"What Remains Behind"
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dochermes"What Remains Behind"
11/19/2013
I.
Timothy Limbo didn't even notice when the motel room door opened behind him with a click of the lock being forced. He was still kneeling on the thin rug in front of the chair in which Emmy sat. Her chest only moved three or four times a minute, but he was convincing himself that the breathing was growing stronger and more frequent. Timothy had long since stopped looking for a pulse. Even the heating pad he had draped over her shoulders could not raised her temperature above that of the room.
For a long time, the door remained open behind him and the gust of cold December wind finally got his attention. In his late twenties, Timothy had not filled out much since adolesence. He was still a thin, gawky figure a few inches under six feet tall. His worn old leather jacket, jeans and biker boots did not make him intimidating in the slightest. Under a mop of butter-yellow hair, the bony face was as blank as Emmy's.
Closing the door, Haley Lawson gaped at the scene, not even aware her mouth was hanging wide open. Bundled up in a down-filled blue parka and wool scarf, she had left her long reddish-brown hair down free over her shoulders. She was much younger than he was, having barely reached twenty. Haley's most striking feature was a lovely pair of lime-green eyes but right now the expression in those eyes was pure dismay.
"Tim?" she ventured finally. "Hi. Excuse me. Sable didn't send me, I came on my own. When she contacted you after twelve hours, you just signalled back that you would get in touch later. You used the Green code to indicate you were in no danger. We didn't hear from you after that."
There was no response on his face. After a second, he swung around back to gaze up at Emmy. "You can't help, Haley. Go home."
"Oh, honey, I think you need more help than you realize." She unzipped her coat and dropped down on the rug next to him. "She's gorgeous, Timothy. Look at that hair. It's so jet black and wavy. Who is she?"
"Who WAS she? That's what you mean. Her name was Emily Giacoma. We went through grade school and high school together. Usually in the same homeroom. Yeah, she was always pretty."
Haley reached over and shook him by the shoulder as hard as she could. "Tim! Snap out of it. Look at me for a second. Turn your head and look at me." When she saw his eyes start to focus in her direction, she went on, "You know she's dead, right? Are you in shock or something?"
"Not really dead. She walked in here and sat down by herself. Emmy, wave to the nice girl."
With the faintest of creaking noises at the shoulder, Emily Giacoma lifted her right arm and held out an open hand in the most ghastly attempt at a wave imaginable. Her arm fell back down by itself.
"Oh my God, I can't handle this!" yelled Haley. The Windcatcher jumped to her feet and seized Tim by both arms to make him rise as well. She yanked hard enough to get him up without his cooperation. "What is wrong with you? Timothy Lambert, stare me right in the eyes. No, no, do not turn back or I swear I'll slap you so hard it'll break your nose."
"Don't be mad at me," he said mildly, lowering his gaze to the floor.
Still squeezing his arms hard enough to hurt, Haley tugged him with her as she backed toward the door and got them both outside. The wind chill was near ten above that night and despite his state, Timothy blinked and glanced around him. "I have to go back in," he said. "She might need me."
"She is beyond needing anything, Tim. Seriously. Listen to my voice. Am I your friend?"
"Sure. I know that."
"I prank you and give you hell and all that, but it's because I love you to pieces. Tim, what happened to Alacredo? Where is he?"
Timothy frowned and started to turn back to the motel door but she gripped him with fingers like vises. The freezing air was bringing awareness back. "Alacredo? He's dead. He had a ceremonial knife. I took it from him and.. I killed him. I had to get Emmy away from there."
"That's okay. He sure deserved it. Alacredo was a disgraced Hungan, a 'gangan' who was wanted by the authorities all over the Caribbean for multiple murders and abuse.The FBI alerted us he was in America."
The dark blue eyes seemed to see her for the first time. "Haley? Haley, Alacredo kidnapped Emily. He killed her and resurrected her to be his servant. He said he had to destroy all his Zombies when he left Cuba. Emily was going to be the first of his staff..." He shivered violently and glanced around the deserted parking lot. "What time is it anyway?"
"It's a quarter after three. And it's Sunday morning. We left headquarters Friday afternoon to start searching for Alacredo."
"Really." He twisted his head around toward the lit window of the room they had left. "Emmy has a big family. Three brothers and two sisters. They're Italian, you know. They must be so worried about her, but I can't call them."
"No. They must not see her this way." Haley had dropped her hands as she decided Timothy was not about to rush back into the room. "We've discussed what to do in a situation like this. All those KDF policy meetings with Sable going over all the horrifying situations we might find ourselves in."
"I'm freezing, Hales. Let's get back inside, I'm all right."
