by S. A. Hunter
Mary picked up the remote and started flipping through channels.
* * *
Rachel and Mary had grabbed seats in the art room during TAB. Neither of them took art, but it was where the different kids congregated. Goths, garage bands, skaters, and of course, artsy folk gathered there away from the Shinies and regular kids. Mary almost felt like she belonged.
“You know, I think we’re really dropping the ball here.”
“What?”
“With Vicky. She’s still in a coma, which I’m not really averse to, but there’s still the Shadowman. What type of superheroes are we if we can’t save one airhead cheerleader? They do it all the time on TV. What’s stopping us?”
Mary gave her a noncommittal shrug. She couldn’t tell her about any of the stuff that had happened Friday night, when she’d stayed at the hospital, or Saturday night when the Shadowman had attacked her. Except for Mr. White's visit, Sunday had been uneventful. She'd vegged with Gran on the sofa. It hadn’t been a productive day, but she felt recharged. Max had hung out. He’d played with Chowder, so the little red ball appeared to fly across the room and bob back on its own. It had been kind of hypnotic to watch.
“We’re scheduled to volunteer after school. We should stop by Vicky’s room to see what’s going on and maybe talk to Mr. White some more.”
“He’s out of the hospital.”
“He is?”
“Yeah, he got discharged a little after Gran.”
“How is she?”
“Grumpy. She had to cancel most of her appointments for the week because of her ankle.”
“Huh. Oh, this should be interesting.” Rachel’s eyes focused past her.
She turned and found Kyle approaching their table. He did not belong in the art room. His letterman jacket and buzz cut head looked out of place among the piercings and rainbow hair colors. “Hey Mary, how’s your grandma?”
“Hi Kyle, she’s fine. All she did was sprain her ankle. She’s home now.”
His eyebrows rose. “How’d she do that?”
“She tripped on some stairs. I was worried over nothing.”
He looked at his shoes and didn’t say anything immediately. Other students were starting to look at him curiously, and Rachel and Mary were being included in that curiosity. If he didn’t leave soon, Mary dreaded what the rumor mill might come up with.
“Is that it, Kyle?” she asked to prod him along.
Rachel gave her a light kick under the table. “Kyle, do you wanna sit down?”
Sitting down would be even more suggestive to the rumor mill. She shot Rach a look. She doubted Kyle would want that type of talk. He was a jock. They dated cheerleaders, though she hadn’t seen him with anyone since his early Vicky infatuation, but he was definitely a jock. Jocks dated cheerleaders. They were genetically predisposed to each other. He might be nice to Mary, and Rach might have the misguided idea that he liked her, but that would all change if people started whispering about them. To her amazement, he pulled up a stool and sat down.
“What’s really going on with Vicky?”
Rachel opened her mouth, and Mary kicked her this time. But she may have kicked a little too hard, judging by Rachel's yelp. Her friend moved her stool away from her.
Ignoring Rachel's scowl, she asked, “What do you mean?”
Kyle looked at them. She knew her little spot of violence had ruined any chance of lying successfully to him, but she wasn’t going to tell him the truth, and she wasn’t going to let Rachel, either.
“I know something’s up with Vicky, and you two are involved. Suddenly volunteering at the hospital, visiting her mom, something’s up.”
“Coincidence,” she said and didn’t elaborate. Keep the lies short, simple, and don’t waver--that was how to shut someone out. She felt bad about doing it to Kyle, though.
“And your grandma getting hurt at the hospital?”
“She’s old and frail.” Kyle’s lips thinned at her answer. He’d met Gran. She might be up in age, but she was not frail.
“Fine. You don’t have to tell me anything. I just wanted to offer my help, but obviously you don’t want it. See ya. Hope your grandma feels better.”
He stood up and strode out of the room. She had to restrain herself from calling him back, because what could he do? How could he help? She didn’t like the idea of him being upset, though.
Rachel blew out a puff of air in frustration. “You’re never going to get asked to prom at this rate.”
“Good. Corsages are stupid.”
