Destined (15 page)

~To Heal Again~

Laura stepped back in shock. It felt as if she had been fisted hard in her stomach, and al the breath escaped her lungs. She was no fool; she knew in the back of her mind that without the mushrooms Alexander’s fate was already sealed, but hearing Selaine say it out loud made it so much more palatable. So much more real. There was no hiding from the knowledge anymore. She felt trapped within a horrible void; a life-numbing and soul-sucking void of despair and anguish.

“But the archive,” she began desperately, “you said you know of it! You must know how it operates, how to open it! Tel me, I wil go there again!”

“Calm yourself, Laura. When fate starts you straight in the face, you do not cower in fear. Rather, you welcome it with open arms. And when the time comes… you must be ready to embrace your fate.”

“How do I get inside?” Laura repeated, not hearing what Selaine was saying.

“That is a question that has been asked many times.”

“What do you mean?”

“It means,” Selaine replied calmly, “that the doors are said to open for some, but not for others.”

“For
who
?” Laura demanded.

Selaine spread her hands. “If I knew, I would tel you. But I do not.”

“So do you…” Laura swal owed, “…do you mean

there is no hope for Alexander?”

“There is always hope, child, but sometimes it is like a piece of string when you’re drowning. It is simply not enough to get you out by itself.”

Laura stared at Selaine in disbelief. Was this the end for Alexander? Had she failed him so completely? “What hope is there?” Laura asked despondently. “If the way is blocked, it means you…

you cannot make the antidote.”

Selaine sighed again. “There is nothing for me to say that wil ease your worries. And that should not be my intention in either case. But for now, you can give him this.” She pushed the flask across the table to Laura. “Give it to him tonight, and come see me tomorrow. We wil recoup then. The herbs I put together – they should ease his suffering greatly. But it is not a cure, only a mask. We wil see how long it holds.”

“Ok,” Laura said. “I wil .” If the brown liquid in the smal flask was her last string of hope, she would grip it as tightly as she could.

“Place two drops on the wound,” Selaine instructed, handing Laura the flask, “and give him the rest to swal ow. The taste is vile, he may fight when he feels it against his tongue, but you must ensure he gets every drop.”

“Every drop,” Laura repeated to herself. She turned around, holding on to the smal glass bottle as if her life depended on it. She knew that
Alexander’s
life depended on it. Quickly, she ran down the stairs, and rushed outside. Pushing the door open with one shoulder, she was startled when she came face-toface with a tal , dark man with shoulder-length hair. He looked just as surprised to see her, hand frozen in place where he had started to reach for the door.

“Excuse me,” Laura muttered, brushing by. Right away, she could smel him – smel the human essence that breathed life into him and made him whole; the tangy-sweet smel of human blood. It should have cal ed to her, but it didn’t. Her mind was set on getting the remedy in her hands to Alexander as soon as possible.

Absently, she wondered who the man was to visit Selaine so late at night. It didn’t matter. Al that mattered was getting to Alexander.

She started jogging down the street, then, seeing that nobody was around, picked up her pace and ran. It wasn’t far, going at her speed, but every second going by pressed down on her shoulders with the weight of a thousand boulders.

She

sped

down

the

streets,

crossing

intersections and flying by buildings, until she was at the very edge of town. Just when she could see the barn in the distance, she stopped dead in her tracks. Something crossed her mind. The man that she brushed shoulders with outside Selaine’s shop – he had that distinct human smel . Yet, compared to Selaine’s smel , it was so much more potent, so much more vivid. Maybe she was just imagining it al , but it occurred to her for the first time that Selaine’s smel was… just a little bit off. Dul ed, a bit, perhaps. But the urgency of getting to Alexander made her press forward instead of dwel ing on the discovery. She ran to the barn entrance. Somebody had propped up a large, rectangular piece of plywood against it, making a semblance of a door. Laura squeezed by it and came inside.

Immediately, her eyes found Alexander. He was in the same spot he had been when she left him, but she saw that a cot had been made for him, complete with wool blankets and pil ows. A few candles that were nearly burned out stood around his bed, providing a weak, flickering light that Laura did not need. His body was under the covers, and a damp rag lay on his forehead. She reprimanded herself for getting impatient with Selaine – by the looks of it, she had tended to him much better than Laura ever had. Stil , Laura al but ran over to the makeshift bed, Stil , Laura al but ran over to the makeshift bed, sliding to her knees beside it.

