by S. E. Duncan
Burke stormed out of the room leaving Ella to herself. She felt bad. He didn’t deserve her hostility. Physically she felt a little better since she had been sick, less nauseated anyway. She stood up and slowly made her way through the house, steadying herself against the wall. When she got to the backdoor, she went through and almost decided just to sit and wait on the back steps after seeing the distance to the greenhouse. No, he deserves an apology, she thought and started across the yard.
Burke had been deep in thought and almost jumped out of his skin when the greenhouse door opened. “Congratulations, I’m usually not so easy to sneak up on,” he told her as he helped her to the chair in the middle of the room.
Looking around, Ella was mesmerized by the colors and smells. “Look,” Ella said, remembering why she’d trekked out here, “I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry. I had no right to be so snappy and presuming with you. This is all coming at me so fast, and it’s a lot to take in. I’m not saying I think I can do this thing, and I’m not saying you’re not absolutely nuts, but I do appreciate your help. And for what it’s worth, I do trust you.”
“Come on back inside,” he said. He put his arm around her to help her along. Once Ella was settled again in bed, Burke brought her something to eat, some more tea, and another pill.
“That was the Demon I saw in the library, wasn’t it?” she asked as Burke settled into the chair in the corner of the room.
“Yes. He would have looked completely normal to anyone else, just some guy in the library. But you’re not just like anyone else; you had already started awakening. You saw evil in its true form because your senses are transitioning. What your body is going through right now is truly marvelous. During the awakening, as your body is changing, you have incredible bursts of strength and speed - incredible even for our people. Your senses are fluctuating too, which greatly contributes to the headaches. You were able to see the Demon because you had started awakening. That’s also why you were able to get away from me so quickly outside of the library. I know he’s capable of showing his true form when he chooses, but I think he was just as surprised as you were at your reaction to him. Once you’re through the awakening everything will settle out, although for the first year or so you’ll be at your most powerful. I don’t know all of the Demon’s capabilities. I’m not sure if he sensed your growing strength or knew your true nature. I don’t know if he knew you saw him in his natural state. I do know he shows himself to his victims when he kills them. Either way, I’m glad you’re safe here with me. I can only assume he was looking for a victim; Jill was killed within twenty-four hours of you seeing the Demon in the library.”
Great, now she felt like even more of a jerk for her behavior earlier. “I’m glad I’m here with you, too.”
Burke stood up and walked over to the bed when she finished eating and seemed comfortable. He leaned down and looked her in the eye. “Next time you try to shove me through a wall, Ella Fitzgerald, I’m going to tranquilize you,” he said. He kissed her on the forehead, picked up the tray with the dirty dishes on it, and left the room.
~~
Burke cleaned up around the house a little, and then decided to call Carl to see what was going on at work. He tried his friend’s cell phone, but had to leave a message when Carl didn’t answer. Burke had just sat down to an early lunch when Carl called him back.
“Hey, sorry I missed your call. We just brought a body in. I was right in the middle of the field exam when you called and figured I’d just get back to you.”
“Yeah, what does it look like?”
“It’s a young guy, early twenties. He was apparently out jogging. There wasn’t any blood or anything at the site. There aren’t any contusions other than what you’d expect from the fall. There also wasn’t any sign of a weapon or foul play at the crime scene. Someone just found him lying there and called the department. He did break his arm when he fell. Other than that I’m working on it. I haven’t really started anything here yet.”
“Okay, I was just calling to check in with you. Anything else come through since I’ve been out?”
“No, I’ve got this, my workaholic friend. You don’t have to check in; I’ll give you a call if I need you. Everything’s cool here. Go do something fun.”
“All right, but seriously, don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything.”
Burke hung up the phone. Crap. Young guy, nothing obvious. He was going to have to go down there and check it out. Ella needed to get through the rest of today and tomorrow. He didn’t want to leave her, but he had to find out cause of death.
Burke went into the bedroom to check on Ella. She was sleeping peacefully, but there was no telling how long that would last. He would go into work, but he’d have to make a few preparations for Ella first in case she woke up. He had no idea how long he was going to wait just for the chance to get a few minutes alone with the body. He went out to the greenhouse and cleaned a few things out of a small dorm room sized refrigerator. Trying to be quiet, he carried the refrigerator into the bedroom and set it on the floor so he could clear the bedside table. Once the table was ready, he set the refrigerator on it, plugged it in, and then went to the kitchen. He had mixed some tea for Ella earlier, so he got two sports bottles with lids from the cabinet and filled them with the tea. He made a turkey and cheese sandwich and put it in a Ziploc baggie. Returning to the bedroom, he put the sandwich and tea in the little fridge. Burke stood watching Ella and thinking for a moment. She would probably need the Demerol and possibly some crackers and ginger ale to settle her stomach. He went back to the kitchen, got a small basket and put the Demerol, some saltines, and a package of peanut butter crackers in it. Burke got a piece of paper and wrote Ella a note.
