash of blue.
The world exploded into a thousand different shades of agony.
Bright lights danced on the inside of my eyelids.
Then... nothing.

_____

Elijah Valen

I slammed on the brakes and muttered a curse under my breath. Traffic had come to a complete stop in front of me. Turning off the radio, I heard people screaming from outside my car.
Frowning when I couldn’t make out what they were saying, I opened the door and got out. There were two cars in front of me, and beyond them, a crowd was starting to form. I can’t explain what came over me, but I had this overwhelming urge to get to the front of the line. I had to be there. It was important.
Pushing through the frightened people was harder than it looked, they were scared stiff. I almost had to shove a few to the ground, just to get them to notice I was trying to get past them.
The scene the unfolded before me made me wish I had stayed in my car, and blissfully relieved I was there, at the same time. The two emotions fought for dominance in my mind.
A small blue car was idling in the middle of the intersection. A woman was standing a few feet from in, trembling, her phone long forgotten in her hand. Her gaze was wide eyed and angled towards the ground by the trunk of her car.
I broke through the group of people and I approached her. I could feel their eyes on my back, all too stunned to do anything but watch me.
“I-I d-didn’t mean to...she just... I didn’t see her!” Her words made my blood run cold.
“Call 911,” I shouted over my shoulder, not looking back at the crowd to see if my order was obeyed. Brushing past the distraught woman, I sprinted for the spot where her eyes were still glued.
A girl was lying a few feet from the back tires. Remembering what my mom had taught me about car accidents, I realized she must have been hit head on and been flung over the car. A hard knot formed in my gut.
I swallowed back my terror as I inspected her injuries. Just like I’ve watched, Mom do at Saint Mercy’s a million times. One arm and leg were bent at horrible angles, broken in multiple places. Surgery needed. I didn’t dare touch her, fearing spinal damage, but I suspected she had a broken rib or two.
She had a few deep cuts on her forehead, non-life-threatening at best. Releasing a shaky breath, I assessed the injury I’d been avoiding. The back of her head.
It’d been smashed against the concrete, and by the looks of the blood spatter, the car. A pool of scarlet, spread around her. In my very nonprofessional opinion, she’d lost a liter and a half.
“...40% of an adult’s blood volume, that’s about 2.24 liters, anymore and they won’t survive.” Mom’s words played over and over in my head, becoming louder each time I listened to them.
“Gotta stop the bleeding,” I muttered to myself. Ripping off my shirt- one of my favorites; Led Zeppelin- I carefully lifted her head and placed the wadded up cloth underneath it.
Part of me recognized the sound of sirens nearby. Part of me was too terrified to care. I grabbed her wrist and frantically felt for her pulse.
Nothing.
I felt my own heart stutter in my chest. I raised her chin and plunged her nose, before giving her two good breathes. Starting chest compressions, I thought back to how the CPR instructor had talked about pressing to the beat of Staying Alive. How could anyone sing at a time like this?
Two breathes...
Thirty compressions...
Two breathes...
I’m not sure how long I kept CPR up, but eventually I felt a stranger’s hands taking over for me. Another pair tried to pry me away from the gruesome scene. The ambulance had arrived.
I resisted the EMT, I shouldn’t leave her. She shouldn’t be alone.
“Come on, Son. You’ve done all you can.” His voice was rough and authoritative.
“She goes to my school.” My voice was little more than a croak. I hadn’t realized who she was until I’d stepped back, and really looked at her face.
Lea Cambell.
I shook off the personnel’s grip. “My name’s Eli Valen. My mom’s Dr. Emma Valen, Head of the Trauma. And I’m riding with you to the hospital.”

