Dudley was all smiles when he walked into the room. He gave me a high-five instead of a handshake. Then he pulled me out of my chair and spun me around in a strange dance move despite the lack of music.
“What puts you in such a good mood?”
I’m just thinking that I’m the one that gave you the teaser for this story. I told you it was pretty wild.
“Yes you did.”
Now I’m guessing you want me to come in here and wrap things up. Make it nice and pretty like a little present.
“I’m not sure if I’m ready for the wrap up. I imagine there’s a bit more to tell.”
Wait a minute. How far did Georgie take you?
“He took me up to his meltdown at the prison. Can you take it from there?”
Well, shit.
“Come again?”
That punk ass lied to me. He didn’t want to cover this next part, so he told me he took you all the way to the wrap up.
“Sorry about that.”
Yeah. Me too.
“Can you start from after Georgie’s episode?”
Might as well, I guess. Let’s see, it took about twenty minutes to cut through all the bars and security gates that came down when the zombies were released.
“Actually, can you tell me how you defeated so many zombies so quickly?”
We didn’t. Snake Charmer brought explosives, and we just blew enough shit up to barricade them behind some rubble. Hell, none of us wanted to tangle with that many shamblers without having our powers. We would have gotten eaten or turned.
“Then, was it safe to cut through the security doors that came down?”
Probably not, but we weren’t going to stay there forever. We needed to get my uncle to the hospital. He was in some seriously bad shape.
Don’t you worry though; there isn’t a prison down in Louisiana that’s filled with zombies. As soon as we got out, we burned that section to the ground. After the walls came down, Mr. Hardin’s men spent four days clearing out the debris, and making sure there weren’t any zombies still alive and kicking.
“Where was the team when all that was happening?”
Snake Charmer stayed behind, but the rest of us flew immediately to Ruidoso. We needed to get Jaxon to the hospital.
“Weren’t there hospitals in Louisiana?”
He needed to be near his wife. Trust me, it was debated pretty heavily, but in the end, we went for it. We took the risk, and brought our leader to his family. Mind you, a medic was with him the entire time. We did our best to make sure Jaxon remained in a stable enough condition. If there had been any problems with his health, we would have abandoned Ruidoso in a heartbeat, and taken him to the nearest hospital.
Throughout the different helicopters and airplanes, the team never left my uncle’s side. We refused to leave him. People tried; there were military dudes, and guys in suits, that wanted to talk to us at the first airport we landed in. We pushed through them and stayed by my uncle.
I couldn’t get used to how skinny he looked. The ragged orange prison uniform he was wearing hung off of him. I couldn’t see any muscle mass whatsoever. There was only skin hanging off bone. There were also scars, horrible marks, all over his exposed flesh.
I lifted up his shirt. There was a nasty scar where he had been shot. My uncle had never been given a chance to heal from the injuries he received in El Paso. I was pissed. Major Crass had put him through the ringer. When all was said and done, I promised myself that he’d pay for what he did to Jaxon.
Eventually, we landed on the hospital roof. An emergency staff of doctors and nurses were there, waiting for us. They took him immediately and wheeled him inside. The team followed. The doctors and nurses tried to shoo us away. We gave them space, but we kept our eyes on them. We kept our eyes on everyone.
I’m sure Nick, and Georgie, told you about how we were all kinds of mental. Well, they weren’t exaggerating. We were pretty dangerous at that point. The slightest thing would have set us off. We trusted in no one.
Miriam came down to see us. She’s a hard lady, but even she got all teary-eyed when she got a look at Jaxon.
“How is Skie?” I asked.
“Just as we’d left her,” Miriam answered. “All will be well when he walks into her room.”
“Miriam,” I said. “I’m not sure he’s ever going to walk again. Did you see what they did to him?”
“I’m not blind, dear,” Miriam said.
Eventually, the doctor came out. He was the same dude that worked on Skie back when everything started.
“How is he?” I asked.
“He’s in bad shape,” the doctor replied. “His body is a mess. Starvation and dehydration are just the beginning. Those we can fix. It’s the other problems that have me concerned the most. He has multiple broken bones that were never set properly. They’ve healed wrong. We can’t do anything about that now, not in his current condition. One of his knees is severely damaged. He’ll never walk normally again. He has infected burns over forty percent of his body, and that makes me think he was tortured. His hands are the worst. They have been mutilated. I’m not sure what can be done about those. On top of that, he has pneumonia.”
