by S. L. Baum
“She moved, Doc. I swear to God, she moved!” Sam inched toward the head of the bed.
“What moved?” Doc asked.
“Just a twitch by her eye, but I saw it.”
Doc leaned in for a closer look. “Sorry, I don’t see anything.” He checked for a pulse. “Nothing.”
Sam grabbed Krista’s hand; no longer ice, but cool to the touch. “I’m here with Doc, Krista,” he whispered into her ear. “Sorry I blew your cover, but I just couldn’t stay away.”
Krista’s finger twitched against his hand.
Sam looked up at Doctor Baker. “She did it again. This time it was her finger against my hand.”
They were small, almost imperceptible movements, but Sam caught each one. It took some time, but eventually Doc started to notice them as well: a wiggle of her big toe, eyes pinching slightly tighter for a second, her pinky tapping on the bed, the slight parting of her lips.
“Still no heartbeat,” Doc noted. “I am confounded by this whole process.”
Sam rested his head against Krista’s chest and tried to listen, hoping to hear something that Doctor Baker hadn’t, but there was nothing. “You would think if her body is twitching, that something is happening inside.”
“I don’t know what…” Doc trailed off, not finishing his sentence. He was working in the dark; he wasn’t going to try to guess what the next step would be.
Sam got off the bed. “I’m going to get some water for her… for after.”
“Mmhmm,” Doc responded. “That’s probably a good idea, but what do we know? Maybe she needs bananas after, for their potassium, or something with high sodium, or maybe something sugary, or caffeine.”
“I’ll get the water. That’s a start. She can tell us what she needs after that,” Sam told him and left the room.
When he was in the kitchen, Doc shouted his name, and Sam rushed back down the hall.
As he entered the bedroom his vision seemed to blur; the air felt thick, and he blinked several times before he was certain… Sam saw waves. It was like when he was driving down a long road on a hot day, when the heat radiated off the pavement up ahead. The whole room was like that. The air waved.
Sam turned to look at Krista. “Shit,” he cursed. Her body was the point of origin, and he could see each and every wave as it vibrated away from her still form. “Doc, is it getting hotter in here?”
“It most certainly is,” Doc responded.
“This is weirding me out.”
“Now it’s weirding you out?”
Krista’s eyes popped open, and then her mouth. She gasped for air as she propped herself up with one hand while the other went up to her throat. She couldn’t seem to capture the breath her body so desperately needed.
Sam and Doctor Baker rushed to either side of the bed.
Krista saw two blurry figures approach her, her eyes not yet able to focus. She waved them off. Don’t touch me. Her mind screamed. I just need a moment. The air would come, her lungs would fill, and her body would start to function again.
She coughed and then sucked in a shallow ragged breath. Krista closed her eyes. Breathe slowly. She took a long, slow, deep breath in through her nose and then exhaled all the air just as slowly. She opened her eyes, blinking several times, bringing the room into focus. Doc’s house, she reminded herself. But it wasn’t just Doc in the room with her. Sam was there too.
Krista looked at Doc in confusion and pointed at Sam.
“He showed up on my doorstep and wouldn’t leave until he saw you,” Doc explained.
“I guess we overlooked that factor, huh Doc?” Krista whispered.
Doctor Baker smiled down at her. “You could have warned me that he’d be an issue.”
“I should have,” she croaked. “Dang, my throat burns.”
Sam held out the glass he was still holding. “Here. Drink this.”
Krista gave him a grateful smile as she sipped at the water. “Thank you. How freaked out are you?” she asked, noting how large his eyes had grown.
“A lot.”
“I’m a little annoyed that you know about this,” Krista told him. “It’s not exactly something that the general public should be aware of. Doc was supposed to keep it secret. I knew I should have waited, with you.”
“I’m not the general public.” Sam sat at the foot of the bed. “You could have told me.”
Krista breathed a laugh. “You wouldn’t have believed me. You’d have thought I was crazy.”
