Blood From a Stone

by Cynthia Lucas

  Samson, oblivious to the scene behind him, kept a steady pace toward his destination, his mind racing a million miles per hour.

  What would he do or say if another doctor was in the room…or a nurse? Or the boy’s parents. He took a deep breath as he rounded the corner and entered the room. Looking around, he saw no one else there, and sighed with relief as he quietly closed the door behind him in the dimly lit room.

  A rumpled blanket lay on the chair next to the bed and he reached forward to touch it. It was still warm….likely the child’s mother had just been here resting next to him. He realized she might come back at any moment if she was still here. He supposed he’d have to deal with that if it happened….pretend to be a doctor or aide. For now he didn’t have time to worry about that. Only the task at hand.

  He stared at the small blonde child that lay in the bed before him, tubes coming from his mouth and nose, and the steady beep, beep of the monitors that stood like sentinels next to the bed.

  He quietly walked over and picked up the little boy’s hand, so small and fragile in his own and held it there for a moment as he bowed his head, sighing heavily as he weighed the implications of what he was about to do. What if it ended up creating a monster like himself? The evidence so far, was that it was indeed a cure for injuries and disease, to taste of his blood. The cat…Cisco…and Harold were all walking proof of that fact. But then what would happen to them in a few weeks, when his own Change came, were he to not find a way out of the curse?

  And more importantly would he lose Willow over this when she found out? He could only hope that she would keep her promise and her belief in him.

  For now, Samson was being driven by only one thought: this little guy was in trouble and if he didn’t do something quickly he may end up not surviving his injuries. He wondered how many others there were just like him lying in the hospital right now. He wished he could do something for all of them, but for now, saving even one, mattered.

  Opting for a different method than sawing a metal key into his wrist, as he’d done when he healed the old man, instead, he lifted his wrist and bit heavily into it to draw blood. Didn’t quite go through the first time, so he bit down again, and there it was. Didn’t feel any better than the key, in truth, but since it would close over in a few seconds, it made no matter to him.

  A quick squeeze brought forth several large drops and he quickly held them over the boy’s lips and dropped them on his tongue. He squeezed again, to bring forth more and held it further over dropping them into his throat hoping to induce the swallowing reflex, which it did. Now he would wait for the warmth to come. He began counting backwards in his head….10, 9, 8, 7...and there it was. The tingle.

  It started in his fingers as his blood began to work its magic on the boy’s broken body. And for just a moment the little boy’s life flashed in Samson’s mind…as did the pain and terror of the accident. Samson leaned back in the chair as he was consumed by a wave of electricity that felt like shockwaves rolling through him. It almost hurt, but not quite, and then settled into that intoxicating heroin-like rush he’d felt when he’d saved Harold. It was not as intense as it had been then…perhaps because here he was dealing with a child. Less life experience? A smaller body? He had no idea, but it was not nearly the wave of energy that had nearly knocked him to his knees the last time. Still, a cool sweat broke out on his brow and his breath came in great gasps for a moment before he regained his composure.

  He opened his eyes, to see the little boy staring at him as he lay quietly in the bed, his features a mask of peace and contentment.

  He sat up quickly and looked a little confused at the tube coming out of his nose and mouth and pulled them out, coughing slightly as he did, and then looking at them with fascination. He rubbed his throat for a second and then stared at the needle in his small hand that was attached to a long tube that led to the IV bag that hung above from the machine that slowly pumped clear liquid into his body. His brows knit together for a moment and then he looked like he might cry.

  Samson took the boy’s small hand in his own and without a word, could feel everything…every word the little boy had not yet spoken, and the fear he’d also felt for a second at the sight of the needle taped in his vein, as they shared souls for a few moments. The impression was very brief, but he could feel…somehow sense that the boy’s name was David.

  Samson patted the boy’s hand. “It’s okay, David. The tube in your arm won’t hurt you. It’s just giving your body a nice drink to make it feel better.”

  The little boy nodded and then spoke in a near whisper. “You know what? I had a dream last night, that my nana that died last year…she came and she said that the angels might come for me soon.” His brows knit together. “You’re one of them. Aren’t you.”

  It was more a statement than a question. Samson smiled and laughed lightly. Damn…another of his charges confusing him with the Almighty or whatever they were. “No. I’m no angel. I’m….just a friend who came to help you feel better.”

  The boy smiled a wide toothy grin and nodded, although at the same time looked a little skeptical. “You know what else?”

  “What’s that?” Samson said softly.

  “I know you’re not a doctor! They stick me with these needles and give me medicine that tastes bad.” He wrinkled his nose and nodded with certainty. “I think maybe my nana was right. You’re an angel and you’re my friend too. Your name’s Sammy isn’t it?”

  Samson smiled and ruffled David’s hair. “You’re close. It’s Samson.”

  “Can I get up now, Samson? I’m hungry!” David started to sit up and tried jump up out of the bed and into Samson’s lap.

  “Whoa, there, little guy! You need to slow down. I know you feel great, but we need to make sure before you try to walk. First we have to take this needle out of your arm. Okay?”

