But I couldnt even shake my head in answer. I couldnt move.
Im taking you to the hospital, but I cant go that far in one shot carrying you, so well have to stop a couple of times on the way. Okay?
I couldnt answer, but that didnt matter. I closed my eyes, then opened them almost immediately when something cold and wet fell on my face. It was raining softly, and I was outside, in a parking lot I didnt recognize. The lot faded, and the next instant Tod stood in a park, still clutching me to his chest, still crying.
My eyes fell shut again, and a second later, a familiar, antiseptic scent burned my nose, while bright lights rendered the world red and veiny through my closed eyelids.
I blinked, and the hospital came into view. A hallway, full of beeps, and voices, and the steady metallic clink of carts wheeled on linoleum. Tod laid me on a stretcher and pressed something to my stomach. It didnt hurt anymore, and that should have scared me, but nothing scared me more than seeing him cry.
Reapers dont cry. They dont. But Id made Tod cry. And he didnt even know what Id done yet.
Theyre going to fix you, Kaylee, he said, leaning down to whisper in my ear. I promise.
I shook my head, but Tod stepped back anyway, pulling his hand out of mine. He glanced down the hall, toward the source of most of the noise. Hey, somebody help! This girls bleeding!
My dad I mouthed, when I couldnt force any more sound, and Tod nodded. Then he disappeared.
A second later, footsteps pounded toward me, and the first nurse appeared from around the corner, clad in Looney Tunesprint scrubs. Holy She yelled something else I couldnt focus on, and more people came running. They wheeled me past a long desk and into a room full of equipment, and someone started cutting my remaining clothes off.
Minutes lateror seconds; Id lost all sense of timeTod reappeared with my father in tow.
Kaylee! my dad shouted, and a man in scrubs held him back. Thats my daughter!
Sir, how did you get in here?
My dad threw one punch, and the nurse hit the floor. In the next instant, he was at my side, and someone was yelling that he could stay, if he stayed out of the way.
Kaylee Tears trailed down his face as he brushed hair back from my head. Someone pushed him aside and an oxygen mask was lowered over my face, then he was back and Tod was with him.
They watched me, tears standing in their eyes, and every time I blinked, it became a struggle to open my eyes again. I didnt hear the questions, the slosh of liquids, or the crackle of sealed packages being opened. I didnt feel the needles, or the sterile solution, or the pulse monitor clipped over my finger. I only saw Tod and my dad. The men who loved me. I wished I could tell them how sorry I was that Idruined everything.
Then I blinked, and the world dimmed. And suddenly a little redheaded boy was there, completely out of place in an E.R. operating room. He pulled Tod away from the bed and said something I couldnt hear.
Levi.
It was time. Levi had come to reap my soul.
But instead, he handed Tod a slip of paper, watching solemnly as he read it, and Tod gaped at him. Then shook his head. Levi repeated whatever hed said, then gestured to me with one open hand. Tod crossed his arms over his chest and held his ground. And finally I understood.
Levi wasnt my reaper. Tod was. By bringing me to the hospital, Tod had put me on his own reaping list. And he was refusing to kill me.
I glanced up at my dad, but he was still crying, still stroking my hair, and he saw nothing else.
The boy frowned up at Tod, like he was waiting for something. For the reaper hed recruited and trained to concede logic and give in. But Tod only shook his head, one last time.
Levis frown deepened, and he reached up toward Tods chest with one small hand. Tods blue eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. His soul streamed out of his body and curled around Levis tiny fist like a handful of incorporeal cotton. Tod glanced at me and blinked once. Then he disappeared.
He was justgone.
No! I screamed, but no sound came out. The pain in my heart swallowed the pain in my stomach like the ocean devours a single drop of rain. Thoughtless, wordless agony washed over me, a loss like Id never felt before. I was hollow, empty of everything but pain, and the ghost memory of blue eyes watching me, seeing me like no one else ever had. Those eyes would never look at me again. They would never blink, or swirl, or shine. They were gone. Tod was gone.
My entire world was pain.
I couldnt see through my tears, and when they finally fell, Levi stood next to my father, heedless of the nurses and doctors who stepped through him to get to me. Im so sorry, Kaylee, he said. He didnt give me any choice.
Then he placed one hand over my eyes, and the world went black.
I dont know what happened while the world was gone, but when it came back, the light was too bright to bear, even with my eyes closed. I blinked, and that brightness intensified beyond my threshold for pain, like a bolt of lightning through my brain. I blinked again, and my eyes began to adjust.
And my brain finally caught up.
What the hell? I whispered, surprised by how rough my voice sounded, until I remembered what happened.
This isnt hell, Kaylee. Far from it.
I jerked in surprise, then sat up so fast my head swam. A woman stood in front of me, wearing a brown suit jacket and skirt. Her hair was short, and her nose was long. Before I had a chance to ask her anything, I realized I was naked from the waist up. And sitting on a cold, metal table.