“Will he make it?”
“I think so,” the doctor answered. “He’s a tough man. If you’d waited another day to bring him in, I’d have said no. As long as we can control the pneumonia, clear up his lungs, and handle the infection on his burns, I think he will recover. It’s going to take time though. It’s likely he’s going to have pain for the rest of his life.”
They moved Jaxon after that. They gave him his own room, and they closely monitored his condition. We stayed with him. There was always at least one of us in his room. The normal rules of the hospital didn’t apply to us, and nobody there wanted to push the issue.
Eventually, I went upstairs to see Skie.
The floor she was on looked very different from the rest of the hospital. It was dusty and had an overall look of neglect about it.
“What’s up with this place?” I asked the nearest nurse.
“This floor is haunted,” she answered. “Only a couple of the nurses are allowed up here. We’ve had to move the other patients in order to keep them safe.”
“Safe from what?” I asked.
“I don’t know what it is,” the nurse answered, “but it’s attached to the General’s wife. If anyone tries to move her, they get attacked. Some men in suits came in one day. They were all killed.”
“Are you for real?” I asked.
“It’s been horrible,” the nurse said.
I knew Miriam had worked some of her mojo in order to keep Skie safe, but I had no idea how powerful it could be. It wasn’t something I ever asked her about.
“So if something ghost-like is on this floor, why is there like an entire staff here now?” I asked.
“The elderly woman with you folks said it was safe now,” the nurse answered. “We’re going to clean it up. I’m not sure what she did, but it certainly doesn’t feel anywhere near as menacing as it used to on this floor.”
I left the nurse and walked into Skie’s room.
Miriam was sitting quietly by her bed. Ivana came up and hugged me. She had tears in her eyes.
“How bad is he?” She asked.
“He’s pretty bad,” I answered. “The doc thinks he’ll pull through but it’s going to be a long road, and he’ll never be the same again.”
“I need to go see him,” Ivana said. “Is he awake?”
“No,” I answered. “He’s been completely unresponsive since we found him.”
Ivana left the room, and I was alone with Skie, and Miriam. I went to Skie’s side. She hadn’t aged a day, or changed even in the slightest. She certainly didn’t look as if she’d been in a coma since she was shot.
“Is it a spell that’s keeping her looking so good?” I asked.
“It is,” Miriam said.
Skie looked like a sleeping angel. My heart went out for her. She should never have been touched by the evil the rest of us face. It wasn’t the way things were supposed to end up.
“Do you really believe that if Jax walks in here, everything will be okay?” I asked.
“I do,” Miriam answered.
“Why did we lose our powers?” I asked. “Jax is still alive. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“I have no answer for that,” Miriam said. “I wish I knew but I don’t understand it any more than you do. The situation is unprecedented.”
Ivana came in, bawling, about thirty minutes later. I put my arm around her but I didn’t have any words of comfort to offer.
“What did they do to him?” Ivana asked. “Dudley, they hurt him so bad. Why would someone do that?”
I pulled her in tightly at that point. She hugged me back. She even shocked me a bit with how tightly she embraced me. My shoulder became drenched with her tears.
“What about Jaxon’s parents and Skie’s children?”
They all came. I only waited for them to stabilize Jaxon before I called. Skie’s kids had been staying with my grandparents during our absence. They’d also been visiting her every single day. Whatever presence Miriam had summoned had no problems with their visits.
Everyone exchanged hugs and tears when they arrived. I did my best to keep my grandparents from seeing Jaxon. I didn’t want them to see him that way. My best efforts were futile. My grandpa wasn’t having any of it. He wanted to see his son, and by God he was going to do just that.
My grandma cried. My grandpa went over to Jaxon’s side. He sat in a chair next to his son and held his arm. Then he started talking to him, just whispering things into his ear. They stayed with him for hours. Neither of them wanted to leave his side.
“What did his father say to him?”
It was a private conversation.
“I understand.”
Anyway, it took four days for Jaxon to open his eyes.
“That must have made everyone happy?”
Yes, and no. My uncle was awake, but he wasn’t responsive. He wouldn’t speak to anyone. He wouldn’t look at anyone. No one could reach him, and boy did we try. This went on for another week.
