Gravitate

by Jo Duchemin

  “Yes, remember as soon as you’re back, you need to fight, try to stab him and run out of the house, if you can. I will save you, I promise. I will not allow any harm to come to you while I’m on the Earth.” He kissed me passionately. “That will not be our last kiss.”

  We drifted slightly lower and then he let go of one of my hands.

  “Just keep heading down – you’ll see your body. I’ll only wait for one minute, if you’re not out, I’ll be there.” He let go of the other hand and blew me a kiss. I pretended to catch it in my hand and held it to my heart. He smiled and drifted off in the direction of the park.

  I passed through the ceiling of Sam’s house and into the guest room. It was as though someone had paused the action in the room. His body was on top of mine and I had to pass through it to re-enter my body. It made me feel sick. As soon as I was back, the action restarted.

  “Oh, Princess, don’t go to sleep, this will be so much better if you’re awake.” He took one of his hands off of my wrist and slapped my face. The pain made my eyes water, but I had my chance. My free hand contained the car key. Before he realised what I was doing, I forced the car key into his side with all my might. He recoiled in pain or shock and moved his weight to one side, leaving one of my legs free. I moved as much as I could from out underneath him, but his iron grip on my wrist didn’t release. I plunged the key again, this time aiming at his face. The sharp tip of it scraped down his face, immediately releasing a stream of blood. He tried to pull me back and I swung the key again, this time at the arm that was pinning down my wrist. I hit a muscle and his grip loosened, finally releasing me. I moved as quickly as I could, out of the bedroom, clumsy with fear. I could hear him swear and knock something off of the bedside table, then a few seconds later I heard him moving after me as I fled down the stairs and into the hall. A gunshot rang out behind me, but the bullet missed me. I flung the front door open and ran to the park. I was nearly there. Everything would be OK now.

  I could see Marty, his figure the most beautiful sight to behold. I screamed to him, to warn him that Sam had a gun with him. I nearly reached the safety of his arms, the place that felt like home, when a pain in my side stopped me. It felt like a burning punch and I keeled over, unable to continue moving. I looked down at my waist and saw a red patch creeping across my white dress. The pain increased to a stabbing ache, almost like being poked with a javelin. I realised what had happened; Sam had shot me. Then a fear, far more painful than any injury, awoke in my heart – the fear that Marty could be hurt.

  Marty reached me quickly, terror etched across his face. He didn’t have time to ask me how I was. Sam was approaching us rapidly. Marty scooped me up in his strong arms and raced towards the woods. Even carrying me, he was faster than Sam, and he managed to put a large distance between us.

  “Claudia, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have waited so long. How bad is it?”

  “It hurts, but you have to get away – save yourself.”

  “His bullets won’t hurt me.”

  Relief washed over me. No matter what happened now, Marty would be safe.

  “I’m going to hide you in the woods. Take my mobile phone and call the police. Try to hold on, it’ll all be over soon. I’ve got to go and stop him.”

  He gently placed me on the ground in the dark woods, hidden by a large tree trunk and a sprawling bush. He handed me a mobile phone, then he kissed me and fled into the dark night.

  I rang the police, holding my breath as I watched Marty approach Sam, his palms held upright to show he was unarmed. Sam held the gun aimed at Marty’s head. Even knowing bullets wouldn’t hurt him, I found the image abhorrent. I whispered my location and explained the situation, as briefly as I could, to the call handler. She sounded horrified and immediately reassured me that assistance was on the way. She tried to keep me talking, but I fell silent, unable to concentrate on anything but the scene in front of me.

  “Tell me where the girl is!” Sam was yelling, his voice distorted with rage.

  “No.”

  “I’ll shoot you. I mean it.”

  “Go ahead.” Marty sounded cool, composed.

  “I’m not bluffing.”

  “Neither am I.”

  “You don’t want to get involved with this.”

  “I already am.”