"In a minute. Here. I'm sure you haven't eaten anything in thirty-six hours." She reached into a pocket and came out with a handful of dried meat sticks, peeled the cellophane wrappers off two and gave one to him. "These are so bad for me, packed with salt and preservatives and God knows what, but I can't resist once in a while. I picked them up at a gas station on the way here."
Chewing on the snack, Timothy said, "You found me through my Link, I guess?"
"Yeah. You turned it off but we knew where the last signal had come from. Sable was taking the rest of the team to some emergency in Veganora, I dunno what. There's always a crisis somewhere. I said no, I had to find Tim and she agreed." Haley offered him another Slim Jim and he took it.
"I guess I was getting hungry after all ," he admitted. "Ow, feel that wind. Okay. Haley, we need to sneak Emmy back to our headquarters. There has to be a way to undo this Voodoo spell and revive her."
"Oh, honey, no. Stop thinking that's a possibility. You were there when Samuel Watesa spent a whole day lecturing us on this stuff. No one has ever found a way to return magick-based Zombies to life. It just never happens." The Windcatcher watched his face somberly. "Your friend was killed and her body given a semblance of animation, but she's NOT alive."
Timothy was shivering visibly, and he swung around toward the door to his room. "I'm going in, Hales, it's too cold out here. Come on. Help me decide what to do next."
"All right." Back inside, the air seemed stuffy and oppressive by contrast. She wrestled out of her parka before she would start to sweat. Underneath, she was wearing a bright gold cardigan over a black shirt since yellow always went well with her green eyes. Haley steered Timothy away from heading back toward the body and made him sit on the short couch in the corner. She dropped down next to him and rubbed his back to give what comfort she could.
"Now I keep thinking of her family," Timothy said. "They're all so close. They must be worried and hysterical."
"We have to end this," she agreed. "I'm so sorry, Tim. She was a childhood friend of yours. But that's not her. The real Emily has gone on, she has crossed over into the light. This shell is only what we leave behind."
"That's why we call it 'the remains,' " he agreed. "I understand. Oh God. I never dated Em, you understand, we were pals. We went swimming in the summer with a whole bunch of friends, we went to concerts and street fairs, that sort of thing. Always laughing, always raising hell. She's gone now. I get that, but it's so hard...."
"You can cry if you want. It's okay. I won't think any less of you."
"I'm all dried out from crying, honestly. My eyes are sore," he replied.
"Sometimes I think the two of us are not bad-ass enough for this Midnight War business," she said. "I mean, Jin is tough as a handful of nails. Jocelyn is hard when she needs to be. Even Sable can buckle down and face the worst atrocities without blinking. But you and I are honestly too sensitive."
"I've thought of that," admitted Timothy. He leaned forward and buried his face in his hands. "I love solving the mysteries and finding out about the secret worlds all around us. But there's too much fighting and having to use lethal force and having to see innocent victims. Like Emmy. Maybe I wasn't meant to be a Tel Shai knight." He stood up abruptly. "Hey, I know what to do. Give me one of those Slim Jims."
"Sure."
Taking the meat stick, he went over to kneel in front of Emily Giacoma. Her eyes did not follow him and he noticed that her pupils were clouding over. Taking her cold hand, he placed the snack in it. "Eat this. Chew it and swallow."
The Undead obeyed. As she demurely gulped down the meat, a tremor ran through her body. Emily took a deep shuddering breath and looked up right at Tim before she slumped to fall out of the chair. He did not react quickly enough to catch her.
With infinite tenderness, Timothy lifted the limp form and carried it over to stretch out on the bed. He clasped her hands together over her waist and was relieved that her eyes had closed. "Salt did it," he muttered. "That's what Watesa told us. When the Hungans used Zombies as labor on the old plantations, they had to keep salt away. Otherwise their victims were would actually die. She's completely gone now. To Heaven, if you believe in that."
"It was for the best," Haley said, getting up and standing next to him. "I passed a small local hospital on my way in here. We'll have to sneak her out in your car and leave her out in the hospital parking lot, then call 911 and report we saw a girl lying there. It sounds awful, but they'll bring her in and notify her family."
"Her poor parents. Emmy was their pride and joy." Timothy shook his head and went to get the heavy coat he had thrown in a corner. "I hate doing this. But I don't see any choice."
"Of course I'll help you. I'll get get some sheets from that dresser to wrap her in. Tim, this is the only option for us. At least her family will have closure. She'll have a proper burial and be treated with respect. It's the best we can do."
Timothy Limbo stood staring down at the body. "The most abominable things happen to the sweetest people. But you know, Haley, I don't care what Watesa or all the occult experts say. At that last moment, when the final trace of the spark left her body, I saw her look right at me. And I will always be certain that she remembered me."
