Whisper My Name

Chapter 19

Montrose, Colorado

So, this ain't the end, I saw you again today

I had to turn my heart away

Smile like the sun, kisses for everyone

And tales, it never fails

~ Barracuda ~ Heart ~

    John's panic and fear made every decision for the next hour and a half. The cacophony around him in the growing crowd melted into nothingness as his sole focus became Marlena, and getting her to safety. A hospital would be a death sentence for her, and John knew that. He couldn't even remember how he managed to get her in the truck, but he did remember leaning across her unconscious body to fasten her seatbelt. Later, after everything was said and done, he would marvel at what he could recall, and what he couldn't. Marlena would tell him that the mind has a way of taking over in times of extreme stress, but John would be inclined to believe it had something to do with G-d.

As he sped away from the bakery front in Montrose, Colorado, he kept glancing behind them. They couldn't be followed. Glancing over at Marlena furtively, memories assaulted him.

He watched Abe as he emerged from the smoky haze of his destroyed home, and he saw the look of sadness on his face. Refusing to accept it, he asked, "Abe? Abe? How is she?"

Abe replied, his voice choking with emotion, "Roman..."

"Maybe she's still in the house?" he whispered. His heart was breaking. They had been through too much for it to end this way. It couldn't end like this. He couldn't lose her again.

Abe struggled to speak, "The, uh, the firemen... they're cleaning up the last of the flames... they're going to give the whole place a thorough once over..."

Hot tears slid down his cheeks, "You...you haven't found her yet?" He waited for Abe to answer him, but he didn't. Abe only continued to stare at him sadly, and in that silence there was a growing sense of dread he couldn't accept. He started walking towards his home, "I'll check the house myself."

Abe reached for his arm, "Roman. Roman! Wait! There's no point."

"What?" he asked in a strangled voice.

"There's no point," Abe repeated in a voice choked with emotion.

"Look partner, you got something to tell me, you just tell me. Okay?" he said roughly.

Abe replied, "We...uh...we found her remains...she's dead. Marlena's...dead."

John shook his head, trying to clear the memory from it. Marlena wasn't going to die. He wouldn't let her. He continued to drive aggressively, taking multiple turns, and alternate routes, intent on making sure they weren't followed. Glancing over at Marlena, John touched her hand, squeezing it, "Doc? Doc, are you with me?" Getting no response, he drove faster, panic racing through his system.

"Hey! Hey! Stop that flight! Stop that flight!" he screamed, running into the control room at the small island airport. The single air traffic controller stared at him, too stunned to do much more.

"I can't. It's too late," the man replied in surprise. "There's nothing I can do about that."

"Do it right now!" he roared in a panic, reaching for the radio link.

The flight controller stared at him, his eyes wide with fear, "The plane is taxiing! There's nothing I can do!"

He turned helplessly, watching the plane that carried Marlena as it sped up down the runway, and with each second that passed his fear grew. He would never see her again. He turned around, frantically yelling, "Get on that radio!"