She shook her head. “Seriously Mary, couldn’t you have told him something?”
“Like what? ‘Hey Kyle, Vicky’s been visiting me in my dreams, and there’s a monster attacking her. You wanna help me destroy it? I have no idea how, but it’s sure to be a good time, except for the screaming and the death. Those are a bit of a bummer.”
“He could handle it. He already suspects anyway. Cy doesn’t care.”
She knew it was pointless to try and defend Cy. He really didn’t want to know about or have any involvement with the paranormal. He refused to even allow for the possibility of it. Kyle, on the other hand, hadn’t rejected the possibility. He could’ve stuck his head in the sand and refused to believe that he’d been possessed by a ghost, but instead, he'd accepted it and had thanked them for getting rid of Ricky.
“I just want to keep this thing to as few people as possible. You, Vicky, Gran, and Mr. White are already involved. No need to bring in anyone else.”
Rachel shook her head. “You’re keeping secrets from a lot of people. I hope you can keep straight who knows what.”
Mary tried to chuckle at her comment, but it got caught in her throat. If Rachel only knew what she was keeping from her, she wouldn’t like it.
“So, volunteering after school today?”
Mary nodded. With any luck, she'd find the Shadowman had returned there, though she didn't think that would be exactly good luck.
* * *
Mary was again pushing the hospitality cart while Rachel knocked on doors. They’d left Vicky’s room until last.
“Do you know how many brownie points this is getting me with my mom? If I’d known how much she’d like me doing this, I would’ve signed up sooner.”
“So you’re going to keep doing it after all this is over?”
“Yeah, it’ll be even better once Vicky's gone. You’re going to keep doing it too, right?”
Mary flashed on the morgue and felt a shiver go down her spine. She shook her head. “No, once Vicky’s awake, that’s it for me. I’m never going to be good with hospitals.”
Rachel’s glance was full of disappointment. Mary could only shrug her shoulders. Hospitals would never hold any appeal for her. She couldn’t see continuing, but if Rachel wanted to do it, that was fine. She would just have to do it without Mary.
They came to Vicky’s room. The door was ajar. Rachel tapped on it before peeking in. Mrs. Nelson was inside. She smiled and waved for them to come in.
“Girls, it’s so good to see you.”
“How’s Vicky?” Rachel asked.
Mary fixed a cup of coffee and brought it to her. Mrs. Nelson looked a little better today. The bags under her eyes weren’t as pronounced, and her hair was tidy. Mrs. Nelson took a sip of coffee before speaking. “The doctor says there’s improvement. She’s responding to noises, and she moved her hands a few times.”
“That’s great,” Rachel said.
Mary stood by quietly and looked at Vicky. She couldn’t see any change, but then, she wasn’t a doctor.
Rachel continued, “You know, Mrs. Nelson, I was reading an article in a science magazine that said there’d been a study that proved leaving a light on with coma patients really helped with the recovery.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, Mary, you read that article, too, didn’t you? Didn’t it say that?”
Did they need to worry about the Shadowman anymore? Mr. White seemed confident that it wou
ldn't return to the hospital or her home. But she may never be able to sleep without a nightlight again, especially if they never dealt with the one Shadowman that they knew about. She had to figure something out, but what exactly remained firmly elusive. She didn't want to be afraid of the dark for the rest of her life. It was a childish fear, like the monster under the bed. She wasn't six years old.
“Mary?”
She jerked out of her reverie. “Yeah, it couldn't hurt.”
Rachel gave her a tiny glare. Obviously, she’d expected a more ringing endorsement.
"Well, I'll try that. Like you say, it couldn't hurt," Mrs. Nelson said, though her tone was more placating than accepting.
"It will really help. I promise," Rachel said. Mary worried that Mrs. Nelson would begin to doubt Rachel's mental faculties. Nightlights for coma patients. It sounded stupid.
"Well, we should be going. It was good seeing you. I hope Vicky continues to improve," Mary said. She wanted out of that room. It didn't hold anything for her. It was the beginning of all of this, and she wanted to get to the end.
