by C. E. Snyder
He put his hand on Hana’s forehead then shifted it to her wrist and looked at his watch. “Mrs. Walsch.” Carrie’s head snapped up at the sound of her name. “She’s doing quite well, but I do think she’s going to have a long recovery time.”
“Anything she needs, Doctor,” Carrie said, looking back down at Hana.
“Good.” Then he nodded and left the room.
Carrie would make sure that she got what she needed, she loved her in-laws. Carrie looked up at the heart monitor; it never seemed to go off beat. Hana was a strong woman. She was a fighter. She would come back to them, Carrie was certain.
A while went by, and Carrie had her head resting on the bed. Looking up at Hana, Carrie held her hand. Then she felt a hand on her back, causing her to jump up. She stood up and swung around to see the person in the room with her. It was Nancy, Isaac’s friend from when he was growing up. She was a writer too, and Carrie was in love with her novels. “I’m sorry, dear,” Nancy said. Nancy was older than both Carrie and Isaac. She was old enough to be their mother, and she was Hana’s friend too.
“Oh, Nancy, it’s okay. You just startled me, that’s all,” Carrie said, with her free hand on her heart and the other still holding Hana’s. Carrie then settled back down in the chair that she was in.
“How’s she doing?” Nancy asked. She walked to the other side of the bed to hold Hana’s other hand.
“She’s doing okay. She can’t talk, but she makes a lot of noises. I think she understands what you tell her. She’s very strong,” Carrie explained.
“She looks better than I pictured,” Nancy said and then sighed. “I can’t believe this happened to her. She is immortal.”
“I thought so too,” Carrie said, grinning at her.
“Well, I was on my way to the airport, and I wanted to see how she was doing,” she said. “How’s Isaac? Is he okay?”
“He’s taking it all right, I guess. I thought he would be withdrawn, but he’s not,” Carrie said.
“How are the girls?” Nancy asked.
“They are good, Isaac is picking them up from the airport as we speak,” she said, soothing Hana’s cheek with your fingertips. “She asked for them.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. She just loves those girls,” Nancy said with a smile, her head tilted down, looking at Hana. “Well, I’ve got to get going. I hope all is well with you too.”
“Yes, it is. I’m having difficulties coming up with a good story, though,” Carrie said, looking up at Nancy.
“Well, just be patient. The story will come through. It always does,” Nancy said as she walked over to where Carrie was sitting. Carrie stood up to hug her.
“Thank you for coming. It means a great deal to everyone. Have a good trip,” Carrie said while Nancy headed for the door.
“Thank you!” Nancy blew a kiss and disappeared. Carrie resumed her spot next to the bed in the chair.
She saw the shadow on the wall first. The sight sent fear running down her body. She didn’t move. She couldn’t. She felt paralyzed. But the shadow got larger. She heard the door close; she didn’t hear any footsteps. She forced herself to get up, and then she turned to face the stranger. She did her best to stand between the man and Hana’s bed. The man was repulsive. He had a long, jagged scar that sliced his face from the left side of his forehead across his nose to his chin on the right side. As he got closer to her, she could smell his awful scent. It made her want to vomit. He wasn’t looking at her; he was looking at Hana.
“Who are you? What do you want?” Carrie managed to get out. When he heard her words, his dark eyes shifted to her face. Carrie had her arms spread out on either side of her to try to hide her mother-in-law, who was asleep on the bed. He stepped right in front of her, close enough that he was breathing in her face. Carrie had no choice but to look up at him, at his ugly face. He was so close; she could feel his chest moving with each breath he took. He had long, oily hair that brushed against her cheek. He didn’t say a word to her; he simply stood there, staring at her. Then he lifted his arms and pushed her arms down. She tried to keep them up as well as she could, but he was far too strong to even notice her resistance.
With her arms pinned to her sides, he lifted her and put her down at his side so he could get a better look at Hana.
