Dead and Gone

by Tina Glasneck

  Brett looked at me. “You’ve agreed to go to Bismarck?”

  “Yes, but that’s all I’ve decided.”

  “Let’s go,” Lance said as he stood. He pushed my wheelchair out into the hallway.

  When we reached the elevator, a man dressed in blue hospital scrubs got off. “Dr. Alston, I’ve been looking for you,” the man said. “Saul Fazio has come out of the coma. We’ve been paging you.”

  Brett and Lindsey gave each other a puzzled look.

  Lance looked straight at the man in blue. “I’ll be right there after I return Miss Jones to her room,” he replied, pushing me into the elevator. Brett and Lindsey followed along with the man.

  On the sixth floor as Lance was pushing me toward my room, he stopped and turned toward the man. “Tell the staff attending to Mr. Fazio that I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. If he’s hungry, order him a liquid dinner. I don’t want him to eat anything solid.” The man nodded, and Lance didn’t move until the man stepped back into the elevator.

  “What floor is Saul on?” I asked.

  “The fifth,” Lance replied, continuing down the hallway.

  As soon as we were in my room, Mabel rushed in. “Dr. Alston, a medical technician has been looking for you. They need you in room 512.”

  “The technician found me,” Lance replied. “Before I leave, I want to check Miss Jones’ hands.”

  “Would you like me to do that?” Mabel asked, helping me get back in bed.

  “No. I’ll handle it.”

  After Nurse Mabel left, I said, “I didn’t know Saul was still alive.”

  “He’s been in a coma,” Lance said.

  “Sara,” Lindsey said. “We can’t feed on him if he’s been dead for more than an hour unless we’ve preserved him; like we did the men in the parking garage.”

  “The ambulances that picked you up and Saul on Thursday got there before Saul could be taken care of,” Brett clarified. “He’s technically already dead. Lance has been keeping his body alive since we weren’t able to preserve him. It isn’t possible for him to regain consciousness.” His eyes moved to Lance. “What do you think this is all about?”

  “Maybe they’re trying to make sure I can’t be reached while they attempt to get Sara out of here.”

  “Do you want one of us to go with you to see Saul?” Brett asked.

  “You stay with Sara,” Lance instructed. “Lindsey, take the stairs to the fifth floor and remain in the stairwell. I’ll join you after I check on Saul. If I’m not there in fifteen minutes, then head to room 512.”

  She nodded in agreement. “Okay.”

  “We’ll be back as soon as I figure out what this is all about,” Lance said, as he left with Lindsey.

  Brett leaned over the top of the bed and took something off it. It was a small object about the size of the tip of my little finger. I couldn’t make out what it was. “I want you to wear this,” he said, putting it under my sock.

  “What is it?”

  “A bug. A listening device. I want to hear everything that’s said to you.”

  “How long has my room been bugged?” I asked, irritated.

  “I only put it there after you left with your nurse. I planned on sitting by the elevator so I wanted to make sure no one came in here from another direction. People getting on and off the elevator block my vision to your room.”

  I felt relieved that he hadn’t heard my conversation with Conner.

  “I don’t think we’ll flush them out in the open while I’m here,” Brett said. “I’m going to go and sit in the waiting area. If someone should come to get you with some kind of excuse, go with them. It’s better if we can take care of Cameron and his people outside, we don’t want any spectators. To use the bug effectively, all you need to do is talk about where they’re taking you. I’ll be close by.” He bent down, kissed me, and then left the room.

  Mabel came in with a food tray. “Your dinner came up a little early,” she said, putting it down in front of me.

  Wondering why my dinner would come up earlier than anyone else’s, I didn’t dare eat it. “I don’t feel hungry right now. Could I get something later?”

  “I’m sure Dr. Alston would like you to eat it now. It says it’s a special order.”

  “He had mentioned he just wanted me to have a liquid diet today, so he could run some more tests. Can you call him and make sure I should be eating this?”

  “I will. We don’t want you to eat anything he didn’t order.”

  Five minutes later, Mabel returned with a slender woman wearing a nurse’s uniform. “You were right,” she said. “I wasn’t able to reach Dr. Alston. He sent Ann to get you for additional tests.”