Im taking you to the hospital, but I cant go that far in one shot carrying you, so well have to stop a couple of times on the way. Okay?
I couldnt answer, but that didnt matter. I closed my eyes, then opened them almost immediately when something cold and wet fell on my face. It was raining softly, and I was outside, in a parking lot I didnt recognize. The lot faded, and the next instant Tod stood in a park, still clutching me to his chest, still crying.
My eyes fell shut again, and a second later, a familiar, antiseptic scent burned my nose, while bright lights rendered the world red and veiny through my closed eyelids.
I blinked, and the hospital came into view. A hallway, full of beeps, and voices, and the steady metallic clink of carts wheeled on linoleum. Tod laid me on a stretcher and pressed something to my stomach. It didnt hurt anymore, and that should have scared me, but nothing scared me more than seeing him cry.
Reapers dont cry. They dont. But Id made Tod cry. And he didnt even know what Id done yet.
Theyre going to fix you, Kaylee, he said, leaning down to whisper in my ear. I promise.
I shook my head, but Tod stepped back anyway, pulling his hand out of mine. He glanced down the hall, toward the source of most of the noise. Hey, somebody help! This girls bleeding!
My dad I mouthed, when I couldnt force any more sound, and Tod nodded. Then he disappeared.
A second later, footsteps pounded toward me, and the first nurse appeared from around the corner, clad in Looney Tunesprint scrubs. Holy She yelled something else I couldnt focus on, and more people came running. They wheeled me past a long desk and into a room full of equipment, and someone started cutting my remaining clothes off.
Minutes lateror seconds; Id lost all sense of timeTod reappeared with my father in tow.
Kaylee! my dad shouted, and a man in scrubs held him back. Thats my daughter!
Sir, how did you get in here?
My dad threw one punch, and the nurse hit the floor. In the next instant, he was at my side, and someone was yelling that he could stay, if he stayed out of the way.
Kaylee Tears trailed down his face as he brushed hair back from my head. Someone pushed him aside and an oxygen mask was lowered over my face, then he was back and Tod was with him.
They watched me, tears standing in their eyes, and every time I blinked, it became a struggle to open my eyes again. I didnt hear the questions, the slosh of liquids, or the crackle of sealed packages being opened. I didnt feel the needles, or the sterile solution, or the pulse monitor clipped over my finger. I only saw Tod and my dad. The men who loved me. I wished I could tell them how sorry I was that Idruined everything.
Then I blinked, and the world dimmed. And suddenly a little redheaded boy was there, completely out of place in an E.R. operating room. He pulled Tod away from the bed and said something I couldnt hear.
Levi.
It was time. Levi had come to reap my soul.
But instead, he handed Tod a slip of paper, watching solemnly as he read it, and Tod gaped at him. Then shook his head. Levi repeated whatever hed said, then gestured to me with one open hand. Tod crossed his arms over his chest and held his ground. And finally I understood.
Levi wasnt my reaper. Tod was. By bringing me to the hospital, Tod had put me on his own reaping list. And he was refusing to kill me.
I glanced up at my dad, but he was still crying, still stroking my hair, and he saw nothing else.
The boy frowned up at Tod, like he was waiting for something. For the reaper hed recruited and trained to concede logic and give in. But Tod only shook his head, one last time.
Levis frown deepened, and he reached up toward Tods chest with one small hand. Tods blue eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. His soul streamed out of his body and curled around Levis tiny fist like a handful of incorporeal cotton. Tod glanced at me and blinked once. Then he disappeared.
He was justgone.
No! I screamed, but no sound came out. The pain in my heart swallowed the pain in my stomach like the ocean devours a single drop of rain. Thoughtless, wordless agony washed over me, a loss like Id never felt before. I was hollow, empty of everything but pain, and the ghost memory of blue eyes watching me, seeing me like no one else ever had. Those eyes would never look at me again. They would never blink, or swirl, or shine. They were gone. Tod was gone.
My entire world was pain.
I couldnt see through my tears, and when they finally fell, Levi stood next to my father, heedless of the nurses and doctors who stepped through him to get to me. Im so sorry, Kaylee, he said. He didnt give me any choice.
Then he placed one hand over my eyes, and the world went black.
I dont know what happened while the world was gone, but when it came back, the light was too bright to bear, even with my eyes closed. I blinked, and that brightness intensified beyond my threshold for pain, like a bolt of lightning through my brain. I blinked again, and my eyes began to adjust.
And my brain finally caught up.
What the hell? I whispered, surprised by how rough my voice sounded, until I remembered what happened.
This isnt hell, Kaylee. Far from it.
I jerked in surprise, then sat up so fast my head swam. A woman stood in front of me, wearing a brown suit jacket and skirt. Her hair was short, and her nose was long. Before I had a chance to ask her anything, I realized I was naked from the waist up. And sitting on a cold, metal table.
