by Jamie Davis
“You can ask me anything you’d like, Dean,” Ashley said, not even looking up from her menu. “I’m sure you won’t say anything that will surprise me.”
“How did you…?” Dean started to say, looking up in surprise.
She laughed meeting his eyes with hers. They seemed to sparkle again in the fluorescent light of the diner booth. “It’s nothing supernatural, Dean. A girl just has her ways of knowing what a guy is thinking at times like this.”
“I don’t know where to begin, Ashley,” Dean said. “There’s so much I want to know about you. How long have you been a nurse? What brought you to Elk City? Do you like dating younger guys?” He paused and groaned, his face flushing a bright, cherry red color. He smiled at her in embarrassment. “Did I just say that?”
Ashley giggled, “Yes, yes you did. All I can say to that question is that youth is a state of mind, not necessarily a state of being. That’s how it is to me at least. Do I seem too old for you?”
“No, not at all,” Dean answered carefully.
“Then I’m not,” she said. “As for your other questions, I’ve been a nurse, of one sort or another, all my life. You might say it’s what I was destined to do. I came to Elk City about four years ago when your Doctor Spirelli first implemented this new health care program for Unusuals. I was curious about how it would work, so I came and got a job in the Emergency Department at ECMC to see what was going on.”
“What do you think of the program?” Dean asked. “I’m still new to the whole thing, but it seems to do a good job of helping people in need.”
She smiled. “I like that you call your patients ‘people.’ It shows that you are open-minded about things. It’s a very attractive trait.”
“What else would I call them, that’s what they are, just different.” Dean said. He thought about Brynne’s former partner Zach and his view of Unusuals as monsters who needed to be exposed, hunted and run out of town. He wondered what people like him would say overhearing this conversation? He pushed that thought out of his mind as the waitress arrived to take their order.
Dean ordered two eggs, over easy, with a biscuit and bacon on the side, and a diet soda to drink. He waited patiently while Ashley looked at the menu one more time. She ordered a waffle topped with fruit and whipped cream with orange juice and water to drink. After the waitress had left Ashley asked him a question.
“What about you, Dean?” She asked. “Why did you become a paramedic?”
Dean told her about his experience in a motor vehicle accident in high school where paramedics saved his girlfriend’s life right in front of him. It had impressed him.
“I guess I just want to do that kind of work,” He said. “You know, the kind of work that matters in the world.”
“But the work at your station is more like primary care than paramedic care,” Ashley said. “It’s not exactly the kind of stuff that other paramedics see and bring into the ER.”
“You’re right about that. When I first got assigned to Station U, I thought I had done something wrong and was being punished,” Dean explained. “After a while, though, I found that I saw things that were much more exciting than knife and bullet wounds. I also think that the Station U paramedics have a lot more autonomy than other paramedics in the Elk City system. I don’t see it as a bad assignment anymore. I guess I see it as an accomplishment and a reward for hard work in school.”
“I think you’re right, Dean,” Ashley said. “You know, I hear good things about you on both sides of the doors to the ER. The other nurses and the doctors see you as a promising young professional, and the Unusual community is saying the new paramedic with Brynne is a good guy to have respond when you need help.”
Dean was a little embarrassed. “I’m just trying to do my best. I have a lot more to learn before I get as good as Brynne at knowing what’s going on with a patient at any given time. She seems to know almost intuitively what kind of Unusual we have as a patient, and how we should treat them.”
“Brynne has the advantage of having James Lee as a boyfriend,” Ashley said. “He has taken her inside our community and has showed her things that few humans have ever seen.” Dean snorted at that and shook his head. Ashley raised an eyebrow. “You don’t like James, I take it?”
“Let’s just say the jury’s out where he is concerned,” Dean said. “I’m not sure he’s all that much of a good-guy. I’m pretty sure he’s feeding on Brynne, and that’s just not right.”
Ashley shook her head. “You should not be so quick to judge James, Dean. What goes on between two consenting adults is their business, right? He has seen many horrible things in his long life. In some cases, I’m sure he’s done things that he’s not proud of, but he’s not an evil creature out of the stories on the bookshelf at the station. He’s a man who is trying to do the best he can in the times in which he lives. He’s adapted quite well to modern times and conventions. Much better than some do.”
“What about you,” Dean asked. “Have you adapted to modern times?”
She laughed again at that question. “I think I adapt very well. But you have to understand, there’s a difference between James and I. He’s a human who was changed into being an Unusual. His cultural background is still human. I am different. I have always been an Unusual. Since Creation, I have been part of a cultural background separate from humans. I don’t have the baggage that people like James have.”
Dean thought about that for a moment and then asked the question he had been holding back. “Can I ask you what it’s like being an Eldara? I’ve tried to look up information about you, but I can’t seem to get a handle on it.”
