The Emerald Talisman (14 page)

Police.

Someone yelled “cops” and the rivals
scattered. Two officers came down the hillside to the beach and I
watched Phil walk over to meet them.

Sam ran over to me, grabbed my hand and
pulled me over to the group. I had a hard time remaining calm with
overwhelming sea of testosterone filled anger washing over me. I
overheard someone say they called 911 to report the potential fight
and that the cops happened to be patrolling in the area.

“That was lucky,” Sam said, relieved.

“Yeah,” I forced out, feeling suffocated by
the hysteria.

I spotted Katie and she ran over to greet
us.

“Hey,” Katie said out of breath, completely
elated. “Fun night, huh?”

I shook my head. Only Katie would find danger
exciting.

“Time for everyone to go home. There’s a
curfew in effect.” A masculine voice boomed out of a loudspeaker
from the top of the cliff followed by a large spotlight that
flashed right into the crowd of kids. I squinted and held my hand
up to block the glare.

“Curfew?” I asked. “Since when?”

“Since the serial murders’,” Todd said in a
condescending tone. “Where have you been?”

My cheeks flushed and I looked away. I must
have been too absorbed in my own world to notice. What was
happening to our safe town?

I scanned the disbursing crowd to see where
Phil went, hoping he’d come back and join me, but he was nowhere to
be seen.

“I came back and looked for you earlier.
Where did you go?” Sam asked, drawing me back into the
conversation.

“I was watching the waves,” I said, pointing
to the surf’s edge, hoping to see Phil’s sandy blond head.

“Alone? I didn’t see you.”

“No, Phil was with me. Have you seen him by
chance?”

Sam’s eyes grew big and I knew she suspected
something more than what really happened, but now wasn’t the time
to go into details. I hadn’t been able to shake the foreboding
feeling that set in earlier and I just wanted all my friends to go
home where it was safe, especially Phil. Where did he go? I
couldn’t believe he’d leave without saying goodbye. I thought our
talk meant more than that.

“I didn’t even know he was here,” Sam said
with a sing-song in her voice.

The cops started combing the beach and forced
people to leave. I didn’t want them to come over and hassle us, but
then I didn’t want to walk back alone either.

“Can you guys walk me to my car?” I asked Sam
and Todd, frustrated Phil disappeared on me.

I gathered my things and we drudged up the
hill to my car. I weakly smiled to the officer directing the kids
off the beach. He didn’t seem amused, so I kept my head down and we
silently paraded past until we reached my car, which was parked
further down the road, close to a small thicket by the lagoon.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” I said as I
gave Sam a hug.

Behind her, Todd began to grow impatient.

“Yeah,” she said super softly. “Thanks for
staying around.”

“No problem.”

I slid into the driver’s seat and watched
them walk away holding hands and sighed, trying not to be jealous.
Was it really too much to want an uncomplicated relationship with
someone I could trust too? Why was that such an impossible thing? I
turned the key in the ignition and my car roared to life. I was
about to pull out onto the highway when I felt a sensation of pain
coming from nearby.

I looked out the car windows, but I didn’t
see anyone. The pain intensified, so I opened my door and got out.
I waited a second to see what direction the feelings were coming
from, when I heard a moan behind the bushes.

My knees almost buckled when I discovered the
identity of the bruised and disheveled body hidden behind the
shrubs.

“Phil,” I whispered as I knelt down and
gently nudged him. His skin was cold and gray and his clothing
torn. He had scratches, cuts and rows of crescent-shaped puncture
marks on his neck and shoulder. And no matter how much I tried to
wake him, he didn’t respond.

Oh Phil, please be okay.

For a second, I didn’t know what to do. I
looked around for help, but no one was around. He needed to get to
the hospital quick. I bent over and listened for a heart beat. When
I heard his breath, slow and shallow, I was relieved. I tried my
hardest to pick him up, but the dead weight of his body made it
difficult to lift him. The only alternative was to wrap my arms
around his torso and drag him to my car.

He moaned softly again.