2/21/2019
11/19/2013
I.
Timothy Limbo didn't even notice when the motel room door opened behind him with a click of the lock being forced. He was still kneeling on the thin rug in front of the chair in which Emmy sat. Her chest only moved three or four times a minute, but he was convincing himself that the breathing was growing stronger and more frequent. Timothy had long since stopped looking for a pulse. Even the heating pad he had draped over her shoulders could not raised her temperature above that of the room.
For a long time, the door remained open behind him and the gust of cold December wind finally got his attention. In his late twenties, Timothy had not filled out much since adolesence. He was still a thin, gawky figure a few inches under six feet tall. His worn old leather jacket, jeans and biker boots did not make him intimidating in the slightest. Under a mop of butter-yellow hair, the bony face was as blank as Emmy's.
Closing the door, Haley Lawson gaped at the scene, not even aware her mouth was hanging wide open. Bundled up in a down-filled blue parka and wool scarf, she had left her long reddish-brown hair down free over her shoulders. She was much younger than he was, having barely reached twenty. Haley's most striking feature was a lovely pair of lime-green eyes but right now the expression in those eyes was pure dismay.
"Tim?" she ventured finally. "Hi. Excuse me. Sable didn't send me, I came on my own. When she contacted you after twelve hours, you just signalled back that you would get in touch later. You used the Green code to indicate you were in no danger. We didn't hear from you after that."
There was no response on his face. After a second, he swung around back to gaze up at Emmy. "You can't help, Haley. Go home."
"Oh, honey, I think you need more help than you realize." She unzipped her coat and dropped down on the rug next to him. "She's gorgeous, Timothy. Look at that hair. It's so jet black and wavy. Who is she?"
"Who WAS she? That's what you mean. Her name was Emily Giacoma. We went through grade school and high school together. Usually in the same homeroom. Yeah, she was always pretty."
Haley reached over and shook him by the shoulder as hard as she could. "Tim! Snap out of it. Look at me for a second. Turn your head and look at me." When she saw his eyes start to focus in her direction, she went on, "You know she's dead, right? Are you in shock or something?"
"Not really dead. She walked in here and sat down by herself. Emmy, wave to the nice girl."
With the faintest of creaking noises at the shoulder, Emily Giacoma lifted her right arm and held out an open hand in the most ghastly attempt at a wave imaginable. Her arm fell back down by itself.
"Oh my God, I can't handle this!" yelled Haley. The Windcatcher jumped to her feet and seized Tim by both arms to make him rise as well. She yanked hard enough to get him up without his cooperation. "What is wrong with you? Timothy Lambert, stare me right in the eyes. No, no, do not turn back or I swear I'll slap you so hard it'll break your nose."
"Don't be mad at me," he said mildly, lowering his gaze to the floor.
Still squeezing his arms hard enough to hurt, Haley tugged him with her as she backed toward the door and got them both outside. The wind chill was near ten above that night and despite his state, Timothy blinked and glanced around him. "I have to go back in," he said. "She might need me."
"She is beyond needing anything, Tim. Seriously. Listen to my voice. Am I your friend?"
"Sure. I know that."
"I prank you and give you hell and all that, but it's because I love you to pieces. Tim, what happened to Alacredo? Where is he?"
Timothy frowned and started to turn back to the motel door but she gripped him with fingers like vises. The freezing air was bringing awareness back. "Alacredo? He's dead. He had a ceremonial knife. I took it from him and.. I killed him. I had to get Emmy away from there."
"That's okay. He sure deserved it. Alacredo was a disgraced Hungan, a 'gangan' who was wanted by the authorities all over the Caribbean for multiple murders and abuse.The FBI alerted us he was in America."
The dark blue eyes seemed to see her for the first time. "Haley? Haley, Alacredo kidnapped Emily. He killed her and resurrected her to be his servant. He said he had to destroy all his Zombies when he left Cuba. Emily was going to be the first of his staff..." He shivered violently and glanced around the deserted parking lot. "What time is it anyway?"
"It's a quarter after three. And it's Sunday morning. We left headquarters Friday afternoon to start searching for Alacredo."
"Really." He twisted his head around toward the lit window of the room they had left. "Emmy has a big family. Three brothers and two sisters. They're Italian, you know. They must be so worried about her, but I can't call them."
"No. They must not see her this way." Haley had dropped her hands as she decided Timothy was not about to rush back into the room. "We've discussed what to do in a situation like this. All those KDF policy meetings with Sable going over all the horrifying situations we might find ourselves in."
"I'm freezing, Hales. Let's get back inside, I'm all right."
