Beloved Evangeline (32 page)

“
No, we need that. I have to
eat it
,” I said once again—this time with annoyance.

“
I don’t like it.”

“
Yes, Mr. Fernwood. I
must
ingest it
for this to be believable,” I was growing tired of going over and over this.

“
No, no,” Mr. Fernwood shook his head, “I got a better idea.” He was gone in flash, before I’d had even the slightest opportunity to protest, with the pain medication from my accident.

I sighed. “Fine. Give me the pills.”

Mr. Fernwood gave me the pills and administered the apple juice.

“
Now you need to help me out of the strait jacket—like you should’ve done days ago.”

Mr. Fernwood made a face, but loosened the buckles at the back. My arms slackened slightly at the sides, but he didn’t finish removing the jacket to give me use of my hands.

“
Can you please take the rest of it off?” I gestured in exasperation with my hands still inside the ridiculously long sleeves.

“
I can’t,” Mr. Fernwood broke out in laughter, “You... just look so cute right now...” He couldn’t contain his laughter and could barely speak.

I waved my arms more animatedly in frustration, “Take it off!”

Mr. Fernwood doubled over with laughter, “Stop it,” he choked, “You gotta stop it, now,” He continued laughing.

My arms dangled helplessly and my eyes closed. Apparently, I just had to wait it out. While I was waiting, I began to feel really warm and
unsteady
.

“
Here, sit down now,” Mr. Fernwood ushered me to a chair, “I’m sorry about that. Sometimes, when I get really tickled, there’s just no stopping it.”

“
Understood,” I said while leaning back in the chair. I felt nauseated. I’d forgotten I hadn’t eaten anything before swallowing the pills.

“
Sorry, kiddo. We gotta leave it on you a bit longer, though. And get the stage all set.”

Ten minutes later I was in bed, strait jacket loosened a bit, hospital gown pulled down slightly, exposing my collarbone suggestively, and I was mildly impaired. Mr. Vaughn had gone downstairs to sign in the visitor log as my great uncle Felix, who in reality was like, 93, but no one else need know that.

I heard Mr. Fernwood shouting down the hallway, “If my little niece has been harmed in anyway, you’ll be paying for it dearly.”

A hospital administrator walked in. In her early sixties, she had sternness implying we better not be wasting her time. “What exactly is going on here... your chart says you were to be restrained...”

“
I don’t feel so good...” at least my speech was slurred convincingly, “That nurse guy came in to loosen my jacket off or something, so I’d be more comfortable, I think he said?” My eyelids drooped.

“
He said he asked for a double shift just so he could spend the whole day. I don’t feel so good. My uncle told me not to eat the oatmeal. He went to go get the doctor lady.” I closed my eyes, too groggy to continue.

I woke the following morning, with Mr. Fernwood sitting in the chair beside me. “You did it, alright,” he said, “They took the oatmeal and tested it... carted away that guy in cuffs right after that.” He smirked, apparently impressed at my acting abilities. “You gave quite a performance, up til the time you passed out.” Then again, maybe he was just amused by me.

“
Well, we should probably start preparing for the big day... you ready?”

“
To get out of here, are you kidding? Whatever we need to do, let’s do it.”

We spent the better part of my last few days in preparation for, and rehearsal of, my escape. At the end of the final day I was exhausted, but completely incapable of falling asleep the entire night. I tossed and turned restlessly, my mind racing. It wasn’t the getting out that was making me anxious, it was the part that came after that that had me worried. This was going to be a dangerous undertaking, but it had to be done. Confrontation was inevitable, but still, I couldn’t help wishing there was some other way.

What were my chances in all of this, realistically? From what I could tell, not great. Maybe that was the real reason I couldn’t fall asleep—contemplating the idea of knowingly, and willingly, surrendering myself to death. Even normal people would be worried about that, too, right? Come to think of it, in retrospect, up to this point, my entire life suddenly seemed rather unfair. I was stuck dealing with some really complicated, basically unsolvable problems. Why was this my lot, worrying about my own death at what should be the peak of my life? I should be worried about my career… when to have children and how many….

I curled up into a ball on my bed, hugging my pillow tightly, and lay awake all night.

28.

Mr. Fernwood winked. I held my breath and.... jumped.

Screaming as I fell, I hit the ground with such an enormous wallop that I thought for sure both my legs had been crushed. I had an awareness of being on the ground, but the pain of the landing had stolen my breath. The force of that initial fall jarred my head so badly it felt as though my teeth had shattered. I could do nothing but remain still, dark spots obscuring my vision as I felt myself drifting away. My final thought, filled with sadness, was that I’d been gravely wrong about Mr. Fernwood.

The next thing I was aware of was someone tugging on my arm. I batted the someone away and shakily stood myself up. I was unsteady on my feet, but held up well enough.

“
I’ve sure seen better landings, but I guess that wasn’t so bad for a beginner.”