“It’s okay Phil. I’m going to take you to the
hospital.”

I laid him across the backseat and then
covered him with my beach blanket. He started to shiver, taking in
short, raspy breaths.

“Hang on Phil.”

I jumped in the front seat and drove like a
maniac toward the hospital, checking my rearview mirror frequently
to make sure he was still breathing.

“We are almost there Phil, hang on,” I kept
telling him.

I rounded the corner and flew into the
hospital parking lot and raced towards the emergency room
entrance.

“Help me!” I yelled, as I flung open my door
and sprinted around to open the back door showing my injured
passenger. A guy in scrubs ran to the car, took Phil’s vitals and
then another came with a stretcher. Soon a group of hospital staff
surrounded my car, separating me from Phil.

“What happened?” a blonde woman with
horn-rimmed glasses and pink scrubs asked me.

“I don’t know,” I said as they lifted him out
of the car and placed him on the stretcher. “I just found him lying
in the bushes like this.”

“He’s lost a lot of blood,” I heard another
say. “Looks like it’s an animal attack.”

“Take him to room four.”

“What is your friend’s name sweetie?” The
blonde woman asked, stepping in front of me, blocking my view.

“Phil,” I said, frantically looking over her
shoulder, watching them wheel him through the double doors. I made
a move to follow, but the woman stopped me.

“And what is your name, hun?”

“I’m Julia. Julia Parker.”

“Okay, Julia, we’ll take care of your friend,
but you’ll need to wait in the waiting room until he’s stable,” she
said, putting her hand on my shoulder. Her words were sincere, but
on the inside, she didn’t care. She was the gatekeeper and it was
her job to keep me away from the patient until they finished doing
their job.

“What? I want to be with my friend.”

Her eyes were sympathetic, but it was all a
façade. Really, she was annoyed, but not as annoyed as the security
guard who was marching towards us.

“You can’t leave your car there,” he grunted,
a little bit louder than necessary.

I looked at the nurse and ignored the guard,
hoping she’d not really make me wait in the waiting room with all
the untreated patients.

“Please. Don’t make me wait in there. I want
to be with Phil. He has no one to support him,” I begged.

“I’ll come get you as soon as he can have
visitors,” she said while giving my hand two nice pats. Nothing was
going to break this ice queen. I clamped my mouth shut, wanting to
say a few choice words but instead watched helplessly as she left
me standing outside the double doors. I had to figure out another
way to get inside and fast.

“Ma’am, you need to move your car,” the
security guard snapped, his cigarette and stale coffee breath blown
in my face.

“I heard you!” I snipped and spun around.
“Gosh!”

I glared at him when I drove past, but he
stood at attention with his smug smile.

Even before crossing the threshold of the
emergency waiting room, I could feel the putrescent misery inside.
The electric doors opened and shut as I waffled whether or not to
go in. On the other side was agonizing suffering but I had no
choice. For Phil’s sake, I had to endure it.

I held my breath before plunging myself into
the air conditioned room and clutched my stomach for fear I’d get
sick right in front of everyone. The arrangement was different than
my local hospital. There was no desk inside, just a sign with a
clipboard and instructions to fill out the form and put it in the
slot on the door marked
Triage
which didn’t apply to me.

There was a different security guard standing
in the corner by the only set of double doors leading out of the
waiting room. I walked towards them and hoped maybe there was
someone inside that could help me.

“Can I help you Miss?” the guard said and
stepped in front of me, blocking my path.

“Oh… my friend is in there. I need to go see
him.”

“Do you have a pass?” he grunted.

“No, but…”

“You can’t come in here without a pass.
You’ll need to wait over there and I’ll get a staff person to
assist you.” He pointed behind me. When I didn’t move, he became
irritated. “Please, ma’am. Wait over there.”

I looked where he was pointing. There were
already a few anxious faces waiting in a row of well worn
chairs.

“You don’t understand–” I started to say.

“You need to wait over there, or you’ll have
to be escorted out,” he said pointing more firmly.

