SIX

Talking while disappearing and materializing somewhere else was not possible. The speed with which we swirled through a black tunnel as we clung to each other’s hands was even faster than flying through a hurricane might be. The whole trip home, which couldn’t have been more than seconds, my stomach felt like it was sinking into nothingness. I couldn’t image what could be worse than the hunters or Melinda kidnapping Jose Luis, except maybe…no, I refused to even think it.

Instead of landing in the apartment like I expected, we landed in a very bright and noisy room. Phones rang without break, machines I didn’t recognize beeped, and people dressed in white ran from one place to another. “What are we doing in a hospital?” I asked as soon as my head stopped spinning from the trip. Christian still leaned with a hand against a counter to steady himself.

Aloysius swallowed hard before answering. “Jose Luis is here. He wasn’t feeling too well this morning, complaining of headaches. Fiore made sure he rested all day. He just watched TV and read his comics. After we made him eat some dinner, though he complained about nausea and no appetite, he got up to go to his room for the night. He passed out in the hallway. He’s been out since.”

Christian caught me in his arms as I stumbled backward. He led me to a chair against a long white wall with no end. My head spun and my hands shook. Jose Luis had a broken leg but he was otherwise ok. The tests after the accident confirmed that. Most of his wounds had been superficial and he was given a clean bill of health and released with just the cast. This made no sense.

Aloysius turned to Christian. “The doctors are doing a series of tests on him. We will, hopefully, have answers soon. In the meantime, all we can do is pray and wait.” He sat in the chair next to me and took my hand.

“You believe in God?” was all I could think to say.

“Don’t you?” he asked.

“I guess so. I haven’t given it much thought since I died.”

“God is not only for the living, Lily. I believe we are his creatures too and we really need him right now,” Aloysius explained as he offered his chair to Christian.

The idea that God looked after us, the walking dead, the monsters that preyed on the living, puzzled me, but he was right. We needed to believe now more than ever. My mind snapped back to the present. “Where is he now?”

“Like I said, they are running tests. They have a room ready for him on this floor. I was told to wait here, though it could be hours,” Aloysius told us.

“Where is Fiore?” Christian asked.

“I sent her home to get some things for you. I figured you would want to change your clothes at least. I’m going to go find a pay phone and see what’s keeping her.” He turned and walked down the hall without a backward glance.

“What is going on?” I moaned as I leaned against Christian’s shoulder. Jose Luis was just an innocent boy. He had already experienced so much pain in his few years on this earth. Why did it seem like he was being punished along with us?

“I don’t know.” Christian tightened his grip on my hand. “Maybe it has something to do with his fall.”

Melinda, in her desire to destroy me, had used anybody she could in her madness. She had thrown, or actually willed Jose Luis to jump off the top of a tower. Our efforts to stop his fall had failed because one of the witches had created a tornado that threw him through the air and out of our reach. We all expected him to fully recover. The doctors had assured us he suffered no internal injuries, just some broken bones. “I don’t understand. He seemed fine. His last checkup went well and his cast was due to come off soon, and now this.”

“He was getting headaches before his fall, remember? We thought Maia was causing them. I doubt Maia is here now, not since she’s back with Aaron and Kalia.”

The mention of their names felt like a knife through my heart. “You’re right. We were quick to blame Maia, because of what she did to me, but what if there is something more going on with him?”

“Then we deal with it,” he stood and pulled me out of my seat. “Let’s go get some fresh air. I can’t sit still right now. Unfortunately, all we can do is wait for the test results.”

I agreed and let him lead me down the sterile, white corridors. Nurses walked by and nodded or smiled in greeting as they passed. The smell of chemicals invaded my lungs. The fluorescent lights were blinding, almost maddening. Fresh air would be better than sitting here while the minutes from the clocks all over the hospital ticked in my ears. “I know this is silly but, I kind of wish I had a cup of coffee.”

“Why is that silly?” Christian asked as we neared the elevators. “I know how soothing it is to feel its warmth in your hands.”

“I mean I’d like to drink one. It’s been so long since I tasted it.” I pushed the button to the lobby and the doors closed. Leaning against the wall, I rested my head against it and closed my eyes.

“We could right? Drink one, I mean?” he said as he put his arm around me and kissed the top of my head. He always knew what to do to calm me down.

“We could, I think. After all, what could happen? Let’s go find some.” The thought of actually tasting the coffee, not just smelling its rich aroma, or feeling its warmth on my fingertips, made me smile despite the circumstances we were facing. Christian, seeing my smile, however brief it was, smiled too, and as we got off the elevator, I almost forgot where we were.

“There you are,” Aloysius said as he walked toward us, his dark hair out of its usual rubber band and flowing around his face with each stride. “Any word yet?”

“No, nothing. Did you talk to Fiore?” I asked.

“Yes. She was already in a cab when I reached her. Where are you going?” He asked as we stepped away from the elevator.

“We actually wanted to find some coffee,” I admitted, thinking it sounded way too human.

“Coffee, hmm, now that’s different.” His eyebrows arched as he thought about it. “Is it ok if I join you?”

“Of course. We would love it,” Christian answered.