  Ann was attractive, five-foot-seven with shoulder-length blonde hair. Believing she was one of Cameron’s people, I moved to the edge of the bed. Mabel held my arm as I slid down into the wheelchair.

  “I’m glad I don’t need to go on a gurney. I like the wheelchair better,” I said, knowing Brett was listening.

  Ann wheeled me down the hall. There were five people, dressed in street clothes, on the elevator when she rolled me in and pushed ‘B’, the button to the basement floor.

  “I didn’t know there were labs in the basement.”

  “It’s temporary since two are in the process of being remodeled,” she replied.

  The elevator stopped on the second floor. Two men wearing scrubs stepped in. I noticed Ann gave them a half smile. Everyone got off on the main floor except for the two men and us. They rode down to the basement and walked out of the elevator behind Ann.

  The basement looked like the rest of the hospital. I had expected it to look more like a basement with gray cement walls. It appeared deserted; I didn’t see or hear anyone in front of me as Ann wheeled me along, followed by the two men.

  “Is it always this quiet down here?” I asked.

  “No. It’s only like this on Sundays since most of the offices are closed.” She turned and went down another corridor. On the wall was a sign stating “Morgue” and an arrow pointing in the direction we were going. I wondered if that was where Cameron planned on meeting us.

  She stopped next to a large double-door with “Morgue” written on it.

  “Am I going to have a lab test in the morgue?” I asked.

  She didn’t respond. One of the men opened the door. She wheeled me in. In the far corner of the room, I saw Lindsey, tied up with tape over her mouth. Next to her was Darlene in a nurse’s uniform.

  “Lindsey, are you okay?” I asked even if she couldn’t answer me. I wanted Brett to know she was here. Lindsey blinked. I knew they wouldn’t have been able to capture her unless she didn’t put up any resistance. She probably wanted to be captured so she’d be taken to Cameron.

  “And how are you, Darlene?” I asked, wanting Brett to know she was also here.

  “How do you know my name?” she hissed.

  “One of the guys mentioned it yesterday when they dropped me off at the x-ray lab.”

  She squinted. “They dropped you off?”

  I nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Did they wait for you?”

  “No.”

  Ann wheeled me to the center of the room. She took a small object out of her pocket and held it to her mouth. “We’ve got her.”

  “Is that a walkie-talkie?” I asked.

  Her face hardened as she glared at me.

  A man’s voice came over the walkie-talkie, “We’ll be right there.” It didn’t sound like Cameron.

  I was certain that Brett was close by, waiting for Cameron to show up. Four of the people Cameron had entered the hospital with were in this room. Only the one wearing a white lab coat was missing. I smiled to myself as I thought Cameron had no idea what laid ahead for all of them.

  The door swung open. Cameron marched in, and his eyes darted between Lindsey and me. A second later, a man dressed like a doctor stepped into the room. A guy in hospital scrubs locked the door behind them.

  “How
are you doing, Sara?” Cameron asked, sarcastically.

  “I was doing better before I was brought down here,” I replied, feeling my body tense.

  “I bet you were.” He glanced at the man in the white lab coat. “This is Gerard. He’s going to help me find out where you put the missing documents. I’m not concerned about the authorities. I just don’t want them to fall into the hands of anyone else.”

  Gerard gave me a sinister smile as he unlatched a metal box that stood next to the door. He raised the lid, pulled out a small folding table, and positioned it next to me as the legs dropped to the floor.

  “Is Gerard a doctor?” I asked.

  “He’s the type of doctor I need right now,” Cameron replied with a stern face.

  Gerard took a folded towel out of the box and placed it on the table. Spreading out the towel, he exposed two syringes along with several small bottles.

  “What do you think Conner will say about this?” I asked.

  “Conner won’t know.” Cameron’s eyes fixed on me as he walked closer. He leaned down and held onto my locket. “Did Conner give you this?”

  I didn’t respond.

  “Does it have a picture of Conner in it?”

  As my mouth tightened, I stared at him.

