Waking Rose: A Fairy Tale Retold (51 page)

And then suddenly the person exited on the fourth floor. A door swung creakily behind, and they were alone.

Fish breathed a sigh of relief, and looked back at Rose. Eyes closed, lips parted, her breathing was shallow. Even as he looked at her, she slipped to the ground, and he caught her before she lost her balance.

How can we get out?
her mouth formed the words.

He shook his head. “Don’t worry about that. Rest now, okay?”

But grimly he looked down at what seemed like several miles of staircase. He was winded, the inevitable strains of the day crashing down on him. He knew there was no way he could safely carry Rose back down the steps without losing his balance and injuring her. Trapped.

But maybe…He examined the lock on the door, and inserted his lock pick. It opened easily onto a dusty, deserted attic, a long storage area at the top of the building, its floor of rough boards, its ceiling of beams and plaster. There was a window at one end, and there were old mattresses and other used medical equipment piled about.

He gathered Rose in his arms and helped her inside the attic. Gently he laid her down on one of the discarded mattresses. “Lie still for a moment,” he said, smoothing out her hair, and trying not to be alarmed at how clammy she felt. “Rest while I check around, okay?”

He searched around the attic for another exit downstairs, but it seemed like the attic only had one door. In frustration, he went back to the door and looked again down the stairs.

Something wrong?
she seemed to say in a hush.

“Just wishing I had the physique of my older brother,” Fish told her ruefully. “Like I said, you fell for the wrong guy, Rose.”

But he couldn’t joke about that. Not now. For better or for worse, he was the one she had chosen. He knelt beside her and pressed her hand to his lips, thinking hard.

…
I’ve got your entire supply of Digibind right here in my pocket so don’t even think of trying to give her an antidote...

It was a slim chance, but it might be the only chance he had.

“Look, Rose, I’m going to try something. Alex is downstairs. I’ll send him up to get you, okay?”

Her eyes were dim, but her lips moved.
Where are you…?

“I’m going after Dr. Prosser to get that antidote,” he said reassuringly. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon.”

I know. You always…come.

There was pressure on his hand and her other hand raised, then flopped down as though she were trying to reach him. He bent down to oblige her, and supported her hand as it wavered towards his face.

I love you, Fish. So much.

 His eyes seemed to be still irritated from the mace. At any rate, he found himself blinking back tears. He couldn’t respond, so he just pressed his hand against hers and forced himself to stand up.

“I’ll be back,” he promised. “You won’t be alone for long. I’ll see you again soon.”

He hoped.  He prayed.

He resisted the urge to race down the steps, forcing himself to go quietly and listen. But his journey down was simpler, and when he reached the ground floor, he was relieved that there were no staff members smoking outside. He eased open the door, set the rock conveniently in its jamb to hold it open, and sped into the blackness of the forest.

In a few minutes he was at the car, and almost ran into Alex, who was standing by the door waiting.

“Ben. You okay? Rose?”

As quickly as he could, Fish explained the situation. “Dr. Prosser is at the barn and she has the antidote, Digibind, with her. I’m going to do my best to get it. Can you go up to Rose now? Try and get her down if you can and meet me at the barn.”

“No problem, I’m on it,” Alex tossed him the car keys. “You’re going after Prosser? Do you have a weapon?”

“Do you have a gun?” Fish asked, hopefully.

Alex bent down and drew something out from beneath his car seat: his katana, in its black leather sheath.

“No,” Fish said. “It’s not my weapon, and you might need it more than I will. You’ve seen their security guards.”

“Then take my yawara,” Alex said, slipping his katana’s sheath strap easily onto his shoulder and pulling what looked like a small wooden blade out of his pocket. “You can use it as a striking weapon, if you need it.”

 “Hopefully I won’t,” Fish said. “But thanks.” He slid it into his pocket, a poor replacement for his missing gun. “Hurry up to Rose. Meet me here if you can, but only if you think she can stand to be moved. If I don’t see you, I’ll try to get back inside with the antidote. I hope to be back in a half hour. And we’ve got less than two hours to get her help.”

“No problem. Christ be before you, behind you, on all sides of you.”  Alex nodded and melted into the woods before Fish had even turned away.

Hastily, Fish got into the car, jammed the key into the ignition, and turned it. Then he realized that there was an extra pedal on the floor. Alex’s car was a stick shift.

Gritting back the curses that seem to overflow in his mouth, Fish tried to figure out what to do. He didn’t know how to drive stick shift, but it was supposed to be easy. People did it all the time—he had no choice but to do it now. Resisting the urge to tear out his hair, he pressed on the clutch and tried to start the car as quietly as possible.

Suddenly, headlights flashed in his face, and a car roared to a stop right next to him. Trapped in the bushes in a stick shift car, Fish turned to face the enemy.

But the face looking at him through the window was Paul Fester’s.

“Paul?”

“Ben! What’s going on?” There seemed to be a lot of people in the car with Paul.

Suddenly Fish was overcome with suspicion. “Did Alex call you?”

“No,” Paul said. “We called him.”

“Then he should have told you to stay out of this,” Fish started angrily.

“He did, but we came anyway,” Kateri jumped out of the passenger side of the car and came around to Fish. “I know you were arrested, Fish. I called my hospital contact and she told me. And Alex said you had come here.” She stared at him intently. “Tell us what’s going on. We’re not letting you do this alone.”