Meanwhile, Mr. Hardin brought in a specialist to talk to all of us. I’m not sure talking about things with the shrink made me feel any better, but he prescribed some decent enough drugs. Those took the edge off. The man had zero results with Jaxon.
The doctors had a feeding tube in him. They tried taking it out at one point, but my uncle refused the food they offered, and they were forced to put it back in.
“I don’t understand,” the doctor said. “He’s just not improving. In fact, he’s slowly deteriorating. It’s almost as if he’s lost his will to live. I hate to say this, but I believe he’s willing himself to die.”
That conversation happened in the doctor’s office. I think it was close to midnight. The entire staff had been staying late. None of them wanted to lose the General. I left the office without another word. What could I say? None of us understood the situation.
I went to Jaxon.
He was awake. His head was tilted towards the window. He seemed to be watching the moon, but who could say. His face was illuminated. I could see him clearly, even in the dark room. I hated seeing all the grey in his hair. The long beard was also infused with grey. It didn’t look right on him.
“Jax?” I said.
No response.
“You’re dying,” I said.
No response.
“Is that what you want?” I asked.
No response.
I was crying at that point. I was also angry and frustrated. Hell, I think I was running through pretty much every emotion imaginable.
“I can’t believe this,” I said. “After all you’ve done. After all you’ve survived. Why? What is so terrible? This is the coward’s way out. Do you think the rest of us aren’t suffering?”
No response.
“What can I say to bring you back?” I asked. “What is it that you want? I don’t want to lose you. Everyone’s so worried, and you’re just giving up.”
No response.
The tears were really flowing now. I angrily wiped them away with the back of my hand. I searched frantically for something to say. I needed something that would reach him.
“What do we tell Skie?” I asked. “What do we tell her when she wakes up?”
Jaxon turned his head and looked me in the eyes.
There wasn’t much emotion, just the barest hint, but I knew. I figured it out immediately. Everything came together in a great big explosion inside my head. I approached his bed.
“Jaxon,” I said. “Listen to me very carefully. Skie is alive. She survived, and she needs you.”
I left after that.
“Anything?” Nick asked as I closed the door behind me.
“Maybe,” I answered.
That night I went to sleep on a couch in the waiting room. It was the first bit of rest I’d had in a long, long time.
Georgie woke me up in the morning. He was frantic. For a brief moment I thought the worst had happened. It took a second for me to realize Georgie was smiling.
“Dudley!” Georgie shrieked. “You gotta come now. He’s asking for you.”
“Who’s asking for me?” I asked.
“Jaxon!” Georgie said. “He’s awake!”
I ran to his room. I shoved my way past the crowd of people at the door. The only person in the room with Jaxon was the doctor, and he was pleading with my uncle to be still.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“He shouldn’t be moving,” the doctor said. “His body is in a fragile state. This could be a shock to his system.”
Jaxon was trying to sit up. He’d already removed all the medical tubes from his body.
“I got this,” I said. “Give me some space.”
The doctor backed up a bit. I placed my hands on Jaxon’s chest. I tried to calm him down but there was something in his eyes that wouldn’t be denied.
“Where’s my wife?” Jaxon asked.
I laughed out loud.
“She’s a couple floors up,” I said. “She’s waiting for you. All you have to do is walk in the room, and she’ll wake up.”
“Help me up and get me some clippers,” Jaxon said.
I motioned my hand for the doctor to be quiet. Jaxon had made up his mind. Nothing was going to stop him. We could either help him, or he’d do things all on his own. The man was going to see his wife if he had to crawl out of the bed, and search every room in the hospital.
“Get us some hair clippers,” I told the doctor as I pulled him up to a sitting position. “He’s not going to go and see his wife looking like a hobo.”
The doctor didn’t move. He argued some more, but it was under his breath and I was able to ignore him. A nurse from outside the room evidently heard us talking. She brought in some hair clippers. Jaxon tried to take them from me but his hands weren’t exactly cooperating.
“Let me help,” I said.
I ran the clippers through his hair. Fortunately, Jax doesn’t have a very difficult haircut. He just likes it short. I slapped on a number three guard and went to work. When I was finished, he asked me to get rid of his beard as well. I left him with his usual stubble.
“What room is she in?” Jaxon asked when I finished.
“I’ll take you there,” I said.
“All right,” the doctor interrupted. “That’s enough. I’m putting my foot down. This man can’t take a shock to his system.”
The doctor tried to get between us, and I shoved him back.