  He yanked the locket off my neck and opened it. “This is great,” he snickered. “You and Dr. Alston. And a baby. This I’ll have to show to Conner. No wonder the Doc just happened to be in Houston when you had your accident. And you’re going with him to Bismarck. How interesting. You must have had the baby before you moved to Houston. Conner always thought you were sensitive and gentle, but you abandoned a baby? Is the baby in Bismarck?”

  I remained silent.

  “Drew, go and get the Doc. Tell him we have his girlfriend.”

  One of the men dressed in blue scrubs left.

  “I had planned on you being in a car crash on the way to the airport. Now I just need to tell Conner that you ran off with the Doc,” he said, slipping the locket in his pocket.

  “Is that what happened to Paula—you staged a car crash?”

  “I didn’t believe her when she said she knew nothing about your disappearance. I don’t tolerate anyone lying to me.”

  “Do you want me to get started now?” Gerard asked.

  “No. Let’s wait for the Doc. We’ll try another form of persuasion first.” He strolled over to Lindsey. “It’s too bad you befriended Sara. Her close friends don’t survive. Is Brett still in the hospital?” Cameron yanked the tape off her mouth.

  She moistened her lips with her tongue. “I don’t know.”

  “Yes, you do,” Cameron growled and then slapped her.

  Lindsey’s eyes darkened with rage as she glared at him.

  “Are you going to tell me or should I have Gerard start with you?”

  “He’s somewhere in the hospital. I don’t know where.”

  “Good. I like cooperation,” Cameron said.

  Under Lindsey’s seat, I saw a piece of rope drop to the floor. My eyes flashed over Cameron’s people for signs that one of them noticed. From the expressions on their faces, I gathered they didn’t. Lindsey’s hands were still behind her back. I was sure they were no longer bound.

  The door opened. Drew pushed Lance in, pointing a pistol at his back.

  Lance stumbled to regain his balance. Then he looked at Lindsey and me. “Are you both okay?” he asked as Drew locked the door behind them.

  Lindsey and I nodded.

  “Dr. Alston,” Cameron said. “You don’t need to play coy with us.” He took the locket out of his pocket. “I know about you and Sara. Is the baby in North Dakota?”

  “No. The baby is in Houston,” Lance replied. “Why do you ask?”

  “Since you and Sara are going to be running off together, I can’t imagine you’d leave your child behind.”

  Unless Conner looked closely at the pictures in the locket, Cameron might’ve been able to convince him it was true. I knew he wouldn’t get that chance.

  Cameron nodded to Drew. Drew raised his gun to Lance’s head. Cameron turned and faced me. “Now, will you tell me what you did with the documents, or do you want to see how far your boyfriend’s brains can be splashed across the room?”

  “I’ll tell you,” I said as I started to take off my gloves. “First I need to get these gloves off. They’re pinching my fingers.”

  Cameron moved closer. “Is this another stall?”

  “No.”

  He stretched out his hand and yanked off one of the gloves.

  “The place where the documents are hidden is…,” I began. Then the ceiling exploded with the sounds of crashing and banging of metal. Everyone in the room looked up just as the heating vent cracked open.

  Darlene, standing next to Lindsey, swung her gun toward the vent. Lindsey grabbed Darlene’s wrist as a bullet discharged, striking the wall next to the sink. Lindsey scratched the woman’s forearm. Blood oozed from the slashes. Darlene attempted to raise her pistol again, but Lindsey moved too quick and knocked it out of her hand. The weapon landed on the tile floor with a clank.

  Drew pointed his gun at Lindsey and aimed the barrel with intent. Lance reached out and wrapped his hand around the weapon before Drew could fire. Taking advantage of the surprised look on Drew’s face, Lance snatched the gun out of his hand and threw it against the wall as Drew turned to attack. Lance deftly stepped to the side and flipped Drew onto his back. In the same movement, Lance ran his hand down Drew’s arm below his sleeve. Blood flowed from the deep lacerations left behind.

  Brett jumped down from the heating vent as gunfire erupted.

