The Secret Keeper

You know how in those movies, and the people jump off of something? They look all happy and joyful and say things like, “I believe I can fly…” Yeah, falling off a 100-foot cliff is nothing like the movies. It really felt like my heart, stomach, and whatever other internal organs I had were trying to get out. And then there was the small matter of the landing.

The impact was like running full-force into a wall, I swear. I’d anticipated the water to be all smooth and glassy, but it turns out it was just like glass. It felt like thousands of needles had been driven into my skin – thousands of cold, really pointy needles.

All of the air escaped my lungs at that point. It felt strangely similar to the time in the fifth grade when Bo punched me in the stomach. I don’t remember why he did it, but it just felt a lot like I do right now.

My eyes fluttered closed just as a blinding sensation erupted behind me, followed by a loud wail. I was surprised that I could hear it in the water, at the moment, but then I realized that those things probably didn’t matter to Creatures. Because I knew that the thing making that noise and the light was the wolf, falling to its doom in the murky waters of Lake Tears.

What a way to go.

But I hardly noticed the death of the Wolf. That’s because my lungs had taken on a burning sensation, like some had set them on fire. Lack of oxygen tends to do that, or so I’ve heard.

I looked around frantically, trying to find the surface in the dark water. Unfortunately, those pesky little black dots had started to fill my vision. Even if they hadn’t, I found that I had absolutely no sense of direction in that water. I couldn’t tell you which way was up if my life depended on it.

Ironically, it did.

But it was oddly peaceful, drowning. It was like all your senses shut off completely, so you can’t really feel the world around you. So you just… disappear. I can tell you that I probably wouldn’t have minded dying like that.

I shut my eyes again and let the black dots bleed together. Good-bye.

-[-]-

Sobbing.

Really, that was the first thing I heard when I got to “Heaven,” or “purgatory,” or whatever you want to call it. There wasn’t the blinding light and the angels and confessing your sins or anything. The only thing I was aware of was the sound of someone’s rapid breathing, and someone else crying.

I tried to lift my eyelids, but felt strangely like someone had coated them in lead. They wouldn’t budge. I groaned a little in frustration.

The sobbing stopped, as well as the other frantic breathing. Uh-oh.

I wrenched my eyes open, despite the difficulty. Whoever wasn’t breathing really needed help. Maybe one of the angels used to be a doctor. What? You never know.

But when I opened my eyes, who I saw was definitely not an angel.

I groaned again.

“What? What’s wrong?” Bo asked frantically. I guessed he had been the one crying, because there were tear streaks running down his face and his eyes were red. Maybe it was my imagination, but I didn’t think so. Then again, it could have been the medication making me loopy.

“I am in hell,” I wheezed. I winced at the pain it brought. It was like someone had tried to shove a pot scrubber down my larynx. I sounded like it, too, even to myself. “I knew it, I knew it! I really should’ve gone to confession more of-“

Bo chuckled deeply. I narrowed my eyes at him, but then had to open them back up again. I was having a hard enough time keeping them open as it was. “Eve, you’re not dead. Certainly not in hell.”

I blinked at him incredulously. “Of course I’m dead. I drowned. And you’re here, this must be hell. But how’d you get here in the first place?” I gasped. “I knew it! You are the devil’s son!” My voice cracked once in a while, but I managed to get everything out.

This time he laughed full-out. It was then that I noticed that not only shirtless – for reasons I didn’t know yet – and that Ivy was standing behind him, looking both anxious and relieved at the same time. I wondered how she did that.

“Eve,” he said, smiling. He sounded like he was talking to a toddler. “You’re not dead. This is not hell, this is a hospital.”

I just blinked at him again as the words sluggishly registered in my head. “Huh?”

Bo looked over his shoulder at Ivy, who so far hadn’t said a word. “A little help here?”

She smiled sadly at us. “You’re not dead, Eve. We’re still in Oregon.”

“But,” I started, still confused. “I died! I jumped into Lake Tears so the Wolf would die. And I don’t remember being pulled out.”

Bo looked down sheepishly. “You were unconscious when I got to you to pull you out. I would’ve gotten there sooner if I’d had a little warning as to what you thought you were doing, jumping off a cliff like that. But you’re no dead. Thank God.”

He sat back in the little plastic chair he was sitting in, a smug smile on his face. He looked like a little four-year-old that had just figured out how to color inside the lines.

“Oh.”

That changed things. If I wasn’t dead, then all the things I’d thought about before everything were totally useless. Damn it.

I reached for the key around my neck, only to find that it was gone. My eyes widened in fear. I’d lost the key.

Bo chuckled again. “Here, Eve. You didn’t lose it; they just took it off when they inspected you.”

I smiled faintly and gingerly took the key back from him. Truthfully, it made me a little nervous to know that someone had been looking at me while I was unconscious. I knew at least one person had, because I wasn’t wearing my clothes, but a hospital gown. That should’ve been my first clue that I wasn’t in heaven, but I’m just going to blame the medication for that one.

Arkarian came into the room then. His hair was disheveled, and his clothes looked like they needed to be washed. When he saw me awake, he let out an audible sigh of relief.

“Oh God. You’re okay.” It wasn’t a question.

I smiled at him weakly. My strength hadn’t quite come back yet. “Yeah. I am.”

There was an awkward pause. I don’t think anyone really knew what to say to break the silence. So I piped up.

“How long have I been here, anyway?”