“True,” Sam admitted. “I was waiting Doc out a bit, but I was ready to run out and get Sheriff Tucker.”
“Which would have had terrible consequences,” Krista frowned.
“How are you feeling, Krista?” Doc asked her.
“I’m okay. I’m tired, and I will be for the next few hours. It takes a little while for my strength to return to me.”
Doc squeezed her shoulder. “You can rest here as long as you’d like. Mind if I check you out a bit?”
“I told you I’d be your guinea pig. Go ahead,” Krista told him.
Doctor Baker took out his instruments and gave her a once over, while Sam sat silently at the edge of the bed. “Almost normal, I’d say, though your heart rate is a little slow and you have a slight fever.”
“Heart will come up and temp will go down. I promise.”
“I have no other choice but to believe you. So if you’re sure you are fine, I’m going to take off for a little while,” Doc said. “Unless you need anything else from me?”
Krista shook her head. “Thank you, Doctor Baker. It means a lot to me that you kept me safe while… well, you know. Did Marlene and Ben leave after?”
“Yes, they did, late last night. They called me after they’d been on the road for a while. I think they pretty much left everything in the house. Ben said they’ll have a moving company take care of it all when they get settled in Charleston. She called you her angel.” Doc told her with a smile.
“Not an angel,” Krista said, casting her eyes down.
“You’ve got some angel in ya,” Doc insisted. “Will you be here when I get back?
“I’m not sure, depends on how I’m feeling,” she told him.
“Take it easy, and just so you know, I’m banning you from work tomorrow. You are not allowed on the premises. Goodbye, you two.”
“Goodbye, Doc.” Sam waved.
Krista gave Doc an exhausted smile. “Bye, and thanks again.”
When they were alone, Sam crawled up next to Krista, sitting beside her on the bed. “Ever since I got here, and saw you like that, I thought I was going crazy. You looked dead, a frozen statue of a sleeping girl. But Doc insisted that you were going to reanimate.”
“Reanimate?”
“Yeah. Doc said it’s a more accurate term than wake-up. He promised that you’d be you again and we just had to wait. I had all sorts of very bad things running through my head. Doc murdered you and put your body on ice then placed you in bed, that sort of thing. Pretty insane.”
“Sounds pretty insane,” Krista agreed. “But it also sounds understandable, seeing as this whole thing was just kind of slammed in your face. Sorry about that. I know how difficult this may be for you to deal with. And if you’re not interested in dating the Deathtaker, I totally get it. I’d understand if you want to keep your distance, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone else about what you saw here today.”
Sam’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Why in the world would I want to stay away from you?”
“Being with somebody with a talent like this is pretty hard to process. There will always be this need inside me to take the Death away from someone. I’ll have to do it again, and again, and again… And I want to.”
“You should keep doing it. Giving people a second chance at their life is pretty amazing,” Sam told her. “And your secret is completely safe. I agree with Marlene, by the way. It’s like you were sent here to be her guardian angel.”
“Coincidence. Nothing m
ore.”
“We’ll have to agree to disagree. I think you landed in Cedar Creek for a reason. You were destined to be here, and we were destined to be together.”
“That’s a pretty great pick-up line. But you don’t need it.” Krista rested her head on his shoulder.
“It’s not a line.”
“I’m glad I found you,” Krista whispered.
“Can I say it now?”
“Say what?”
Sam took her hand in his. “I love you.”
“Yes. You can say it now.” Krista laced her fingers with his.
Sam kissed the top of her head. “I love you.”
“And I love you.”
Krista tilted her chin up so her lips could find his. The kiss was soft and sweet, it radiated the love that they had for each other. It was true, what people say; if you’re faced with the possibility of losing something, you’ll suddenly realize just how much it is worth. Sam had faced that possibility when Krista had lain unresponsive for hours; he thought he’d lost her. Krista had faced it as soon as she’d woken up to find Sam in the room with her; she thought the knowledge of what she was would drive him away. And both of them realized that neither of them wanted to be without the other one, ever again.
