Victor Black - And the Garden of the Gods

Chapter 11: Victor and Willow Wake Up

Friday morning, the day after Willow's transfer from the ICU, her eyes popped open. At five o'clock, the darkness outside contrasted with the stark white lights in her hospital room. A symphony of new white diagnostic machines hummed and chirped from not one, but two stations. Lights blinked from red to yellow to green. Yellow dots traced lines on computer screens by her head. Some of the dots stopped momentarily and proceeded again.

A nurse with straight black hair that covered her eyes, wearing green scrubs over some heavy clothes, stopped in the entrance to the room and peered in.

Willow closed her eyes as soon as she spied the nurse, leaving one slightly open to get a read on any activity around her. Through her slit-of-an-eye, she stared directly at Victor, who—to her surprise—did the same thing.

He was awake and watching her!

Victor winced, motioning with his eyes at their doorway observer.

"Shush," his lips spoke, wordless. He mouthed more words "NOT A NURSE" using his teeth and tongue to spell it out. Willow understood and caught herself before an expression of surprise formed. Any movement would give her away, even the slightest wrinkle on her forehead.

The person in the doorway, having heard nothing useful, and having seen no movement from the patients, slowly turned away. Footsteps diminished down the sterile hallway. Victor opened both eyes and smiled. "Hey, you." He straightened himself out, putting his right arm under his head for support. "I heard you were here," he said.

Willow mimicked him, turning onto her side. Her eyes filled with tears.

"I heard people talking," Victor said in a whisper. "They spoke your name."

"You were in a coma," Willow said. "They told me you were in a coma when I woke up. Something strange is going on Vic." Willow paused for a moment. "The nurse told me you were strangled or something."

"Or something," said Victor in a low tone. "I can't tell you now. I woke up early this morning, before you, and seeing you here —"

"What?"

Victor continued with slight hesitation. "Do you remember Kai, Willow? How he died?" He looked in Willows' eyes, searching for a spark of memory, of understanding, but she looked back in bewilderment.

"Some people, Willow, don't return. Some of us do," Victor said.

Upon saying those words, Victor took his free hand, grabbed the top of his gown at the neck, and pulled it down. He exposed a fresh, bright, red and blue discoloration around his neck.

"What's on your neck?" said Willow. She propped herself up for a better look.

"Do you remember after the birthday party?" He hesitated. "Well, I went up to the mountain."

"What birthday party?" Willow couldn't remember, her mind was a blur. She felt no sense of time.

"The only thing I remember is the beach, but we live here in Colorado," she said.

"It was your birthday," said Victor. "Down at the Skirted Heifer."

Willow looked away, staring at nothing as she worked to remember what happened. All she could conjure up were the images of the beach, and clothes floating in the air and felt relieved she remembered some things. Her memories turned to visions of dense, white fog, and she had no idea what it meant.

"A beach, yes," she said to Victor, describing what she remembered. "And clothes, but it's all gone, and there's nothing but white. A white mist, or fog...."

"You can't remember anything else?" said Victor. He probed, hoping he could help her, but remembered something had happened to each of them physically—the reason they were in the same recovery room.