Lucidity

Chapter 28 - Volcano Weather

Together they ran down the hallway and through the dark Skyway to the safety of the Annex. Only then did they stop for air. Grace pushed the button for the elevator while Kat danced around the lobby, her bare feet slapping on the linoleum. Grace glanced back over to the Skyway. No one pursued them.

“Hah! Did you see that?” Kat cackled in glee, tossing the eight ball from one hand to the other. “Could’ve told them not to mess with me, I was short-stop on our little league team, can throw better than both my brothers!”

The elevator dinged its arrival. Grace hustled Kat on before the girl got any ideas about returning to the scene of her pitching debut. Grace felt no sense of triumph, only a deep-seated relief that they had escaped.

Kat paced the confines of the small metal box for a few moments before suddenly sagging against the wall as if all the air had been sucked from her lungs.

“Damn it, that scared the crap out of me!” She leaned forward, resting her hand on her knee, her chest heaving. “I think I’m gonna puke.”

Grace pulled Kat to her feet, wrapped her arms around the girl. Kat shook uncontrollably. The elevator stopped. They emerged into the dim shadows of the pediatrics floor.

“It’s all right,” she said as Kat began to sob. “You did fine, I’m proud of you, Kat. You saved my life. Everything’s all right now.”

Finally, Kat stopped crying and looked up. “I did? Really? I saved your life?”

Grace smiled down at the girl, used the hem of her scrub top to wipe away the tears. “You did. I’ve never known anyone as brave as you, Kat.”

“Wow. I mean—wow.” Kat blew out her breath. “You won’t tell Alex that I cried, will you?”

“Course not. And it happens to everyone. It’s just the adrenalin. Even soldiers and cops cry after something like that—sometimes throw up, too.”

“Hah. At least I didn’t puke.” They started down the hall to Alex’s room when Kat tugged on Grace’s arm. “I’m sorry about what I said earlier, Grace. I was wrong, they don’t want to die, they’re already dead. Inside at least. And you’re not like them, not at all.”

Grace hugged Kat to her as she paused in the doorway of Alex’s room before entering. She felt a smile widen across her face at the sight of Jimmy and Alex sitting together on the bed, Jimmy’s arm around the boy as if they were father and son. They’d talked about children, thought that after they were settled—

She shook her head, following Kat into the room. Kat plopped into the chair beside Alex’s bed, hugging her knees to her chest, still flushed by their near-escape.

“Kat, are you all right?” Alex asked.

“You should’ve seen it, Alex. Grace kicked butt—”

“What she means to say,” Grace interrupted before Kat’s too-vivid imagination went wild, “is that the other patients in the ECU won’t be bothering Kat anytime soon.”

Grace brushed by Jimmy who snagged her by the waist and pulled her close to him. “You all right?” he asked, his eyes narrowed in concern.

“I’m fine.” She bent over and kissed the top of his head. “Really.” He gave her a squeeze before releasing her.

“Jimmy was telling me how Maeve saved the world,” Alex said. “She found the lost treasure of Atlantis.”

Kat looked up, eager to hear more, not complaining as Grace wrapped a blanket around her. Grace glanced over at Jimmy.