“Oh, Alexander,” she whispered, lifting the rag on his head and careful y flipping it over. He was stil hot, though not as bad as before. At the same time, he looked so peaceful with his eyes closed. It was as if, like Selaine had said, he had embraced his fate.
No
.
Not yet
.
You can’t leave yet
. His breaths came slower than before, and were more shal ow. No matter what Selaine told her about him fighting off the poison, it was clear to Laura that he was nearing his last stand. She hoped the liquid she held in her hand would be enough.

Careful y, slowly, she rol ed down the top of the blanket that was pressed up to his neck, and revealed the sickening wound. She winced as she looked upon it again. The actual wound looked slightly tighter, more constricted at the edges, but the discoloration of the skin had spread to a much wider radius around it. Alexander’s entire shoulder, and nearly half of his upper-chest, were now a nauseating black-stained yel ow. The contrast against his otherwise perfectly-white skin only emphasized the severity of his condition.

Two drops on the wound, the rest for him to
swallow
. Taking great care, Laura twisted off the cork stopper. As soon as it popped open, a vile, horrific stench stained the air, catching Laura off guard. The smel permeated deep into her nostrils and clung to the top of her throat, its harsh edge uncompromising and stinging al at once. It soiled her clothes and scratched at her eyes. She started to cough violently. Her eyes watered, and she kept coughing. Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t stop the coughing fit that overtook her. She turned away, away from that vile stench, to breathe in the cleaner air around her. That made it a little better.

Slowly, the initial shock of the smel started to wear off. Slightly. She dabbed at her eyes with one hand, wiping them clear, and pul ed her shirt over her nose to avoid smel ing the brown liquid in the flask. She couldn’t imagine what the ingredients of it were for it to smel so vile.

Gathering herself, she looked over Alexander again. The shock of the smel had caught her offguard, and perhaps it was amplified by her increased senses, but she knew she had to give it to Alexander. She picked up the smal bottle, gripping it tightly by its neck. As she carried it over Alexander’s stil body, she realized her hands were trembling. And her breath was ragged. She was nervous. Nervous that this may not work, nervous about the uncertainty of not knowing what was going to happen next. She was also worried. Worried about the instability of Alexander’s

condition,

and

about

the

dire

circumstance she found herself in, al alone in a circumstance she found herself in, al alone in a strange and secluded Canadian vil age out in the middle of nowhere.

Two drops on the wound, and the rest for him to
swallow
. Laura took a deep breath, and tried her best to stop her hand from shaking. Slowly, methodical y, she tipped the flask over directly above Alexander’s wound. She watched as the liquid started to pool together near the edge of the rim. She waited, tilting the flask a hair-breadth’s more, for a drop to form out of the pool. It did, slowly, and Laura watched as it grew larger, dangling precariously as it gained weight and was beckoned down by gravity.

It broke away and fel , down through the air to make contact with Alexander’s wound. Immediately, the liquid started to sizzle violently, like an egg dropped on a too-hot frying pan. As it bubbled, it seemed to thin itself out, and either Laura’s eyes deceived her, or that single drop began to
expand
, growing large enough to thinly cover the entire wound. Bubbles rose from the edges, but the sizzling had died out.

Again, Laura tilted the flask with deliberate care to pool out a second drop. It formed slowly, and then gained enough size to break free from the rim of the flask. It fel , and landed perfectly on the same spot as the first drop. However, instead of bubbling or sizzling, this one only started to react with the layer the first drop had created. It changed the consistency of the coating. Laura stared in amazement as the deep red of the wound shifted to a more natural, softer red. And the skin around the wound slowly lost some of its harsh edge, regaining a bit of the tone of Alexander’s natural skin color.

Just then, Alexander groaned, and shifted to take the weight off his shoulder. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes shut tight. Laura looked worriedly at him. She hoped these herbs would work.

Two drops on the wound, and the rest for him to
swallow
. Laura looked at the remaining liquid in the flask. There was at least half a cup in there by volume. It smel ed vile, but Selaine said it would help. She couldn’t imagine how bad it would taste.