Lea Cambell

I was floating...
I couldn’t open my eyes or more my body. There was nothing for me to hold on to. Nothing around to assure me I was real. Alive.
However, what my world was lacking for in substance, it made up for ten fold in noise.
“We’re losing-”
“Emilea, sleep now.” The second voice was ethereal, and completely alien to me. I found myself wanting to listen to her. “Rest... Let go...”
Rest? Let Go? Yeah...I could do that. A nap sounded pretty good right about then.
“Get the paddles!” I frowned internally; the first voice was so different from the second. It was gruff, and grated on my sensitive ears like they were cheese.
“Sleep, Emilea-”
“Stay with me, kid.” My eyes flickered back and forth behind closed lids. The two voices battled for space inside my overstuffed head...
Why was I here again?
Oh, right. Car vs. me in the final showdown of Survival of the Fittest. I tried to concentrate and bring back memories from after the crash. It felt like I was trying to wade through a neck high river of cottage cheese. Not productive or pleasant.
A flash of something flared across my mind’s eye. I grabbed desperately at it, trying to hold myself to something real.
Dark hair. Green eyes. A face.
“Aren’t you tired, child?” This time, I really thought about what she was saying, and felt a sickening feeling in my stomach. To think I’d almost listened to her! Of course, the first voice was annoying; it was real, while the other came from inside my own head.
“Sorry, Lady, no deal. I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
Eli Valen
The tendons in my knuckles stood out in white relief. I tried to loosen my grip on the plastic waiting room chairs, to no avail. They’d managed to restart her heart on the way over, and as soon as we arrived, my mother had rushed Lea into surgery. The knot in my stomach refused to lessen.
It was stupid to feel this upset over one girl. I didn’t even know her, just of her. We had the weakest of connections: I’m in a band. She’s in the band.
That’s it.
I’ve seen her in the halls of Cliffmoor High. Most glued to the hip of that Goth chick. Gabby? Abby? Pretty sure, they’re best friends. The girl next door and a vampire wanna-be. Weird combo.
There weren’t any clocks around, so I couldn’t be sure how much time had passed. It felt like days.
“Eli?” Mom called from behind me. She was still in her scrubs.
I sprang to my feet. “How is she?”
She shook her head slowly, “She’s out of surgery, but the head trauma was severe. Her brain functions are minimal. Right now, she’s in a comatose state.”
“Will she wake up?” My hands trembled as I ran them through my hair. I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer.
There was a pause, “In my professional opinion, her brain is too damaged to ever repair itself. She’ll spend the rest of her life hooked up to machines.” The cool distance vanished from her eyes, turning her into my mom instead of a surgeon. “I’m so sorry, Eli. Did you know her?”
“No,” I turned away from her when she would’ve hugged me. And now I never will.

Suzy Cambell
My hands shook as I gripped onto the foot of the hospital bed. I didn’t trust my shaking legs to hold my weight.
I’d been on my way home when I’d gotten the call. Listening to the radio and thinking about what to fix for dinner. I hadn’t been home the last couple of nights, and I knew Lea would be hard up for a warm meal. Girl can’t cook worth a damn.
I shuddered now, at how normal the thoughts were. How normal I was. Ever since Dad’s long-term visit to the mental hospital, everything between me and Lea had been forced, unnatural. For the first time in what seem like forever, I felt like my old self.
That was before I got the call.
Returning to the here and now, I carefully brushed the hair off Lea’s bruised forehead. She looked so young, so fragile. Tears rolled off my face and onto her face, I quickly wiped them away. Lea wouldn’t want me to cry over her.
Breathing in a deep cleansing breath, I looked at her monitors, and the blood froze in my veins.
Her brain activity was...basically nonexistent. I might just be a nurse, but even I know what that means.
This time, I couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

Lea Cambell

My eyes opened.
The harsh florescence light assaulted my sensitive sight. Blinking against it, I surged off the bed in a burst of speed. The floor was cool against my bare feet. A shiver ran down my spine.
God, I feel great. I hadn’t felt this light on my feet since...ever. My skin was smooth and completely void of imperfections. Surprising, considering I’d been hit head on by an accelerating hunk of iron.
Dropping onto the nearest chair, I let that knowledge sink in.
I’ve been run over.
By a car.
How can I be fine?
Did I imagine the creepy Lady of Death?
My eyes wandered around the room before landing on the hospital bed. That’s when I saw it.
Her.
Eli

I watched the woman, who I assumed was Lea’s emergency contact; leave the hospital in a flurry of tears and remorse. The nurses didn’t bat an eyelash at my presence in the intensive care unit, I practically grew up here.
I hesitated right outside of her room. This was too weird. I couldn’t just barge in on a dying girl. Especially one I didn’t even know. Glancing up and down the hallway, I was relieved to see it was deserted. No one to know if I went in or not.
The problem was; I wanted to go in. No matter how I creepy it was, I had to see her with my own two eyes. It didn’t feel real to me. Yet.
Grasping the doorknob, I let out a cleansing breath. Just another patient, Eli. I thought to myself, get a grip. Bracing myself for what I might see inside, I pushed open the door and stepped inside.
“Jesus!”

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 03.02.2013

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