Page 43 of Reckoning

Lilith’s voice was trembling. “Oh, Abel, what I can see is so horrifying. I dread what we will see come morning. The blessing is that our kids are okay.”

Abel nodded. In their eyes, Tate and Briar were a matched pair. Where one went, the other was sure to go, and they always thought of them as “our” kids.

“There’s the hospital!” Lilith cried. “It has lights!”

“Generator backups,” Abel said. “They may be running on empty with supplies, but the important things they need to be working will still be functioning.”

“Will they let us come in at this time of night?” she asked.

“We’re going to park near the ER entrance. It’s always open,” he said.

They parked, got out, then Abel stopped and pulled Lilith into an embrace. “This is not the anniversary we planned, but it’s one we’re not likely to forget. I love you, darlin’. Let’s go see our boy.”

* * *

Elevators were shut down, so they followed the makeshift signs and walked up to the second floor. It was obvious by the number of people going in and out of rooms that regular rules for visiting hours were being ignored.

A nurse saw them eyeing room numbers and the names posted above them as they walked.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“We’re looking for Tate Bandy’s room. He’s our son. We were out of town when this happened, and we’ve been driving for hours to get home,” Lilith said.

“Ah, I know he will be glad to see you, but he does have a remarkable bodyguard with him. She is something… Quite the fierce protector. Two doors farther down on your left. Please keep your conversation as quiet as possible.”

“Yes, yes, we will,” Abel said.

Two more doors. It was all they could do not to start running. They started to knock, then remembered the time and slowly opened the door.

A dim light was on above the headboard of Tate’s bed, and another nightlight in the adjoining bathroom. The sight of Tate sleeping sitting up, with one leg elevated, was startling, until they realized it was to take the pressure off of his wounds. And seeing Briar wrapped up in a blanket, sleeping on the floor beside his bed with a rolled-up towel for a pillow, brought them to tears.

“Just look at them,” Lilith whispered.

Abel nodded, and together they slipped inside and then closed the door.

The slight click of the latch was all it took to wake Tate. The first thing he noticed was that Briar was gone, and then he saw her asleep on the floor. Before he could be horrified on her behalf, he saw his parents.

“Mom! Dad! Thank God you got here okay. I’m really glad to see you,” he said.

It was the sound of Tate’s voice that woke Briar. She jumped up, ready to check on him before she realized his parents had finally arrived, then she didn’t know what to do.

“Clearly, hugging you is not an option,” Lilith said, and leaned over the guardrail to kiss his cheek. “Thank God you and Briar are alive,” she said, then turned around and gave Briar a big hug and a kiss. “Bless the both of you. I don’t know how you two did it, but you went through Mother Nature’s hell and lived to tell it. We love you both to the ends of the earth. I’m so sorry we weren’t here when you needed us most,” she said.

Abel had his hand on Tate’s uninjured shoulder and kept patting him, over and over. “Are you okay, son? What all did the doctor have to do?”

Tate didn’t know how to answer and looked at Briar for help. “Briar will have to fill in the blanks for you. I don’t remember much after getting home and into the shelter. I know I have thirteen stitches on my shoulder, and ten stitches on the back of my leg. Doctor Joe said the tourniquet Briar put on my leg probably saved me from bleeding out. I’m told she sacrificed a good T-shirt on my behalf.”

Briar sighed. “I confiscated one of Tate’s T-shirts that was hanging on the doorknob. I put it on before the ambulance came. Tate had passed out on the shelter floor with my shirt tied around his leg, and I was hardly dressed for company.”

Then Tate picked up the story. “She ran all the way here, bloody as hell. She’s been the voice I didn’t have. The advocate I surely needed. She’s my forever girl.”

Tears were rolling down Briar’s cheeks, but she was smiling.

Abel gave Briar a quick hug. “Bless you honey, but why didn’t you drive the truck to the hospital?”

Briar’s voice was shaky with emotion. “Before Tate passed out, he told me the streets would likely be full of debris, and then the EMT told me the same thing. The roads weren’t clear. There were broken tree limbs all over the streets, and some downed power lines in other places, so I ran. I made it to ER as they were about to remove the glass. I was with him, but I didn’t watch.”

“You’re both amazing,” Abel said. “Tate risked his life for you, because that’s how much you matter to him, and you saved his life, because that’s how much he matters to you. We’re proud of the both of you.”