“So, you’re a Deathtaker,” Sam said, as he traced the lines on the back of her hand. “You save people.”
“I don’t exactly save them. I consume whatever it is that will ultimately cause someone’s death. I take it into myself and I die for them, but only until my body processes that death and then expels it.”
“It’s the same thing. By taking that death, you save them.”
“I don’t like to think of myself as a savior, just someone who can offer a second chance. I’m only able to help a few people each year, because I need time to recharge. That always fills me with a great amount of guilt. Like, why didn’t I know you before your mother died? Why couldn’t I have prevented that loss?”
Sam placed his hands on either side of her face and turned her head so she was forced to look at him. “But you didn’t, so you couldn’t have. You can’t feel guilty about that. You can only do so much, and you can only help the people that cross your path. But it’s your path, Krista. Life should be enjoyed, lived to the fullest, and every single drop of pleasure, no matter how small, should be squeezed out of every single moment that we have. My mom told me that before she passed. I didn’t really let it sink in until I began to fall in love with you… because I want to enjoy every moment I have with you,” Sam said, and then he kissed her. “You’re one girl, there are billions of people, remember that.”
“I’ll try,” Krista said, and then she kissed him back.
There were still two extra vehicles in front of his house when Doctor Baker returned a few hours later. The house was silent when he entered and when he glanced down the hallway he noticed that the door to the spare bedroom was open. He peeked inside and found Krista and Sam curled up under the covers, sound asleep. He quietly closed the door and headed toward the kitchen. His body was protesting the fact that he’d skipped dinner.
Doc stood in front of the refrigerator and stared at its contents. He was not in the mood for leftovers and he hadn’t been to the grocery for several days. He decided there was only one logical thing to do: make breakfast food. He grabbed the sausage, eggs, butter, and milk and set them on the counter. Then he went into the pantry to gather the dry ingredients he would need to make biscuits.
After mixing, kneading, rolling, and cutting, the biscuits were placed in a hot oven to bake. Doc turned his attention to the sausage. He turned on the stove and put the links into the cast iron skillet, breaking up the meat as it cooked until the pan was filled with delicious, slightly crunchy, sausage morsels. After placing the sausage in a bowl, he turned back to the skillet to start the rue. Butter and flour were added to the sausage drippings and mixed until it reached the right consistency, then he wisked in some milk. Doc sprinkled salt and pepper into the creamy gravy and then he dumped the sausage back into the skillet and stirred it all together. He set the gravy on a very low simmer and turned his attention to the eggs, scrambled hard, the way he liked them.
Krista woke first. The delicious aroma of Doc’s food had crept its way under the door and into her nostrils. It smelled heavenly. She poked Sam’s shoulder. “Wake up,” she whispered, and then poked him again. “Food, Sam. Wake up.”
Sam’s eyes slit open and he smiled. “Krista, what time is it?”
“I don’t know. Late. Doc’s making food. Do you smell it?”
Sam breathed in through his nose. “Sausage.”
“Bread. I smell fresh baked bread. Do you think he made enough to share?” she asked. “I’m suddenly starving.”
“I hope so,” Sam yawned. “Otherwise that’s our cue to leave. We can go raid Abe’s kitchen.”
“Let’s go out there and ask,” Krista suggested.
Krista stood up and stretched the stiffness out of her joints. She yawned as she lifted her hands up over her head. When she lowered her arms, Sam crawled out of bed and then stood at her side.
Doc was pulling the second pan of biscuits from the oven when Sam and Krista walked into the kitchen. “Hope you’re hungry,” he greeted them.
“I was hoping you’d say that. Biscuits!” Krista clapped her hands in glee. “You have no idea how amazing those smell.”
“Pawpaw’s recipe, he was the cook of the family,” Doc said. “Sam, you should call Abe. He called the center to ask if you were with Krista, said he tried to get hold of you. I assured him that you were fine, but you should still call.”