Ella,
Something has come up, and I needed to make a quick trip into town. There’s a sandwich for you if you feel up to eating something, or crackers and ginger ale if you’re nauseated. The two sports bottles have the tea to help your headache, and the bottle of Demerol is in the basket. Take one or two pills with the tea depending on how bad you feel. I’ve also left a waste basket beside the bed if you get sick. Your cell phone is in the basket on top of the refrigerator, and I’ve programmed my cell number into it. Please call me when you wake up. I’m sorry I had to leave, but I’ll be back as soon as possible. Don’t leave the house.
See you soon – Burke
Burke taped the note to the front of the refrigerator, put the ginger ale inside, and put the basket on top. He put the waste basket close to the bedside table where Ella wouldn’t fall over it, then stood and surveyed the room once more. Satisfied, Burke got his keys and left the house.
~~
Burke couldn’t help but be worried and nervous as he made the drive to work. It had only been a few days since the Demon had taken Jill. If this young man who had just been found was the second victim, the Demon was moving really fast. Burke could only go on what had happened last time, but then the Demon hadn’t worked this fast. Was it because the humans weren’t giving him as much strength? Ella wasn’t ready yet. Burke had to see this over, and he couldn’t do it alone. After the car accident at the beginning of the last cycle, it had been all he could do to lead the monster away from Ella. Burke had fled and the Demon had followed, being drawn like a magnet to Burke’s strength. Though there’d been a trail of destruction, Ella had been spared.
Burke pulled into the parking lot at the Office of the Medical Examiners. It was a small facility attached to the police precinct, but they had up to date equipment. It was just Burke and Carl, and they got along really well. In spite of the stress one would expect from such a job, Burke had come to enjoy his work here. The department’s conviction rate had risen since he’d been hired, and he knew he contributed to putting away criminals who might have otherwise gone free. Carl’s car was in its usual spot. Burke entered the building through the side door.
He only needed a few minutes alone with the body. Hopefully it wouldn’t be hard to get; Ca
rl was sure to take a break at some point. The problem was that Burke wanted to get back to Ella as soon as possible. He wasn’t trying to hang out here for hours waiting for Carl to need a bathroom break. Burke peeked through the window in the door of the first autopsy room. It was empty. Going to the second room, Burke again peeked inside. There was the young man on the table, and Carl wasn’t in the room. Burke opened the door and went inside. He approached the table and went around to the victim’s head. Cradling the young man’s head in his hands, Burke closed his eyes and waited.
It was like being in someone else’s dream. Burke could both see what was happening from an outsider’s perspective and feel what was happening as the victim. He was out jogging along a narrow paved path. It was a beautiful cool morning; the sun would be coming up within the half hour. Burke looked around. He recognized the running and biking paths in the city park. Suddenly, someone stepped out of the woods onto the path in front of him. Burke stepped to the right to make room and ran around the man. Weird, he thought looking over his shoulder. The man was keeping pace just behind him. Suddenly, the man’s face changed. His eyes glowed red and his gaping grin showed rows of teeth like a shark. Burke was gripped with panic and his steady jogger’s pace instantly shifted into an all-out sprint. The man matched him step for step, toying with him while grinning his maddening grin. Unexpectedly, Burke tripped and fell hard, breaking his arm. Unnaturally fast, the Demon was upon him and holding his head much as Burke was at this very moment holding the victim’s head. It bent over him and slowly and steadily began to inhale over his face. The Demon was literally sucking the life out of him. At first he tried to push the creature off, but then he was oddly distracted with the realization that his arm must be broken. Within seconds of this realization, he was weakened and his good hand fell. He felt pain, but more than that, he felt a sense of panic. It was as if he were being smothered or drowned. He quickly became dizzy, and his heart began racing then stopped all together. Burke let go of the victim’s head and took a step back as well as several deep breaths. The Demon had claimed his second victim. Carl would probably determine that the poor guy had died of sudden cardiac arrest. Only Burke knew the truth. Burke looked up as Carl walked in taking a huge bite out of a half-finished sub sandwich.
“You just can’t stay away,” his friend said around a mouth full of food. “I’ve got a dictionary in my office; do we need to go look up the word relax together?”
“I was actually just out making another beer run when it occurred to me that you might be in here completely lost without my guiding genius,” Burke teased back. “How’s it going?” he asked, gesturing toward the table.
“Pretty smoothly. Like I told you before, the right arm is broken. I’ve ordered a tox screen, but I’m leaning towards heart failure. The guy was in pretty good physical shape, definitely an athlete. Maybe he had some kind of undiagnosed heart condition, or maybe he was juicing.”
Burke knew there wouldn’t be steroids or any other drugs showing up on the toxicology report, but of course he didn’t mention this. “I just stopped by to grab something out of my desk,” he said instead. “Let me know if you need anything, otherwise I’ll see you in a few days.”
“Okay pal, drink a beer for me,” Carl said as Burke left the room.
~~
Burke drove back to his house. Looking at his watch, he saw that he’d been gone just over an hour. At least he’d been able to get in and out of the office faster than he had expected. That was about the only good news that came from his little trip. The Demon was working both quickly and efficiently.