“No,” Carrie said in protest, then squeezed herself between him and the bed again. He didn’t say anything, but he bared his teeth at her. Then he pushed her. She went flying backward and landed on her back. The room swirled for a second, and then she got up to her feet. She ran over to the man and tried to push him back, away from the bed. He used the back of his hand and hit her across her face, sending her head swinging back and to the side. She saw droplets of blood spray from her mouth, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her. She went for the call button, but he took it out of her hand, ripped it out of the wall, and threw it across the room. Then she hit him in the back with all the strength that she had.
He retaliated by grabbing her shirt. He punched and slapped her many times. She was swinging her arms around, trying to fight off the attack. When she couldn’t get him to stop hitting her, she gripped him by the arms and dug her nails deep in his skin. He didn’t like that. He let out a sound of disgust then picked her up and threw her up against the wall. Her strength was failing. Her face was swollen, and she had tears running down her face. She could smell blood.
With what vision she had, she could see that he was bent over Hana like he was going to pick her up. He caught sight of Carrie prying herself off the floor. He dropped Hana back down on the bed and went over to pull Carrie up by the hair, bringing her head up so he could look at her. Then he put his other hand around her throat and dragged her over to the side of the bed and next to the wall. He picked her up and threw her once more against the wall. Her legs hit the table, sending it flying with all the contents falling to the floor.
When Carrie didn’t make another move, he kicked her twice in the side. A horrible cracking sound echoed through the room. He kicked again to make sure she was out. He was sure he had killed her. He went over to pick Hana up off the bed and glided out the door, leaving Carrie to die in a pool of her own blood.
Chapter 4
Isaac returned to the hospital moments later. He was joking and teasing his stepdaughters as they got on the elevator. He was getting excited, as always, to see Carrie. As they got off the elevator to the floor where his mother’s room was, he suddenly got an eerie feeling but quickly shrugged it off. “Now, remember to be calm. She can’t talk, but she will recognize you,” he said just before they reached the door. “Oh, there’s Lee Lee,” he said when he saw his sister get off the elevator. Lee Lee had stayed at her parents’ house to make sure Sam and her father were okay. She had driven herself back. She had just gotten there moments before the girls and Isaac arrived.
“Lee Lee,” the girls said at the same time as they ran to greet their step aunt.
“Girls,” Lee Lee said with her arms open to embrace them.
“Are you ready to go in?” Isaac asked as he stepped closer to the door.
Isaac pushed open the slightly opened door and went in, the girls right behind him. He saw that the bed was empty, and he realized that Carrie was nowhere to be found. He noticed the water pitcher was sitting on the floor, overturned. He walked over to pick up the pitcher then he noticed the blood on the floor and saw Carrie lying on her back, covered in blood and bruised. Isaac’s heart sank when he saw her lying there. He ran over and gathered her into his arms. He didn’t care that he was going to be covered in her blood. “Get the girls out and get a nurse!” he yelled at Lee Lee.
She quickly pushed the girls out of the room and ran down the hall to get help. Isaac sat, crying and holding her to his chest; her body was limp. He pushed the hair from her face and saw the many marks and cuts on her face. “Carrie, please come back to me. I need you.” He slid his blood stained fingers down her neck to see if she had a pulse. It was there but very faint. He hug
ged her close as he cried and pleaded with God not to take her from him. He looked around the room at the mess; there was blood everywhere. The table was overturned, and the contents that were on it were scattered. The call button was ripped from the wall and thrown to the other side of the room. He bent back down to look at the face of the woman he loved. He kissed her and said, “I love you.” He almost expected to hear her say it back, but when he didn’t hear anything, he gathered her close and started to cry again.
The doctors and nurses all ran into the room and pulled Carrie out of Isaac’s arms. He didn’t want to let go, but one of the nurses said, “Sir, we’ll have to take her now. We will do our best to bring her back.” He bent back down, kissed her, and then let them take her. He backed away, sitting in the pool of Carrie’s blood.
