Jamie was at twenty-two, and Aaron was trying to focus, but the voices to his left were prominent in his mind. He could still hear Elliott’s murmurs, Cass’s sobs, sighs and gasps from others. Christian was pacing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, behind almost everyone. Aurora, free of her handcuffs now that she was no longer a threat, was doubled over on the ground, her hands linked around her knees, her wails having lost their voice minutes ago so that she was no longer making a noise as her body shook and spasmed. Eliza had her arm around the much taller Hunter, trying to be comforting, but Aaron was aware that, of everyone here, Eliza Wrath was the only one who really didn’t care if Cadence ever opened her eyes again. He could feel it rolling off of her in waves of ugliness like the sea during the type of storm that leaves debris littered all over the beach, breaks boats in its wake, and sends sailors to the bottom of the ocean.
There were others, though, who after fifteen minutes, began to discuss the situation as if Aaron and Jamie weren’t close enough to hear. As if Cadence’s little sister wasn’t standing mere feet away. Scarlet said it first—but Aaron knew others were thinking it. The Healer wasn’t intending for him to hear her; it was evident by the way she worded the question. But he did hear her, and by the twitch in Jamie’s left eye, Aaron could tell he’d heard Scarlet as well.
“How long will he give it?” she’d whispered to Cale, who was standing a few feet behind Elliott, his hands on his hips, his head slowly wagging back and forth. He’d been the one who was supposed to be with Cadence, Aaron reminded himself. He’d been the closest Healer and the one who should’ve been able to follow her down the descent with his blue light. But he’d left, and now... here they were.
“I don’t know,” Cale answered, his voice wavering a little bit. “Not yet.”
Scarlet was quiet as Jamie reached thirty, and Aaron breathed twice for his wife. Jamie started compressions again, like a broken record, like a compulsion that couldn’t be stopped without dire consequences, and the two Healers in the distance were quiet for a few several cycles.
Eventually, Scarlet’s voice cut through the tension in the air. “It’s been twenty-five minutes.” She was still talking to Cale, Aaron knew that, but eventually, someone would be bold. Someone would say that to Jamie, would remind him that after seventeen minutes, Cadence’s chances of ever opening her eyes again had dropped drastically, that if she hadn’t breathed on her own by thirty, chances are that she wouldn’t.... Soon, someone would say that to Jamie, and eventually, he would listen. Eventually, he would stop; he’d have to. And when he stopped, everything else would stop, too. The world would stop spinning, the sun would stop shining, the stars would all fade away. Everything would stop except Aaron’s own breathing because making that stop was far more difficult than it should be at times like this.
“Thirty.”
Breathe, breathe.
Wait.
Nothing.
“One.”
“Cadence, please, come back to me. God, I love you so much. I need you to come back.”
Come back, Cadence. I can’t do this without you—we’re a family, I need you. Do it for me, for our baby....”
His pleas didn’t seem to be helping any, even when he tried to send them through her IAC. The light was still out, indicating she couldn’t hear him, indicating she was unresponsive, indicating she wasn’t there.
“Thirty.”
Breathe, breathe.
Wait.
“Wait!” Cass’s voice cut through the sound of Jamie’s counting, which started over at the same time the teen made her declaration. “I can sense something.... It’s faint. But it’s something.” He glanced up at Cassidy who had pulled slightly away from Brandon. Her forehead was puckered as she spoke, her eyes glazing over slightly. “’I have to go back.’ She said that, Cadence said that, faintly. I can see it in her head. And then... and then... someone else, another woman said to her, ‘Go back? You can’t go back. There is no back. You’re here.’”
“Another woman?” Elliott asked for all of them. “Who is she? Where is she? Is this in real time, or is this a memory?”
“I don’t know, but I can see it in her head. I can see something in her head, and that’s better than nothing. And it’s getting stronger.”
Heather’s voice cut through the sound of Elliott’s scrutinizing “hmph.” The other Hybrid pushed him aside so she was closer to Cassidy. “I hear it, too.”
