Alpha's Prophecy

Chapter 28

Emma

I once read an autobiography from a woman who was pronounced clinically dead for five minutes. She detailed how she floated above her own body, looking down she witnessed a team of doctors working hard to resuscitate her and bring her back to life. She claimed that in that moment she never feared what was to come next, even though she had always been afraid of death. 

She realised that her body was just a shell, flesh and organs that were designed to decay. It was her soul that was eternal, even outside of the body that encased it. Her soul was her essence, her  voice, laughter, mannerisms, thoughts and memories, not even death could destroy those parts of her. 

She recalled seeing family members, that had died, coming into the operating room and she knew, without even being told, that they were there to take her to the after life. Her mother held out a hand, beaconing her towards the bright light that was beginning to grow bigger. She knew in that moment that the choice was hers, she could leave behind her husband, her children, her entire life or she could stay. 

As I looked down at my motionless body I can't say that I felt the same peace and comfort that I had read about. I wasn't floating above myself, I was standing off to the side. I wasn't laying on an operating table, with doctors franticly trying to save me. I was in a bed, with two women either side of me, chanting. 

I glance down at my body, I'm naked and as I press my fingers against my skin I can feel their imprint. I can smell the incense burning. These senses have to be part of my core memory, my soul reminding me what touch and smell was. 

I want to scream at the women to do something, to help me, but when I open my mouth to speak, nothing comes out. The chanting finally ends and the two women raise their heads, silently acknowledging one another. I recognise one of them, she was the doctor at the hospital, the one who injected me with what she described as an antidote to wolfsbane. It's the last thing I can remember. 

Fear begins to engulf me. I knew I was wrong to trust Jake. I saw exactly what he was capable of when he took down that boy, Alexander. He's a monster. I should never have left home. I was safe at home, I was alive.

"He killed me." I scream in vain, knowing it's useless. I'm beyond help now.

The two women jump, started by my outburst which can only mean that they can hear me. Two sets of eyes study my naked flesh as if I'm standing before them in a museum. 

"Emma?" The doctor asks me, astonished as she shuffles around the bed to where I stand. My natural instinct is to step back. She stops walking, eyeing me cautiously. I try to cover myself with my arms, feeling exposed under their watchful gaze. 

"What did you do to me?" I demand to know, motioning my head towards my body on the bed. "Why am I outside my body? And why can you see me if I'm dead?"

The doctor turns to face the other woman, a pint sized lady with dark, curly hair that runs wild from her head. She looks familiar to me, as if I've met her before but I can't remember where or when. 

The two women nod at each other, as if they've shared a silent exchange that I wasn't privy to. This frustrates me and makes me more wary of what they've done to me. 

"Emma, you're alive." The doctor says, stepping back towards the bed where she overlooks my body, lying stiff. "This isn't you."

The doctor lifts a blanket from the bed and holds it out, making me come closer to where I lay. I can't help but stare at the body on the bed, trying to find some proof to what she's claiming but I can't. I'm in different clothes than when I went to the hospital but they're still my jeans, my t-shirt.