Kelly Gay: The Better Part of Darkness

Using the last of my will, for it was all I had left, I made it outside the circle and into cleaner air, the creek somewhere close by. I lay down, one side of my face cushioned by the soft grass.

I’d chosen to save my child and to try to save the city, too, and I knew in my heart that I’d done the only thing I could. If I made it out of this, I’d figure out a way to fix things. There was always a way to fix things.

A small one-syllable chuckle eased through my lips, my breath stirring the grass and tickling my nose. Stupid thought. Stupid, unhinged Charlie. I wasn’t making it out of here.

No regrets, I thought on a sigh that ended in blackness. No regrets—

“Pick her up. Easy, you fool.”

“Call me a fool again, Rex, and you’ll be—”

“Guys, guys, c’mon. Help a siren out here. Carreg, grab her arm, make sure it doesn’t dangle.” Hands dug under me and lifted. My head thudded against a hard chest as another hand placed my wounded arm gently over my stomach.

The bounce of footsteps jarred me somewhat, but otherwise I was protected in a cradle of warmth. This must be some kind of residual memory. I’d died. Hank, Rex, and Carreg had come back to rescue me, but they were too late and now they were carrying my dead body home.

Suddenly, a burst of understanding jolted me. Carreg had made it. Rex and Hank were free from the lab. That meant … Emma was safe. A flood of relief soothed my thoughts. Emma was safe. Now I could rest in peace. Peace out. Laughter bubbled out of me.

“She’s laughing,” Rex’s voice sounded from somewhere behind me. “What the hell is she laughing about? Dude, maybe she’s brain damaged or something.”

Poor Rex. He was once just a spirit. Like me. He must be hearing my incorporeal self.

I was floating, floating over the grass and woods, and the crickets and katydids, through the crisp nighttime air. And into blackness.

“Uh, Charlie?” Fingers tapped my cheek. It was Will’s voice. “Hello? Can you hear me?” More annoying taps.

“Stop tapping her cheeks like that. She doesn’t like it.” This from Emma.

She was right—I didn’t like it. You tell him, baby.

“Momma,” she said, so close to me, I could feel the soft brush of her breath on my other cheek. It smelled like bubble gum. “Can you wake up now, please?”

Instinct lifted my hand, wanting nothing more than to run my fingers through her hair. A gasp reached my ear as my hand landed on a real head of soft hair. Stunned, my eyes cracked open.

What the—

I blinked rapidly until my sight adjusted to the overhead light and the grinning face hovering above me. “Emma?” I croaked out through papery lips.

I’d never seen her smile so big. She turned away from me for a second and said, “See, I told you I could do it. You owe me twenty bucks.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Rex muttered. “Here, you little thief.”

She grabbed the twenty and then turned back to me. “I love you, Mommy.” Then she hugged me tightly.

There was nothing like it in the world. I breathed her in, amazed and humbled that I was here. Apparently alive by some insane miracle. It all dawned on me at once. I swallowed the lump rising in my throat, my eyes too dry for tears. God, she smelled so good.

Emma drew back, and I scrutinized every inch of her. She looked perfect and unharmed. Her brown eyes were bright, her auburn-brown hair in the usual ponytail, and those few freckles splattered across her little upturned nose. Over her shoulder, Rex was staring down at me with a happy, slightly goofy, smile.

I was in a hospital room, lying in an elevated position. To my left, Hank’s big sleeping body was sprawled over a worn out recliner. To my right, the curtain was drawn back to reveal my sister lying in a similar bed, her head turned and staring, teary-eyed, at me.

“Bryn?”

A smile came slowly to her face, and though it was a happy one, there was an air of sadness about her, a flat, haunted look that hovered behind her eyes and dimmed the light that was usually there. My lips parted, about to ask her what was wrong when Aaron came through the door with two vases of Gerbera daisies. I bit my tongue. Immediately, he headed toward Bryn’s bed, but when he saw where her attention was fixed, his gaze shifted to my bed. “Well, it’s about time.”

“Hello to you, too.” I coughed, my throat dry and sore, as he set one of the vases by my bed and the other by Bryn’s. When that was done he glanced from sister to sister, shook his head, and grinned, taking a seat in the empty chair next to Bryn’s bedside.

“Would someone mind telling how I got here, and why Bryn is in that bed?”

Emma scooted more fully onto my bed as Rex sat at the foot, making me move my feet over.

“ Ash, ” Aaron explained. “It doesn’t have the same effect on us as it does on humans. Bryn was in a coma for five days. But with Titus Mott’s help, she and the others are now on the road to recovery.”

“And outside, what’s been happening on the streets?”

“It’s quiet. A few more overdoses trickled in, but, so far, it appears that field you flooded halted the supply. And no other cities have reported any cases, so looks like we got to it before it went wide.”

For now. It was only a matter of time before someone else picked it back up again, or introduced something entirely new into society.

“And you should know,” Aaron continued, “it’s dark outside. Charbydon dark.”

My eyelids fluttered closed for a few seconds as I composed myself. I knew it. I’d felt it in the circle, had seen it shooting up from the ground, and I felt it now, in my bones, in the faint thrum of my Charbydon side. I accepted the news with a nod, not ready to deal with those repercussions right now. “How long have I been out?”

“Seven days.”

“Seven days!” I tried to sit straighter, but gave up as weakness stole over me. I hadn’t used my muscles in a week. My gaze drifted to Emma. “Where were you this whole time?”

She shrugged and popped a bubble with her chewing gum. “I stayed at Aunt Bryn’s with Daddy.”

Okay, so maybe I hadn’t woken up all the way. Surely I hadn’t heard that correctly. “Come again?”

Rex gave me a pointed look. “Em and I took care of the shop, and looked after Gizmo and Spooky. Disney World will just have to wait.”

My pulse surged. I’d dreaded the moment when Emma would discover that the man she knew as her father was gone. I never had the time to sit down and really think about how I would tell her or what I would tell her. Panic shot through me. I wasn’t prepared.

Rex stopped making eyeballs at me since obviously I wasn’t getting his meaning. He let out an impatient huff, and leaned in for a hug. His mouth pressed against my ear as he whispered. “I know, not many actors can pull off a role like this,” he said, clearly amazed by himself. “Good thing for you I just happen to be an exceptional artist. You can thank me later. And just remember to call me Will.” Emma grinned at his display of affection, and I felt the most horrible sensation in my gut as I realized he was playing the part of Will. Lying to my kid was not something I was comfortable doing.

I put an arm around him and made like I was kissing his cheek. “We’ll talk about this later …”

A low chuckle bathed my cheek in warm breath. “Oh, Charlie,” he said loudly. “I’m glad to see you, too, baby.” He straightened and let out a happy sigh. Yeah. Exceptional, my ass.

Emma beamed at the man she thought was her father.

“You sure you’re okay?” I asked her.