Reese aroused to the steady beeps and hums of hospital equipment. She was acutely aware of her surroundings, even the child who sat so close to her bed she could hear his breathing. She pried her eyes open and looked to her left. The visitor’s chair which was most likely normally positioned near the window was drawn to the bed. A sandy haired boy leaned close with his elbows propped, chin nestled in his palms. He stared at her with a faraway look in his eyes.

Reese cleared her throat and wished she hadn’t. It was dry and scratchy. She ignored the discomfort and pushed herself up into a sitting position. Her throat ached more than her body. Surprising since if she remembered correctly she had been shot.

The child never took his eyes off of her as she propped pillows behind her back.

“Hi,” she said in his direction, once again feeling the scratchiness. She needed water.

He didn’t respond, didn’t even willingly move as she tugged at the bed covers, pulling them up to her chest.

A nurse started into the room on quiet heels, reading from a clipboard in her hands. She looked up tentatively as if she didn’t want to wake the patient.

“Oh my goodness, you’re awake,” she said startled. She glanced from Reese to the boy. “Jonah, what are you doing here? You should be in your sister’s room. Where is she?”

Reese watched curiously as Jonah ignored the nurse. She wasn’t even sure the boy had blinked.

The nurse sighed heavily and approached the chair. She started to pull it away from the bed, but Jonah wailed like a trapped wild animal.

“Alright, alright,” the nurse said sounding frustrated. She pushed the chair back into position. “You need to keep your voice down, Jonah. There are patients trying to sleep.” The nurse circled the chair and leaned across to Reese. She grabbed at Reese’s wrist like nurses do, placed two fingertips on her pulsing vein, and said, “Did he wake you?”

Reese looked at the boy. Something wasn’t right about him. She figured he was in enough trouble for venturing into rooms he wasn’t supposed to be in without her adding to his list of offenses. “Naw. I just woke up on my own.” She was surprised by her throat. It felt fine as if just the thought of water had soothed it.

The nurse took another heavy breath and then let go of Reese’s wrist, letting it flop back to her side. She pulled a thermometer from her pocket and tucked it under Reese’s tongue without so much as a “please.” Reese realized that any normal child who was intrigued by the going-ons would have focused on the nurse’s movements, but he didn’t. He just kept staring at Reese, eyes never darting.

The nurse removed the thermometer when it beeped and looked at it. She made a vocal sound of amazement and then made some notes on the clipboard’s paper. Reese wondered why the nurse didn’t have some kind of electronic device to input the information. It’s not like they lived in the back woods or anything. The hospital should be modernized. Then Reese had a thought which she formulated into a question for the nurse. “Which hospital am I at?”

“Norfolk County,” the nurse answered without looking up. It was the local hospital.  “The other gunshot victim was med-flighted to Boston.”

“What other victim?”

The nurse quizzically looked up at Reese. “The guy who shot you.”

“Gregory? He survived?”

“I guess that’s his name,” she said as she looked back to her notes, apparently uninterested in Gregory. He wasn’t her patient after all.

Reese had the urge to jump out of bed, but figured the nurse wouldn’t appreciate her desire to smoother Gregory with a pillow. Besides, he was in another hospital, in another town. She wondered if Paul knew Gregory was still alive. Where was Paul?

“How are you feeling?” The nurse said straight faced.

“Good,” Reese answered blankly, her mind floating into Boston, assessing which hospital Gregory might be in. There were too many to choose from, but she needed to get to him. She prayed he didn’t survive. He couldn’t talk about the events leading up to their hospitalization. Besides, if he was alive, she was going to rip his eyeballs out for killing her mother.

“Unbelievable,” the nurse murmured, distracting Reese. “I will get the doctor to come take a look at you. And then call your father.”

“What’s unbelievable?” Reese asked.

“Your condition. I’ve never seen anything like it. You’re healthier than most patients who come in for routine work.”

“Maybe I have a good immune system,” Reese wagered.

The nurse grimaced like Reese had shared a tasteless joke.

“What time is it?” Reese asked hoping to make nice with the woman who was currently in charge of her case.

“Almost two-thirty,” the nurse answered.

“In the morning?” Reese asked although she knew it was. It was too dark even with the blinds closed.

The nurse nodded and then said, “I’m Nancy if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Nancy, but don’t bother calling my dad just yet. Let him sleep. I’ll call him in the morning. Did he leave a number where he’s staying?”