“Once upon a time, and even now, at times, we are the intermediaries between humans and their gods. We represented the supernatural world manifested in the human reality. Some of us, like me, were given a purpose and sent into the world to follow that purpose, wherever it would lead us. In that way, we spread the message and information we were created to deliver. I’m a healer. I always have been. I’ve lived among humans as a midwife, a nurse, a wise woman, a whatever was needed to teach the healing arts to someone. I’ve traveled far and wide, settling for a time wherever I felt there was a need for me. That’s what brought me here. I’m needed. I can detect it.”
“Needed for what?” Dean asked.
“I don’t know,” Ashley shrugged. “I’ll know it when I see it, just like I’ll know what to do when the time comes. That’s just the way it works.”
“And in the meantime, you’re a nurse in the ER,” Dean said.
“A darn good one, too, if I do say so myself,” Ashley said with a smile.
“So why me?” Dean asked, fearing the answer. “Am I part of your assignment?”
She laughed aloud. “No, Dean. You’re not part of any hidden assignment. At least, I don’t think so. But there’s nothing that says I can’t have a little fun along the way, and you’re the kind of guy I like to hang around.”
The food arrived then, and the conversation paused while they started to eat. The more he learned about her, the more he liked her, but he was bothered by the transient nature of her tasks. Would she get her assigned task here done and just leave? He didn’t want that. He wanted her to stay at least a little while, maybe even longer. He liked Ashley Moore, the ER nurse. He wasn’t sure he wanted her to turn back into Ashley, the Eldara Sister, and suddenly fly away to another assignment.
Their conversation turned to the mundane. Dean learned that Ashley lived in a downtown apartment above a storefront, not far from his ambulance call at Sabatani’s earlier that morning. He told her of his apartment above a garage, and the elderly couple who were his landlords, and how he helped with chores around their house. They continued to chat easily about everyday things all the way back to the Station U parking lot where Dean pulled up next to her red sports car. It was an old red MG convertible, but it looked in pristine condition. She said a quick goodbye and leaned over to deliver a brief kiss that left him breathless. She smiled
at him, and giggled again, before she hopped out of his pickup.
He waited until she had gotten in her car and started it up before he pulled away, heading home to get some sleep. As first dates went, he thought it was about perfect. He was already looking forward to the next time they could meet up. She had given him her cell number and told him to call her when he knew his schedule next week. He continued thinking about her laugh and the way her green eyes sparkled as they looked into his. Even though the night had started out with that horrible burn victim, the day had brought him something to look forward to. Such was the lot of a paramedic, he thought as he drove home.
CHAPTER FIVE
The next few days went by quickly with what passed for routine calls in Station U. There were some odd cuts and lacerations, a few chest pain and shortness of breath cases in the elderly residents of the Unusual community, and more of what passed for the usual Unusual ambulance call. Dean was distracted through it all by daily texts he had started getting from the ex-paramedic, Zach, who wanted to meet up with him again. Dean didn’t respond. He wasn’t sure what he could say or do that would get him untangled from being involved with the fanatic. Zach wanted to expose the Unusuals living among the human community and brand them as evil monsters. He knew that Brynne had seen Zach at the scene of the burned Wiccan victim, too, and she had reported it to the assistant chief on the scene who oversaw Station U. Would she think less of him if she knew he had been in contact with the guy?
On top of all that distraction, he found himself thinking about Ashley all the time. What would she think of him if she found out he had some ties to this underground human movement against Unusuals? They were a hate group. He didn’t hate anyone, but he might be found guilty by association. He liked the ER nurse. He liked her a lot. The challenge was that he didn’t know who to turn to for advice in this situation. He supposed he could go to Mike Farver, his academy instructor and former Station U paramedic, but would Mike be disappointed in him, too? He could not talk to his critical incident stress counselor Rebecca about this either. She was a Muse, an Unusual herself, and would probably kick him out of her office for not reporting his meeting with Zach immediately.
At the end of the second stint on day shift, he returned home, still not sure what to do. He parked his pickup on the curb in front of the two-story residence with the detached garage. The second-floor apartment over that garage was his home. He walked around to the stairs up to his apartment door and turned the key to let himself in, but the door popped open. He must not have shut it all the way when he left that morning. He tossed his keys on the counter in the kitchenette and was kicking off his shoes when a familiar voice spoke up from across the room.
“Hi, Dean. You’ve been avoiding me,” Zach said from his seat on the couch on the other side of the room.
Dean spun around, startled. He spotted the former paramedic lounging on the sofa as if it were his own apartment. “How did you get in here? I didn’t tell you to meet me here. What if someone saw you?”
“Relax, Dean,” Zach said rising. “No one saw me, and you didn’t tell me much of anything. You haven’t responded to any of my texts. I was going to wait outside, but you must have forgotten to lock your door. Since it was unlocked, I decided that you’d prefer me to wait inside, out of sight, rather than waiting around outside where people could see me.”
“That’s beside the point,” Dean said. “I don’t have anything to say to you. I don’t want anything to do with you, or the people you’re associated with. I have seen what you do.”
