“Mia, you have to go-“
“No!”
“I can’t feel my legs. I can’t move them.”
Ice water filled her veins. “What? No, that’s-“ Pain exploded across her temple as Jasper’s gun caught the side of her face. Her fingers dug into the soil as she crawled, shaking her head as if she could shake off the black spots swimming in her vision and the dizziness that curled around her like a fog. She fell to her belly on the ground as he began to kick her. She thought she could hear Eli shouting for her, but he sounded far away. One hand tried to shield her stomach, the other dragging her back towards the tree as he rained blows down on her. Her hand shot out to pull herself closer to the trunk but curled around a smooth, polished bone handle instead.
Her fingers gripped it loosely, but she couldn’t find the strength to stand up. She stared at the tree, still pulsing it’s strange, lavender light even though the flames were eating away at half of it. Pulse. Pulse. Pulse. Like a heartbeat, it lulled her until she could no longer feel the pain Jasper was inflicting on her. Pulse. And then it was done. The tree was dead then, and soon so would she be.
First, it was a warmth that started in the tips of her fingers and traveled down her arms, blooming in her chest. Her vision cleared and the fog lifted from her mind. She rolled to the side as Jasper’s foot came down to stomp her again. She shot to her feet, catching the lovely shock on his face and the lavender glow of her eyes reflected in his, and then shoved the blade of his own knife back into his throat. “I think you dropped this, honey.”
It wasn’t pretty, watching a man choke to death on his own blood, but as the rain started to pour down from above, she had to admit that it was satisfying.
Chapter 8: Epilogue
When Eli came to in the hospital, she was right there with him, holding his hand. He grabbed her face, eyes flicking to the nurse that was scribbling something on his chart. “You have to get a doctor, please. Take care of Mia, she’s been badly beaten.”
“Eli, sh, it’s okay. They’ve already looked at me. I’m fine.” She soothed.
“She was better than fine.” The nurse had a frown on her already stern looking face. “There wasn’t a scratch on her. The baby is perfectly healthy before you ask.” She added after he opened his mouth to speak. “But the police will want to talk to you now that you’re awake.”
Mia waited until she was out of the room to speak. “They’ll want to hear your side of what happened. It’s-well, Jasper. I killed him, Eli.”
“Good.” He said. “Wait, Mia, your eyes!”
“I know, I think it’s permanent.” She told him. While they weren’t glowing anymore, her eyes remained lavender colored. “Whatever happened to me with the tree…it’s still here. I can feel something, but it’s not bad, it’s just new.”
“What happened?” He started slipping into a frown. “I couldn’t move, I couldn’t even save you.”
She lightly tapped his cheek in a mock slap. “None of that. Jasper was going to kill me and then-it sounds ridiculous, but I was just staring at the tree, waiting to die when I felt warmth, and then every ache and pain I had just went away. I was able to get up and I-I killed him.” She leaned over his bedside, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. “And even though I promised not to leave you, I had to, so I could get help. Luckily, the Forest Service was just showing up about the fire, they took their time. I just don’t know how Jasper found me… And he seemed to know about the tree.”
“But what about the fire? The tree?” He asked urgently.
“The fire is out. It started to rain as soon as I killed Jasper, well, more like pour.” She hesitated. “Eli…I don’t know about the tree. I haven’t been back since; I’ve been with you.”
“There’s more you aren’t telling me.”
“I saw the light leave it.” She told him.
“It is dead then. This whole region will suffer, it will wither and it will die because I have failed in my ancient-“ She silenced him with another kiss.
“I think that’s all the drugs talking. It might still be alive; you can’t lose hope yet. We’ll go after you’ve been released.” She said.
He scoffed. “How? I still have no feeling in my legs. I won’t be able to walk.”
“But that doesn’t mean you never will again. You’ve been out for a few days, but I’ve been speaking with your doctors. They said that with this type of injury, you have a good chance for rehabilitation. It will be hard work and it won’t happen overnight but there’s no reason why you can’t regain sensation over time with physical therapy and even walk again.” She explained.
