Rivers of the Dead - 13. 2-2 - Questions and Memories

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Although Liz had been promised Search and Rescue or paramedics, neither she nor any of her rescuers had cell service. A storm had knocked out the nearest cell tower the night before and made it impossible for them to reach anyone.

Thankfully the man who woke her up, Tim Landing from nearby Castlefield, knew a thing or two about outdoor emergencies. Between him and his two sons, Jimmy and Kyle, they were able to rig up a makeshift stretcher from two long branches and their jackets. After placing Ethan on the stretcher, they started down the trail, rotating turns carrying the stretcher to avoid fatigue.

Liz wanted to help but barely had the energy to make it down the trail. It was Monday afternoon, almost a full day after she'd cast the spell to contact Orpheus. She wondered if Ethan had been there the whole time and, for that matter, when Caleb had disappeared. It was possible something had happened immediately after the spell went awry, but it was just as possible that Caleb had managed something else afterward.

As she walked behind Ethan's stretcher, however, she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd somehow screwed up the spell. The spell wasn't even supposed to be able to do this; as far as she understood, the spell was a matter of divination. They needed answers but instead ended up with the unconscious body of someone who was supposed to be dead.

Thankfully, the three men helping her and Ethan didn't seem interested in speaking much. They occasionally asked her if she was doing all right and if they needed to slow down, but otherwise kept to themselves.

About a mile from the trailhead, Kyle managed to get cell service and dialed 9-11. They agreed to meet the paramedics at the trailhead and the trek continued. While they walked, Liz gave Mrs. Pallet's number to Kyle as well, and Ethan's mother was then informed of her son's condition and told where to meet them. Despite still having a mile to hike with a body to carry, the group arrived at the parking lot several minutes before the paramedics arrived. Liz moved off to find shade as the others waited and tended Ethan, making sure he stayed stable until help came.

When the paramedics did arrive, Liz was mostly left alone until they were done assessing Ethan's situation. Only then did they come to check on her. A woman with a clipboard approached and introduced herself as Janet. She had an air of self-importance about her, which normally would have put Liz on guard if not for her being too tired to care.

“So, you two were hiking and you got lost?” Janet asked for what seemed like the twentieth time. It had only been the second, but Liz wanted this over with as quickly as possible. She saw a car approaching from down the canyon road and recognized it instantly as Ethan's mother's car. Janet's questions were one thing, but Mrs. Pallet's would be a thousand times worse.

“Yeah, I guess we got dehydrated or something,” Liz said, looking down at her lap. She had the distinct feeling of something crawling on her and noticed a beetle had climbed onto her leg. With the back of her hand she gently brushed if off into the grass.

“And the drugs?” Janet asked. "Did Ethan take any drugs?"

“That was all me," Liz replied, growing steadily more tired with each word. She hated this, hated everything about it, all except Ethan being back, anyway. If he was back. "He didn’t take anything.”

“Don’t lie to me now," Janet warned, "this is really important.”

Liz shook her head but avoided Janet's eyes. “I promise, he didn’t take anything. Not that I’m aware of, anyway.”

“Okay," Janet replied, finally satisfied with her answers as she jotted something down on her clipboard. "Thank you for your time, miss.”

Janet turned to go and Liz said quickly, “Are you taking him to the hospital?”

“Yes," Janet said. She caught the concern in Liz's eyes, and for the first time since her arrival, her features softened. She tucked the clipboard under her arm and looked down at Liz with an encouraging smile. "He hasn’t regained consciousness yet. There's not much more we can do until we get him there.”

Liz nodded. "Thank you. He's all I have left. I hope he's all right."

"I'm sure he will be," Janet replied. "He just appears to be sleeping, like he hasn't slept in days. I'm sure he'll wake up soon."

"We had a death in the family recently," Liz said. "He lost his best friend. I'm sure that could be why he hasn't slept."

Janet nodded slowly and her face became more sympathetic. "Yeah, that makes sense. I'm sorry about your loss."

As Janet left, Liz looked back up to the gathering on the other side of the parking lot. Mrs. Pallet was standing off to the side, no longer engaging the paramedics in conversation but rather watching her son with worry. The paramedics were in the process of moving him from the makeshift stretcher to the one they'd brought with them, prepping him for the trip to the hospital.

Liz sighed and stood on shaky legs, knowing she had to approach Mrs. Pallet and face the music. There would be questions, certainly, and though the long hike down from the mountain had given her plenty of time to think about what to say, her grief over losing Caleb kept her mind wandering. She'd expected to have Caleb with her to explain Ethan's return, once they managed to pull it off. But now Liz had to see this through alone.

Mrs. Pallet turned toward Liz with a neutral look as she approached. “Mrs. Pallet, I can explain—” Liz began, but Mrs. Pallet stuck her hand up to stop Liz from going on. Liz braced herself for a tirade, to be accused of heinous witchcraft and called Satanspawn or some other nonsense.

Instead Mrs. Pallet said, “About the drugs? Elizabeth, I’m not going to judge you. It’s okay. There were some moments in my own past when I turned to such things for comfort during trying times. It’s understandable with Caleb . . ." Liz winced at the mention of Caleb's name, then her eyes widened with shock as she stared at Mrs. Pallet, wondering how she knew anything about Caleb. "Oh, I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I said that, I’m just worried about Ethan,” Mrs. Pallet added, returning her attention to her son.