  David nodded, holding out his arm, and Samson gently pulled the tape free, carefully sliding the tube out of his small vein and dabbing away the tiny drop of blood that followed. He pulled the trash can over and dangled the hanging tube down into it, and then he put David on the floor. “Go ahead and take a few steps and then walk SLOWLY across the room and then back to me.”

  David nodded with enthusiasm, before taking a few tentative steps, and then skipping across the room and jumping into Samson’s chair with all the abounding energy of a healthy six year old.

  “Well, you seem to be just fine!” Samson said matter-of-factly.

  “Does this mean I can go get some ice cream?”

  “Not just yet…I need you to do me a favor.”

  David nodded excitedly. “Sure. What is it?”

  “First off, I need you to promise me that you won’t tell anyone that I was here. Okay? Can you do that?” David looked skeptical. “Why not?”

  “Well, it has to be our little secret. Some people might get a little bit afraid if they know what happened. That I came here and made you better. Like magic.”

  “But magic is cool!” David said, smiling.

  “I know it’s very cool. It’s kind of like…I’m the magician and you’re my assistant. And, we have to keep our tricks secret so no one knows how we do it! Just us.”

  David seemed to like that idea. “Okay! I can do that. Will you teach me how to do what you did?”

  Samson, inhaled deeply. “Well…maybe someday. But it will have to wait til you’re a little older. How bout that?” Maybe that wasn’t a lie. For all he knew the boy may end up with his power of healing after tasting his blood…after all, he still didn’t know the long term effects of bestowing this little gift. For now, it was most important that he simply get David’s agreement to never tell anyone about how he was healed.

  David nodded. “Okay. I won’t tell. Pinkie promise.” He held out his pinkie and Samson, not fully up on what ‘pinkie promise’ meant, held his own out. David heartily intertwined their fingers and shook them. Samson smiled at this delightful ritual and wondered if it was just for kids, as h
e pulled back and stared for a moment at his outstretched finger.

  He wished for a moment he’d known about this pinkie promise thing before he’d left Willow’s house earlier, because it seemed to hold some important meaning….at least for kids. Maybe, had they partaken in this ceremony of sorts, it would have given him a little more confidence that she would keep her promise that she trusted him and believed in him…and would subsequently forgive him for what he’d just done. He would have to worry about that later. Tomorrow’s consequences would come soon enough.

  “Now can I have some ice cream?” David smiled.

  “Yep. I’m going to leave now. I need you to wait until I’m gone before you push the nurse’s button right there on the side of the bed. When she comes in you can tell her that you woke up and that you feel better and you want some ice cream. Get up slowly and walk for her. Remember she can‘t know about what happened here, okay?”

  David nodded and threw his arms around Samson’s neck and hugged him. “Thank you for making me better.”

  Samson basked in the warmth of the feeling that blossomed within his chest knowing he’d helped the boy, hugging him back with a genuine love that up until now, he hadn’t known he possessed.

  He pulled back from David’s grasp and gently put him back on the bed. He knotted the IV tube and dropped the needle in the container hanging on the wall. Sharp objects and curious six year olds don’t make a good combination. He turned back to David.

  “Shhh! I’m going to go now. You be good for your mom and dad.”

  David nodded. “I will. I promise.”

  “And one more thing. You have fun.” He winked as he walked out the door, closing it softly behind him.

  From the corner of the room, Adrielle smiled. Maxiumus had been busy visiting another of their charges when she’d slipped out without him noticing to check on the human gargoyle named Samson. For he’d had made a very important choice just now, and he was indeed finally ready for the next level.

  He’d been willing to risk the woman’s affections and possibly lose her forever as a consequence of his decision to save the life of another. And she knew that as he’d made that all important choice, his centuries long days of lying as cold as stone would soon be over. For the heart that now beat within his chest was as warm as a summer day, and the lives he’d touched with his gift of healing, as renewed as fresh grass that sprouts forth in the spring. And just as those who’d received his gift were renewed, so was he also. As if the clock had been turned backwards.

  “Through blood of thy will, the clock shall stand still.” She’d once again merged souls with them both as they’d sat in the restaurant just as she’d done at Willow’s house a day or so earlier.

  And she was still marveling at the odd sensations that both had experienced for that split second as she’d blanketed them. Very strange indeed, the chills and disorientation of these human perceptions…but a necessary, if not bothersome experience she had to endure in order to be sure that Samson was truly on the edge of his destiny.

  She’d detected that Samson had planned to come here, despite his desire to be with the human woman, despite knowing that the woman loved him…and knowing full well that he could lose her over the choice he had made. He’d stayed the path and the actions were complete.

  Now, there was only one more part for him to figure out and he would at last be free. She was about to shimmer out, when she was startled by a small voice.

  “Hi. Are you one of Samson’s friends?” David asked.

  Adrielle was stunned that the little boy could see her, since she hadn’t purposely made her presence known. She’d nearly forgotten how human children’s perceptions were quite strong and remarkable. Far more so than the adults who seemed to lose their capacity to feel….to love and to experience as the drudgery of life wore them down.

  She chose to speak instead of using telepathy, she answered, “Yes” very softly.