He knew Kateri well enough to know she was adamant. “Okay,” he said, and suddenly found it hard to speak. “Rose is waking up.”

Kateri and Paul and the other faces stared at him. Kateri started blinking very fast, but her face was stolid.

“The whole thing has been artificial—she’s been put into a fake coma, if not from the very beginning, then from pretty early on. The problem is,” Fish took a deep breath, “The problem is that Dr. Prosser has just overdosed her with Lanoxin which will kill her in less than two hours at this point. But, there is an antidote, Digibind, and I’m going to get it. If you and Alex can get her out of that facility and meet me at the old barn, you could be in loads of legal trouble, but we might be able to save Rose from dying.”

“Do you want any of us to come with you?” Leroy asked.

Fish hesitated. The only person he would trust to be any help on this mission was Paul, but Paul was a paramedic, and Rose would need him. “No,” he said. “I’m doing stealth. I’d better go alone. You guys go to Rose.”

Paul was already getting out of the car. “Where do we go?”

“On the top floor, in the attic. Take the south staircase.”

“Why’s she in the attic?” James asked, getting out of the car.

“Alex will explain. Oh, and take these,” Fish thrust the medical paraphernalia—some syringes, gloves, medicines, and other bottles he had taken from the locked drawers in Rose’s rooms—into Paul’s hands. “Some of it might be the stuff they were drugging her with—maybe you can figure out something to do with it. It’s evidence too, by the way.”

“Great, excellent,” Paul said. “I’ll take care of it.”

Fish was getting out of Alex’s car. “Can I use your car to go to the barn?”

“Sure,” Paul said, and added, “It’s a stick shift,” just as Fish was about to ask.

“Great,” Fish said, running his hands desperately through his hair. “Does anyone else here drive stick?”

“No,” Kateri sighed. Fish looked at the others getting out of the car: James and Leroy, but they were both shaking their heads. Then,

“I can. Drive stick.” A small voice spoke from the back.

It was Donna.

Fish took a deep breath. “Okay,” he said. “Will you drive me? You know I’m a fugitive from the law. It’s not going to look…good on your record.”

Donna swallowed. “I don’t care,” she said in a low voice. “I’ll drive.”

Kateri beamed at her. Pushing back the door with a trembling hand, Donna got into the front seat, and Paul, after pulling something out from behind his seat, gave her the keys.

Noticing that James and Leroy were also carrying long objects in the darkness, Fish said, “Don’t tell me you all brought your swords?”

“Okay, we won’t,” Paul pulled his out of its sheath, and so did James and Leroy. Three silver blades gleamed in the darkness. “But we wouldn’t go to war without them.”

Fish sighed. “Wonderful. Well, I suggest you don’t kill or maim anyone with them or this mess will be worse than it already is, even if we do save Rose.”  He looked at them all for a moment, struck by the fact that, medieval obsession or no, they were willing to jump into this dangerous, unpredictable situation. “Pray for this to work.”

“We already are.” Kateri gave him a quick hug before backing away from the car. “I got a call from Bear. He was looking for you. When I told him you were arrested he said to tell you he was on his way down.”

At least that was good news. “Thanks Kateri.” He turned to Donna. “Okay, let’s get to the barn.”

23
...and though the thorns let him pass through unhurt, they closed behind him as he passed...

Hers

Rose knew she had surprised Fish, and she couldn’t help smiling even as she felt a sense of loss washing over her as he moved away into the far off shadows.
At least I finally told him I love him, to his face
... But she felt even more in a dream world, once he had left. Unable to do anything but pray, she waited.

Dozing, she drifted in and out of the water until soft steady footsteps grasped her attention. Then she heard the door slowly open, and a new person shimmered through the water. Alex O’Donnell. She could recognize his stocky figure, long ponytail, and gleam of an earring even in the shadows of the water.

“Rose, my lady,” Alex sank to his knee courteously, and spoke in a whisper. “You are looking very well. I am here at Ben’s request, to guard you.”

She had to smile, but could only give a faint one. Even so, Alex’s face creased into a broad grin.

“Good to see you again, Rose,” he said quietly. “Do you think you can move—?”

He cut his words off with a sharp breath, listening.  An instant later he was moving away in the darkness.  A few moments later, he came back.

“I think it was only a tech,” he said quietly.  “I’ll wait to bring you down until the coast is clear. Hold it—”

Again he was still. This time, straining through the waters, Rose could hear something too. Like distant thunder.

Alex slowly rose, pulling a sword noiselessly out of nowhere. The echoes of the footsteps rippled around him as he moved into an attack position.

Then the footsteps were at the door. Silence. Alex didn’t move or breathe, but the water shimmered.

Then—

“Alex?”

“Paul?”

The door cracked open and all sorts of big and short and tall shapes seemed to tumble in. Next thing Rose knew, Kateri Kovach was bending over her, her lips pressed tightly together but her eyes bright and happy. “Rose.”

Even though the tightness that had drawn itself across her chest when Fish left had not relaxed, Rose felt a surge of relief.

“I didn’t think Ben would send you all in,” Alex was saying in some bemusement. “I guess I’m glad for the backup.”

Lightheadedness washed over Rose suddenly, and she felt herself fading.  She returned with a start to find Paul Fester chafing her wrists. 

“Can you hear me, Rose? There you are.  Sorry to keep you awake, Rose,” Paul whispered, “But it’s best if you can stay with us.”  Rose felt his warm hand on her forehead.