Feyland: The Dark Realm

Chapter Thirty-Six

A sob choked her. Oh, Tam. It was all her fault.

A whooshing sound made her look up, to see that the med evac was starting to descend. Luckily the streets of the View were wide. Jennet edged over to the tall woman, who seemed to be in charge.

“Excuse me,” she said.

“Yes?” The tech looked at her with impatient sympathy.

“Can I go with him? In the evac?”

“Are you an immediate family member?”

“Um.” For a wild moment she wanted to claim she was. But they’d find out it was a lie soon enough. “No. I’m not.”

The tech shook her head. “Sorry.” She glanced around. “Are there any family members here?”

“No.”

“You’re a friend?” When Jennet nodded, the tech thrust a tablet at her. “Someone has to fill this out. If you don’t know all the answers, do the best you can.”

Of course - they needed to know who they were taking away. Pressing her lips together hard, Jennet filled out what she knew about Tam. There were a lot of blank spaces when she was finished. She didn’t even know how to contact his mom, or what her first name was, or their address. But she knew how to get there.

Would George take her into the Exe? She wished Dad were home. There were too many things falling on her, all at once. She could barely stand up under the weight.

“Here.” She handed the tablet back to the tech.

The woman hardly looked at it. “We’re taking him to Central Hospital.”

“Central? But that’s not nearby.”

“He needs more than the local facilities can provide.” She lifted her head and called out, “Willis? We ready to go?”

The other tech waved an affirmative.

“But…” Jennet couldn’t help the shaking in her voice, couldn’t help the fear that grabbed her by the back of the neck and wouldn’t let go.

“He’ll be ok. We’ve got him on life support now.” The tech gave her a brusque pat on the arm, and then clambered into the evac.

Moments later the machine shot straight up. Jennet squinted until she couldn’t see it against the clouds any longer. Still she kept her face tilted to the sky, to keep the tears from spilling down her cheeks.

“Miss Jennet, please come into the house.” It was George, his voice soft as he took her arm. “Your father should be here soon. We can wait for him inside.”

She moved numbly as he guided her back into the house and settled her in the downstairs living room. Marie was waiting, with a blanket and cup of hot tea. Not that anything could make Jennet feel warm. Still, she took a sip. It gave her something to do with her hands, her body, while her mind bashed against what had just happened like some kind of frantic animal inside a cage.

“George,” she finally said. “We need to let Tam’s family know what’s happened. Would you take me—”

“No, miss.”

“But, you don’t know where—”

“You need to remain here until your father arrives.” George got to his feet. “And of course I know where to go. I have driven Mr. Linn home, if you recall.”

“Oh. Right.” She had forgotten.

“I’ll bring his family to Central Hospital. To be clear, Miss Carter, do you know how many people I will be fetching?”

“Just his mom and little brother. I’m pretty sure.” That little apartment over the garage couldn’t hold more than the three of them, could it? Tam had never mentioned anyone else.

“Very good.” The driver paused for a moment and set his hand on her shoulder. “Tell your father everything that has happened. Everything.”

She glanced up, startled. How much did George know? “I will.”

“Good. Lars can drive you and your father to the hospital when you are ready. I will put myself at the Linn family’s disposal. I am certain your father would instruct me to do so.”

“Yes.”

George was right about that. Something terrible had happened to Tam here, at their house.  Dad would take full responsibility. That was one thing she could always trust about Dad. He was as dependable as granite.

No matter how mad he got when he found out what had happened, he would take care of Tam’s family. The fear holding her neck picked her up and gave her a little shake, then set her back down.

George gave Marie a long look. “Take care of her.”

“Of course.” The housekeeper sniffed, as if she didn’t need the chauffeur telling her how to do her job.

It was quiet after George left, a heavy silence that muffled everything. Jennet felt as if she was lost in the middle of a blizzard. Everything was white and cold, and she had no sense of direction.

Then the front door slammed open and Dad rushed inside. He didn’t bother taking off his coat, but went right to Jennet and took her hands. His eyes were worried.

“I got an emergency notification from HANA,” he said, “and a confusing call from George. Something about your friend, Tam, and an ambulance. But you’re all right?”

She nodded, and his expression eased.

“Good. Jennet - what happened?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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