My Captivator

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter 24

Merrick:

I could hear her speaking. She remembered me telling her I loved her, and she loved me back. The entire time she spoke, I was listening, but unable to respond. Her voice was melodic as she spoke of her faith. I wanted so badly to have the faith she held. The amount of courage she had was immense and the strength she carried was far much more than any woman I have met. There were few times I have seen her cry in pain and fear. This time however, her cry was full of compassion. It broke my heart to hear the longing in her voice for me to accept her religion.

Relationship.

I heard someone else in the room . . . but I thought Kairyn had left. She was the one who always corrected me about using the term religion and instead using the term relationship. I thought for a moment, if I heard someone speak, then they must have heard me speak. I tried to speak again but I heard nothing in return, my mouth wouldn't even move. I felt stuck, trapped and secluded in my own body. I wanted out, I wanted freedom.

Where I am there is freedom.

There it was again. I felt my body begin to sweat. The voice was soft and there was a soothing quality about it. I tried speaking back to whoever it was; obviously they had heard me that time. 'Can you hear me?' I tried to speak. It came out as a simple, desperate thought.

No answer came, but instead, an intense peace washed over me. I took a deep breath and the pain in my chest went away. I was dying, that had to be what was happening. What other way to explain it?

Believe, my child.

"Believe what?' I thought. 'Who are you?'

I am He.

I thought hard. My mind tried to think of every possible answer but nothing seemed to explain what was happening.

Instantly, I remembered the night I took Kairyn to the empty valley for the first time. The gleam in her eyes as she spoke of the stars and her god. The way her smile shined as she explained the love He has for His people. 'He is Alive. Some people just aren't ready to accept Him.' Her voice rang through my ears like a train in the quiet desert.

My head began to spin. I tried to move but I was paralyzed. The voice I was hearing was not a voice of this earth. 'No, no don't be a fool, Merrick. You're smarter than that. There is no god. Are you insane?'

The peace I had been feeling left me, and the pain in my chest returned in full force. I tried to breath but my body wouldn't allow it. 'Wake up, Merrick! Wake up!' I tried to tell myself. The pain only intensified and soon I lost consciousness.

~~~~~~~

Kairyn:

I sat in the courtyard, praying. It had been three days since Merrick went into the coma. Prayer was all I knew how to cope. "Lord, please, interfere right now. Speak to Merrick in ways only he can understand. Let him know your peace and love." I had been praying for a little over an hour. I started to open my mouth again but Weston's voice interrupted me.

"Kairyn," I spun around to see Weston, with fear in his eyes. "They . . . something's happened."

I stood and immediately followed him to the room where Merrick lay. The doctor and nurses were quickly setting up the defibrillator. Kota stood in the corner and when his eyes met mine he frowned. "Kairyn, you need to leave, now!" Kota half yelled. I shook my head 'no' but Weston's arms were around me and I was quickly pulled out of the room. Not soon enough, however. I was in the room long enough to see Merrick's lifeless body vault with a shock. I let out a gasped whimper and squeezed Weston tightly. Kota followed us out of the room and shut the door behind him.

"No! No, this can't happen!" I screamed and wiggled free of Weston's grasp. "He is strong, why isn't he waking up? He should be awake by now!" Anger started boiling inside me as I thought of the sweet man that didn't deserve this and then something in me snapped as my fear turned into fuming anger.

Weston stepped towards me, but I stepped away. I thought hard, and as I narrowed my eyes, Kota spoke. "Whatever you're thinking, don't." I looked up at him and breathed deeply. A plan started developing in my head as my wheels began to turn.

"Where's Caleb?" I questioned them.

They glanced at each other and then at me. "He's in the waiting room." I gritted my teeth as I made my way to find Caleb. There was one man that was responsible for Merrick's injury. I was going to find him and I was going to make him pay, no matter the cost. My temper was rising and there was only one person I knew I could count on for this task.

~~~~~~~

Caleb:

The door to the waiting room burst open and in ran Kai. "Caleb, I need a favor!"

"What happened?" I shot up out of the chair I was in and ran to her.

"You're my brother, twin brother, to be precise and siblings help each other, right?"

"Yes, of course, what do you need?" I asked, thrown off by her sudden entrance. Her hair was tasseled and something in her eyes whispered 'murder'. The next thing she said boggled my mind.

"I want you to help me find Samuel Turner."