The Summoning

Forty-six

AUNT LAUREN TOOK ONE look and freaked out. I needed stitches, immediately. She didn't have the supplies at home, and I had to have full medical attention. Who knew what I might have severed or what filth or germs might have been on that glass? While she was rebandaging me, she made me drink a bottle of Gatorade to replace any fluids I'd lost from bleeding. Within ten minutes, Rae and I were in the back of her Mercedes, tearing from her garage.

I dozed off before we reached the first traffic light. I supposed all those sleepless nights had something to do with that. Being in Aunt Lauren's car helped, with its familiar smell of berry air freshener and its soft beige leather seats and the faded blue spot where I'd spilled a slushie three years ago. Back home. Back to normal.

I knew it wasn't that simple. I wasn't back to normal. And Derek and Simon were still out there and I was worried about them. But even that worry seemed to fade as the car bumped along, like I was leaving it behind in another life. A dream life. Part nightmare, part . . . not.

Raising the dead, escaping from the clutches of an evil doctor, tearing through abandoned warehouses with people shooting at me. It all seemed so unreal in this familiar car, the radio station tuned to WJYE, my aunt laughing at something Rae said about her choice of music, saying I complained, too. So familiar. So normal. So comforting.

And, yet, even as I drifted off, I clung to the memories of that other life, where the dead came to life and fathers disappeared and sorcerers conducted horrific experiments and buried the bodies under the house and boys could make fog appear from their fingertips or turn into wolves. Now it was over and it was like waking up to discover I couldn't see ghosts anymore. The feeling that I'd missed out on something that would make my life tougher but might also make it different. An adventure. Special.

I woke to Aunt Lauren shaking me.

"I know you're tired, hon. Just come on inside and you can go back to sleep."

I stumbled out of the car. She caught me, Rae diving in to help.

"Is she okay?" Rae asked my aunt. "She lost a lot of blood."

"She's exhausted. You both must be."

When the cold air hit, I yawned and gave my head a sharp shake. I could make out a building in front of me. I blinked hard and it came into focus. A yellow brick rectangle with a single, unmarked door.

"Is this the hospital?"

"No, it's a walk-in clinic. I called Buffalo General and Mercy and their emergencies are packed. A typical Sunday morning. Between the Saturday night gunshot wounds and the drunk drivers, it's a zoo. I know a doctor here and we'll get you straight in."

She looked up as a small, gray-haired woman rounded the corner. "Oh, there's Sue. She's a nurse here. Rae, Sue's going to take you over to the waiting room, get you some breakfast, and check you over."

I peered at the woman as I struggled to focus. She looked familiar. When she stopped to talk to my aunt, I realized she must be her friend. But even after she walked away, it niggled at the back of my foggy brain, some connection I wasn't getting.

It wasn't until we were inside that I remembered where I'd seen her. Just last night, clutching the chain-link fence, calling my name.

I wheeled on Aunt Lauren. "That woman —"

"Sue, yes. She's a nurse here. She'll take good care of—"

"No! I saw her last night with the man who shot at us."

Aunt Lauren's face crumpled and she put her arm around me. "No, honey, that's not the same woman. You've been through a lot and you're confused —"

I pushed her away. "I'm not. I saw her. Is she the one who recommended Lyle House? We need to get out of here."

I ducked out of her grasp and raced back to the door. I grabbed the handle, but she caught up, holding it shut.

"Chloe, listen to me. You need to —"

"I need to get out." I pulled on the door with both hands, but she held it fast. "Please, Aunt Lauren, you don't understand. We have to get out of here."

"Would someone please help Dr. Fellows?" a voice echoed down the hall. I turned to see Dr. Davidoff striding toward us.

A man hurried past him, coming at me with a syringe.

"That won't be necessary, Marcel," Aunt Lauren snapped. "I've already given her something."

"And I can see it's working very well. Bruce, sedate Chloe, please."

I looked up at Aunt Lauren. "Y-you drugged me?"

Her arms went around me. "You'll be okay, hon. I promise."

I lashed out, hitting her so hard she stumbled back. Then she turned on Dr. Davidoff.

"I told you this wasn't the way to handle it. I told you to leave it to me."

"Leave what to you?" I said, taking a slow step back and hitting the door.

She reached for me, but my hands flew up, warding her off.

"Leave what to you?"

The man with the syringe caught my arm. I tried to yank away, but the needle went in. Aunt Lauren stepped toward me, mouth opening. Then a woman hurried down the hall, calling to Dr. Davidoff.

"The team just called in a report, sir. There's no sign of the boys."

"Surprise, surprise," Aunt Lauren said, turning to Dr. Davidoff. "Kit taught them well. Once they're gone, they'll keep running. I warned you."

"We'll find them."

"You'd better, and when you do, I expect that brute to be handled the way he should have been handled years ago. Put down like a rabid dog. Wait until you see what he did to Chloe's arm."

"D-Derek?" I struggled against the pull of the sedative. "Derek didn't do this. I cut myself —"

Aunt Lauren caught me as I slid down the wall. I tried to push her away, but my arms wouldn't respond. She shouted for them to hurry with the stretcher, then leaned over me, holding me steady.

"You don't need to cover for him, Chloe," she whispered. "We know what he is." A glare back at Dr. Davidoff. "A monster. One that didn't belong in the . . ."

I didn't catch her next few words. The hall flickered, fading.

When I focused, I saw her face over mine. "But we won't let him hurt Simon, Chloe. I promise you that. When you wake up, you're going to help us find Simon and bring him home. I know he's important to you. He's important to all of us. You all are. You and Rachelle and Simon and Victoria. Very special. You're —"

Everything went dark.