As soon as Burke got home, he checked on Ella. Everything was just how he had left it. He pulled the note off the refrigerator, crumpled it, and tossed it into the waste basket next to the bed. When Burke noticed how peacefully Ella was sleeping, it brought the realization of his own exhaustion crashing down on him. He walked to the dresser, pulled out a pair of running shorts, and changed into them. After folding his jeans and setting them neatly on the chair in the corner, he started to head towards the living room couch to take a much needed nap. He paused to pull a quilt up over Ella.
“Screw it,” he whispered, and crawled into bed next to the girl who was coming to mean more to him than he’d ever expected. He wrapped himself around her, reached down to pull the quilt over them both, and was asleep within seconds.
~~
Ella woke with a jerk. She would scream if she could breathe. Was it really possible to experience a full body charley horse? She imagined this was pretty close to what it would feel like to be turned inside out. It was as if every bone in her body was being shattered and every muscle was being torn. The intense pain was accompanied by a terrifying lack of muscular control. Could she not move because she was gripped by such incredible pain, or was the pain secondary to the fact that she couldn’t move? Did that even make sense? She experienced a brief moment of actuality, just before her body began to convulse, in which it became obvious to her that she was being overcome by an astonishing sense of panic and confusion.
Burke had been lying behind Ella with her pulled against the length of him and his arm over her holding her close. He woke instantly as her body began to convulse. He swiftly rolled her onto her back and tore open her thin cami top in order to place one hand over her heart and the other hand just below her right breast. His hands began to glow brightly. At once her body became still. Burke kept his brilliantly glowing hands in place until her heart rate and breathing stabilized. Despite her continuing pain, Ella was rapt by the touch of his hands. Once confident the immediate danger to her welfare was past, Burke released her. He hurried to the dresser and returned with a syringe and alcohol pad. He wiped Ella’s arm with the pad and administered a dose of morphine that would quickly kill any human; but at this point Ella was no longer human. Everything in her that had been of her mother was gone. Ella reached out, took Burke’s hand, and returned it to its previous position over her heart. He sat next to her on the bed, his hand over her heart and her hand over his, as she drifted into a welcomed unconsciousness.
As Burke sat next to Ella he wished it was as easy for him to calm his own breathing and heart rate as it had been for him to calm hers. He tenderly removed her torn top and replaced it with a new one. He was a nervous wreck. Not only did he have the activity of the Demon to contend with, but he was terrified something was going to go awry with Ella’s awakening. He knew when he laid his hands on her to bring her body back into synchronization that what was once human in her was completely gone. Nevertheless, her awakening was an unprecedented incidence. He’d feel a lot better when she was through it and he could lay his hands on her and know for certain that she was all right. They had come to the last day. It would be less than twenty-four hours and she would be through the change. At this point there was nothing in this world or any other that could make him leave her side.
Burke spent that whole last day of Ella’s awakening sitting next to her on the bed. Mostly he sat and held her hand. When he got hungry he ate the turkey and cheese sandwich he’d made for her the day before and washed it down with the ginger ale. He left her only briefly to run to the bathroom. The morphine had the effect he had expected. He hadn’t really wanted to drug her, but at least he had gotten her out of pain. Even though he hadn’t really done anything all day, by late evening he was feeling mentally exhausted, if not so much physically. He stretched out next to Ella, wrapped his arms around her, and let the sound of her breathing lull him to sleep.
Chapter 4: A New Reality
Ella opened her eyes and stretched. As she rolled over she became aware that Burke was beside her. He didn’t look like he was sleeping peacefully. Suddenly, he flinched in his sleep. Ella reached over and took his hand in hers. He woke with a jerk and almost shouted “Are you okay?”
“I’m perfectly fine,” Ella reassured him.
When Burke’s only response was to worriedly look her over and take her pulse, she reiterated. “Really Burke, I’ve
never felt better.”
“You’re sure you’re all right?” he asked.
“Well,” she answered, “there is one problem.”
“What is it?” Burke practically shrieked.
“I’m absolutely starving,” Ella smiled.
Burke grabbed her and kissed her passionately. She was okay! She had made it through the awakening. He was purely ecstatic. “That, Ella, is not a problem. Come with me,” he jumped out of bed and went to the kitchen.
Burke rummaged through the refrigerator and carried an armload of ingredients to the kitchen shelf. “I’m thinking vegetable omelet, sausage on the side, toast and orange juice.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Ella said. “What do I do?”
“Slice,” Burke said, sliding both a red and green bell pepper and some mushrooms over to her. He pulled a skillet out of the cabinet and got the sausages started.
Together they made breakfast. They talked very little, but the silence was comfortable. They were each absorbed in their own thoughts. When the meal was prepared they sat across from each other at the table and ate. The food was delicious and Ella tried to savor it, but her body was desperate for nourishment, and she finished quickly.
“Are you still hungry?” Burke asked pushing a basket of fruit towards her.
“Maybe just a little,” she replied picking up an apple and taking a bite.
“It’s no wonder,” he said. “You’ve eaten very little in the past few days and physically you’ve been through the wringer.”