He put his head in his hands and just sat there, listening to them work on her. He heard the heart monitor start with one long beep, and then there was silence. He heard someone say, “Start CPR.” Then he heard someone counting, “One, two, three breathe.” He lifted his head to watch. Then someone said, “Clear,” and he saw his wife’s body jerk as they shocked her with electricity. They turned to look at the monitor again. When nothing happened, they did CPR again. Then someone said, “Clear,” one more time. He saw her jerk again, and then the heart monitor start to beep and everyone in the room sighed. Someone said, “We got her.” Isaac cried with hope as his wife’s heart started to beat again.
They picked her up and put her on a stretcher. A nurse went up to Isaac. “Sir, please come with me, and I’ll get you something to change into.” Isaac couldn’t get himself to move. He just sat there for a second and nodded his head. The nurse gave him some scrubs to change into and led him to the waiting room. She sat down beside him so she could ask him some questions. “What is your wife’s name?” she asked.
“Carrie Ann Walsch,” he replied, staring off into space. The nurse wrote that down.
“Is she allergic to any medicines that you know off?” she asked.
“No,” he said.
“Do you know what her blood type is?” she asked while she checked the no box for allergies.
“I think it is A negative, but I’m not sure,” he said, looking down at his hands.
“That’s okay. We can check,” she said. “I’m sorry to have to ask, but does she have a living will?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head.
“Okay, I’ll go see how she is doing, and I’ll keep you updated,” she said. She got up and walked away.
At that moment, he realized that Lee Lee and the girls were looking at him with concern. Lee Lee got up and went to sit next her brother. “What happened? I didn’t see anything. Where is Mom?”
“Someone tried to kill Carrie, and I don’t know where Mom is,” he said then turned to look at his sister’s face. “Go ask that nurse if she knows anything.” She nodded and went to the nurses’ station. She heard some commotion and heard a call for the security guards.
The nurse ran back over to Isaac. “I’m sorry. With all the commotion with your wife we didn’t notice that your mother was missing,” she said, standing in front of him.
“Find her,” he said then stood up. “Can I see my wife now?”
“Yes, of course.” She turned to lead Isaac to the room where they had put Carrie. “She is stable at the moment, and by the shape of the room, she fought hard to keep your mother safe, but I’m sorry, none of the nurses heard anything. The police will be here soon to question everyone,” she said as they reached the room. He didn’t say anything; he just followed her through the door. He was worried about his mother, but all he could think of was the sight of his wife lying on the floor in blood. That sight would never leave his mind. He went to her side and picked up her hand. The nurse pushed a chair over so he could sit down, and he did.
She was hooked up to so many machines but not a breathing machine. “She is breathing on her own?” he suddenly asked.
“Yes, she is. That is a good sign,” she said, feeling for Carrie’s pulse. “She has a concussion, but she should survive. I can’t believe that no one heard anything. It doesn’t make any sense. It looks like she was thrown around,” the nurse said, then went to the door. “If you need anything, Mr. Walsch, just use the call button.” He nodded, and she went out the door.
Holding on to Carrie’s hand, he lifted it up and rested his forehead on her hand and he cried. His heart was broken. Why hadn’t he insisted that she come with him? Why had he given in so easily?
Chapter 5
She woke up with a terrible ringing in her ears. Then it faded to a light, dull buzzing sound. It changed again, and it was clear. She could hear someone talking. He appeared to be talking to himself. Carrie didn’t move; she just lay there, listening to the voice that she didn’t know but that was somewhat familiar.
“She is still sleeping… Yeah, I know. She’s been through a lot today… No they don’t know who took my mother… I asked them, but they wanted to stay… Yes, I did… I promise, I will call if anything changes,” she heard the voice say. Then she decided that she would open her eyes and see who was talking. When she first opened her eye, the light was blinding and it burnt her eyes. She closed them tight and brought her hand up to her face to rub at her eyes.