"What's going on? Why are you here, Mary? You need to be catching the Shadowman, dimwit."
Everyone turned to the bed. Vicky's face scrunched up, and her eyelids fluttered open. Her eyes found Mary first, and if her words hadn't clearly indicated she remembered everything from her coma, her eyes said it all. There was a determination to them. A cool regard. It made Mary want to squirm.
"Oh my God, Vicky, my baby!"
Mrs. Nelson flung herself over her daughter and began sobbing.
"Geez, Mom..." Vicky said in embarrassment, but she put her arms around her and hugged her back. Rachel ducked into the hallway and flagged a nurse to alert the doctors that Vicky was awake. Mary was rooted to the floor. Vicky was awake. It was what she'd been striving for, sort of. Vicky was safe.
A doctor came in and went over to the bed. He gently maneuvered Mrs. Nelson out of the way so he could shine a light into Vicky’s eyes and asked her how she felt.
Rachel tugged on Mary's arm for them to go. She numbly turned to the door. "Mary, wait!"
She turned back. Vicky’s eyes jumped from her mom to the doctor. It was clear that what she wanted to say wasn’t meant for their ears. Dropping her head, Mary went to Vicky's bedside.
Almost choking on her words, she said, “Vicky, I’m so happy you woke up. We’ve been so worried.” And then she bent down and gave her a hug.
She couldn’t see the other girl’s face, but she hoped she didn’t look totally shell-shocked. Mary was at least safely pointed at the wall, so she didn’t have to mask her true discomfort with the physical contact. Vicky was as stiff as a board against her. Mary hoped the hug hadn’t slipped her into catatonia.
She gave Vicky a harsh squeeze and hissed into her ear. “What?”
“God, do you have to be touching me?”
She rolled her eyes. “What did you want to say to me?”
“Is it really gone?”
That was the one question Mary hadn’t wanted Vicky to ask, but she deserved some sort of answer. “It isn’t in the hospital anymore. You should be okay, but sleep with a light on just to be safe.”
“Where’d it go?”
Mary was happy to cut the hug off there. She let go and straightened. “Don’t worry. Everything’s okay.” She gave Mrs. Nelson a wan smile and hustled from the room, dragging Rachel, who looked a little green, along with her.
“Mary, wait!” Vicky called. She stopped dead in the doorway again. Was she ever getting free? She turned back. Vicky was looking better moment by moment. Color was coming back into her cheeks. “Thanks,” she said.
She nodded her head. “See you at school.”
“Yeah, see you.”
She walked to the elevator without stopping. Time to leave. Nothing more to do here. She pressed the call button for the elevator and gritted her teeth as Rachel sputtered behind her. “You--you--you hugged the Hickey! I can’t believe it, and I saw it! How could you do that? Are you okay? Do you need some disinfectant?”
The elevator doors opened, and Mary came face-to-face with Cy. Kyle was behind him like an afterthought. Cy’s lips thinned when he saw her.
She didn’t know what to say. Luckily, Rachel did. “Hey guys, guess what!”
Chapter 12
Secrets Come Out
“Vicky's awake? When?” Cy's eyes widened and left hers to look down the hall. His whole body leaned in that direction. Mary took a step back to get out of his way.
"She just woke up. Her mom and a doctor are in there with her," Rachel answered.
"Thanks, see you at school." And with that, Cy brushed past them and went down the hallway. It surprised her how his dismissal didn’t hurt that much. It was no longer like an ice pick to the heart, more of a glancing punch now. Maybe she was getting over him? Kyle hung back. She turned to him. He had his hands in his pockets, and his eyes on the floor. Another feeling came over her. It wasn't a bad feeling. Kind of warm, in fact.
"Hi Kyle," she said.
He looked up at her and then back at the floor.
"Hey. So you two just happened to be there when she woke up?"
"Yeah, we had nothing to do with it."
"We didn't?" Rachel asked.
Mary shook her head. "No, Vicky woke up on her own."
"So are you two going to keep volunteering?"
"I probably won't, but Rachel might."