“He’s going to be okay,” Liz said neutrally, trying to process where Mrs. Pallet was going with this.

“Yes, I . . ." Mrs. Pallet sighed and looked at Liz with a hopeful smile which didn't quite reach her eyes. "I hope so. He’s been so distraught after Caleb passed away.”

Somehow she already knew Caleb was dead, though Liz had no idea how. Had the spell rewritten history to make it so Caleb had died instead of Ethan? Did that mean Ethan would think the same thing as his mother did when he woke up, or would he remember? Either way, Liz knew now that she had to play along, or people would think she was crazy.

“We both have," Liz said, thinking quickly of how to lie her way through this. "I thought, you know, I thought a day up in the mountains might be good for us both. Return to nature. I guess I didn’t handle it very well.”

"Aw . . ." Mrs. Pallet said, wrapping an arm around Liz's shoulders and pulling her into a sideways hug. “You come by and see me if you need any help with anything.”

“You don’t sound as worried as I'd expect,” Liz said as she pulled away from the embrace, feeling more awkward than ever but not wanting to show it.

“Like you said," Mrs. Pallet replied, "Ethan’s going to be okay. I think it could’ve been much worse.” Her smile had a little more warmth now as she convinced herself with her words. “The paramedics checked him out. He’s fine, he’s just . . . unconscious. Sleeping, really. I'm glad he didn't take any drugs.”

“Wha—” came Ethan's groggy cry, drawing Mrs. Pallet and Liz's attention instantly. “Where am . . . what?”

“Mrs. Pallet, he’s awake,” Janet called over to them.

Liz and Mrs. Pallet rushed together to Ethan's side, both looking down at him with a mixture of concern and hope. Mrs. Pallet reached down and stroked her son's cheek, brushing the hair away from his face. “Ethan, are you okay, honey?”

“Mom?” Ethan asked, trying to sit up. He immediately crashed back down into the stretcher. “I feel . . . I feel dizzy,” he said and then his head rolled to the side, consciousness deserting him once more.

Mrs. Pallet looked at Janet for answers, as she seemed to be the paramedic in charge. After conferring quietly with the other two paramedics, Janet stood to join them and said, “He may still be delirious but his vitals are good. I think we can wait here for a moment, but since he’s woken up once and recognized you, I think we could probably send him home with you, Mrs. Pallet." Janet paused and leaned forward, whispering, "Normally I shouldn't do that, but I'm ninety-nine-percent certain he's okay, and I want to save you the bill for the ambulance ride. I suggest you get him checked out a bit later, after he’s fully awake. Just to make sure he’s okay. We'll get him securely in the back of your car. Do you have anything to make him comfortable? A blanket or something?”

“Yes, there's an emergency blanket in the trunk," Mrs. Pallet said. "I'll go get it, and we can use my jacket for a pillow." She smiled lovingly at her son and said, "It was just good to hear his voice. I know this probably sounds funny, but it feels like it’s been forever since I’ve heard it.”

Janet smiled and said, “Have a good day, ma’am. We'll meet you at your car in a moment, just let us finish the IV. He was dehydrated, which is certainly contributing to his condition, but I think he'll be feeling a lot better by the end of the day.”

Mrs. Pallet turned to walk to her car and prepare the back seat for Ethan, but she paused and looked back, nodding for Liz to join her. Liz shakily fell into step beside her as Mrs. Pallet took her arm. “Elizabeth, I know you’ll probably want to see him later to check up on him. How about I have him give you a call when he’s up and his father and I have had a chance to speak with him?”

“Yes, of course," Liz said carefully. Then with a bit more enthusiasm she said, "That would be . . . that'd be great.” She glanced back at Ethan and felt her eyes mist over. Ethan was going to be okay, and, for the first time since she woke up, she believed it.

“Elizabeth?” Mrs. Pallet said.

“Yes?”

“The pain will pass," Mrs. Pallet said, "I’m sure of it. It’s only been a couple of weeks since . . .”

Liz sniffled and looked down at her feet, not wanting Mrs. Pallet to see the lie in her eyes as she said, “I guess I was just worried I was going to lose them both.”

Mrs. Pallet hugged her again and then said, “Take care.”

“You too.”

They parted ways so they could return to their separate vehicles. Liz cast one more glance back at Ethan, seeing he was stirring again, though he appeared to be as delirious as ever. She wanted to go to him, wanted to say something, but she didn't know exactly what to do.

She climbed into the driver's seat, pulling her keys from her pocket, but her first attempt at inserting them into the ignition failed horribly. She didn't bother trying again; she just crashed into the steering wheel, her body racked with sobs. The tears would not stop coming, not until the paramedics, Ethan's mother, and Mr. Landing and his sons had all left the parking lot. Only when she was truly alone could she stop and look back up at the mountain, her face contorted in agony.

She hoped her prayer would reach The Underworld as she said, “Oh god, Caleb! What have we done!?”

Don't forget to comment and react to this chapter! Also, special thanks to my Patreon Supporters: Michael, Bill, Charles, Amr, Don, James, Joe, Jos, Mark, Mark, Paul, Steve, John, Frank, and Sam. Couldn't have done it without them. Ask me how you can help and get access to chapters early!