A Brand New Twist, Chapter 22
by Luvin_Evian

Chapter 22

“Doctor, he’s dead.  Mr. Crane is dead.”

Dead?  Did somebody say ‘dead’?

Julian’s spirit rose from his lifeless body and came to stand behind the shoulder of the masked man who worked feverishly to return vitality to his still form.    He did a double take when he saw a wheelchair with some sort of lift contraption attached that held the doctor upright.  

“Oh, good Lord!  What is that?” he bemoaned.  

Julian slapped his forehead as memories from the last board meeting flashed in his mind.   Eve had up and disappeared a couple of days before and with the hospital short-staffed, they needed someone to come in and pick up the slack.   He was so worried about Eve at the time, he just agreed to everything to get the meeting over.   As he recalled, a Dr. Ellen Harmon topped a short list of candidates the hospital actively pursued to bring on board as Chief of Emergency Medicine.  After learning of her husband’s impressive resume, the members wanted them both.   Though Dr. Matt was paraplegic, the board felt the expense of purchasing the special equipment he would need would pay for itself several times over with the surgical expertise he brought to the table.  

Julian eyeballed the device and then watched as the doctor continued to perform.  This Harmon better live up to his reputation.  “That’s right, man, you work,” Julian urged him.  “Bring me back to life!  I can’t stay dead.  I finally have a second chance with Eve.  She’s having my baby, damn it!   I can’t leave her.”

“Sure you can.”

“Who said that?” Julian asked, searching the room.

“I did.”

The scent of rotting animal flesh filled the air.   Julian coughed and gagged as the stench grew stronger, overwhelming him.   Then, something he could only describe as an anomaly appeared.  The male sounding thing had what looked to be electric blue women’s nylons covering his face and body, and long, whiter than white hair sprouting from his head.

“Good God!” Julian exclaimed, covering his nose and not believing his eyes.

“No, I’m not God.  I wouldn’t hold out hope of you seeing him where you’re headed.”

“Who the…  What the hell are you?  You smell like death!”

“I am Death, Julian, and I’ve come to take you.”

Julian lowered his hand and snickered.  Only in Harmony.  “Take me where?” he asked.

“Do I really have to spell it out for you?”  Death answered, motioning to Julian’s prostrate body on the operating table.

“Look, I’m Julian Crane.  I’m one of the richest men in the world.  You can’t have me.”

Death laughed.  “Your wealth and power mean nothing to me.  I can have whomever I want.”

“Damn it, man!  There must be other people in this hospital you can take besides me.  I’m going to be a father again.  I’m finally with the woman I’ve loved all of my life.  You can’t take me away from that!”

“Oh, but I can, and I will.  Everyone tries to fight me, but no one can defeat me.  You’re no different.”

“I may not be able to defeat you in the long run, but I sure as hell can cheat you for now.”

“You think?”

The arrogance of this thing unsettled Julian.  As a businessman he knew the art of negotiating, surely he could offer this Death something in return for his own life.  Perhaps soap and water and a nice tailored suit.

“That’s not funny, and you can’t bribe me, Julian,” Death informed him with an admonishing wag of his finger.

“What?”

“I know what you’re thinking, and there’s nothing you can offer me that I want, besides your life.”

Julian’s gaze drifted to Matt.  “He’s going to save me.”

“He’s going to do his best, but whether or not you stay on this side is up to me.   You think you want to stay here, but you really don’t.”

“You’re crazy, man, and you stink!”  Julian turned his head, desperate to find a trace of fresh air but having no luck.  “There’s nothing I want more than to live.  I have Eve, we’re expecting a baby, and I’m going to find our son.   I’m this close to having everything I want, and you think I want to die?  You couldn’t be more wrong.”

“That’s because you don’t know everything--what the future holds.”  Death’s sinister laughed echoed in Julian’s ears.   The hairs on the back on his neck stood on end.  This thing put him on edge.  “You even want to make amends with your sister, don’t you?”

“You know everything else, you must know the answer to that.”

“Indeed I do.  Indeed I do.”  Death walked the length of the operating table, peering over the shoulders of the doctors and nurses at Julian’s lifeless form.   “You don’t believe this, Julian, but coming with me now will be the best thing for you.”

“I disagree.”   Julian walked to the foot of the operating table.   “I’m coming back.  I can feel it.”

“There’s a devastating storm headed for this bright future you foresee.   You’ve done some terrible things in your past, Julian, and they’re going to come back to haunt you and your beloved Eve.   You’re going to wish you were dead when this happens.  You shouldn’t fight me.   Come with me now; otherwise you’ll have to spend years and years living with yourself and everything you’ve done.   I assure you, it won’t be pretty.”

“And I’m supposed to believe you because why?”  Julian grunted.  He had more than enough of Death and his bleak predictions for the future.  “Look, why don’t you go hang out at the I.C.U. or the old folks home or something.   Eve knows every bad thing I’ve ever done, and she still loves me.  Nothing is going to change that.”

Death nodded.  “You’re right, Eve will always love you.   But when she learns what I know, she’s not going to like you very much, and you’re going to hate yourself.  You really should come with me on your own right now.   You’re going to wish for me later, and I won’t come to your rescue.”