  I pulled off my other glove, gripped Cameron’s arm, and scratched his neck. Cameron hit me on the side of my head, striking my ear. Staggering to my feet, I continued digging into his flesh. He slugged my shoulder, but he couldn’t stop me as I ripped off his shirt. With my sharp needles, I tore into his chest. He tried to grab my hands as we struggled.

  A loud thump echoed through the room as I fought with Cameron. Suddenly, he collapsed with wide open eyes. The shooting ended. The morgue became quiet. I glanced around and saw Cameron’s people spread out on the floor, completely still.

  Staring at Cameron, my mind became consumed with the innocent people he had killed or injured. Without any remorse, he destroyed the lives of the girls he sold. He had killed Paula just because she was my friend. Rage boiled inside me as I thought about her. I sprang on him, tore slivers of skin from his chest and ate a piece.

  Lance pulled me off Cameron. He dropped several spiders on him. “You have to wait,” he said.

  I squirmed, trying to free myself from Lance’s hold. My body trembled. Anger and revenge surged through me as all I could think about was Cameron, the despicable man who lacked humanity. I needed to stop him and make sure there was no way he could hurt anyone else. As I continued twisting and wiggling, I managed to get away from Lance. I leapt on Cameron and dug my teeth into his forearm, but I was only able to slightly pierce his skin. I bent down and sucked up the blood.

  “Sara, you have to wait,” Lance snapped, pulling me off Cameron again with Brett’s help. My body shook as I wriggled and kicked.

  “Why do I have to wait?” I yelled.

  “Cameron has to stay alive while the spider’s venom circulates through his body.” Lance gently stroked my face as Brett held onto me. “Relax. You can eat as much of him as you want in a few minutes.”

  My heartbeat slowed down. My body no longer shook. “Why did you allow yourself to be captured?” I asked Lance.

  “I wanted to know where they had taken you. I was more than happy to be a captive. When he told me they had my girlfriend, I wasn’t sure if he was talking about you or Lindsey.” Lance knelt down, pulled the locket out of Cameron’s pocket, and checked it over. “I’ll get the chain fixed. Now you know how much you look like your mother,” he said, sounding pleased. “Cameron thought it was you.” Lance slipped the locket into his pocket.

 
“You told him the truth.” My lips curved into a big smile. “The baby is in Houston.”

  Lance wiped Cameron’s arm, and then he sucked out some fresh blood. “You can drink and eat as much as you want now,” he said, rising to his feet.

  “Use this,” Brett said, handing me a pocket knife.

  Lying down on Cameron, I made a deep slash in his arm with the knife. I sucked out his blood. Next I cut off a large chunk of meat. While I chewed, I looked up and watched Lance, Brett, and Lindsey wrapping the others. Then I noticed blood on my hands, arms, and all over my gown. What have I done? A wave of horror shot through me and tears streamed down my cheeks. Gasping for air, I dropped the knife on the floor and glared at Cameron’s slaughtered body as water continued flowing from my eyes.

  “What’s wrong?” Lance said, hurrying toward me.

  “Look … look … what I’ve done,” I sniffled. “I killed Conner’s brother.”

  “Shhh. It’s okay,” he said, moving me to the wheelchair.

  “What am I going to tell Conner?”

  “Nothing. Cameron planned on killing you. You did this in self-defense.” He brushed my blood soaked hair away from my face. “Conner doesn’t need to know Cameron tried to kill you and how it ended.”

  I buried my face in my hands and sobbed.

  Lance stroked my hair. “Sara, if things were reversed, you’d be lying there. He would’ve left without feeling an ounce of guilt.”

  I lowered my hands and sat up straight. “Cameron was an evil person. I’m glad he’s dead. I just know Conner will still miss him.”

  Lindsey handed me a towel.

  Wiping my face, I saw Lance, Brett, and Lindsey, all wearing rubber aprons, looking at me. It appeared they were waiting for my permission to finish off Cameron. “Go ahead.”

  They bent down next to him. I couldn’t watch the horrid scene of Cameron being devoured a few feet from me so my eyes darted to the sink attached to the wall in front of me. When I heard bones cracking and the distinctive sound of chewing, I cringed, pressed my lips tightly together, and covered my ears with my fingers.