  “Big mistake. Where is she?” Sam fired a warning shot into the air. Marty didn’t flinch.

  “I am not telling you.”

  Sam aimed the gun at Marty’s head and fired. Marty ducked at the last millisecond and the bullet missed him. I let out a silent exhale of relief, realising I’d been holding my breath. I reminded myself that bullets couldn’t hurt Marty and tried to stay calm. The pain in my side had lessened and I guessed that the adrenaline coursing through my body was numbing the pain.

  “Last chance. Tell me where she is.”

  “Never.”

  I could hear sirens in the distance and willed them to hurry up. Sam aimed the gun at Marty again, this time focusing lower, at his chest. He pulled the trigger and Marty moved swiftly to the side, dodging the bullet again.

  “She’s not worth getting killed for. Tell me where she is.”

  “The police are on their way. If you’re going to kill me, you’d better hurry up and do it.” I could hear the smile in Marty’s voice.

  “Fine.” Sam pulled the trigger again. Marty leapt forward, avoiding the bullet and knocking Sam off his feet. The gun flew out of Sam’s hand and landed several feet away. Marty pushed Sam face down on the ground and pinned his arms behind his back, rendering him immobile. Flashing lights stormed down the footpaths of the park, heading towards us. Marty raised one arm to wave the police over to where he was. Sam took the opportunity to try to struggle free, managing to release one arm. He reached into his pocket before Marty had a chance to restrain him. He produced a knife, waving it wildly, trying to slash Marty. I saw the knife make contact with Marty’s arm, before Marty’s large hands pushed Sam back under control. The police cars pulled up and officers raced over to Marty and Sam. As soon as they had Sam under control, Marty ran over to me, bringing two officers with him. The relief was immense.

  “She was caught by one of his bullets, I haven’t had a chance to examine her yet. We need to take her to hospital as soon as possible. Claudia, are you OK?” He was kneeling down next to me, stroking my face.

  “I feel like I’ve been shot. Did he get you with the knife?”

  “It’s just a scratch. Claudia, I’m going to have to rip your dress open to examine your wound, I’ll be as gentle as I can. We’re going to take you to hospital as soon as I’m sure it’s safe to move you.” He looked at one of the officers. “Shine your torch over the right side of her waist.”

  The policeman aimed a beam of light over the part of my dress that was stained red with my blood. I immediately felt squeamish.

  “Look away, sweetheart.”

  I did as I was told and heard the rip of fabric. I felt a gentle prodding which produced a pain that made me wince. Marty took a sharp intake of breath.

  “Sorry, baby, I know it hurts. I’m trying to be gentle.”

  “It’s OK.”

  “Tell the hospital that I think the bullet has grazed her, but I’d like them to X-ray the wound just in case. She’ll need some pain medication as soon as possible. Shine the light at her face, please.”

  I blinked as the light temporarily blinded me. “He slapped me.”

  “Monster. I can see the mark, it must have been painful.”

  “Nothing compared to being shot.”

  “Does anything else hurt? Tell me where to look.”

  “My wrists are sore.”

  The officer shone the light over my wrists and Marty gently felt the bones. I glanced over to where I’d last seen Sam and saw a commotion of activity. Several police officers were restraining Sam, whils
t others were locating the gun. I saw another set of flashing lights arrive.

  “There are no breaks, but I believe that the right wrist has a bad sprain.”

  “The ambulance is here, Dr Glean,” a gruff policeman called over.

  “Claudia, I’m going to carry you to the ambulance, OK?”

  “OK. Marty?”

  “Yes?”

  “You owe me a new dress.

  He laughed gently. “You’re going to be just fine, aren’t you?”

  Marty placed one arm under my shoulder blades and the other under my knees, and with great care picked me up and carried me out of the woods. As we passed by one of the police cars, I could hear Sam yelling from inside. I rested my head against Marty’s chest, trying to ignore Sam’s tirade.

