Rise of the Fallen 1 - My Soul to Keep (26 page)

“Huh?” I did a double take.

“What?” Mr. James leaned up and grabbed the doctor’s lab coat.

“I didn’t know how to say that apparently she’ll be fine! She stopped
breathing and her body sort of… rebooted itself?”

“What are you trying to say, doctor?” Mr. James stared at him. The
doctor’s face went blank.

I guess he wants the truth without the emotion.

“The girl started breathing again on her own. Her EEG returned to normal.
All of the other monitors showed all of her organ functions returning to normal.
Throughout everything her heart never wavered once. It actually started pumping
stronger as everything else started shutting down. It’s what kept her alive the
whole time.”

For the first time since the park, I smiled. “Can we see her?”

The doctor turned and looked at me. He shook his head to clear it.
“Um, yes. She’s wide awake.

Her father and I ran into the room. Jessie smiled at the sound of our
footfalls. She turned and opened her eyes and looked at us. “Hi, Dad. Hi, Connor.”

I smiled and crossed the rest of the room. Her eyes followed my every
move. I paused when as realized it. “You can–"

She smiled. It was the most beautiful smile I'd ever seen.

“See you? Yup. Damn you’re cute.”

I must have fainted a little. The floor was cold. I felt it through
the tattered remains of my shirt. Cold linoleum sucks. I looked over at the bed
at Jessie who was leaning over the side and laughing.

Her dad took the opportunity of my sudden incapacitation to run to
the bed and scoop his daughter in his arms. “Oh, Jessica. I love you, baby girl.”

“I love you, too, Daddy. But you’re crushing me.”

“I don’t care. Don’t
ever
scare your father like that again."

She giggled. “I won’t. Daddy. I can
see!”

“I know. I heard. How?”

“The doctor said my body healed itself. They said they have never seen
anything like it.”

“He said your heart kept you alive through everything. They said it
refused to quit.”

Jessie pulled back from her dad. I stood and she gave me a funny look
and started laughing.

“What?” I couldn’t believe she was laughing.

“You saved me!”

“Ha ha, Jess. How did I save you?”

“Don’t you remember, silly? We traded. It was
your
heart that
kept me alive.”

Epilogue

Mr. James patted me on the back and I kissed Jessie on the forehead.
She snuggled into the hospital bed and smiled.

“I love you, Jess. I’ll be back tomorrow morning to check on you.”

“Okay, baby. You heard the doctor. I’ll be home on Monday.”

“I know, but I’m still going to come see you tomorrow.”

“You better.”

I laughed. “I will, baby. Get some sleep. Good night, Mr. James.”

“Good night, Connor,” he said and relaxed in his chair. I wanted to
spend the night with Jess, but he insisted he would. I don’t think seven tractor-trailers
could have dragged him from his spot. I gave them one last smile and stepped out
into the hall. The placard on the wall next to the door across from Jess’ room caught
my attention. 113.

Caelyn!

I smiled guiltily and went to go check on her. Her room was empty.
I shrugged and left to go find Clarisse. They'd probably discharged her and they
were in the waiting room, pissed I hadn’t come out yet. I walked back through the
ER and through the door guarded by the big scary nurse. I smiled at Clarisse when
she saw me come through the door. Then I saw her and saw her tear streaked eyes…

“Where’s Caelyn?” I looked around for my bratty sister.

“Oh, Connor…I’m
so
sorry.”

“Don’t even joke, Clarisse. Seriously, where is she?”

“Young man?”

I turned and saw the scary nurse. She looked sad.
Don’t tell me
they got her in on the joke! I’m going to kill the both of them.
“Yes,” I said,
playing along.

“Your parents are here. They’re waiting in the main hospital lobby
for you.”

I looked back at Clarisse. She was full on crying and looking everywhere
but at me. “Clarisse?”

“Connor, she…she lost too much blood. They couldn’t save her,” she
said and started sobbing. She stood and wrapped her arms around me.

“No. Come on, this isn’t funny. Where is she?”

“Connor, please. I would never joke about that. Come on, sweetie. Let’s
go find your parents.

She took my hand and led me through the corridors of the hospital.
The emergency room was in the back with the main entrance was in the front. I didn’t
remember anything as she brought me to the lobby. We must have passed a hundred
people and a hundred doors. I didn’t see anything but my feet hitting the floor.

“Connor!” My mom’s voice cut through the haze filling my head.

“Mom?” I ran to her and started crying on her shoulder. She held me
tight as I cried. My father came over and put his arms around the both of us. They
started crying, too. Dad was the first to pull away.

“Do you want to say goodbye? They waited for you,” my dad said.

I nodded and he took me back inside the hospital. We turned right instead
of left and walked down a hallway that felt a little darker than the other ones
I'd already passed through. At the end of the hall ominous looking double-doors
stood closed. I looked at the wall and read the word "morgue". Each footfall
sounded like the beat of a drum, getting louder the closer we got. The doors opened
automatically as we approached. My father stood behind me with his hands on my shoulders
as we passed through the doors.

Caelyn was there.

She'd been laid out on a table and draped with a sheet. The closer
we got I kept watching for signs of breathing. She didn’t move at all. She had no
color either. Her lips were a pale purple and her skin was porcelain white.

“I’ll let you say goodbye. I’ve already done it, and honestly, I can’t
do it again.”

I patted my dad’s hand to let him know it was okay and I heard him
walk away and through the doors of the morgue. I reached out and touched Caelyn’s
arm. Her skin was hard and ice cold under my finger tips.

“Caelyn, I’m so sorry. I thought you were okay! I’m so sorry!” I put
my arm on the table and buried my head in my elbow and cried. It was all my fault.
If I'd known she was that badly hurt I would have been there for her!

I must have cried myself out. The tears stopped falling and I breathed
in through my nose. I stood up and looked down at my baby sister lying there. I
kissed my fingertips and touched her forehead.

“Goodbye, brat,” I whispered.

“Stop calling me brat.”

Caelyn’s eyes opened. Her irises were blood red. She gave me an impish
smile and bared her fangs.

Little sisters suck…

Other works by Sean Hayden

The Demonkin
Series:

-Origins

-Deceptions

The Magnificent
Steam Carnival of Professor Pelusian Minus

Series:
(Co-authored with Connor Hayden)

-First Flight

-Second Chance

-Third Time

-Fourth Stand (Available 2012)

Lady Dorn

The Games
We Play

Her Majesty's
Mysterious Conveyance (Anthology)

-Queen of the Travelers

A Very Scary
Christmas (Anthology)

-The Ghost of Christmas Last

Flashy Fiction
and Other Insane Tales (Anthology)

Sean Hayden's Biography

Born the son of a fire chief, Sean naturally developed a love of playing
with fire. His family and friends quickly found other outlets for his destructive
creativity. Writing is his latest endeavor.

Always a fan of the macabre, mythical, and magical, Sean found a love
of urban fantasy and horror. After writing several novels in this genre, he found,
fell in love with, and immersed himself in steampunk. He has always wanted to rewrite
history and steampunk gave him that opportunity.

Sean currently lives in Florida as a fiber
‐
optic engineer as well as an author. He was blessed with the two most
amazing children he could ever hope for, has met the absolute love of his life,
who coincidentally is his partner in everything. His hobbies include grand designs
on world domination as well as a starring role in his own television sitcom.

www.seanhayden.org