“DO YOU KNOW WHO THIS MAN IS?” I demanded. “THIS MAN IS THE GENERAL! HE HAS FOUGHT LEGIONS OF ZOMBIES! HE HAS BATTLED VAMPIRES! HE HAS SAVED COUNTLESS LIVES! HE WILL NOT BE DENIED!”
Jaxon got off the bed.
I went to help him, and he waved me off. He wanted to do it on his own. Despite my bravado, I was worried sick. Jaxon did indeed look fragile. I’m sure the feeding tubes put some weight on him, but I wasn’t seeing it.
He took his first steps. One leg limped badly, and the other shook from the added effort. Halfway to the door, he stumbled on his damaged leg but somehow caught himself, and didn’t fall. The crowd outside parted. Jaxon began again. Step, after shaky step, he limped forward.
He stumbled again at the door.
He used the doorframe to catch himself. He wasn’t going to be able to make it. He was too weak. His body was too broken.
I ran to his side.
“I’m here for you,” I said as I threw his arm over my shoulder. “I won’t let you down.”
He nodded in understanding, and we left the room. The crowd outside the door had grown. There were people all around us. Nick was waiting in the crowd.
“Is this what you want?” he asked Jaxon.
Jaxon nodded.
“Let me help,” said Nick, as he took over for me.
The three of us made our way through the crowd. Through the corners of my eyes I saw the astonished faces of those around us. Something was happening. They weren’t sure exactly what but they knew they had to watch.
Another thing I should point out is that someone had talked. The news that the General was brought into the hospital had spread far and wide. Reporters were everywhere. Security kept them from entering the building, but they weren’t able to stop the hundreds of random fans that had checked themselves in with made-up illnesses in order to try and get a look at him.
More and more people were filling up the hallway.
We walked on. We weren’t stopping. I could see the strain on my uncle’s face. I could see how weak he’d become, and just before his body gave out, Georgie appeared.
“I believe in you!” he shouted with tears in his eyes. “We will not fail. You will not fail. We won’t let you fail. We can do this!”
Georgie took over for Nick.
And then there were four.
“Make way for the General!” Georgie called out.
Jaxon pushed on. I started crying. I’m not a crier, but his will and determination was astounding. Nick was wiping his eyes. Nick is a crier. The crowd began to pat us on our backs as we moved by them.
We made it to the elevator. As soon as the door closed, Nick picked Jaxon up in order to give him a rest. I put my hand on Jaxon’s shoulder. Georgie put his hand on his other shoulder.
“We began this together,” Georgie said. “We’ll finish it together.”
Before the doors slid open on Skie’s floor, Nick had set my uncle back down on his feet. I took over helping him walk once again. I was blown away by what I saw when I stepped out of the elevator.
The crowd below paled in comparison to the amount of people waiting for us on Skie’s floor. The entire hallway was filled with people, and every damn one of them was giving him our salute of the right fist crossed over the heart.
A kind nurse came forward with a wheelchair.
“The General doesn’t need a wheelchair, ma’am!” Javie shouted out as he stepped forth from the crowd. “He has us to help him.”
I let Javie take over for me, and the five of us made our way past a silent crowd.
“Just a little bit more,” Javie whispered in Jaxon’s ear. “You’re almost there. You can do it.”
He pushed himself. He’s always pushing himself. His face was strained. He looked sick. His limbs were shaking but he never gave up. He never even thought about quitting. He paused at the doorway. Miriam and Ivana had taken a few steps back to give him room.
Jaxon looked at his wife for the first time in a long, long time.
Tears began to fall from his eyes. He tapped Javie on the shoulder, and Javie let him go. Jaxon limped to her bedside. It wasn’t easy for him. He stumbled a bit. He even paused a bit to catch his breath, but he did it. I brought over a chair for him to sit in, but he didn’t take it. He only saw Skie.
I watched the man—the warrior, and the invincible force of nature that broke bones and cleaved skulls—turn soft and gentle. I watched as he tenderly placed a kiss on the top of his wife’s head. I watched as he stroked her face and held her hand.
The General had been reunited with his wife. No one said a word. We were all too afraid to break the spell. He spoke soft words to her. He touched her hair. He cried softly.
After a while, Ivana couldn’t take it anymore. She gently approached Jaxon and placed her hand on his arm.