“How was I supposed to know that, Dean?” Zach asked. “You haven’t responded to my text messages. I told you the other night that I wanted to talk with you and explain why I was there. I know you saw me in the crowd when that witch was burned. You should at least give me that much respect.”
“That girl was an innocent person who didn’t deserve what happened to her, Zach,” Dean said. “I notice that you don’t deny being associated with those who attacked her. Did you dump the lighter fluid on her yourself? Did you flick the match?” Dean paced the floor in his small kitchenette. “I can’t believe you dragged me into this mess.”
“That witch-girl was no innocent, Dean,” Zach said coldly. “She was using her magic to manipulate people for her own gain. She was hurting humans and no one was doing anything.”
“So you admit to attacking her?” Dean stood there aghast. “How could you do that? You're a paramedic, a healer! At least, you used to be.”
“I heal HUMANS, Dean,” Zach said firmly. “I never signed up to take care of monsters living among us. Monsters like that witch who was charming people to drain their bank accounts and set herself up in luxury. I have proof of what she was doing, but no one in authority would have believed a word of it. What was I supposed to say?” Zach assumed a pose, raising his right hand and said, “Your honor, I know she cast a spell on people to get them to empty their bank accounts and give their money to her.”
“You know there are authorities who could deal with things like that, Zach,” Dean retorted. “You must have worked at Station U long enough to learn that much.”
“Sure,” He sneered. “And you should know by now that it’s all about sweeping the problems under the rug to keep people ignorant of the dangers walking the sidewalks downtown beside them.”
“Well, you weren’t as sneaky as you thought you were, Zach,” Dean said. “Brynne saw you there and reported it to Chief Ari.” He held up his hands in a pose of innocence. “I didn’t tell her, Zach, but you’d better be on your guard because they have to be looking for you in association with this case. I should turn you in myself. I don’t know why I don’t call the police right now?”
“You won’t call on me, Dean,” Zach said coldly. “I documented our little meeting in my journal. I am writing all about this crusade we are on. I wrote about how you were interested in helping me, helping the Cause. They’ll find it if I get arrested. At the very least, it will implicate you as an associate of mine. You’ll be lucky if you only lose your job and your paramedic license.” He pointed a finger at Dean as he continued. “You’ll keep my secret, just like you’ll keep this conversation to yourself, because deep down you know I’m right. We can’t keep living in secret alongside the monsters of our nightmares. People need to know, or, better yet, we need to get the monsters to leave and go somewhere else.”
Zach picked up his jacket from the couch and put it on. He crossed the small living room to the kitchen where Dean stood, rooted to the floor. Dean could smell his foul breath, he was so close. “You’ll stay quiet, and you’ll answer me the next time I text, or I’ll leak your involvement in the attack on the witch. You’ve chosen your side in this battle, Dean. I’m not letting you back out now.”
Dean stood still, staring straight ahead as the other man left the apartment. He heard the door shut behind him and the footsteps heading down the stairs. He stood alone in his apartment for a long time in the gathering darkness as night fell. He didn’t know how he was going to unravel himself from this. He didn’t know who to turn to or where to seek help. Dean was lost in these thoughts when his phone buzzed on the counter next to the keys. He saw Ashley’s contact info pop up on the screen. He stood there watching the phone buzz until it went to voicemail, as tears welled up in his eyes. He was going to lose everything.
———
It was hours later, as Dean sat on the sofa staring into the darkness of his unlit apartment, that he was startled by a light tap on his apartment door. He looked over at the door but didn’t rise to answer it. The tapping came again, followed by a voice.
“Dean, in know you’re in there,” Ashley said. “I can sense you inside.”
Dean had let several calls from her go to voicemail over the last few hours. He guessed she had decided to come find him. Did Brynne give her his address? Hell, he didn’t care.
The doorknob turned, and Dean realized he hadn’t locked the door after Zach left. The door pushed inward,
and a figure entered the darkened room, silhouetted against the doorway by the moonlight. Did he see the shadowy outline of wings around her? She shut the door behind her as she stepped into the apartment.
“There you are,” She said, crossing to where he sat, sitting next to him and resting a warm hand on his knee.
Dean looked away, not wanting her to see he had been crying. Her Unusual eyesight in the darkness was likely as good as his in broad daylight. What was she doing here, anyway?
“I could tell you were in some kind of trouble. I sensed something was wrong. When you didn’t answer my calls, I decided to come find you,” Ashley said, as if in reply to his unasked question. “By the way, if you’re trying to hide, you’re doing a bad job of it. Your apartment was the first place I checked.”
“Ashley,” Dean said, “I don’t know if it’s a good idea that you’re here. I’m not necessarily the right guy for you, at least not right now.”
“I’m a big girl, Dean,” She replied. “I don’t enter relationships lightly, and I don’t pick the wrong people. What’s going on?”