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Nodding against the phone and looking a little confused at his car’s notification lights as they flickered for a millisecond, he tapped the dashboard. “Sounds like a plan. You need me to get you in? I’m still in the parking lot.”
Another short stream of words followed from Curtis on the other line.
“Damn it, Knight. You son of a bitch. You killed me. Why did you kill me?” Mel growled at the lead detective on his case. At the man who killed him. Mel’s senses were overrun as he was tossed back into the memory of his death; ears filled with the thundering of his heart, his fingers scraping the ground to crawl away, his killer behind him, and the last thing he ever heard through the muffled flow of blood.
“Gotta admire a determined soul too stubborn to die...”
Mel drew closer to Knight as Curtis still babbled on the other end of the phone.
Knight shivered and then turned directly to face Mel. He knew Knight couldn’t see him, that Knight was seeing through him, but the detective paused so long Mel thought, for just a second, he may have heard him.
Knight then took another puff of his cigar and scowled at the phone. “I don’t give a damn what you saw. It’s room five-oh-two. Get it done.”
“That’s Stacia’s room. You and I are going to have to wait, you bastard.” Mel pulled himself out of the car and then looked up the side of the building.
"I shouldn't have left her."
Anastaciafinishedwithherdoctor and nurse, happy they were taking all precautions with her health and keeping her overnight, but even happier to know they were planning to release her the next morning.
She hoped Mel would come back soon.
Her mind wondered why he had left after Knight so abruptly. Rubbing at her arms gingerly she bit at her lip in worry. What was it about what Knight said that set him off?
They would also have to talk about what happened in the warehouse. What happened between them. She had been in and out of consciousness since it happened. And now whenever she reached out for him, he’d stayed just beyond her reach, avoiding eye contact. Even though she knew he hadn’t intended to be mean, it was a punch to her chest each time he turned away. Her heart left stuttering to catch its next beat. Maybe he was afraid for her. Hell knows she wasn't dramatic enough to follow him to the afterlife, and he wouldn’t want her to. She wanted to hold on to the moment in time a little longer. He was learning to interact with the physical world, but how much time did they have left? She was happy he pushed her back when he did. In that last breath, she wasn’t sure if she was strong enough to let go of him and save herself.
Staring down into her cup of water, her reflection was distorted by the bobbing straw at the side. Her eyes turned gold as the feeling of being watched came and went. The silhouette passing by her open door was not a nurse, and it was the third spirit she’d seen since waking up. There would be more, for sure, but the thought didn’t bother her as much as it had before. They were around just like anyone else living and she refused to hide under her bed like she was ten years old.
A shift in the room crept up her arm, the feeling of being watched raising the hair on her arms. Anastacia took a deep breath and surveyed her room, closer than she had before. There was a spirit there, and it wasn’t Mel. A quick look out to the nurses’ station confirmed it was empty.
She wet her lips and spoke out into her empty room.
“Who’s there? I can feel you watching me,” she demanded softly and turned to sit on the edge of her bed. “I’ll talk with you, but you’ve got to introduce yourself before you appear out of nowhere.”
From behind the open bathroom door, a youthful face peeked out. Not quite an adult, but close enough to recognize as late teens. A hospital gown covered any injuries she may have had, anything she may have died from. Relief flooded Anastacia when there was no movement of darkness on her form. An antsy feeling rolled off the girl, strong enough that it was easy to tell she didn’t want to stay in place. Anastacia instinctively knew the girl had arrived at the hospital barely alive, but died despite efforts to save her. A moment of sadness passed when she realized how young the girl was. Anastacia had the feeling she was going to see a lot of spirits in hospital gowns while she was there.
Anastacia still wasn’t sure how she was going to interact with other spirits. With Mel, she didn’t have too much of a choice of interacting or not. Here, with this new spirit, Anastacia could go back to bed, turn away and let the spirit do what she needed to accept her death and move on.
Or she could try to see her differently. To use her gift differently.
“Hello,” she greeted the spirit with a weak smile.
The spirit stepped further into the room, looking at Anastacia and then at the bed, as if she would see Anastacia’sbody behind her.
“No, I’m alive. I can see you. What’s your name?”
“Corina,” the girl replied quietly. “Can you help me?”
“I can try.” Anastacia pushed herself from the bed. The nurse had detached the IV and monitors under the doctor’s orders. Unencumbered, Anastacia made sure her legs would not give out. She also checked her hospital gown was closed and secured in the back.
She considered the teenage girl. “What’s keeping you here?”
Corina’s eyes softened. “Momma.”
The spirit walked to the doorway, checking down the hallway for nurses. Leaving the room, she turned back to Anastacia to see if she would follow. Anastacia nodded, letting the girl lead her. Mel would understand. He would find her.
The girl’s room was on the next floor down. It was very similar to her own, except Corina lay lifeless on the bed.An older woman sat at her bedside, shoulders hunched and a cloth handkerchief at her nose. Anastacia stood just outside the door, watching the woman stroke the side of Corina’s face. Tubing ran from the girl to the beeping machines keeping her body alive. Anastacia turned back to the spirit before refocusing on the women in the room. The sadness rolling from the room was palpable and bitter. Young lives lost were always the worst.
“What do you want me to do?”
