Death's Captive: Will she escape eternal confinement?

CHAPTER 26

We arrive in a curtained-off section of the Emergency room together. A young woman reclines on a trolley bed while a nurse cleans a gash on her forehead. Her fair hair is matted with blood and her eyes are glazed in confusion, but she chatters to Nurse Susie, who is attending her.

"I can't stay here. My son's still at school. I'm feeling much better now."

"Sorry, Mrs Saunders, but we'll have to keep you here."

"Can I call my husband then? I need to see if he can pick up our son. I was running late. I didn't see the truck enter the intersection."

"We've already called your husband. He's on his way. Just try to relax and let us do our jobs."

"But my son?"

"Everything's been taken care of. Now we just need to take care of you and your baby."

Mrs Saunders' hands reach to her swollen belly.

I look around the ward but can't see any other patients in worse circumstances. I look at Niklaus but his focus is on the pregnant woman on the bed.

I lean over to him and instinctively use a hushed voice. "What are we doing here? I can't hear any bells."

"Ava, death happens all the time. You are only called to spirits that need your help to cross over. You won't hear the bells every time someone passes." Niklaus speaks in his usual tone and I'm reminded there was no need for me to whisper.

"So, is she dying?"

"Not yet, but she may soon. All I can hear right now is a dull ting, it will become louder depending on the choice she makes.

"Choice?"

People make choices every day that have the capacity to change the future for better or worse. Some moments are more significant than others."

"How is this moment significant?"

"It doesn't matter if she dies, but her baby must live. I don't just reap souls. Sometimes I get orders to manipulate a situation to save a life if the future hangs in the balance."

Matthews appears from between the curtains and strides up to the end of the bed. She tucks some paperwork into the back of the chart.

"What's the problem? Why can't I go home?"

Matthews cocks her eyebrow at the chart then looks at the patient. "We've confirmed you have a placental eruption from the trauma to your abdomen from the accident."

The woman tenses and cradles her stomach. "Is my baby going to be ok?"

Dr Matthews takes a consent form on a clipboard from a passing nurse. She closes the chart and places it at the foot of the bed. "We can save you both by delivering your baby via C-section and removing the damaged placenta while we stop the internal bleeding."

"But my baby isn't ready, I'm only 8 months."

"That's still a viable foetus. The baby will be cared for in our neonatal ward and should be fine to come home in a couple of weeks, maybe even less time than that if it's strong enough. This is the safest option, so long as you're willing to accept blood transfusions."

The patient bursts into tears and looks down at her stomach. "My religion forbids it." The woman leaves her stomach unguarded for a moment as she wipes away tears that had welled in her eyes.

"If you don't opt for surgery, you and the baby are likely to die."

"I know!" the woman cries.