I tried to fuss at Mr. Fernwood, but all I could say was, “My. Head,” as I reached for my throbbing cranium.

“
Ah, you’re gonna be fine. Look, not a scratch on you. We gotta be going after all that racket you just made....”

“
I thought you were gonna, I mean
going
to
, take care of things. I landed just as hard as if I’d jumped from a ten-story window, which
I did
, because you told me to!!”

“
But you didn’t need my help, honey. You coulda done this by yourself all this time. I just gave you a little push, that’s all. Aren’t you feeling a tad better already?”

I was. Quite a bit better actually. The ache in my head was already less acute, and I was able to walk.

I tested that walk by walking away from Mr. Fernwood.

“
Hold on, honey, I knew you wasn’t gonna be hurt really bad. I woulda helped you if I could...”

I turned to see his face, trying to discern if this was true.

“
Nobody else has survived drinking that poison you drank.” He patted my shoulder gently.
“
Do you get what that means?”

“
I can’t seem to
die
. And I can’t go in sunlight…”

“
You think that makes you a
vampire
? Were you bitten by one of them blood-sucking parasites when my back was turned? Do you thirst for blood?”

“
Well, no…”

“
I gave you credit for being a little brighter than that. Your aversion to sunlight, pet, has to do with your brush with the darkness—on the other side. It leaves a mark that can’t be unmade.”

I couldn’t seem to find any words.

“
Here, I swiped your clothes for you. Can’t stand to see you demeaned in them hospital clothes any longer.”

I took my beloved jeans, sweater, and boots from him. They seemed like the most wonderful treasures on earth. Mr. Fernwood turned his back as I shimmied into my jeans and pulled on the sweater.

“
I sure hope to see you again someday, under better circumstances,” he whispered in a suddenly more natural-sounding voice.

I was just zipping up my last boot, about to ask what he was talking about, when Mr. Fernwood shook his head, turning to me more gently, “The creature that was down there, in the place that you went, it even touched you didn’t it?”

I nodded, reaching for my chest automatically.

“
Don’t worry, the side effects of that will lessen a bit over time.”

“
Lessen?”

Mr. Fernwood eyed me sympathetically, “They’ll always be with you to some degree. And I am sorry for you. It’s not without difficulty that you’ll have to manage yourself from now on. But I think you’ll find that, eventually, you’ll be able to tolerate the sunlight again, a little bit a time. Like in small type doses. Sunglasses—I recommend them highly. I gotta wear them myself whenever I’m outside.”

“
So that’s where you’re from? The place where I went…?”

“
I told you never to ask me that!” His eyes were extremely wide, unnaturally so. His face twisted, distorted, ever so slightly, but even this slight change made his appearance completely different. For the first time since our meeting, I was fully aware that he was frightening, dangerous even. He immediately realized his mistake; his face resumed its normal appearance, but it was too late. The damage could not be undone. He seemed for the first time to be what he probably had been all along; I’d just been too preoccupied, or depressed, depending on your perspective, to notice. He was a wolf in disguise, or more appropriately, a
monster
.

I took a few tentative steps backward, away from the evil glint shining, clearly now, in Mr. Fernwood’s eyes.

“
I know what you’re thinking, cowgirl. Don’t even think about it.”

Ignoring him, I continued my retreat.
He could not be trusted
. My initial instinct had been right—he had been luring me to my death when we first met. Now he would finish the job out here where there were no witnesses.

“
That’s not true—let me explain.”

I said nothing. There was nothing left to talk about. As I kept stepping backwards, I succumbed to a sudden impulse to turn on my heel and run. I ran at top speed, marveling as the wilderness seemed to blur passed me. I had no idea where I was going—it mattered little as long as it took me far away from him.

Out of nowhere, the ground underneath me simply disappeared. Tumbling, flipping, and skidding, I rolled down into an enormous ravine, before landing, arms outstretched, in a puddle of mud near a stream at the bottom.

Once I’d mostly caught my breath, I slung mud from my hands and righted myself. Mercifully, the mud got only my hands and cuffs, missing most of my sweater and jeans.

The ravine was rather impressive. More impressive still was that my limbs were intact. The fall had to have been more than 300 feet down through trees and brambles. A few bruises and small scrapes, probably, but that was it. It was a phenomenal feeling. Maybe I
was
invincible. The only problem seemed to be with my breathing. I just couldn’t seem to catch my breath.

“
That’s the wrong attitude, Evangeline. We need to leave this place straight away.”

I whirled around to see Mr. Fernwood standing not ten feet behind me.

Impossible.
I glared at him, still panting forcefully from my run. I clutched my side to steady my breathing.

“
That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Maybe you should take it easy ‘til you figure things out. For another, we are in a terrible place right now...”

“
What are you?”

“
Stupid little girl! We ain’t got time for this right now!”

“
You’ve been lying to me, Mr. Fernwood,” I postured, “So I can’t really trust
anything
you say. And, I don’t like being lied to... do you not think I deserve some small degree of respect?”