“Thirty.”
Breathe, breathe.
Heather continued, her eyes wide and wild. “‘I don’t want to be here anymore, Grandma. I’m sorry. It’s lovely here, and I’m so glad I got to see everyone, even though I didn’t get a chance to talk to Jack. But that’s okay. I’ll come here again someday. But not today. Today, I need to go back. There are people there, people who need me, people who love me, people that I love. I have to get back to them. Now.’”
“Grandma?” Brandon questioned. “She thinks she’s talking to her grandma? Like, Janette?”
“And she saw Jack Cook?” Elliott scratched his head.
“Can you hear anything else?” Aaron asked, not caring if it was all a delusion in Cadence’s mind as she fought for oxygen or if she really had been transported to the afterlife, so long as she came back.
“Someone else said, ‘Honey, even if there was a way to go back...’ but Cadence didn’t listen to him. She took off running.” Cassidy’s tears had morphed slightly from the anguish at the thought of losing her big sister to despair of the unknown.
“Her mind’s runnin’ wild, all over the place,” Heather explained, shaking her head. “She’s thinkin’ about all of y’all, thinkin’ about getting’ back here... havin’ a baby... tryin’ to find a green field.”
“She’s thinking all of those things right now?” Elliott asked, his confusion mirrored on the faces of everyone listening.
Aaron breathed twice into his wife’s mouth, and Jamie started counting again as if he had no idea the conversation was going on around him, but Aaron knew his friend was aware. It just didn’t change anything. Until Cadence opened her eyes, or one of the other Healers convinced him to stop or dragged him away, Jamie would continue to beat Cadence’s heart for her.
“Thirty.”
Breathe, breathe.
“Come on, Cadence. Wherever you are, it’s time to come back home. I know you can do it. Just... come home.”
“What’s she thinking about now?” Elliott asked folding and unfolding his arms.
“She’s... running,” Cassidy said, her eyes closed now as if that would make it easier for her to see into her sister’s subconscious. “She’s trying to ‘find a way out of here.’” The last part of the sentence was slow and emphasized, as if she were trying to convey that it was an exact quote. “She doesn’t know where she’s going, but she has to get out of here and get back home to the people that she loves, the people that love her.”
Cassidy was quiet as Jamie signaled it was time for Aaron to breathe again, which he did. Heather picked up, her tempo faster, her tone more upbeat. “Her legs are on fire, she’s runnin’ so fast, but she don’t know where she’s goin’. Her heart’s beatin’ so loud, I can feel it shakin’ my body. And her lungs are burnin’. She feels like she can’t breathe. She ain’t runnin’ no more. She’s stopped, doubled over, cause her chest is heavin’ so hard. She’s passin’ out, I think. Fallin’ on the ground on her back, lookin’ up at the sky, clutchin’ at her chest. And... and... she’s out.”
“She’s out?” Elliott turned to look at the other Hybrid. Jamie said thirty, so Aaron breathed for Cadence. “What do you mean she’s out? Of course she’s out.”
“No, I mean I can’t hear her thoughts no more. Like before. But it’s different. Because she ain’t gone. Her mind’s still there. It’s just blank.”
“Like what you thought you were sensing before—an unconscious mind or whatever you said?” Christian’s voice was unexpected. Aaron didn’t realize he was even paying attention since he was still pacing and didn’t slow to ask his question.
“No. It ain’t like that at all. That’s still there. This is different. This is certainly Cadence.”
“Cass—”
“She’s right.” Cassidy opened her eyes and looked at Elliott before he could finish his question. “Heather’s right. Cadence’s mind is still there, she just isn’t thinking about anything right now.”
Every eye shifted to look at Cadence, and Aaron did the same. Jamie was on twenty-two. In eight more seconds, he’d need to breathe for her again, but if her mind was detectable now, then, wouldn’t that mean they were making progress? Was it possible she might finally come back to them?
Jamie said thirty.
Aaron leaned down to breathe into Cadence’s mouth but stopped just before his lips brushed hers.
Something was different....