Sam grimaced. “I put my phone on silent earlier. I’ll go do that,” he said and jogged back to the bedroom.
Doc split a biscuit and put it on a plate. “How do you feel now?” he asked Krista as he ladled on the gravy and then added some scrambled eggs on the side. He handed the plate to her.
“I feel great, I promise.” Krista sat down at the little table in the kitchen. “Doc, this is the first time, since I’ve been on my own, that I’ve allowed myself to get close to the friends and neighbors of someone I’ve helped. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I’m worried. People are going to wonder about Ben and Marlene’s quick retreat from town, and I think they’re going to wonder about my convalescing at your house. How safe is my secret?”
“It’s as safe as I can make it. I am going to say the same thing to anyone that pokes their nose around. You came over here with a bad headache, I diagnosed a migraine and gave you some pretty strong medicine,” he told her. “As far as Ben and Marlene, I can just say that I don’t know. That they didn’t confide in me. And I advise you to do the same.”
“Adeline is going to pester me with questions. I know it.”
Doc laughed. “She’ll do the same thing to me, and to Sam as well. Just keep saying the same thing, I don’t know. She’ll give up eventually.”
Krista shook her head. “I don’t know if she will.”
“To be honest, I don’t know if she will either.”
Chapter Eighteen
On Thanksgiving Day, Opal and Jim closed the Downtown Diner so they could share Thanksgiving dinner with their friends. Tables were dragged together to form an extra long dining space. Eli, Abe, Sam, Krista, Pete, Adeline, Albert, Pauline, and Doris, the librarian, were in attendance. Doc declined the invitation. He went into Greenville to have Thanksgiving dinner with his sister; even if she wasn’t always aware that he was family, he still wanted to be with her.
Jim roasted two turkeys: one with rosemary and olive oil, the other with citrus and butter. Opal made the mashed potatoes, biscuits, and of course the pie, and the rest of the guests were asked to bring a side dish. Once everyone had arrived, a feast was spread across the long table in the center of the diner.
Krista had been avoiding Adeline and the sheriff since Ben and Marlene Richardson exited Cedar Creek without informing anyone of their hasty departure. Krista didn’t want to answer any
questions, and since she’d been quite close to Marlene in the weeks prior to their leaving, she knew the inquiries were inevitable. Sam told her that both of them had come into the diner on several occasions while he was working and asked as many questions as they could without appearing too nosey, but it was obvious to him that they were fishing for information. Sam promised to stay by Krista’s side for the entire dinner, so no one could corner her and badger her for more answers.
Thanksgiving had always been a quiet holiday for Krista. When her grandfather was still alive, her grandparents would spend the day in the kitchen. They would put the radio on, and dance and sing while preparing a feast for the three of them. But by the time she was twelve years old, that had all ended. A car accident far away from home and a Deathtaker who found herself unable to save the love of her life had left a legacy of guilt. Her grandmother had never quite recovered from her husband’s passing, and Thanksgiving was turned into a quiet meal at a fine restaurant. When Krista was on her own, she declined to celebrate it at all.
Opal turned on the jukebox and called Pete over to dance with her. “I’m no good at that,” he complained.
“Shut up and dance with me,” Opal ordered. She blew Pete a kiss as he came toward her.
Abe took Doris’ hand. “What do you say?”
“Let’s cut this rug,” Doris said with a smile.
After a few minutes Jim and Adeline joined in. Adeline called to her brother but Sheriff Tucker insisted he was a man with two left feet and Pauline said she’d rather keep her toes in an unbroken state.
Krista looked at all the cheerful faces in the room and was grateful for the chance to celebrate the holiday with happiness once again. “My grandpa would have loved this,” Krista told Sam as he mixed a drink for each of them. “He went out of his way to have fun.”
Sam handed her a glass. “Sounds like a smart man.”
“He was. Cheers to a happy Thanksgiving.” Krista clinked her glass with his and then gave him a quick kiss.
“Happy Thanksgiving,” he whispered in her ear as he wrapped an arm around her.