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Levi
When Levi woke up, it was pitch-black in the basement. His eyes shot toward the window, but he could barely make it out. It was dark outside too.
What were the chances they were going to find him in the dark? Not good.
It occurred to him his hallucination of his grandfather might be over, and his chest tightened in panic. He peered in the direction his Gamp had sat, but saw nothing.
“How are you feeling?” Gamp asked, and breath rushed out of Levi.
“Horrible.” He tried to chuckle. He couldn’t believe how relieved he was that his imaginary friend hadn’t left him. He tried to push himself up onto an elbow. “My fingers are numb.”
“You’re too cold. You thirsty?”
Levi hesitated. How had he known that? Oh yeah, because he was inside Levi’s head. He could easily know everything Levi knew. “Yeah. Very.”
“You might want to get a drink now then, while you still can. The rain’s letting up.”
Levi couldn’t quite connect those dots. “How am I supposed to get to the rain?”
Levi heard him move. “It’s running in from the window. You drag your lazy bum over there and you drink some.”
Despite his pain and fear, Levi smiled. It had always annoyed him when his grandfather had insisted he was lazy, but now the memory was a sweet one. “I’ve missed you. Can’t believe how much, actually.”
Gamp clicked his tongue, but when he spoke, Levi could hear the smile in his voice. “I tried to tell you. Tried to warn you not to take me for granted.”
“I’m sorry,” Levi said softly.
“Oh, son, no need to apologize, and I mean that. I hold no grudge against you or against anyone. I am in a state of permanent glory.”
Permanent glory? That didn’t sound like a thought that would come out of Levi’s head. So then what was this hallucination of his? “What are you?”
“Never mind that now. Get some water on your tongue. Go ahead. You can do it.”
Levi didn’t know if he could. This imaginary friend of his wanted him to drag his butt all the way to the window, and then what? Lick the stone wall? But he was incredibly thirsty. So as insane as the idea was, it was also tempting. He pushed himself the rest of the way to a seated position. When he’d first crawled over to this wall, he’d been sitting, but slowly, he’d slithered down to a lying down position again. Now that he was sitting, he immediately felt better. More in control.
“That’s a good start.”
Levi grunted. “Don’t rush me.” He reached out with his left hand and pushed his numb fingers into the hard-packed dirt. Then, putting all his weight on that hand, he tried to lift and slide his butt. Pain exploded in his ankle and shot up his leg all the way to his hip. He cried out.
“I know it hurts, son,” Gamp said softly, “but the movement will be really good for you. It will warm you up.”
Again, probably not something Levi would have thought of. Had the concussion rattled some new part of his brain open? This question alarmed him. Maybe he was going to stay crazy. Maybe he’d be rescued but continue to see dead people like the kid from that movie.
“You’re a tenth of the way there.”
Levi sighed. “I don’t think I can make it.” Wouldn’t it be easier if the hallucination just brought the water to him? He reached out again and pressed his fingers, which, as a matter of fact, were less numb now, into the dirt again. Again he lifted and slid his butt. Again pain shot up his leg.
He let his butt fall to the ground and tipped his head back. “Seriously. It hurts too much.”
“You need to pray.”
“Pray?”
“Yes. Pray. Ask the God of the universe to get you to that water. He will do it. His mercy is infinite.”
Okay, now Levi was really scared. No way could those words have come from his brain. He didn’t even know what mercy was, only that there was a hospital in Portland with that name. He reached out, pushed up, slid, grunted, and asked, “What’s mercy again?” as his butt crashed back down. His ankle exploded again, but he thought it hurt less this time.
“Ah, it’s a hard thing to define, as most attributes of God are.”
Attribute? He didn’t know that one either.
“Here’s how I think about it, with my limited understanding. It’s ... imagine I’ve done something that has earned me a whooping. And instead, I am gifted with a warm hug and a heaping portion of Indian pudding.”
Levi grinned. His grandmother had used to make them Indian pudding. He’d forgotten all about that sweet creamy goodness. Great. Now he wanted Indian pudding.
“With real whipped cream on top.”
“Stop it. You’re making me hungry.” With no enhanced understanding of the meaning of mercy, Levi dragged himself another foot closer to the window.
“Good job, son. You’re almost there.”
“If the moving doesn’t kill me.”
“It won’t. It’s helping you.”
Levi knew now that if he reached out, his fingertips would be able to touch the wall, but that didn’t mean he’d be able to drink. He reached out, pushed into the floor, and heaved himself toward the wall with more effort than he’d done so far, and even though it hurt mightily, his heart leapt when his shoulder touched the wall. He leaned his head against it. “There,” he said, out of breath. “Now what?”
“Now drink that water before it’s gone.”
Levi felt around on the wall until he located the water. Sure enough. It was there. A steady trickle. Did he really want to lick the wall? He’d never been so thirsty in his life. Yes, yes, he did want to lick the wall. He pressed his lips against the cold stone and let the water trickle into his mouth.
It felt glorious—the more water that ran into his mouth, the more he wanted water. He greedily swallowed it and then prayed for more.
He stopped and pulled away from the wall. He had just prayed. That was weird. He hadn’t meant to.
“Better?” Gamp asked.
Levi sighed. “Yes. Much.” Then he pushed his mouth to the wall and drank some more.