“Yes. He said he would be staying at your mom’s place. He only left because I told him you probably wouldn’t wake for hours. I can’t believe you’re so wide awake. Most people come out of surgery groggy and in pain.” She said it like Reese had offended her sense of normalcy not like it was a good thing.

Reese fought the urge to apologize and just smiled at Nancy. She didn’t want the nurse to know she was thinking about her mother at the moment or about her dad staying at the house. It was too bizarre. She didn’t want to talk about it. Better to let the nurse think everything was okay.

Nurse Nancy looked at Reese but didn’t share in the joy of happy healing. “I will get Jonah’s sister to come get him. She’s the only one he listens to.”

As if on cue, a black-haired teenage girl in a pale blue Johnny and beige slipper socks twirled into the room gripping the door jamb after almost sprinting by it.

“There you are, Demi,” Nurse Nancy said with a big huge grin on her face. Reese was glad to see the nurse had some compassion even if it wasn’t directed toward her.

“I’m so sorry,” Demi said as she bustled over to Jonah and squatted next to him. “Jonah, what are you doing here?” He didn’t turn to look at his sister. Demi looked up to Reese and held out her hand like a grown up. “Hi. I’m Demi Blanchard.”

Reese reached across and shook the girl’s hand. Although she was obviously still young, her mannerisms were that of a much older, mature woman. And her hair. Reese was stunned by the jet black long locks. It seemed out of place with her fair skin. Maybe it was dyed.

“Demi here is our local celebrity,” Nurse Nancy chimed in as she placed a loving hand on Demi’s shoulder.

“Celebrity, huh?” Reese said, directing her attention to the girl but still conscious of the staring Jonah.

“Not really,” Demi answered looking a bit embarrassed.

“I better get the doctor in here. He’ll be astonished at your marked improvement, Ms. Caldwell. Your surgeon has already gone home but I will send him a message once our computers are back up. I don’t want to page him. He worked for almost four hours on you.”

“The computers are down? Doesn’t the hospital have a backup emergency power source?” Reese glanced toward the monitors she was hooked up. They seemed to be working fine.

“Oh it’s not a power thing. We still have electricity. But all the computers went crazy a little while ago, like maybe a virus.” She seemed almost giddy to share the bad news.

“Oh,” Reese said not sure why it was a thing to be happy about.

Nurse Nancy looked to Demi and said, “You need to get Jonah back to your room. I only agreed to let him stay tonight because of the situation at home. But you need to keep him there.”

“I know. I’m sorry,” Demi said.

The nurse gave Demi a smile and walked out of the room.

“Come on, Jonah, let’s go,” Demi said as she tapped her brother on a shoulder. He still didn’t move, not even a flinch.

“It’s really okay. I don’t mind the company. Do you mind me asking? Why did the nurse say you’re a local celebrity?”

Jonah broke his trance and looked up to his sister.  Demi rubbed her brother’s head and then pulled the chair back. Using her hip to indicate he should move over, she squashed in next to him.

“It’s really no big deal,” Demi said, looking down at her twirling fingers. “I just survived a hit and run. I should have died according to the doctors here.” She looked up at Reese. “What happened to you? The nurse seemed rather shocked by your quick recovery.”

Reese caught her breath when Demi looked up at her. At closer range she could see how dark the girl’s eyes were. Maybe the hair color was the real deal. “Do I know you?” Reese asked feeling she should know the girl from somewhere.

Demi quickly looked back down. “I don’t think so.” She stood and tapped Jonah on the shoulder again. “Come on, Jonah. We should let Reese get some rest.”

“How do you know my name?” Reese asked.

“The nurse said it,” Demi said, flipping her hands in the air. “Come on, Jonah.”

“She called me Ms. Caldwell.”

“Maybe I saw you on the news. I don’t remember.” She grabbed on Jonah’s shirt and tugged. “Come on, Jonah, let’s go.” Demi’s voice was insistent.

“You don’t have to go, Demi,” Reese said in her best reassuring voice. “Tell me about yourself.” She didn’t want the girl to leave. There was something familiar about those eyes. Like the ones she saw watching her and the weird guy before she returned to life.

Demi fidgeted her hands some more and turned on her heels. “I’m really tired. I should go back to bed.”

