It's a Wonderful Death - Sarah J. Schmitt Page 0,95
Do you remember hearing my voice in your hospital room? I was talking with your mother.” Again he gives a faint nod. This time it was definitely James and not the train.
“Good. Now, James, I need to tell you something, and we don’t have much time.” I take a deep breath before continuing. “James, Sandy will be waiting for you when we get off the train. She’s been waiting for you since the night she died.”
Slowly, as if fighting against invisible chains, James raises his head. His eyes, cloudy with confusion, try to focus on me.
“She didn’t want you to come here and be alone. So she waited,” I continue.
James opens his mouth, but no sound comes out. Not at first. Finally, after several attempts, he says, “Sandy.” His voice is hoarse, but there is no denying what he’s saying.
His right arm twitches and then raises only to plop down at his side. He tries to stand but his legs don’t cooperate.
“I knew this was a bad idea,” I hear Elijah say to Gideon.
“Just give her some time,” my Reaper says. “She’s got a way with the souls.”
I’m not sure if it’s confidence or not wanting a colleague to prove him wrong, but Gideon’s faith in me bolsters my own. “Hold still, at least for now.”
“Where is she?” James asks, his words coming out slowly.
“She’s not here. We’re going to see her. You have a little time, but James, I need for you to look at me.”
And he does. “Okay, I know you feel like something is holding you down, like you’re in a fog, but you aren’t. You can control what’s happening to you. You just have to concentrate.”
He begins rocking back and forth, repeating, “Sandy. Sandy. Where is she?” over and over again.
I look up at Gideon, pleading for help. But his face is stone and unreadable, unlike Elijah’s, whose I-told-you-so grin makes me sick. I turn back to James and lay my hand on his knee. Without warning his eyes clear and he reaches out and grabs my wrist, yanking my fingers close to his face.
The ring. I forgot I was wearing the ring I found under my bed. But it’s not mine. It’s Sandy’s.
“Where did you get this?” he growls with such fierceness that I’m glad I’m already dead. Otherwise, I’m pretty sure he might kill me.
“She gave it to me,” I say, trying to pull my arm away. “She gave it to me so you would know I was telling the truth.”
Slowly, he slides it off my finger and holds it up. Gone is the initial anger. Instead, his eyes fill with a mixture of love and sadness.
“The car,” he says. “It pinned her under the water.”
I nod. “Yes.”
“But it didn’t kill me. Not right away.”
“No.”
“My parents didn’t want to let me go and then …” He looks at me. “And then you came to my room. You told my mom that being hooked up to machines forever wasn’t a way for someone to live.”
I glance back at the Reapers. “Well, that’s not exactly what I—”
My words are cut off as he lunges forward and pulls me into a bear hug. “Thank you,” he whispers. “Thank you for giving them permission to let me go.” He pulls back. “You told them about your friend, right? The one who died of cancer.”
I nod. “Madeline.”
“Right. That’s what made them change their mind.”
Gideon clears his throat. “We’re almost there.”
I turn back to James, who is looking around at the rest of the passengers on the train. “Why are they so quiet?” he asks.
“Because,” Elijah says, “that’s what they do. This way, Romeo, let’s go find your Juliet.”
“Sandy,” James corrects, and Elijah smiles gently.
“Of course. Sandy.” Elijah turns to Gideon and says, “I would get rid of that one as fast as you can. She’s nothing but trouble.”
“Hello,” I say, waving my hand. “I’m right here.”
Gideon just smiles. “Something tells me getting rid of her is going to be easier said than done.”
Chapter 39
James doesn’t waste any time racing to the Lobby doors. I follow behind, not wanting to miss the happy reunion. Which is why, when we get there and Sandy is nowhere to be seen, a sense of dread fills my stomach.
“Where is she?” James asks, scanning the room.
“I don’t know. She was waiting near the doors when I arrived last time. She should be here.”
Overhead, a voice rattles off a list of names. Sandy’s name is not one of them.