Ascension

Book One: Prepare for Impact

Book One: Prepare for Impact

2

MY HAIR SWUNG AROUND MY FACE AS I STEPPED out of my 2007 Toyota Corolla. Most people would have been scared of their first day of work, the new people to meet, and the new interactions. Me, I wasn't that nervous, mainly because I was now Dr. Kate Shepard, medical examiner for Grandview. I had just moved here from my fellowship in New York. Crossing the parking lot to the Medical District downtown, I watched as people crowded the streets, while angels and planes crowded the skies. I grabbed my ID card out of my bag and wrapped it around my neck. I walked with my eyes straight ahead, avoiding eye contact with people around me. Self-esteem issues had plagued me since I was a kid, I didn't think that I was pretty, important, etc.

Half of the reason I became a medical examiner was to avoid people, but the other half was to avoid people's perceptions of me, to avoid people's expectations of me, and to avoid me failing those expectations. I walked across 7th street and headed into the medical examiner's office, which was huge. The 17-floor building was beautiful with a stunning view that

overlooked the city. I was in total amazement that I forgot that I was working. I bumped into a tall stranger, falling to the ground. He didn't seem to move one bit. The man turned to me; he was an older guy. He looked to be in his 50s and was quite fit.

"I'm so sorry dear, that is my fault. I was not paying attention." "Don't worry sir, I'm guilty of not paying attention as well."
"I don't believe I've ever seen your face around here before," he said. "I'm Dr. Shepard, I'm the new medical examiner."
"Nice to meet you, Dr. Shepard, I'm Charles Gray, I'm a

photographer for the local paper."
"So, you're here to snap a picture of a dead body?" I asked, raising a

brow. Just as Charles was about to speak, I heard a very demanding voice call my name. "Dr. Shepard, do you think this is time to have small talk with the media?" I turned around to see a short and petite woman, an unamused look on her face.

"You must be Dr. Coldwright. I'm so honored to meet you, and I cannot thank you enough for hiring me."

"We'll have plenty of time to get acquainted, I have a body for you, now. Walk with me." I waved goodbye to Charles and quickly walked to Dr. Coldwright. She handed me a manila folder, and I flipped through it, seeing pictures of a woman, her chest was completely ripped open. I had seen a lot of things in my line of work, but nothing like this.

"Shepard, from what I hear you were one of the best residents in New York, I have high expectations from you on this case. The victim's name was Helena Blackwater. The COD might seem obvious to you, a ripped-out heart correct?" she asked.

"That's what I would think."

"Well, you're wrong. Ms. Blackwater was a Phoenix. If she had been killed by natural causes, she would have come back to life days ago. I'm afraid there's something more sinister here, and I need you to determine what it is."

"I'll try my best doctor."

"Yes, you will, or you can kiss this job goodbye. Get to work!" said Coldwright, leading me into the room with the body of Helena Blackwater. I looked at her pale and naked body, partially hidden under the white tarp that no one ever wanted to see their loved ones under. Her blonde hair was now stained crimson, blood everywhere in her head. Whoever or whatever did this showed no mercy, no remorse. I placed on the white gloves that were in my pocket and went to work on the body. I didn't expect to already be put on a case, but I guess things moved faster here. I took out my tape recorder and laid it on the tray beside the body.

"August 28th, 2020, this is Dr. Kate Shepard handling the autopsy of Helena Blackwater. At first glance, it looks like she was attacked by a large bear or maybe a wolf, but the ripped chest or broken rib cages were not the cause of death." I started. I turned to look at Helena's neck to see a puncture wound, directly above where her spinal cord was. "The victim was given some type of injection at the top of her spinal cord. Starting physical examination of the victim's brain." I reached for the bone saw on the desk and started on the victim's head. When I was complete, I noticed damage to the temporal lobe, and a lot of it. "Victim has severe damage to the temporal lobe. I am positive that the victim suffered from a rare cause of induced prosopagnosia. The patient's brain and spinal cord have been drained of cerebrospinal fluid." I put the tape recorder down just as the door opened, revealing two male detectives. One of them I noticed off of the bat, was Alex Kane.

His family and wolf pack ran the world. He was standing tall and proud in a black turtleneck, and a pair of black plaid pants. He was built nice. He stared at me; his eyes looked so intense as if he were trying to burn my soul. I politely smiled back as he shot me a smile as well.

"Um, hi. I'm Detective Kane, that's Detective Hangston," said Alex. Hangston was also cute. He was tall, he looked to be mixed, and his hair was put into a bun. "We were told that you might have some updates about the body for us."

"Great timing. The victim didn't die of heart removal or internal bleeding. The cause of death was not natural at all, so scientifically we can say that someone supernatural did this." Alex looked at me as if he had seen a ghost. "Whoever did this I'm guessing paralyzed Helena. I'll have to do more tests to be positive of course. Anyway, somehow, Helena had all of the cerebrospinal fluid taken out of her. In some cultures, this fluid is also known as the soul, especially to the creatures of Native American tales. The only way to kill a Phoenix would be to steal their soul."

"That's impressive, I didn't know a Phoenix could be killed," said Hangston.

"No creature is immortal, humans and supernaturals both have found ways to keep balance so that nothing is turned upside down. I did find one thing strange."

"And what was that?" asked Alex.

"The victim suffered from prosopagnosia, a disorder that can only affect humans."

"Prosopagnosia?" asked Hangston.
"Yah, the inability to recognize faces."
"Thank you for the information..."
"Dr. Shepard," I said, finishing my name for them.

Alex and his partner walked out of the office as I went back into autopsy mode. I thought that Alex was beautiful, but then again, all of the supernatural men were given the gift of beauty. Us humans were not given anything remotely close to that. The biggest question that tripped me up was, how did this woman obtain prosopagnosia? Coldwright came into my office without saying a word, laying more manila folders on the autopsy table. She quickly exited. I figured the other folders were cases. I continued my notes for Ms. Blackwater and placed her in one of the spacing units. Around two hours had passed by and I was starving. I grabbed my jacket off of the wheelie chair that was behind me and I walked across the street, a McDonald's in plain sight.

Sometimes it felt odd living in a world where the creatures you heard about in stories actually existed. It was hard for me to even comprehend that I had just done an autopsy on a Phoenix. As I walked into the McDonald's, I noticed Charles sitting in the corner. I ordered a cheeseburger and small sweet tea. After I received my food, I sat down with him. He smiled up at me.

"So, I hear you had Helena Blackwater's body?" he asked. "How do you hear these things so fast Charles?"
"Gossip around these parts travels fast, like lightning."
"I see."

Charles stared at me for a couple of seconds, as if he were contemplating on asking me something.

"What is it Charles?" I asked.

"Nothing, it's just you are the spitting image of a woman I took a picture of years ago. Do you have any family from around here?" he asked. "I-uh. I was adopted, my real mother died when I was nine. I never

knew who my dad was." "Oh, I'm so sorry."

"It was a long time ago."
"I'm going to see if I can find that picture Dr. Shepard."
I waved goodbye to Charles as he left. I looked out of the window to

see a crowd of older people staring at me, talking amongst each other. I smiled at them. When I did, they all dismantled as if my smile was a warning to them. What was that about? Leaving the McDonald's, something came over me. It was like a gust of wind. It was powerful. There was this weird feeling of anxiety and dread going through me. I felt like something bad was going to happen.