I scowled, knowing I couldn’t win this
showdown. He controlled the door to this ludicrous facility and
could keep me from going inside if he really wanted. With a huff, I
obeyed and walked over to the wall close to the chairs. I might
have moved, but I wasn’t going to sit where he told me to.

I stood for five incredibly long minutes, but
no one came through the doors. The guard stood straight-faced,
telling the same thing to anyone who tried to come through the
doors after me.

I was beginning to think I would have to
torturously wait there forever when the doors finally opened and a
nurse entered the room. She was ambushed by a group of people all
explaining their situations at once. She silenced them and then
motioned to someone who sat patiently in the chairs I was suppose
to be sitting in and took them into the back. The others began to
complain loudly, but the guard silenced them.

I started to pace. The feelings in the room
were putting me on edge and I needed to focus to keep from freaking
out.

I am here for Phil.

I am here for Phil.

I wanted to go outside and escape the slow
painful suffocation, but was afraid I’d miss the heartless nurse in
the pink scrubs who promised to get me. I looked around to find the
source of all the discomfort I felt.

I noticed a little boy no older than seven in
a wheel chair with his leg propped straight out and his side badly
scratched. I felt the pain throbbing in his leg and was relieved to
see them take him into the back room. It didn’t seem fair to have
him endure that kind of pain for long. A woman in her mid-forties
looked like she’d cut her hand, another feverish and nauseous, an
ear ache, a sore throat. I moved closer to the disheveled bruised
drunk who nursed a swollen wrist. At least his inebriated state
numbed me a little.

But overall, I couldn’t keep straight who was
feeling what and closed my eyes to block out the agony.

“Julia?”

I opened and locked eyes with the nurse in
pink scrubs.

Hallelujah

“Yes?” I ran over to her.

“Come with me.”

I followed her through the doors, tempted to
stick my tongue out at the security guard as we passed, but I felt
his disdain. He really hated his job.

“How is he?” I asked.

“He’s stable now. We needed to transfuse him.
He’d lost a lot of blood.”

I tried my hardest to listen to what she was
saying, trying to keep a straight face as I felt new and awful
ailments accompanied by hopelessness and despair. It seemed to get
worse the further we walked down the sterile hall of the
hospital.

“Is he awake?” I asked, attempting to keep my
focus on the problem at hand.

“He’s awake, but not very coherent. We can’t
get him to tell us what happened or where his family is. Do you
know who we could contact?”

“I don’t know his parents.”

“Okay. We have his information from his
wallet, so I’m sure we’ll be able to find someone soon.”

She led me to his room and opened the door.
Phil sat up in bed, bandaged now, with his eyes open, but his head
was turned towards the window overlooking the dimly illuminated
parking lot. He had an IV in his arm and a monitor recording his
erratic heartbeat. He still looked gray. The nurse left us
alone.

“Phil?” I said quietly

He didn’t turn.

“Phil? You okay?” I walked around to the
other side of his bed hoping his hearing wasn’t affected too.

His eyes were empty as he looked beyond me
out into the night. Inside I mentally reached out to see what he
was feeling and felt nothing. He was completely numb to me.

Then he blinked and looked directly into my
eyes. The happy Phil I’d met earlier was gone, replaced by this
empty shell. I looked closely at his blue eyes. They weren’t so
blue anymore. Dark fluid was swirling around his irises. I fought
back a gasp.

“Phil, what’s happening?” I said and grabbed
his hand, leaning in for a closer look.

At my touch he pulled his hand away.

“I’m fine. What are you doing here?” he said,
with a bitter tone.

“I brought you here, don’t you remember?”

He glanced down and glared at the IV taped to
his hand then back at me. He blinked slowly and shot me a deadly
look. I started to feel his hostility.

“What happened?” I said softly, as I backed
away, trying not to irritate him further.

“Nothing happened and you should mind your
own business. Did they send you in here to interrogate me?” he
barked.

“No.”

“I really just want to be left alone,” he
said, while loosening the tape on his hand.

“Okay, I can go. But can I call your parents
and let them know you’re here?”