He shook his head, frowning. “The truth will not help you trust me.”

“
I don’t care!” My hands rose to my temples, and my eyelids fluttered in my impatience. I tried to keep my temper in check. “I still need to hear it,” I managed somewhat more calmly.

He looked toward the sky. “What do you think you saw down in that place?”

I was angry, my head shaking involuntarily, my thoughts laced with a single word:
demonic
. All manner of luck seems to elude me.

“
Yeah. I mean, but that’s just a human label, really,” Mr. Fernwood replied flippantly. “We don’t exactly go around talking about that stuff ourselves. We got jobs to do, you know.”

“
Yeah? No kidding. What is
your
job
right now, Fernwood?”

He examined the backs of his hands very carefully but didn’t answer me.

“
Let me guess... it wasn’t by
coincidence
that you happened to find me?” I said with a less than subtle sarcastic edge to my voice, “Is that right?”

He stuck his chin out finally and nodded once.

“
Is this job of yours done now?”

Mr. Fernwood pursed his lips and shook his head.

“
By all means then, let’s just get it over with. Bludgeon me to death or whatever it is you plan to do.” My breathing began to steady, but my chest burned and my side ached. I felt the fatigue of someone who’d been running for hours.

“
I don’t have the strength to fight you off, or the speed to outrun you.” At this confession, my legs threatened to give beneath. “I thought you were my friend, Mr. Fernwood, and I know now exactly how foolish that sounds, but I needed to believe in someone, and have someone believe in me... ” I sighed heavily. “I’m tired, Mr. Fernwood, is what I’m trying to say... much too tired for this. I know I don’t stand any type of chance against you...” I narrowed my eyes at him, “So let’s just get it over with.”

Mr. Fernwood knelt beside me gently, “It’s for this very reason,” he muttered before he began unbuttoning his coat, “that I’ve been struggling so hard these past few weeks.” He shrugged one arm from his coat sleeve and then the other.

My body began shivering involuntarily from equal parts cold and fear of what was coming, but I was ready for it—and I would
not
go quietly.

“
What am I supposed to do with you?” He swung his jacket off and placed it over my shivering shoulders. “I ain’t gonna kill you, cowgirl. How could I?” He shrugged. “I may be an accursed demon, but I ain’t no
monster
.”

I eyed him dubiously.

“
Matter of fact, I knew the moment I laid eyes on you in that rec room that I wasn’t gonna be able to do it. I just kept procrastinating, making excuses to put it off... again and again. But all I found was more and more reasons not to go through with it, instead of the over way ‘round.”

“
Some stories are just too…
bizarrely intriguing
to cut short,” he mused, grinning.

I smiled a crooked smile at him then. I felt the truth in those words—at least that he believed them. I knew he was too uncomfortable with emotion for me to show any more of it. I sniffed once to make sure mine were under control. “So... you said we needed to go?”

“
Just don’t go running like that again... all that motion but none of it going forward…ah. I nearly died of laughter when you flew down that ravine,” he dabbed at his eyes before catching himself, seeming to think better of it and changing his tone, “I mean for your sake, too, you don’t wanna sap your strength too much.”

It had felt like I was running so fast. I’d always been a slow runner, too tall, big feet.

He was saying more but I didn’t catch it. Something behind him caught my eye. I was magnetically drawn to it.

“
No, no, cowgirl. The other way... we need to go the other way.”

I pointed in the direction of my gaze. My mouth gaped. I was incapable of speech.

Mr. Fernwood’s wicked eyes were, for the first time, full of sympathy. “Let it go, honey,” he said, “There was a reason you weren’t meant to find this place.”

I felt his gaze on me but didn’t meet it. A thin layer a fog was just beginning to rise. Just beyond us at the end of this giant crevice in the earth was a crescent-shaped clearing, at the edge of which was a single twisted tree, so enormous it was more than twice as tall as any of the other trees in the forest. Light shone all around it, illuminating its gently falling leaves.

A chorus of deep laughter suddenly filled the air around us.

I spun around at the sound of this new voice with us in the woods, seeing nothing but darkness.

29.

“
Her friends are on the way? Good.”

The person speaking was carrying on a conversation, though I heard no other voices.

“
I’m especially looking for the lover boy, the one who’s been killing himself over her. Do take special care when bringing him.”

Still I saw no one.

“
Life isn’t perfect, is it? Best just to roll with it sometimes. Considering her performance just now, and the fact that she just won’t stay
down
, it doesn’t look like killing her would really bring the
satisfaction
I was hoping for. No, I think I need to see the gore up close this time. Seeing her here now, I feel an itch that can’t be scratched any other way. And the friends—they’re really going to
help with
that itch
.”

Mr. Fernwood was holding onto my elbow, apparently holding me back. I shook my arm free of his grasp, marching toward the source of this voice, toward the lovely ancient tree. I could feel Mr. Fernwood watching me helplessly.