“Yes, you already said that.  I’ll take my chances. You can’t scare me.  I love Eve, she loves me, and we’re going to live out the rest of our lives in happiness.”

“Well, you can’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Does this mean you’re not going take me?”

“For now.  The one thing I like almost as much as I do taking unsuspecting mortals by surprise is watching them suffer.” Death laughed.  “After our little talk, I think this is an even trade.”

Death’s evil cackling reverberated in the room long after he disappeared.   Julian shrugged off the strange encounter.   It meant nothing.   He had another chance at life, more time with Eve, and that’s all that mattered.   Easing on to the operating table, his spirit returned to his body.

Beep.  Beep.

Matt breathed a sigh of relief.  “We’ve got a rhythm! Let’s close up and get Mr. Crane to recovery.”

  <>~*~

Eve rushed Matt as he approached the waiting area.  Minutes before an overwhelming feeling of loss encompassed her, waking her from her fitful sleep and rocking her to her very core.   She left her office and raced to the waiting area, certain she would find Matt with his stony expression prepared to share the devastating news her heart told her was true.  Instead when she arrived, she found Sheridan sitting alone.  Sheridan assured her that Matt hadn’t come out yet, but when he did he’d have good news.   Eve found comfort in Sheridan’s words, and soon thereafter her feeling of dread subsided.  Calmness enveloped her and her heavy heart lightened.   Julian would be okay.  She could feel it. Now, Matt would confirm that for her.

Sheridan joined Eve before the weary looking doctor. “Matt, how’s my brother?” she inquired.

“I’m sorry it took so long for me to come out.  We ran into a little trouble after the bullet was removed,” Matt explained, his gaze drifting from Eve to Sheridan and back again.   “He lost a lot of blood.”

“He was gone, wasn’t he?” Eve asked, already well aware of the answer to her question.

Matt rubbed his face, wiping away the beads of sweat that glistened his forehead.  He nodded and sighed.  “Yes, he was, but Julian’s a fighter.  He’s still unconscious, and he’s going to need to take it easy for a while, but I do expect a full recovery.”

Eve looked at the ceiling.   “Thank you, God,” she whispered.

 Sheridan gave her a hug.  “I told you everything would be fine.”

Yes, you did.”  Eve turned to Matt. “Can I see him?”

“He’s still in the recovery room, and like I said, he’s still unconscious,” Matt answered.   “I don’t expect…”

“Just for a minute,” she pleaded.  “I need to see him.”

“Okay, but just for a minute.  We’ll be moving him soon.”

“Thank you, Matt.   Thank you for everything.”

At that moment Eve saw something she never thought she’d see from Matt Harmon…an actual smile on his face.  “You’re welcome,” he said.   “I was just doing my job.”  He checked his watch.   “I have to look in on another patient, but I’m sure I’ll see you two in Julian’s room later.”

Eve turned to Sheridan after Matt went off in the other direction.   “I don’t know how to thank you for being here and just being so supportive.   I honestly don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t here.”

“I’m glad I could be of help.  Besides, this is where I needed to be.”  Sheridan nibbled on her bottom lip.   “Eve, when things calm down a little more, I really want to understand all this. I’m clearly missing a big piece of something, and I just…”

Eve glanced in the direction of the recovery room. 

“I’m sorry, we can get into all that later,” said Sheridan, rubbing Eve’s shoulder.  “You go see Julian now.”

“Thank you for understanding, Sheridan.   I just really need to see Julian.  We will talk later, I promise.”

Eve left Sheridan and proceeded to the recovery room.   The beep of the monitors greeted her when she entered.  The shrill and constant tones didn’t bother her, for they served as audible reminders of the life that still filled Julian’s body.   She welcomed the sound.

“Dr. Harmon said I could come in for a bit,” she said to the nurse in the room. 

The woman nodded.  “I’ll give you a moment.”

Eve approached the gurney and took Julian’s hand.  Hours before his skin was pale and clammy, now a healthy pink colored his cheeks.  She trailed her forefinger alongside his jaw, just beneath the strap holding his oxygen mask in place.  She placed a soft kiss on his forehead.

“I love you, Julian.  Don’t you ever scare me like this again.” Eve rested her head on his chest, delighting in the sweet sound of the rhythmic beat of his heart. 

 

~*~

Alistair blew a thick cloud of cigar smoke into his informant’s face.  “So, my sorry excuse for a son is still alive?” 

The man rubbed his eyes and coughed.  “Yes, sir,” he answered.  “Some crippled super doctor operated on him.  He’s supposed to make a complete recovery.”

“That Russell woman has been glued to Julian’s side, yes?”

“Yes, sir.  She’s been at the hospital the whole time.   Your daughter, too.”

Sheridan?”

The man nodded.

“Children are important, aren’t they?”  Alistair remarked.

“I think so, sir, to most people.”

“They’re important to my son and his woman.  He got her pregnant years ago, and now he’s gone and done it again. I think I should give them a gift.  Something to celebrate Julian’s recovery and his and Eve’s impending arrival.”

“That sounds like a nice gesture.”

Alistair laughed as he thought of the perfect gift for Julian and Eve.  “Oh, yes, I’m just full of nice gestures.”


Chapter 23
Chapter 21
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