  David’s brows knit together. “I thought he said he wasn’t an angel.”

  Adrielle smiled. “Well…not quite yet…but I think that he soon will be.”

  “Will I see him again? When he’s an angel, I mean,” David asked.

  “You just might,” she said softly. “Now I must go.” She raised a finger to her lips and made the “shhh” motion. And David could hear her voice inside his head, soothing and calm as she bid him farewell.

  C HAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Samson headed back down the hallway toward the nurse’s station and felt a sense of dread as a loud beeping alarm sound from the IV machine he’d tied off suddenly came from David’s room. Both nurses from the station walked quickly by him, making a beeline for the origins of the incessant drone as he brushed past them and headed for the elevator. He couldn’t miss the look that the tall brunette gave him as she went by, turning back around 180 degrees on her heel.

  “Hey!” She smiled and waved, looking like she wanted to devour him, before turning quickly back toward her destination.

  He raised an eyebrow in amusement. In past Awakenings that one would have been exactly the type he’d have been enjoying a good romp with, within hours of regaining his senses. He could only imagine the kind of fun and games that one would endeavor to with a couple of drinks in her. His mind traveled back in time over all the instances where that exact scenario had taken place. But for some reason, the usual fondness he felt for such memories was gone and was instead replaced with nothing more than a long and foggy trail of faces and places that seemed like lifetimes past. And so it was.

  Here in the present, his heart and his better instincts were telling him he needed to get out of here…now.

  He quickly walked by the nurse’s station and stepped into the open elevator in front of him. He heaved an inward sigh of relief as he pushed the button that would take him back to the ground floor. He removed the white jacket, and stethoscope from around his neck, folding them neatly and piled the three charts he’d taken on top of them.

  When the elevator came to a stop, he stepped out, and as he walked by the abandoned information desk, he quickly deposited them there before walking out the main entrance and heading for the parking garage.

  He got in the car, and quickly pulled out of the garage heading out onto Lakeview. Where was he going to go now? Maybe Chico’s was still open and he could swing by and grab a beer. He felt like he could use a cold one, right about now. It had in fact been rather nerve wracking being in that hospital, not knowing if he’d get caught. And then here was the brunette who’d not only caught a minor glimpse of him, but looked him dead in the eye. She’d easily be able to identify him if she ever saw him again.

  And then, of course, there was Willow. There was no way she wasn’t going to know exactly what had happened when she went in to work tomorrow.

  He sighed. What if she kicked him to the curb for it? He supposed in some way he deserved it…but then again, could he really stand by, knowing what kind of power ran through his veins and do nothing?

  That strange angel…or demon or whatever the hell she was, Adrielle, and her buddy Max had told him that he would have to make a choice of some kind, and they had indicated there was indeed some solving of this puzzle of his curse.

  And with that thought came all the ‘what ifs’. What if that choice that might lead to his freedom meant he’d never see Willow again? How would he live for the rest of whatever life he had after that, having never known what it felt like to spend even one night lying in the warmth of her arms and wake up with her beautiful, naked body wrapped around his own? The smell of her hair on his pillow…the scent of her perfume still fresh on his skin after a night of passion.

  He sighed, amazed and confused to discover that, no matter the consequences, he’d done what he knew he had to do, and if he never saw her again, at least the last thing he’d know before he slipped into the cold slumber that would come, was that he’d saved that child…Harold…maybe some others before it took him. And when he woke, he’d know that the impo
rtance of those actions outweighed his own feelings.

  He felt a chill on the back of his neck and nearly jumped in his seat, slamming on his brakes and turning around to see if Adrielle, was behind him. No sign of her anywhere. But her words, and Maximus’s still rang in his head. Choices indeed.

  Instead of rounding the corner and heading to Chico’s, as if the car had a mind of its own, he found himself driving mindlessly back towards Winston Terrace. He pulled into the driveway, got out and headed up the driveway towards Willow‘s front door. She was probably sound asleep by now, and before he knocked he stopped himself, placing his hand against the door and resting his forehead against the smooth, dark surface. Should he just turn around and go home? Now was the moment of truth.

  He’d already done a deed that could very well cause her to hate him forever in saving little David, after she‘d explicitly forbid it. And since it was still a very real possibility that he’d never find the cure for this curse of his, there was no better time to walk away than now. Before he did something stupid that would change things between them forever….and change him forever. His mind was screaming that he should turn around now and let tomorrow’s cards fall where they may, but his heart made his feet as motionless and lifeless as when he was a block of stone.

  His conscience was still whispering in his ear, loud

  and clear, reminding him that if he just could bring himself to get back in that truck, drive off and disappear, she would miss him…but not the way she would if he walked in that door and did what he was about to do right now. Because there was no way if he crossed that threshold that he wasn’t going to sweep her up, carry her to bed and keep her there beautiful….sweaty and naked, lying next to, under and over his body loving her until the pale fingers of dawn kissed the sky.

  He hesitated a moment longer, his heart and his head locked in an impasse, when he realized walking away was no longer an option. Cisco was already barking and a few seconds later the porch light flickered on.