"Oh come on, it'll be fun," Rachel whined.
She shook her head. "The hospital is still not a great place for me. Especially not the basement."
"The basement? What's in the basement?" Rachel asked.
"The morgue.”
"You got to go to the morgue? When? Where was I?"
"I took a wrong turn. It was a mistake."
The answer didn’t placate her. "Some wrong turn," she muttered.
"If you take the stairs at the end of the hallway all the way down, you might be able to get in through the mechanical room."
Rachel's eyes lit up. "Wanna go try?"
She shuddered and shook her head. "No, I never want to go down there again."
Understanding drifted across her friend’s face. "Right. Well, you wanna hang here while I go try? Please? I promise not to get super mad at you for not telling me all about your trip."
Her mouth quirked into a smile. "Okay."
"But I will expect full details when I get back." Mary nodded. With a quick wave at both of them, Rachel headed to the stairwell. Mary wondered if she should've told her. What if the Shadowman had come back? Rachel had seemed almost bouncy as she left. There was no way she could call her back. She shook her head and decided that she wouldn’t worry. If Rachel didn't come back in thirty minutes, then she'd have a meltdown. Kyle was still standing with her outside the elevators.
"Don't you want to catch up with Cy?"
"No, I'm just his ride. I'm glad Vicky's awake and all, but I didn't really want to come here."
"But you used to like Vicky, right?"
"I thought she was hot, but I’m not really interested in her type anymore."
"What type are you interested in now?" Her voice cracked on “now”. She could feel herself turning pink. She couldn’t believe she’d asked that question.
"I like girls who know how to do stuff. Who don't care what other people think. Who don’t pander to anyone and who know they’re special anyway."
Everything sort of slowed down as he repeated her words back to her. She had said that to him when she'd confronted him at school while he was possessed. Having him quote her, when describing the type of girl he liked, gave her goose bumps.
“Oh,” she said.
He gave her a sort of shy smile and ducked his head. “So now you know,” he said.
"Yeah.” She didn’t know what else to say. She reached blindly for anything to talk about. “So you remember everything from when Ricky possessed you?" she asked.
"Yep," he said with a heavy sigh.
"I'm sorry, Kyle. I can't imagine how awful or strange that must be."
He nodded his head. She wanted to reach out and comfort him in some way, but she couldn't muster the courage. "I'm also sorry for how I was when you came to talk to me the other day. I was a real jerk."
"You were?" he asked with a wry grin.
"Yeah, I was," she said sincerely. "I seem to be that way a lot with you."
"I don't think so."
She didn't know what to say to that. He liked her. She'd never run into this situation before. She’d skirted it a bit with Cy, and, oh God, he was Cy's brother. Did she not know how to branch out?
"Something was attacking Vicky. Rachel and I were trying to get rid of it."
"A ghost?"
"No, not exactly." She winced and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He might be able to handle ghosts, but what about other weirdness?
"What was it?"
Now she wasn't sure if she should've told him anything. "It's called a Shadowman."
"What'd you do to it?"
Invited it home to terrorize her? Mary didn't know what to say. She felt like she hadn't done anything and didn't know what to do. They were taking stabs in the dark or rather at the dark but not getting anywhere. And she realized with a little start that she'd taken too long to answer. The pieces were clearly falling into place for Kyle.
"The thing's still out there?"
"But it's not threatening Vicky anymore," she was quick to point out.
Kyle, for all his bullishness, was pretty intuitive. "But it's threatening you?"
The quiver of her chin belied the lie she was quick to offer. "No, of course not. It wouldn't think of bothering me or Gran. That'd be like suicidal."
"Mary, are you safe?"
"I'm okay. Really."
He didn't look like he believed her. Rachel appeared around the corner. She didn't look so bouncy anymore. Mary figured seeing real dead people might have woken her up to how not fun being a coroner would be.
"Come on Mary, we have to go. Maintenance totally busted me in the mechanical room. They said if I wasn't out in fifteen minutes, security would get me."
"Was this on your way to or from the morgue?" Kyle asked.