“One of them is alive,” the man in white said. They both rushed closer, their footsteps crunching on the snow.
One of them? Only one? They were dead. His dad, mom, Mindy, and … Tami. He remembered the light.
November 1, 4 p.m.
News Flash: Update
Four confirmed dead in plane crash on Jasper Mountain Range
After a nearly six-hour trek to the crash site, the Search and Rescue (SAR) and Mountain Rescue Association (MRA) converged on the wreckage of the Cessna 210. Sheriff Ted Carter of Jasper County confirmed getting the report twenty minutes ago that four bodies have been found at the crash site of the plane flown by Dr. Edward Tallman and carrying four passengers. The friends and family of the victims already in Jasper have been notified. Identification of the bodies has yet to be made. But regrettably, the emergency crew does not anticipate finding any survivors. The crash site was worse than they had originally suspected, and it is believed that the last remaining passenger could have been thrown from the plane or is lying among the charred remains.
Sheriff Ted Carter was quoted saying, “On behalf of Jasper County, I offer my sincere condolences to the family and friends of the individuals who lost their lives today. As we continue to monitor the situation, our thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of those who were on board.”
More updates will be made when available.
Oct. 31, 4:45 p.m.
Chapter Seven
Had these men really said his family was dead? Chase let his head fall back down. No, he couldn’t accept that. Couldn’t believe they were gone. He fought to keep his eyes open, wanting to ask again—to beg them to be wrong. To save his family. The two men appeared over him. He tried to open his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Black spots, like fireworks, started popping off in his vision. He couldn’t make out their faces, but he saw their shapes.
Then he saw … he saw their eyes. Glowing. Bright lime green. What the hell was wrong with his vision?
One of the men crouched down beside him, the snow crunching beneath the heels of his shoes. It was the guy in the lab coat. Chase couldn’t make out his face, but he saw his eyes, still glowing, and the white coat.
“Damn it,” the man said, looking up at the guy wearing black who stood over Chase. “He’s a carrier. Did we bring gloves?”
“No,” the other man said.
The dizziness had Chase closing his eyes, but he listened. Their voices were distant—as if on a radio in another room. He tried to pick up his right arm, but couldn’t.
“We’re here, kid,” one of them said and Chase felt his body shift slightly as if someone was moving the snow from around him. “Damn it. If I touch him I risk activating the virus. He’s in bad shape. He wouldn’t be able to survive the turn.”
“I disagree,” the deeper voice said. “It’s his only chance to survive.”
“He’s too weak. It’ll kill him,” the other voice argued.
“Probably, but he’s dying anyway. Turn him and at least he has a chance. It might not be much of one, but it’s the best shot he has.”
He was dying. He thought hearing it would have caused him to react. He didn’t. He thought of the light tunnel where he’d seen his family. He wanted to go there.
Chase opened his eyes to tell them it was okay. He couldn’t speak but he stared at the blurry figures. One of the men passed something to the other.
Chase blinked the ice from his lashes and saw the man in the white lab coat holding a knife. Chase’s heart thumped once in fear. Then he watched as the man turned the knife on himself. He put the knife to his palm and gripped it. Blood, one drop at a time, dripped from his clenched fist.
Chase didn’t react to it because somehow it didn’t seem to matter. He was dying and he was going to go to the light.
As Chase stared, the guy dropped the knife in the snow. Then he pressed his bleeding palm to Chase’s arm, to an open wound he had there. The touch wasn’t nearly as warm as he’d thought it would be. Then suddenly it was. It was so warm it stung.
“Hot,” he tried to say, but wasn’t sure he’d managed it.
A burning sensation started flowing inside him. He heard himself moan.
“Come on, kid. Hang in there. I owe your dad that much.”
Chase choked on his next intake of air.
“Damn it! Don’t you die on me!”
Die on me. Die on me. Die on me.
The words echoed in his head and he saw the light again. Peaceful, pure, bright but somehow soft. It didn’t hurt to look at it. As a matter of fact it was beautiful.
All of a sudden his dad and mom appeared beside him. “No,” his mom said. “Go back.”
“Live, son,” his dad said. “Live for us.”
“I don’t want to,” he said. “I … I don’t want to be alone.”
“Take him back, damn it!” his father roared, staring back into the tunnel of light as if someone else was there. “Please, it’s not fair.”
Something started pulling him away again. “No,” he begged. “I like it here.”
He stopped moving. He heard the bark again. Baxter.
Turning in circles, he looked for his dog. “Come here, boy. Come here.”
“Chase?”
The fine voice had him swinging back around.
Tami.
She looked even more beautiful than he remembered. Her dark hair glistened with the light. Her smile lit up her face. Angelic. That’s how he would describe her.
She moved to him. Her presence so sweet his chest ached.
All of a sudden she looked back over her shoulder as if someone called her. “It’s my brother,” she said when she turned around. “He’s here. And he looks so good. He runs and can play ball like he loved to do before he got sick.”
Chase tried to look over her shoulder to see him, but he couldn’t. He could only see her. He let his gaze fall back on her face. On her eyes that seemed honestly happy.
But then her smiled faded. “You have to go back, Chase. Don’t you remember what she said?”
“What who said?”
“You can’t turn your back on a challenge, Chase. That’s what the palm reader said. I bought the dog collar with the saying on it, remember? It’s in your pocket. In your jacket. You have to face this challenge.”
“No, I don’t want to go back. I’d be alone. It would be unbearable.”
“You’ll be sad for a while, but not forever. It’s not like it will go away, you just learn to go on and then you realize that life hasn’t ended. I did it with my brother. And you’ll do it, too. Go, Chase, go face the challenge.”