"In a minute. Here. I'm sure you haven't eaten anything in thirty-six hours." She reached into a pocket and came out with a handful of dried meat sticks, peeled the cellophane wrappers off two and gave one to him. "These are so bad for me, packed with salt and preservatives and God knows what, but I can't resist once in a while. I picked them up at a gas station on the way here."
Chewing on the snack, Timothy said, "You found me through my Link, I guess?"
"Yeah. You turned it off but we knew where the last signal had come from. Sable was taking the rest of the team to some emergency in Veganora, I dunno what. There's always a crisis somewhere. I said no, I had to find Tim and she agreed." Haley offered him another Slim Jim and he took it.
"I guess I was getting hungry after all ," he admitted. "Ow, feel that wind. Okay. Haley, we need to sneak Emmy back to our headquarters. There has to be a way to undo this Voodoo spell and revive her."
"Oh, honey, no. Stop thinking that's a possibility. You were there when Samuel Watesa spent a whole day lecturing us on this stuff. No one has ever found a way to return magick-based Zombies to life. It just never happens." The Windcatcher watched his face somberly. "Your friend was killed and her body given a semblance of animation, but she's NOT alive."
Timothy was shivering visibly, and he swung around toward the door to his room. "I'm going in, Hales, it's too cold out here. Come on. Help me decide what to do next."
"All right." Back inside, the air seemed stuffy and oppressive by contrast. She wrestled out of her parka before she would start to sweat. Underneath, she was wearing a bright gold cardigan over a black shirt since yellow always went well with her green eyes. Haley steered Timothy away from heading back toward the body and made him sit on the short couch in the corner. She dropped down next to him and rubbed his back to give what comfort she could.
"Now I keep thinking of her family," Timothy said. "They're all so close. They must be worried and hysterical."
"We have to end this," she agreed. "I'm so sorry, Tim. She was a childhood friend of yours. But that's not her. The real Emily has gone on, she has crossed over into the light. This shell is only what we leave behind."
"That's why we call it 'the remains,' " he agreed. "I understand. Oh God. I never dated Em, you understand, we were pals. We went swimming in the summer with a whole bunch of friends, we went to concerts and street fairs, that sort of thing. Always laughing, always raising hell. She's gone now. I get that, but it's so hard...."
"You can cry if you want. It's okay. I won't think any less of you."
"I'm all dried out from crying, honestly. My eyes are sore," he replied.
"Sometimes I think the two of us are not bad-ass enough for this Midnight War business," she said. "I mean, Jin is tough as a handful of nails. Jocelyn is hard when she needs to be. Even Sable can buckle down and face the worst atrocities without blinking. But you and I are honestly too sensitive."
"I've thought of that," admitted Timothy. He leaned forward and buried his face in his hands. "I love solving the mysteries and finding out about the secret worlds all around us. But there's too much fighting and having to use lethal force and having to see innocent victims. Like Emmy. Maybe I wasn't meant to be a Tel Shai knight." He stood up abruptly. "Hey, I know what to do. Give me one of those Slim Jims."
"Sure."
Taking the meat stick, he went over to kneel in front of Emily Giacoma. Her eyes did not follow him and he noticed that her pupils were clouding over. Taking her cold hand, he placed the snack in it. "Eat this. Chew it and swallow."
The Undead obeyed. As she demurely gulped down the meat, a tremor ran through her body. Emily took a deep shuddering breath and looked up right at Tim before she slumped to fall out of the chair. He did not react quickly enough to catch her.
With infinite tenderness, Timothy lifted the limp form and carried it over to stretch out on the bed. He clasped her hands together over her waist and was relieved that her eyes had closed. "Salt did it," he muttered. "That's what Watesa told us. When the Hungans used Zombies as labor on the old plantations, they had to keep salt away. Otherwise their victims were would actually die. She's completely gone now. To Heaven, if you believe in that."
"It was for the best," Haley said, getting up and standing next to him. "I passed a small local hospital on my way in here. We'll have to sneak her out in your car and leave her out in the hospital parking lot, then call 911 and report we saw a girl lying there. It sounds awful, but they'll bring her in and notify her family."
"Her poor parents. Emmy was their pride and joy." Timothy shook his head and went to get the heavy coat he had thrown in a corner. "I hate doing this. But I don't see any choice."
"Of course I'll help you. I'll get get some sheets from that dresser to wrap her in. Tim, this is the only option for us. At least her family will have closure. She'll have a proper burial and be treated with respect. It's the best we can do."
Timothy Limbo stood staring down at the body. "The most abominable things happen to the sweetest people. But you know, Haley, I don't care what Watesa or all the occult experts say. At that last moment, when the final trace of the spark left her body, I saw her look right at me. And I will always be certain that she remembered me."
2/21/2019