Jonah continued to watch his sister as she flitted toward the door but then turned back to Reese. “Frankenstein!” He practically yelled loud enough for the whole floor to hear him.

Demi came running back to her brother and clamped a hand over his mouth. Through a nervous giggle, she said, “Sshh, Jonah. You’re too loud.” She looked up at Reese. “I’m sorry. He’s autistic and can be unpredictable at times.”

“Doesn’t bother me,” Reese said. “Why did he say Frankenstein?”

Demi shrugged and pouted. “I don’t know.”

Reese cocked her head to look into Demi’s eyes although she was intentionally looking away from Reese.

“Yes you do. You were there, weren’t you?” Reese asked knowing full well she probably sounded like she belonged on the psych ward.

Demi flipped her hair back and released her hand from her brother’s mouth. “You have to promise to keep your mouth shut, Jonah.”

“Frankenstein,” he whispered and put a finger to his lips.

“Yes, quiet, like a secret.” She mimicked her brother’s gesture and smiled at him.

Demi sat on the edge of the bed, apparently taking her time to gather her thoughts.

“You can’t talk about it, Reese,” she finally said with her hair flowing down her face, keeping it out of view.

“I wasn’t planning on it, but since you know what I’m talking about, you were there weren’t you?”

Demi nodded in quick jerks. She looked up and tucked a long lock behind one of her ears. “But you can’t say anything, to anyone. There are things you don’t understand.”

“What is it I don’t understand? Tell me, so I will.”

Nurse Nancy came back into the room. “Are you two still here?”

“Sorry,” Demi said. “We’re leaving now.” She reached out for Jonah’s hand and he put his finger to his lips again.

“I asked them to stay. I wanted to hear what makes her a local celebrity. Amazing story so far.”

“Yes, I don’t know what I would have done if she hadn’t told me about my electrical box. I would have lost my whole house and Wylie Coyote,” Nancy said, sparing no expense for the warm smile she graced in Demi’s direction.

“She didn’t tell me that part,” Reese said, hiding the smirk which was threatening to break her face. She crossed her arms in anticipation of the story. This girl was an intriguing link to the place between here and there, but this was just as curious.

“It’s not a big deal,” Demi said once again looking embarrassed.

“She was in a coma for three days and when she woke up she grabbed my wrist and told me I needed to get home. She said she could smell smoke in my basement. It freaked me out enough that I ran home and sure enough the circuit thingy had heated up and was on the verge of causing a fire in the walls. The fireman said I would have come home to a smoldering house if I hadn’t left work early.”

Demi shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a regular Stephen King character.”

“The Dead Zone,” Reese said absently.

Demi gave Reese a warning glance.

“Well, that’s cool,” Reese said, recovering from her momentary lapse into analysis. “I’m a fan of the book. And I’m glad you recovered from your coma.” She looked at the nurse. “Who’s Wiley Coyote?”

“My cat. A big fat coon cat,” she grinned obviously recollecting her pet. “I would have been more heart broken if he died than if I lost my house.”

“I’m glad it all worked out,” Reese said, dismissing the story in hopes of reassuring Demi that she could trust Reese. And by the look of relief on Demi’s face, she suspected Demi was grateful. She redirected the conversation to the nurse. “So is the doctor coming in for a visit?”

“Yes, that’s why I came back in here. He’ll be up shortly.”

“Okay, thank you,” Reese said hoping the nurse would disappear before Demi and Jonah did.

“We should let you rest,” Demi said. She placed a hand on Jonah’s head. He was again staring at Reese.

She wondered what his connection to all of this was. She could understand Demi’s involvement. She probably had died same as Reese and made it to the strange depot like place. But what about Jonah?

The nurse turned to go, but then stopped and said to Reese, “Also, Dr. Dunham asked me to page him when you wake. He’s a neurologist and just wants to ask you a few questions. He’ll probably come by in the morning.”

Reese watched as Demi’s fair complexion went paler. “Okay, Nancy. Thank you very much.”

Reese waited until the nurse left her room before saying, “What’s the matter, Demi?”

“Nothing. Just don’t tell Dr. Dunham anything.” She tasseled her brother’s hair and this time Jonah stood.

He slipped his hand into his sister’s and she looked relieved that he was cooperating. But then he looked back to Reese and said, “Frankenstein.”

“Frankenstein,” Reese responded, slowly nodding her head. It seemed to appease the boy as he left her room.