Aloysius pointed down the hall to the left and we followed without speaking. After walking down the first hall and turning left again, we found a small cafeteria. We chose a table by the window and Aloysius offered to order for us. He came back with three cafés con leche. They were not in Styrofoam cups but in china cups complete with saucers. He picked up the sugar bowl he carried on the tray with the cups and placed it on the table. The sugar was not white, nor was it brown; it was more of a yellowish gold color with large crystals and a bit of a shine. “They call it blond sugar,” he offered as I eyed it.

Dumping two heaping teaspoons of it into my cup, I stirred it and put the spoon on the empty tray. Aloysius and Christian both watched me closely. I smiled and raised the cup to my lips, feeling the steam seeping into my pores. “Umm…So good.”

Christian smiled and picked up his cup, swishing the coffee in his mouth before swallowing. “I guess we really can drink. We can actually enjoy it when we go out and not just pretend.”

“Since our bodies don’t really need it, I never bothered. It was good enough just to hold it and enjoy the heat,” I said as I prepared for another delicious sip.

“Oh, there you are,” a young man with a white coat walked toward us, his black hair neatly trimmed around his ears, his glasses in his right hand, a clipboard in his left.

I set the cup down on the saucer with a shaking hand, making it clank against the china. “Doctor, please have a seat,” I indicated toward the empty chair.

“How is he?” Aloysius asked as he stood. “Would you like a cup?”

“No, thank you. Please, sit,” the doctor said. “He is resting comfortably. We ran some tests, as I said. We are still waiting for the results of his blood work, but I have the results of some of his other tests.” He smiled at us before looking at his clipboard.

“Please tell us the truth. We will do whatever is necessary to take care of the boy,” Aloysius offered. I swallowed hard and clasped Christian’s hand under the table.

“We did an MRI and an EEG. He had an accident recently, correct?” Dr. Vega asked.

“Yes. He was pretty banged up but suffered some broken bones, nothing else. The cast on his leg comes off next week,” Christian answered and squeezed my hand.

“Well, there is some swelling in his brain. It’s only a small area, but,” He flipped the page on his clipboard before continuing. “There is also a tumor. It’s located in the lower part of his brain at the stem. That one is of significant size. There are smaller ones scattered throughout.”

“What does this mean?” Aloysius asked the question I could not bring myself to voice. Somehow, I already knew.

“He has a grade IV primary brain tumor. That’s the reason for the headaches and the loss of consciousness.” He stopped as if allowing the information to sink into our brains.

“So you can get rid of it, right?” I asked as I pushed my chair back and stood, my hands clenched at my sides. “Right?”

“We can try, but the chance of removing all the tumors is slim. It’s spreading quickly. This is an aggressive tumor. The possibility of it having infiltrated into the healthy tissue is high. This is not something that occurred overnight. He’s had them for a while.” Dr. Vega stood and placed a hand on my shoulder. Looking into my eyes he said, “I would like to keep him for at least a few days, make sure he’s not in pain and he is comfortable. If you would like me to go ahead with surgery, I want to make sure you have all the facts. You can take some time to decide then.” He looked at Aloysius and Christian, both standing now and looking at me.

“Thank you, Doctor,” Christian wrapped his arms around my waist from behind.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to check on his blood work results. He is in his room now if you’d like to see him. I will have a nurse come get you when I’m ready so we can talk in my office before you leave.” He shook Aloysius’s hand before nodding to me. “I’m sorry I didn’t have better news for you.” He turned and walked out of the cafeteria.

“I want to go see him,” I said as I pulled away from Christian.

“Wait, Lily,” Christian grabbed my hand, stopping my progress toward the door. “We should talk about this first. It’s not a good idea to let him see us like this.”

“He’s right,” Aloysius said and helped Christian lead me back to my seat. I let them push me onto the chair. “We need to calm down. He needs the rest and seeing everyone upset is just going to upset him.”

I nodded but stared into my half empty cup. “Why him? He’s so young. What did he do to deserve this?”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions. We don’t know all the facts yet. We have to be optimistic, at least in front of him,” Christian stated with a steady voice.

“Fiore is here,” Aloysius announced as he placed the coffee cups on the tray.

“How do you know?” Christian looked at the entrance. She was not there.

“I can sense her. Let’s go.” He turned and carried the tray back to the counter. We stood and followed without a word.

We found her just outside Jose Luis’s room, pacing back and forth with a small suitcase in her hand. She smiled when she saw us approaching but one look at our faces and her smile faded. She nodded at Aloysius and confirmed what I thought. He wordlessly told her what the doctor told us.

“Ready?” Aloysius asked grasping the knob to Jose Luis’s door. I took a deep breath and nodded.

Jose Luis sat propped up on pillows, the TV remote in one hand, a cup of water in the other. He smiled apologetically as we entered and surrounded his bed. I leaned and kissed his forehead, closing my eyes as my lips touched the warm skin of his head. This was the most unfair thing I had ever witnessed.

I backed away and looked down at him. He looked like he always did, with the exception of the bags under his eyes and the IV tube coming out of his hand. He looked like an ordinary fifteen year old boy. A boy that would fall in love, get married, and have children who would adore him one day. “I am so sorry that I scared you,” he said looking at all our faces.

“No need to apologize. It’s not your fault,” Christian answered smiling at him. “You’ll be out of here in no time. You’ll be fine.”

Jose Luis shook his head. “Thank you for saying that but I don’t think so. I…” His eyes welled with tears. I took his cup and set it on the table, grasping his hand in mine. “I’m going to die. I can feel it.”