“I guess, but-“ He was startled into shocked silence when she flicked his forehead.
“Is it offensive if I ask you not to mope? We’re alive. We’re both alive and our baby is healthy. The forest fire is out, and your home miraculously isn’t completely burnt to the ground and Jasper is never going to bother us again. We can talk about the tree when we find out if it is actually dead or not and the doctor told me that there’s no reason to think you’ll never walk again.” She leaned over him, cupping his cheeks. “I promise there will be plenty of time to mourn what you had taken from you. But right now, just for a moment, can we savor that we’re here together?”
He leaned his head up, closing the distance between them. “I’m sorry, Mia.” He mumbled against her lips, his head flopping back down on his pillow. “I can’t promise not to be petulant about my legs.”
“No, God no, I didn’t mean it like that. You’re allowed to be upset, of course you are, I just wanted…” She trailed off, feeling guilty and unsure of herself.
“A moment.” He finished for her. “Let’s take it now.” He opened his arms for her. “I think this bed can hold the two of us.”
***
It was two weeks before they released Eli from the hospital and another two months after that before he was able to take his first shuffling steps towards her. His physical therapist had told them that he’d never seen such a quick recovery from an injury like that, but Eli had only smiled at him sheepishly and blamed good genetics. Another month, and they were standing inside the clearing, in front of the jagged stump of the tree. It must have fallen after being weakened by the fire.
She squeezed his hand, hating the pain on his face, but otherwise she almost enjoyed the hike back out here. The forest wasn’t withering like Eli had feared, in fact, it was already starting to heal itself. New spring buds were blooming in front of their eyes, little saplings poking their heads out of the nutrient rich, ashy earth, and the woodpeckers were having a field day building their homes in the soft, dead wood of burnt trees. She tipped her head towards the sun, closing her eyes.
“Mia?” He asked.
“What is it?” She tilted her head towards him, smiling as she cracked one of her eyes open.
“It’s you.” He said almost reverently.
“What’s me?” She asked.
“The tree!” He exclaimed.
She turned to face him. “I think you’ve had too much sun.”
“No, Mia, the tree, its light is within you now. Still in you. Your eyes are glowing and all morning the forest has been coming alive around you.”
Her free hand slipped away from where it had been cradling the swell of her stomach and dug for her phone. Yep, her eyes were definitely glowing again. Her heart began to race, fluttering in her chest. “What does that mean?”
“It means that you are what is keeping this place alive.”
“That’s-I can’t handle that much responsibility, I’m already scared shitless about giving birth to our daughter, how am I supposed to keep an entire ecosystem alive too?” Her breath caught in her throat as Eli’s arms came around her, his large hands rubbing gently across her back until she calmed.
“You’re already doing it, your subconscious maybe.” He said.
“Maybe? Aren’t you a guardian? Aren’t you supposed to know everything about this?” She asked.
“
As far as I know, something like this has never happened before. Ezra would know for sure.” He said.
“Your brother?” She asked.
“We had a falling out after my parents died. He never wanted to become a guardian. But he might be the only one to know what exactly is happening to you, so I will find him.”
“Just like that?” She asked.
“Just like that.”
“If its power is in me then what is it doing to me? What is it doing to our baby?” Her breath hitched again. “Why couldn’t it have been you? You’re the guardian, not me!”
“Mia, Mia, Mia, sh.” He stepped back out of their embrace so he could cup her face. “Is it offensive if I ask you not to freak out? We’re alive, our daughter is alive and healthy. My cabin has been rebuilt and the acres of forest Jasper destroyed is re-growing. We can talk about the power inside of you and what that means when I’ve found Ezra, but for now all the doctors have said that you’re both healthy. I promise there will be plenty of time to figure out what happened to you, but right now, just for a moment, can we savor that we’re here together?”
She laughed wetly, a few tears spilling down her cheeks. “I guess I deserve that, don’t I?”
End
Guardian of Bear Creek Page 7