Gently, she lifted Alexander’s head up, and brought the flask to his lips. Then she poured the liquid into his mouth.

With a gasp, Alexander’s eyes shot open. They were wide, but not seeing. Vainly he tried to push away the bottle held at his lips, but Laura kept it there. He struggled, thrashing against her grip, but she held him tight. Maybe a quarter of the liquid had already made its way into his mouth, which meant there were three-quarters to go. His eyes closed, and he fel back, dropping away from the flask.

Again, Laura brought the flask to his lips, and again poured it in his mouth. This time, she was more ready for his struggle against it, and pushed herself over his upper body to keep him stil . He fought against her again as soon as the remedy touched his tongue, thrashing every which way and desperately trying to get away, but Laura held him down. He twisted his head away, and she fol owed him with the flask, forcing the mixture down his throat, until al of the liquid was gone. After the last drop had come out, Laura leaned back, relieved that it was over. Alexander coughed weakly. Al of a sudden, spasms ran across his entire body. Laura watched, worriedly, as wave after wave overtook him. Had she done something wrong? His entire body shook, again and again, and al Laura could do was watch. Just as suddenly as the onslaught came, it stopped. And his eyes slowly… fluttered open. He turned his head weakly towards her.

“Madison?” he asked uncertainly.

“No,” Laura answered sadly. She heard the pain in his voice, and saw the conflict in his eyes. He turned his head to look back up. He squeezed his eyes shut, and then opened them again. He tried to shift his weight up, to move up into a sitting position, but his body was too weak to listen. He closed his eyes again, and his jaw clenched.

“I won’t let you go,” Laura whispered. “Not like this.”

this.”

Again, his eyes came open. But this time, when he moved to look at her, she saw recognition in his gaze. “L… Laura?”

“You know me,” she breathed, joy overcoming shock. “You remember!”

His furrowed his brow, and shook his head.

“What… what are you talking about? Of course I know you, Laura.” His voice was barely above a whisper.

“Yes,” Laura said. “I was so worried about you.”

“Worried…? Why?” He coughed. “I’ve been so far away. So far from everything…” His eyes started to glaze over.

“No!” Laura exclaimed, gripping his hand. “Stay with me.”

“It’s cal ing to me, Laura,” he muttered, barely moving his lips. “The sweet embrace of death. The final end. The release from this world. It’s… cal ing me.”

“No,” Laura said again, heat entering her voice.

“You can’t go!”

“…the release…” he said softly as he exhaled, closing his eyes.

Laura strengthened the grip on his hand, and held it tight. She saw his face, saw the pain he’s in, and her heart went out to him. “I wil keep you here,”

she promised. “For Madison.” The words felt dirty to say, after al the pain Madison had caused her. But if it was what Alexander needed…

“Madison?” His eyes opened, and Laura saw recognition again. And… relief. “She is here?”

“Not yet,” Laura whispered reassuringly. “But she wil come. Soon.” It pained her to say it, and hurt her even more to lie to him like this, but it was what she needed to do.

He looked at her. His eyes slowly sharpened, until she could feel his gaze on her face. “I see you, Laura,” he said.

“I see you too, Alexander,” Laura whispered. She could feel tears start to build up behind her eyes, and blinked quickly to hold them back. Her heart felt heavy. “Don’t fade away.”

“You are… so beautiful. Your transformation… it has made you so much stronger. Keep that strength, Laura. Your youth, granted to you forever.” He coughed again, and looked away. “Madison was right,” he said softly, “we shouldn’t have split up. But I insisted on it, dammit! We had to protect you.”

“What?” Laura couldn’t understand what he was saying. Was he delusional again?

“Logan. He… cares for you. Do not forget that.”

Laura smiled sadly, and took Alexander’s hand again. “No,” she told him gently, “he left me. Deserted me in the woods. Al I have now is you.”

Alexander’s eyes flickered for a moment, and Alexander’s eyes flickered for a moment, and then his head fel back. He stared up at the ceiling lifelessly. “No!” Laura exclaimed. “No, you can’t leave yet!” He didn’t respond. Laura looked away desperately, and looked back again, hoping, wishing, that somehow his condition would change in that short interval. He was stil breathing, at least, but his jaw was clenched again, and strain was clear on his face. He was in pain.