Isaac saw her move then. “Oh wait, Mom, she just woke up. I’ll call you back.” He hung up the phone and went for his wife’s hand. “Carrie, I knew you would come back to me.” He said as he grabbed her hand from her face then wiped at the tears that were streaming down her face. She looked at him. She didn’t know who he was, but he was holding her hand and crying with relief that she was awake. “I love you,” he whispered in her ear as he bent down to kiss her on the forehead. She flinched when he touched her and pulled her hand away, looking up at him with confusion. This man was a stranger to her. Why would he kiss her?
The nurse walked in at that moment and walked over to Carrie, who was now looking at the man with a strange look on her face. The nurse noticed. “Hello. Do you know your name?” Carrie shifted her gaze from Isaac to the nurse. She tried to speak, but nothing came out, so she just shook her head, she couldn’t remember what it was. In fact, she couldn’t remember anything. The nurse looked at Isaac at the same time Isaac looked at her for reassurance. “I’ll call the doctor.” She left the room.
“Oh God, you don’t know who I am, do you?” Isaac asked. She tried to speak again as she looked at this man in horror. She made a husky sound; she coughed to clear her throat.
“No,” she managed to get out. Her voice wasn’t all there yet, but she was beginning to talk slowly. Isaac bent down to kiss her hand. Leaning his forehead on it, he started to sob. He had his wife, she was alive, but she didn’t know who he was, and that was heartbreaking. Carrie didn’t say a word; she just sat there watching this man cry on her hand. She could feel hot tears running down her arm. Then the doctor ran in, she pulled her hand away.
She looked up at the doctor as he walked around the bed to examine her. Isaac stopped crying, wiped off his face with the back of his hand, and said, “She doesn’t know who I am, Doctor.” The doctor turned his head to look at Isaac, a disappointed look on his face, then turned back to ask Carrie a question.
“Do you know your name?” he asked.
“No,” Carrie said, shaking her head and looking around the room in puzzlement.
“Do you know where you are?” he asked.
“No, but it looks like a hospital,” she responded.
“Yes, it is. Your name is Carrie Walsch, and you are at Sierra View District Hospital in Porterville, California. Do you know how you got here?” he asked again.
“No, I don’t know,” she said. She looked up to ask a question of her own. “You said my name is Carrie. This man,” she said, turning to point at Isaac, “called me Carrie when I woke up.”
“Yes, you are Carrie,” he said, nodding in agreement. “Do you know who this man is?” the doctor asked.
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�No, but he told me that he loved me.” She turned toward Isaac. “How can you love me if you don’t know me?” she asked.
“Well, Carrie, he is your husband,” the doctor answered for Isaac. “Mr. Walsch, can I speak to you for a moment?” the doctor asked, gesturing with his eyebrows to the hall. Isaac nodded and got out of the chair to follow the doctor out of the room.
“Mr. Walsch, I’m afraid she has amnesia.” The doctor sighed. “I’m not sure what kind it is, and I’m not sure how long it will last. Just stay with her and try to help her remember,” the doctor explained.
“What should I do?” he asked, looking in the room to check on Carrie, who was trying to sit up. “I don’t want to get her upset or anything.”
“Well, at this point, just talk to her,” the doctor said when Isaac looked back in the room again. The nurse had helped Carrie to a sitting position in the bed. The nurse was tucking blankets around her. The doctor grabbed Isaac by the arm. “By the way the room looked when you found her, she was thrown into the wall several times. Just love her and be there for her. She put up a good fight.”
Isaac turned to look at the doctor as he let go of his arm. “I would give my life for her. I would never leave her for not knowing who I am,” he said. The doctor nodded and walked away.
Isaac went into the room to sit down beside the bed in a chair. Carrie just stared at him, so he decided to try to talk to the woman who clearly didn’t know who he was. That hurt like hell. He tried to hold her hand, but she moved away just before he could get it. Instead, he just folded his hands together, leaning his arms on the bed. “My name is Isaac Walsch. I’m your husband.”
“That is what everyone keeps telling me,” she said, getting annoyed. She had asked the nurse and she told her that he was her husband too. She just wasn’t sure. She sighed and turned her head and scratched the back of her hand; it was more out of irritation than it actually itched.