The Eye looked at the limp female with apathetic confusion. It had never seen a Dead One faint before and was unsure of what to do in this situation. Then again, rarely had it seen a Vessel with a Damned either, so two surprises in its eternity had occurred thus far.
Also, something was very strange with this Vessel other than its poor taste of company. It's appearance was very... alive.
It hadn't thought much of the appearance at first glance, since all Vessels could change their shape to blend with the Living but when in The Dead World, none kept the Living appearance. It was uncomfortable to many, incomprehensible to most and wasteful to more than a few. So why did this Vessel come wearing such a guise and why keep it even now?
It didn't make any sense.
Then there was that noise, coming from the Vessel's chest.
The Eye could hear it, an unceasing thumping, like a drum on high, with no intention to stop.
Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
So loud, so active and vital!
It was very disturbing to The Eye and made it almost second guess itself, because for a fleeting moment it actually considered that maybe, just maybe, this Vessel was a living girl. A real Living mortal that had stumbled down into the realm and in it's assigned sanctum too.
Luckily it did not carry on such crazy thoughts, because although the Vessel was very peculiar physically, on the Spirit plane it looked like a Dead One and had the aura of one.
When The Eye looked at her on the Spirit plane, it saw a satin dress of midnight black and grey that reached below the knee, bare feet smeared with blood stains, a pair of silver laced gloves with a matching floral design headdress. The headress was murky, it's colour shifting between tones of grey and black on each flower. The lively skin was pale white, bleached by the touch of death and the absence of life like all Vessels. The hair was sucked of all its vibrancy, leaving it pale, almost like wilted soil or dead straw.
Yes, this was a Dead One, A Vessel and it should return to its Companion.
The Eye opened its retina, the pitch black center began swirling like a tempest, sucking the space before it, making the distant ground shudder and quake. The Vessel rose up higher and flew into it the whirlpool of darkness, vanishing like she had never been there.
Bang!
The Eye shut itself, and eternal silence returned to the Dead World.
It had sent the Vessel to its Companion.
...
Anna Bucklehim was scared, well and truly scared.
She'd just been down in her kitchen, cooking up an early supper, the scent of delicious food curling around her sweetly, when she heard two loud thuds and went to check up on her daughter and best friend's son. Her heart had been crawling up her throat with each step up the stairs, bad ideas popping up from a young boy alone with a young girl, yet she told herself everything was fine.
Unfortunately the truth had turned her blood cold.
Her slightly veiny hands had grabbed the doorknob, and she twisted it with her open and warm smile, to ask what was happening.
After opening the door, she found them both out cold, on the floor, their eyes vacant and staring, as if the life was taken from them. From her chest, her heart jumped out and almost fled with her soul in fright. Her knees grew weak, almost giving out, but maternal instict forced her legs in and she managed to put two fingers on their necks, calling their names urgently.
She'd found a pulse on both their necks, but neither Sarah nor Lucas answered to her voice. Stumbling out of there, somehow making it to the telephone and with trembling fingers, she'd called an ambulance like it was a matter of life and death, and when the ambulance came, she learnt it really had been.
Her sweet daughter and her best friend were unconscious , they'd both suffered a seizure.
What? How? When?
WHY?
She'd demanded answers, but the paramedics just took the kids and packed them like two dead bodies in their vehicle, taking them to Oakwood hospital. She had of course ridden with them, refusing to leave the children in the hands of modern medicinal fate. Sure, she couldn't do much, but she just sat there, occasionally patting their heads, her tears a sign of unprompted grief. She had no reason to cry, they were alive, they weren't dead, and yet...
She couldn't help thinking about her husband when she looked at these two.
That had been the last time she'd ridden an ambulance, and now, she sat with her daughter strapped and being poked like a potato on a tray.
Couldn't they be more gentle? She wondered as the paramedics tended to Lucas and Sarah.
Anna shook her head, trying to push the distraction away, because that's what it was. Her mind seeking anything trivial to hold onto, to hide away from the pain. She'd done the same thing before, hidden away the pain with trivial things, for Sarah's sake. This time Sarah was the one girdled there, her life tipping on the fingers of death and she needed to be here.
"Mam, don't worry, they're stable." One of the paramedics spoke to her, had they been talking to her before? If so, she definitely hadn't heard them.
The man was young and handsome, with wheat brown hair and green eyes and gave her a reassuring smile. She knew he meant well, he was trying to make her feel better, to calm her, but the fear in her refused to let her fully accept the reassurance.
"How long until we get there?" She turned to look out the window," Where are we?"
"We're five minutes out. The hospital has been informed already Mam, you don't have to worry." The young man said, his partner, an Asian American woman nodded her head.
So young, she thought, but he's a professional, so I should calm down.
"Mam, will you call the boy's parents now?" He said softly.
My jaw dropped in shock.
Lucy! Lucas's mother, I hadn't called her!
I reached in my purse for my phone and fumbled to call her. The line rang thrice before Lucas's mother finally answered.
"Ann-"
"Lucy, you need to go to Oakwood hospital in-" I covered the reciever and looked at the paramedic,"Where are we going?"
"Saint Mary's Oakwood hospital." The paramedic answered and told Lucy.
"Wait, Anna, what happened? Did something happen?" Her voice grew shrill with worry and I told her everything.
"Oh my baby boy." Lucy's broken voice almost broke me to tears again.
"Saint Mary's, Lucy. Hurry. I ... please, I can't do this alone. Not after Arthur. I can't." I whispered softly.
"I'll be there. Watch the kids, Anna. Breathe and watch the kids." The line went dead and I reached for my purse to put the phone away.
Jolt!
Lucas's body shot up without warning, as if struck by lightning and the phone slipped out from my hand. He started to quiver and shake, foam running from his mouth as his eyes seemed to swirl in their sockets.
"Lucas! Oh what's happening to him?" I yelled in panic.
"Mam just sit please," The paramedic said to me in a rush, his reassuring smile had flown the coop, in no time he started to work on Lucas and I glanced at Sarah fearfully, wondering if her body was going to seize up aswell.
Swing!
With a tug, the doors were yanked open and before I knew it, I was left in the reception, while Sarah and Lucas were taken deep into the hospital, doctors and nurses swarming them like vultures picking on carcasses.
I found myself a little corner seat and fell into it, my eyes filled with fear, sadness and loneliness.
It wasn't until Lucy came that I realised that I was still wearing my apron and an oven mitt.
I hadn't noticed that.
Sarah would have noticed though.
Oh my sweet little girl, what was happening to you?