Robert Browne: Kiss Her Goodbye

The thing moaned in protest as if being awakened from a deep sleep, but it was coming alive and that was good. Rachel studied the panel, trying to figure it out. “What now?”

Wong was still working on Donovan. “Third switch on the left, I think.”

“You think? ” Without waiting for a response, she flicked the switch and the machine began to whir, a high, unpleasant whine that quickly rose in intensity.

“Move,” she shouted, shoving Wong aside, then raised the paddles over Jack’s chest.

As he fell, Donovan flung his arms out, grabbing desperately for the walls of the abyss. Focusing his concentration, he hooked his hands around a grouping of rocks and jerked to a stop, feet dangling.

Hugging the cliff wall, he found purchase on a small, practically nonexistent overhang. It crumbled slightly as he stepped on it, sending dirt and rock into the blackness below.

The sparks intensified.

A clap of thunder boomed and a small jolt of electricity shot through Donovan’s body-a mild hit to the chest that surprised him, but wasn’t strong enough to dislodge him from the wall.

Had it come from Gunderson? Looking up past the lip of the abyss, he saw an already turbulent sky begin to churn, dark clouds gathering, swirling restlessly.

Then Gunderson appeared, crouched near the edge, and glanced up toward the sky. “Isn’t that sweet?” he said. “They’re coming for you, Jack. Too bad you’re gonna miss the ride.”

There was a second clap of thunder and Donovan felt another jolt. Directly above Gunderson, a vague but unmistakable wormhole began to form in the clouds.

Gunderson watched it a moment, then returned his gaze to Donovan and raised his hands again, palms outward, a fresh new smile on his face.

Rachel was about to go for round three when Wong checked Jack’s pulse and said, “Wait, wait! I’ve got something.”

“He’s back?”

“No… maybe. It’s pretty weak.”

“For godsakes,” Rachel said, then flicked the switch. “Move.” There was a whir and a high, sustained whine, and she brought the paddles down on Jack’s chest. He jerked in response, his body bucking beneath her.

Wong felt his wrist. “No change.”

Rachel wanted to scream. Wanted to grab Jack by the shoulders and shake him awake. Slap him a few times for being such a goddamn fool.

Instead, she flicked the switch again and readied the paddles.

Wong, meanwhile, yanked open a nearby drawer, rifled through it, then pulled out a vial of medicine and a syringe big enough to vaccinate a small elephant.

“What the hell is that?”

“Epinephrine,” he said. “Stimulates the heart. If this doesn’t do the trick, nothing will.”

Rachel stared at the syringe dubiously, then brought the paddles down.

There was another clap of thunder and the wormhole expanded, swirling furiously above Gunderson’s head. He felt a jolt in his chest and a twinge of triumph. His time here was about to end. He was only moments away from his new life, his new career.

His new Sara.

Oh, the things they’d do.

He remembered the moment he’d been shot, that sudden feeling of loss, the abrupt end to life as he’d known it. Then the wormhole, the light, the yearning to head toward its promise-but at the same time resisting, not yet ready to go.

And suddenly there he was, stranded in limbo, refusing to accept his fate, using his time here to learn the rules of the place, just like he had in prison.

Then Deputy Fife showed up and he knew that was it. Fate intervening. The Ching giving him his second chance.

He’d only had time to hitch a ride, but after a while he thought, why not go for the big prize? Sharing was a blast, but a nice warm body of your own is even better. A nice new body, unblemished by a pesky little thing called a criminal record. A body that placed him right smack in the middle of enemy territory.

And the best part? Everyone would think he was one of them.

He felt another small jolt and the clouds above him grew more frenzied, the wormhole widening.

Arms outstretched, palms facing Donovan, he gathered up his energy, working up a really good hate, ready to knock Barney even deeper into the pit, where he was sure that Bobby and Luther and God knew who else were waiting for him.

He almost felt sorry for the guy.

Almost.

Donovan stared up at Gunderson’s hands and braced himself, knowing what was coming. The minuscule ledge beneath his feet continued to crumble, sending rocks and debris into the abyss below. If he didn’t resist this blow, he’d be joining them soon.

Then the bees began to buzz and a ripple in the air rolled toward him. He focused on it, trying to stop it in its tracks, to will it away, but it was no use. This wasn’t a fair fight. He didn’t have the skills he needed to compete with Gunderson. Not here.

It smacked him head-on like a big rig at high speed. The impact ripped him away from his perch and he was once again falling, arms flailing, the sparks below crackling wildly.

Above, Gunderson turned and flung his arms upward toward the whirling wormhole, waiting for it to snatch him away.

Donovan closed his eyes, knowing this was it, he’d lost, Jessie gone from him forever.

“Forgive me,” he whispered as he plummeted deeper and deeper into the pit.

Then a voice in his ear said, “There’s nothing to forgive, Jack,” and something or someone grabbed his wrist, stopping his fall.

Coming to an abrupt halt, he slammed into the abyss wall. His eyes flew open and there, crouched on the rocks, arm outstretched, hand gripping his wrist — was Jessie.

Not his daughter Jessie, but Jessie-Anne, his sister. And she was smiling at him, her face lit up as he’d never seen it before. A face at peace.

The face of an angel.

“It’s not too late,” she said. “It’s never too late.”

Donovan felt a choke of emotion rise up from his chest. Her hand released him and he clutched the wall, wanting instead to throw his arms around her.

“Jessie-Anne…” he said, but couldn’t find words to follow it.

“Lead with your heart, Jack. Always remember that. If you lead with your heart, nothing can stop you.”

And then, without warning, she began to fade from view, leaving only the trace of a whisper in his ear. “Glass half full,” she said.

Then she was gone.

Donovan clung to the rocks, feeling tears well up, her words swirling through his head.

Lead with your heart, Jack.

And with sudden clarity, he understood. Although his physical heart had been stopped, everything that had happened to him here, every change, the baggage he carried, had been based not on intellect-but emotion.

It was Gunderson’s hunger for vengeance, a fully formed, unadulterated hate, that had fueled his ability to control and manipulate this world so easily.

The power of the heart, not the mind.

That was the currency here.

And armed with that knowledge, and the desire that accompanied it, Donovan felt a renewed sense of hope.

Just as Gunderson had said in that train yard as he lay in Donovan’s arms…

This wasn’t over yet.

Hands stretched toward the sky, Gunderson stared up at the wormhole, waiting for it to take him. Another loud thunderclap and the now familiar jolt to the chest told him his wish was about to be granted.

“Come on, goddammit!”

The swirling black maw widened in response, wind kicking up around him, and he felt its power take hold. His feet lifted off the ground and he began to rise.

“Yes!” It was finally happening. The moment he’d been waiting for ever since that cop had put a bullet in him. “Take me,” he shouted. “Take me!”

But then, from out of nowhere, a voice said, “I don’t think so, Alex” — and Donovan appeared directly below him, wrapping his arms around his legs.