Dark Hope: Book One of the Archangel Prophecies

Dark Hope: Chapter 16

I stayed wrapped in the safety of darkness for who knows how long. I was on a never-ending arc of pain, cycle after cycle stretching my body to its limit. Each time the pain reached its peak, I came close to regaining consciousness. I would hear snippets of things going on around me, enough to make out that I was still with Michael but that someone else was there with us, too. There was a faint, incessant beeping in the background. Other than that, an ominous hush seemed to fill the room.

I still couldn't open my eyes, so I tried to feel my way around to make out where I was. When I shifted, though, it felt as if rough sandpaper was scraping the skin off my bones, and I let out an involuntary moan.

"She's breaking through the morphine," I heard someone say.

"Then increase her drip. I don't want her to feel anything," Michael said tersely.

"There's only so much we can give her."

"As soon as you can, then."

"Michael?" I managed to croak.

I felt a rustle at my side, sensed him bending low near my face. "I'm right here, Hope."

"It hurts."

He didn't bother to answer me. Instead he spoke angrily to whoever was with him. "She's in pain. Do the drip now!"

There was a rush and a clatter. Then, I felt a rush of cool relief spreading through my body. The excruciating pain gave way to numbness as I drifted back into sleep, but not before wondering what on earth had happened to me.

It seemed like a long time had passed before I sensed that I was floating. The cool water of a lake lapped at my limbs, cradled and cushioned me as I drifted along. I sailed silently along, the sun giving way to the moon and stars above me, the soft lapping of the water steering me as if by magic, never stopping, taking me further away from the pain. I didn't want it to stop. I wanted to lose myself in the water, hide in the safety of its depths, but from somewhere on the shore I could hear the whispers, whispers that called me back and demanded my attention.

"All due respect, but she would be much better off in a hospital." I heard a deep sigh and a rustle of papers. "She would have better supervision, and if something went wrong-"

"We can't bring her to a hospital, Pete, and you know it," a second unfamiliar voice cut in. "This is below the radar. No records. No reports."

"But she's just a kid."

"The casino has been very good to you, Pete." The man's voice was rising, his anger barely contained. "But if you want to back out of our agreement, I can get the boss on the phone-"

"No!" Pete sounded nervous as he yelped the word. "No," he repeated in a whisper. "I'm still in. I guess I just never expected to see something like this. I mean, my God. What kind of animal

does this to someone?"

"He didn't do it. Remember, he said it was an accident."

"Yeah, right," Pete said bitterly. "Some accident. He can't even tell us how it happened. There's no sign of anything-no fire, no chemicals. Who takes the time to clean things up when they are dealing with an 'accident'?"

What were they talking about? Where was I? I tried to open my eyes, but they were too heavy.

"You'll see worse before you're done. Trust me. For now, just focus on the job." There was a brief pause before he continued. When he spoke again, he seemed to be facing away from me, his voice louder as if to project out into a vast space. "Mr. Carmichael, we'll keep a nurse on duty at all times. Plan on a shift change in a few hours. You don't need to worry about any of them; they are all on the same little arrangement as Pete here."