“Sweetheart,” she said. “You need to sit down.”
Jaxon looked at her. He nodded once and allowed her to help him into the chair. He never let go of his wife’s hand.
Thirty minutes later, Jaxon had a seizure.
It was a bad one. His heart actually stopped beating for over a minute. The hospital staff ran in and went to work. They managed to bring him back, and the doctor was polite enough not to say, “I told you so.”
They pulled another bed into the room for my uncle. They hooked him back up to a bunch of machines to monitor his heart, and whatever else those machines do.
“He’s stable,” the doctor said. “But no more excitement and I mean that. As of now, he’s done playing games. I will not allow anyone of you to risk my patient’s health once again.”
Nick was about to reply, and I cut him off.
“We’ll go down and grab something to eat,” I said. “My grandparents should be arriving with the kids soon. I need to give them the news.”
Everyone was in good spirits after my grandparents arrived. We were worried about Skie, of course. Miriam alone seemed unconcerned about her. We bought our lunch and told everybody about what had just occurred.
“I can’t believe he just got out of bed and went to visit Skie,” Ivana said. “After so many days of nothing, he simply gets up for a stroll.”
“Well, he’s not out of the woods yet,” I said. “In retrospect, it was a bad move to let him do that, but I don’t think anyone would’ve been able to stop him.”
“Let’s hope he stays put now,” Nick added. “What’s he going to do if Skie doesn’t wake up?”
It was a stupid thing to ask with her kids sitting at the same table. Everyone got quiet. Miriam smiled.
“I don’t think we need to talk about that right now,” I said.
“Nonsense,” Miriam said.
Everyone turned to her.
“Your mother will be waking up very soon,” Miriam told the kids. “Never doubt the power of love. Human beings can do amazing things when they’re in love.”
“Did you put a spell on my Mom?” Otis asked.
“I did,” Miriam said. “I wanted to keep her safe and sound until your stepfather found his way back to her.”
“So, she’s like Sleeping Beauty?” Otis asked.
“I believe that’s somewhat accurate,” Miriam said.
“Doesn’t that make you the evil witch?” I asked.
Everyone laughed. Even Miriam gave a chuckle. Lunch was over soon after that. My grandparents wanted to see Jax, the kids wanted to see their mother, and the team wanted to protect everyone.
The elevator doors opened up on a ruckus. The earlier crowd had long since dispersed, but nurses were running in and out of Skie’s room. I went to the door and was immediately approached by the rather exasperated looking Doctor.
“Everything is fine,” he said. “Your uncle is still stable but he’s the most frustrating patient I’ve ever encountered.”
I looked over the doctor’s shoulder. Jaxon had moved from his bed to Skie’s. He had also unplugged himself from all the tubes and wires in the process.
“Did he hurt himself?” I asked.
“Fortunately, he did not,” the doctor answered. “But he could have. He simply cannot be moving around. The staff is getting together now to put him back in the other bed.”
I looked to my uncle. He was curled up next to his wife. His head was resting on her shoulder. He wasn’t conscious. I wondered if he fell asleep normally, or if he passed out after moving himself.
“Doctor,” I said. “Let him stay with her.”
“I can’t do that,” he said. “It’s against policy.”
“I need you to listen to me,” I said. “You don’t understand. My uncle will keep moving back to his wife. No matter what you do, he’ll keep trying. It’s who he is. He’ll never quit. If you’re worried about him moving around, let him stay with her.”
The doctor grumbled and complained but, in the end, he took my advice. All of us piled into the room. My grandma rubbed Jaxon’s arm and kissed his cheek. My grandpa laughed at all the chaos Jax was causing.
“I’m shocked he even took the time to get a haircut,” Georgie mused.
“I think he was summoning up what little energy he possessed while I cut his hair,” I said. “You didn’t see his expression. He looked like he was getting ready for a battle.”
Eventually, everything calmed down. My grandparents left with the kids. The team rested. I alone stood watch over the sleeping couple. Shortly before dawn, I fell asleep in a soft chair on the far side of the room.
I was awakened by a small voice quietly singing.
It was a relatively pleasant way to wake up. I yawned and stretched. I let my tired eyes gaze out the window upon the forest. Then, I freaked the fuck out. I was the only person in the room with Jaxon and Skie, and it certainly wasn’t Jaxon’s voice I was hearing.
Sometime during my rest, Skie had woken up.