What Keeps Our Hearts Beating

Chapter 13

The Halloween dance was announced the very next day and Mrs. Halloway appointed Sandra to lead the event planning. Mrs. Halloway just granted Sandra's wish to boss everyone around more so than usual. She put Ming on music, but said she would be the one to pick and choose the songs appropriate for the event, Raiph was on food and drink duty, though Ming said he would spike the champagne bowl. Zoey was going to do food and Lacey was on decorations.

"We need a theme," she said, putting her feet up on the couch in the common area.

"Umm. Halloween is a theme," Ming said, pointing out the obvious. They had been crammed in that small space for the past 2 hours with Sandra primarily just hearing herself talk. The others groaned when she said that they had to have everything planned out before they went to sleep that evening.

"What about "A dream is a wish your soul shrieks."

Sandra glared at Lacey. "No one asked you. And a nightmare is a wish your soul shrieks is better."

"No, I like Lacey's," Raiph said, putting his arm around Lacey. She rested her head on his shoulder whimpering, "Is this over yet?"

"Hey, you two. I thought no dates at the dance," Ming said, smiling widely at the two love birds.

"We're not dating," Lacey said quickly.

"Yeah, we're just friends." Raiph added, giving Lacey a kiss on the cheek. "That's friendly."

Sandra made a gagging motion with her finger. "If you two jeopardize my dance you are going to suffer major consequences."

"We're suffering now," Ming complained, realizing his battery was dying on his laptop. "Can we play Michael Jackson at the dance? Thriller."

He got up and started doing the dance routine and Lacey joined in ushering Zoey to get up and teach her the moves

"I've never heard this song," she said, trying to mirror Lacey's moves and the two of them just rolled over laughing. "It's so fun."

"Well," Sandra bellowed. "That song definitely won't make the cut."

"You are overruled Sandra," Raiph hollered, joining in with the dance routine. He twirled Lacey around and she laughed uncontrollably, all of them falling onto the couch in hysterics. "I hope the guards got that on camera."

"Yeah, Dr. Weber is going to say we have all become clinically insane." Sandra closed her notebook, when Ming knelt down on one knee and started singing, "Thriller...in the night..."

Even Sandra had to laugh at that karaoke nightmare.

"That's it!" Lacey shouted. "Karaoke nightmare. That can be the theme of the night. And we all have to sing a song that's Halloween theme of some sort."

"I like it," Raiph and Ming shouted simultaneously.

Zoey shuddered, "Does everyone have to sing?"

"Not if you don't want to," Lacey put her arm around her shoulders. "But it's fun. We can do a duet if you'd like."

"A duet...maybe," she said. "I'll have to think about it."

Sandra pointed to her notebook. "Due to lack of other good ideas, Karaoke Nightmare Theme it is. We only have 2 weeks people! And don't disappoint me."

Everyone cheered that they were now released from Sandra's meeting and Raiph held Lacey back as the others headed toward dinner.

"I think I want to try out that dance move again," he said, twirling Lacey and dipping her in his arms. He kissed her gently on the lips, careful to not make too much of a scene if guards were tuning in.

"Nice move," Lacey giggled. "Looks like you have been practicing."

"Well, I've had some more time on my hands than expected."

"Oh, really?" Lacey asked, plopping down on one of the couch cushions and beckoning Raiph to join her.

"It's just that, there's someone else that Dr. Ward is mentoring. And this person should not be anywhere near the experiment especially since he tried to destroy it."

"You mean, Brasen," Lacey inquired, holding her breath as Raiph was finally confiding in her about him.

Raiph shook his head, the fire in the mosaic fireplace slowly dwindling as embers crackled.

"I know he was Dr. Ward's mentee before the fire, but I just thought that finally Dr. Ward saw some potential in me. Now I'm resorting to getting Bunsen burners and having to take orders from Brasen in the lab. We used to be best friends, I don't think I even told you that. But now...I don't know who he is anymore."

"Raiph," Lacey asked, pulling the blanket closer over her chest as it was getting colder in that room. "After all these months, are you any closer with finding an antidote for this blood disease?"

"We've made some headway," Raiph insisted, shifting in his chair uncomfortably. "But Dr. Ward says that we need more testing."

More testing to militarize the blood and sell it to the highest bidder. Lacey found it difficult to swallow, and also realized that Raiph being in the dark was the safest place for him to be right now. She realized then how hard it must be for Brasen to create something for a cause that he knew was wrong. That he knew could kill lives. Raiph was innocuous in his naivety, believing he was saving lives.

"I don't know a lot," she said slowly, "but I do know that if Brasen is dying like us, it's a lonely place. I get scared Raiph, at night when I'm up like this just lost in my thoughts, thinking that this is it. That there is no heaven or afterlife and...I can't imagine not being alive. I can't imagine just being nothing. It's scary as hell. I want to believe there is something more, a reason or a purpose behind this life, but even the wisest of us don't know for certain. It's some senseless hope that keeps us waking up every morning with no guarantee that we will make it back to our beds later that night. No guarantee that we will see another morning, another sunrise, and we take it all for granted. Hell, being in this hospital wasting away and hoping for a cure is wasted time. But I have no idea where else I want to be, or what dreams are worth dreaming anymore. I just wake up because my heart is still beating, working harder than I ever can, working to keep me alive and I just wish..."

The tears streamed down her cheek as her heart was opening up from wounds she didn't even know she had. Tears for her, for Raiph...for Brasen. For a hopeless love that she could never feel or share or embrace. She just cried, her tears staining and rubbing against Raiph's sweater, his arm tenderly wrapped around her body, holding her as she wept and cried tears she didn't know she had.

"What do you wish," he asked soothingly, caressing her cheek.

She let the tears linger on her cheeks as he held her in his embrace. "I wish I had more time."

He continued to hold her as the fire extinguished, sparks of embers still ignited beneath the burned out log, still fighting for survival.