Embers & Ice

Chapter Thirty-Six

"Jenny?” Joshua shot up in his chair beside the hospital bed. He saw her eyelashes flicker and something of a mumble escaped her lips. “Can you hear me?”

Jenny’s eyes fluttered open and she squinted at the bright light. Joshua released the tension he’d been holding ever since she fainted in his arms. Despite ignoring her and pretending he didn’t care about the kiss, Joshua still worried, and the only person he’d ever had to worry about was Hunter.

“What happened?” Jenny muttered, her voice hoarse.

Joshua grabbed the plastic cup of water and gently fed it to her. “You had a minor heart attack. You’ve been asleep for 24 hours, but your vitals are well.”

“A heart attack? But I thought everything was fine.”

He stared at her a moment, struggling with the truth. It had been hours since he’d found out about her illness, and since then he hadn’t been able to get the thought out of his mind.

“Everything is fine,” he assured her. “The doctor said it’s uncommon for this type of occurrence given your condition.”

“My condition?”

“Yes. Because of your cancer.”

Jenny went pale and her small hands clenched the hospital rug. Joshua couldn’t help but remember the very last time she lay in a bed like this just moments before he almost killed her. “It’s true, I… I had lung cancer. I’m not a smoker, I was just unlucky. It was early in the treatment when the fire happened at school, and then the smoke, it… it accelerated the disease. I was pretty close to dying when you came, and when I woke up in the lab I thought I was dead.”

“The doctor said the cancer is gone.”

Jenny’s eyes suddenly filled with tears. “It’s gone?” A small chuckle escaped her lips. She reached out for his hand and found it. Joshua flinched, remembering the other night in the hotel room, but he couldn’t take his eyes away from her glowing face. “I’m cured. Joshua, you cured me.” Joy coated her words and his heart throbbed, a strange and warm feeling he’d never felt before. At least, not in a long time.

“What do you mean?”

“I thought there was some mistake, and so I checked everything over in your lab when you went out. I kept fearing I’d have another episode and pass out, but it never happened. And that’s when I forgave you. You had no idea, but you saved my life.”

“I did it for selfish reasons though.” He took his hand away and shook his head. “I needed you to help me get Hunter back. She wouldn’t talk to me after what she thought I did. And I was so lost, I didn’t know how it was possible that she’d beaten the fire. And… when I went to the hospital and found you I…”

“What?”

“There was… there was something in your eyes. You reminded me of someone. You were terrified of me, and that’s understandable, but you were… happy to go. I thought you’d given up.”

Jenny shook her head. “I knew my time was coming, but obviously I was wrong. And now… I don’t care where I go. I’m alive for a reason, and it’s led me here.”

Joshua was speechless, his throat becoming strangely thick.

“Joshua?” she continued. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” he said hoarsely.

“Why didn’t you kill me? Why didn’t the ice inside you make you kill me?”

He grit his teeth. “I guess… I had control all along. Not much, but enough to know I didn’t want to be a killer. The Iceman told me it was necessary, that I was doing it for Hunter. But I’m really not that person. I never intended for anyone to get hurt.”

“Uh…” There was a knock at the door and Eli stepped inside the room with three burrito wraps in his hands. “Sorry to interrupt the chick flick moment but… I brought lunch.”

“Thank you Eli,” Jenny smiled.

Joshua grumbled his thanks but was in no mood to eat. He wanted to shoo the boy back out the door, because he still had questions to ask Jenny.

“Listen Eli, we-”

“Did you know there’s a cop outside the room?” he asked casually and bit into his vegetarian burrito.

Joshua jumped to his feet. “What? He’s visiting?”

“Nah,” said the boy through a mouthful of food. A piece of lettuce took a dive on his knee and he flicked it off. “He’s like right outside our door just… standing there. He wasn’t there when I left, so I guess he just arrived.”

“Did he say anything to you?”

Eli shook his head. Then his expression fell. “Wait, do you think he’s here for us? Oh my God, are we gonna get arrested?”

Both Eli and Jenny gazed at him and Joshua wished he had something soft to kick besides Eli. “Jesus, this just keeps getting worse and worse, doesn’t it?”

Eli stared at the ground as though he wished it would swallow him up. “I’m going to prison. I’m gonna be someone’s bitch.”

“You’re not, I am.” Joshua ran a hand through his hair.

Eli snorted. “Yeah, no offense Joshua, but I think you’re a little less marketable to bald, fat men with ‘Mom’ tattooed on their biceps than I am.”

Joshua glared. “You two are supposed to be dead, and I’m the only person attached to you. The doctor must’ve called the cops after pulling up your record.” Jenny bit her lip. “It’s not your fault,” he added, “I was careless.”

“You were worried about her, that’s what,” said Eli. He raised his eyebrows up and down and gave them a smirk, which quickly faded after he caught Joshua’s murderous, there’s-no-time-for-that glower. “I mean uh… can’t we just tell them it was a misunderstanding?”

“It’s not gonna go down that easy kid,” Joshua rushed over to the window and threw open the curtains. “We can’t talk to the cops; they’ll separate us and try to pull the truth out, and if that ever happens, we’re all getting hoarded to the madhouse. Trust me, I know.” He threw Eli his backpack and peered out the window. “We need to get out of here. Can you walk Jenny?”

She sat up slowly, ripped out her IV cords and winced. “Yeah. I think so.”

“Good. I’ll go out first and grab the car, meet me out the front in three minutes.”

The two of them nodded and watched Joshua duck under the open window and drop onto the bed of roses outside. Silently he thanked God it wasn’t a two story hospital room and hurried around the back of the building.

First her heart attack and now I’ve got the cops on my ass? What a day this has been. And if the police know we’re here, the Agents can’t be far behind.

The howling wind had settled to a wispy breeze as he sprinted to the car park, the lights from the street lamps making the pavement shine around him. For a moment he had the feeling he was being followed and spun on his heels with his hands raised, ready for men in black suits to attack. But the car park was empty.

Joshua put his hand in his pocket to fetch his keys, turned back around and felt his heart leap out of his chest at the sight of a man dressed in a neat suit and red striped tie standing a car length away. He smiled, his hands clasped firmly around the handgun pointed at Joshua’s chest.

“Joshua Harrison,” he grinned. “Long time no see, eh buddy?”

Joshua gaped, so shocked he didn’t think to defend himself.

“Jesus…” he breathed. “Barry?”