  “Claudia, I’m going to get you, you fucking bitch! You’ll go to hell, just like your parents.”

  Marty whispered in my ear, “You’re safe now. I won’t let him near you.”

  “Don’t leave me.”

  “I couldn’t.”

  Paramedics raced to help Marty, bringing a stretcher, but he dismissed their assistance and carried me into the ambulance himself. He explained to them the injuries he thought I’d suffered and we began our short journey to the hospital. In the light of the ambulance, I searched his arms for evidence of the injury I saw Sam inflict on him, but saw nothing.

  “Marty, I’ve never been to hospital before.”

  “Are you scared?”

  “I just don’t know what to expect.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m an expert, you’ll be well taken care of.”

  The hospital staff were prepared for our arrival and I was rushed in for all sorts of tests that I didn’t understand. Marty stayed with me, explaining all the medical jargon and what the tests would involve. His examination in the woods was proved accurate and after my injuries were treated, I was moved to a private room and interviewed by detectives. I hated talking about the details of my evening with Marty listening. I felt like I’d betrayed him by entering into a relationship with Sam. It can’t have been easy for him to listen to, either, but he stayed by my side.

  Finally, the detectives left and Marty and I were alone. He sat next to me on the narrow hospital bed, his arm around my shoulder and pressed me close to him. I rested my head against his chest.

  “Get some sleep, Claudia. I won’t go anywhere.”

  Chapter 37

  He was still with me, in the same position, when I woke up the next morning. He checked my wounds himself, impressed with how well they were healing already.

  “Are you in any pain, Claudia?”

  “No, I’m not. I guess they gave me plenty of painkillers last night.”

  “Hmmm.”

  “Don’t make doctor noises at me, Marty, say what you’re thinking.”

  “I’m worried you’re being brave for my sake. I promised you that I would not allow you to be harmed. I failed.”

  “You saved my life.”

  I could see he was about to reply, when a doctor entered the room.

  “Miss Lee, how are you feeling today? A little sore?”

  “Not at all, I feel fine. When can I go home?”

  The doctor examined my wounds, just as Marty had done. He raised his eyebrows when he saw the wound on my waist. “Seems that one wasn’t anywhere near as bad as we thought, it might not even leave a scar. We’d like to keep you in for observation, for a little bit longer. By the way, there were some strange results on a few of your blood tests. We think that the sample may have been contaminated. Do you mind if I take another vial from you?”

  Marty discreetly walked behind the doctor and examined the chart at the end of my bed. I held my arm out for the doctor to take the blood sample, watching Marty’s reaction to what he read. His eyes grew wider at first and then narrowed slightly. The tiniest hint of a crease appeared on his forehead. He shook his head and returned the chart.

  “There. All done. Are you sure you don’t need any more pain relief?” The doctor held some cotton wool to my inner elbow.

  “No, I’m fine. Thank you, Doctor.”

  He left and I stared at Marty. He avoided my gaze.

  “What are you hiding from me? What did the chart say?”

  “Nothing. You’re fine. You’re going to be right as rain in no time at all.”

  “Marty. I know there’s something – I saw it in your face.”

  “I need to sit down. And there’s nothing to worry about – it’s probably like he said, a contaminated sample.” Marty looked paler as he sat down. “Claudia, I’m being summoned. I’ll be back soon.”

  I felt myself growing dizzy, at first thinking it was panic at him leaving me, and then realising that I, too, was being summoned. “It’s OK, I’m coming with you.”

  We raced up to the clouds, Marty holding my hand to guide me.

  “Why are we being summoned? Will they make you leave me?”

  “I don’t know, I honestly don’t know.”

  “I can’t be without you.”

  “I know, I just got you back. I never want to let you go again.”

  We arrived in the clouds, greeted by all of the Dominion. I feared for the worst, thinking they were going to enforce another separation on Marty and I. Their faces didn’t look grim, as they had the first time I’d met them, but they looked at us with a mixture of happiness and concern. Olivia spoke first:

  “Marty, Claudia. We are so pleased to see you both, alive and well. We don’t wish to alarm you, we will not be asking you to separate again.”

