Between Life and Death

Chapter 1

         Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Steady, constant, and really annoying. My eyes shot open to find the hospital room they must have brought me to. White, plain, boring. The last time I was in a hospital room like this was when Sammie had been in her car accident, five years ago. She’d barely come out of that one alive. The doctors were amazed she did at all, said something must have protected her. Neither of us had any family to speak of, so when I got the call she was in the hospital in need of surgery, I rushed to get here to be with her. Now, it seems she had done the same for me.

         I saw her black hair first, not that there was much of it, but it was something different from the boring white. The short pixie cut suited her perfectly, but it also made it really easy to tell she hadn’t slept well in at least three days. That gave me a general idea of how long I’d been here. I looked down at the wires connected to me, the IV and heart monitor. Oddly, though, I didn’t feel anything.

         I looked up as the door opened and Jackson walked in, carrying two cups of coffee. I tensed, eyeing him cautiously.

         “What’s he doing here?” I croaked. My voice was hoarse, but I guess not speaking for three days will do that. I heard the beeping on my heart monitor pick up and that appeared to be what caught their attention. Sammie looked at me strangely, curiously. Jackson looked straight to the heart monitor and sighed.

         “I guess even in a coma she still doesn’t want to see me”

         “What did you expect? After the fight you two had, I can’t blame her” Sammie sounded annoyed, like she was just waiting for him to leave. I didn’t blame her, I couldn’t wait for him to walk back out that door.

         Wait…coma? Had I heard him correctly? And how did Sammie find out about our fight? I hadn’t told her. I hadn’t had the time.

         Jackson seemed to wonder the same thing. “How’d you know about that, anyway?”

         “She tells me everything. Who do you think called 911 when she fell through the ice?”

         “I still don’t understand why she was out on that ice to begin with. She knows better than anyone that it’s too early in the year to use it as a shortcut”. He sounded more annoyed than worried. Something that Sammie seemed to pick up on as well.

         “If you’re just gonna be an ass about it, get out. She doesn’t want you here, neither do I. And you’re not even her emergency contact, so just go” She took one of the cups from him then pushed him out the door. Whether he was putting up a fight or not, it didn’t matter. No one resists Sammie.

         She shut the door behind him then turned back to me. “I heard you, Lizzie. Are you there?”

         I frowned slightly. Heard me? How? If I’m supposed to be in a coma… “Yeah, I’m here…”

         “Oh God! I was so scared, you were so deep under I didn’t know if you’d ever wake up and -” She froze, looking carefully at my face. “Shit… You’re not awake”

         “What the hell is going on!? What’s this about me being in a coma!? And we weren’t on the phone when I fell through the ice! I was being chased, no one knew where I was except -” I could hear my heart monitor picking up again, but I didn’t get to finish.

         “Hush and listen. One question at a time” She was unsettlingly calm. I didn’t know how to feel about it. On the one hand, the fact she was calm was keeping me calm, but on the other it scared me even more so how she was able to stay so relaxed in this situation. I sat up and climbed out of bed, turning to pull out the IV and other wires only to find there was nothing there. It was just me. I looked down at the bed and jumped back, panicking when I saw my own face, peacefully asleep. Sammie wasn’t looking at that me anymore, she was looking at where I stood, and she smiled weakly.

         “I know it’s a lot to take in…”

         “A lot to take in!? That’s me!” I yelled, pointing to the sleeping me. “But I’m also right here!?” I gestured up and down to the me that was standing. “What the hell is going on!?”

         The door opened before she could answer and Sammie jumped to the bedside, sitting in the chair and acting like nothing was going on. A nurse walked in and moved to the monitor to check my vitals, likely because of the two times my heart rate sped up. I stepped in front of her as she turned to go.

         “Hey, what the hell is going on!? What’s happening to me!?” But she didn’t seem to hear me. In fact, she walked right through me and turned to Sammie before walking out the door.

         “You let us know if anything happens, alright? If her heart rate changes come get us immediately” Then she walked out the door and closed it behind her.

         I turned to Sammie, shaking. “What the hell, Samantha!?”

         She flinched. “You know I hate that name, Lizzie… Just sit down and I’ll explain what’s going on as best I can”

         Breathing heavily and still shaking, I sat on the bed, watching her uneasily. “Why are you the only one who can see me and hear me?” I asked shakily.

         She looked at me sadly. “What do you remember from the night you fell through the ice?”

         I frowned, uncertain. “I… I don’t really know. I know I was scared, terrified. I was running from… something… I can’t remember what though, I’m sorry”

         Sammie sighed, but I couldn’t tell if it was defeat or relief. I never was very good about reading her, not in our ten years of friendship. If she didn’t want me to know something, I didn’t.

         "I was afraid that might be the case". Her voice was steady, calculated. She was definitely hiding something, but if history had taught me anything it was that I would never get out of her whatever it was. Still, I had to try.

         "What the hell happened? How did you know about the fight I had with Jackson? I wasn't on the phone with you, I was going to tell you when I got home"

         "That's not important-"

         "Don't. Do not try to play this off as nothing and tell me what the hell is going on!"

         She flinched again at the harshness in my voice, then her voice dropped to a whisper. "How much do you know about cyptids?" Her voice was almost a growl, inhuman.

         I swallowed hard, staring back at her. "What, like, Bigfoot? The Loch Ness Monster? Those cryptids?"

         Her brown eyes flashed dangerously. "Sort of". As quickly as the look appeared, she was back to her normal self, smiling weakly. "Eh, probably just tired. It's been a long week"

         Week? Had I been unconscious that long? I shook my head and glared at her. "You still didn't answer my question. How did you know about our fight?"

         Sammie waved the question off once more. "I could tell you were upset. Just a sense I guess. I had the wine all set to go on the counter, then I got the call from the hospital and rushed to be here".

         I got an idea suddenly. "So you've been here since I fell through the ice?"

         Sammie nodded, not picking up on the idea I got. "That's right".

         I looked down at my unconscious self, for no other reason than to hide the flash in my own brown eyes at the satisfaction of not being caught. I was about to find out if she was truly telling the truth.

         I quickly changed the subject, still looking down at my unconscious form. "So it's been a week then? Since I fell through?"

         Sammie rolled her eyes. "No, just three days. You think you're the only reason my week can be good or bad?" I knew she was teasing. I just needed to get the focus off of her story. "Hey, you okay? You're kinda far away"

         Her voice dragged me back to reality and my eyes snapped up to meet hers. "Something doesn't... feel right. Can we go back to the house? I want to check something"

         My plan appeared to work, because she smiled softly and nodded. "Yeah. I can give the nurse some excuse like needing to shower or get some new clothes. I'm sure she'd appreciate it anyway"

         I nodded and stood just as she did. In the small space, I expected us to bump heads and braced for the impact, but it never came. I just passed straight through her. "Oh. I guess I don't have to worry about crowds now. Wait..." Another idea popped into my head. "If you can see me, why couldn't the nurse?"

         Sammie shrugged. "Beats me. Maybe we're just so close that I always know where you are". She sounded sincere, but her voice had that twinge I was quickly coming to suspect was her lying. But I didn't question it, not then. I didn't want her getting suspicious and deciding not to go straight back to the house.

         Rather than questioning, I simply nodded and started for the door, Sammie following close behind me. We made it down to her truck with no issues, passing the nurse with Sammie's excuse of needing a change of clothes, which the nurse smiled gratefully at. I slid into the passenger side without bothering to reach for the door at the same moment Sammie opened her door and climbed into the driver's side.

         I turned to stare out the passenger side window as we pulled out of the parking lot and headed for home.