  I immediately felt lighter, ecstatic that he would be allowed to remain with me.

  “Then why have you called us here?” Marty was still suspicious, unsure of their motivations.

  George coughed gently and spoke in a hushed voice, “It’s my fault, really.”

  “What is?” Marty stared at their faces.

  “Marty, you remember Henry? What happened to him?” Olivia was speaking again.

  “Of course. Nobody forgets that.”

  “How long ago was that? Can you recall?”

  “It must be two decades ago now,” Marty paused. “No. No. It can’t be true.”

  Olivia looked at him kindly, “I know you don’t want to believe that it’s possible.”

  “Just rumours and myths.”

  “It would make sense.” George was speaking now.

  “No.”

  “We can’t know for certain,” Olivia had walked over to Marty and put a hand on his shoulder, “but you know it could explain a lot of things.”

  “Could somebody explain what you’re all talking about, please?” I was confused by all these cryptic phrases.

  “No.” Marty stared at me. I couldn’t believe he was going to keep me in the dark.

  “Olivia?” I looked her in the eyes. She glanced at Marty. He shook his head and she sighed.

  “I will tell you, when the time is right. It isn’t anything to worry about because it’s not true, anyway.” Marty sounded firm and I knew there was no way I’d be able to get the truth from him.

  “You’ve got some tidying up to do when you get back, just in case.” George’s eyes met Marty’s and he nodded.

  “Not a problem.”

  “Do you think you’ll be able to investigate the possibility?” Olivia asked.

  “There’s no point. It wouldn’t change anything. I’d like to take Claudia back now, she needs rest – all this excitement isn’t good for her after the shocks she’s suffered.”

  “Before you go, Marty, there is something else we’d like to discuss with you.” Nina was smiling as she spoke.

  Olivia matched Nina’s grin as she said, “We’d like you to remain as Claudia’s guardian angel, until her twenty-first birthday.”

  I was smiling th
en. Marty embraced me and kissed my cheek.

  “Thank you, thank you so much,” I giggled.

  “We feel Claudia deserves protection,” George and Marty shared a look I couldn’t read, “after the events of the past year, of course.”

  “There is one more thing,” Olivia added, “following your heroic efforts last night to save Claudia’s life – including a slight stretching of the truth to protect her – it has been decided that you have earned your wings.”

  I gasped as a pair of transparent wings appeared from Marty’s shoulder blades. They were beautiful, strong, powerful. His face beamed as he extended them to their full wingspan. He then wrapped them around me as though they were an extra pair of arms. They felt cool to the touch, soft and supple like a well toned muscle. I looked up at his face and saw a single tear of happiness roll down his cheek. I wiped it away with my thumb, a mirror image of the first time he dried my tears.

  “And my angel wept both night and day and I wiped his tears away,” I whispered to him. He kissed me, ignoring the numerous pairs of eyes watching us.

  “You’d better head back,” George gently suggested, “together.” He gave us a bittersweet smile and I remembered what Marty had said about the reason George had stopped watching me. He’d begun to fall in love with me.

  Marty continued to embrace me, in both his arms and his beautiful wings, as we began our descent. I still had a million questions to ask him, but my lips were only going to be kissing him right now. The questions could wait. We had all the time in the world now. And I fully intended to make the most of it.

  ###

  About the author:

  Jo Duchemin still feels like a teenager even though her driving licence tells a different story. Jo lives in England with her husband and a mad dog called Ernie. She began writing ‘Gravitate’ as a project to keep herself entertained and it quickly took over her life. Her best writing sessions are fuelled by champagne. She is currently writing more Young Adult/Crossover books, including the sequel to ‘Gravitate’. Her latest book ‘Losing Meg’ will be available for download in June 2012.