Page 22 of Brush with Death
He sighed.“Fine.Let’s do this.”
* * * *
CYRIL WAS SO NERVOUSas Vale drove them to the morgue that he kept bouncing his knee.He was grateful that Vale didn’t say anything about it, just like he hadn’t said much about Cyril wanting to attempt to reanimate Sam.
Cyril knew that Vale disapproved, and he probably wasn’t wrong.Not enough time had passed since Cyril had hit his head, and he was terrified that it wouldn’t work.For the first time, he was afraid to use his necromancy ability.
He shouldn’t be.He’d been reanimating people and animals since he was a teenager.It was something that came as easy as breathing to him, or at least, it had been before his accident.
Cyril didn’t know who he was if he wasn’t a necromancer.He really hoped that he’d be able to reanimate Sam today.He wasn’t sure what he’d do if he couldn’t.He wasn’t sure what he’d do if he’d lost his ability permanently.
He stared out the window.He couldn’t think like that.The doctor had said that he’d be fine, and he had to believe it.Of course, the doctor hadn’t been able to say anything about Cyril’s ability, but still.There was no reason for Cyril not to regain it.As soon as he healed enough, he’d be back to work.
He just wasn’t surewhenhe would be healed enough.The doctor had told Cyril not to work for two weeks, and Cyril wished he could give himself that time, but Sam and Katie needed him.Hopefully, even if he couldn’t reanimate Sam, it wouldn’t mean his ability was lost forever.
“Still sure about this?”Vale asked as he parked his car in front of the morgue.
It was on the ground floor at the back of the hospital.Cyril had been here countless times, but he’d never been as nervous as he was now.“I’m sure,” he confirmed, even though he was anything but.
Thankfully, Vale didn’t argue.He got out of the car and waited for Cyril to do the same.He was never far from Cyril as they walked to the door and into the morgue.He didn’t look phased by the fact that they were in a morgue and would soon be surrounded by dead bodies.His entire focus was on Cyril, to the point where it made Cyril feel flustered.
He liked being at the center of Vale’s attention, but usually, Vale wasn’t this intense except when they were in the bedroom.
Or on the couch.Or on the kitchen table.Anywhere but the morgue, really.
Cyril plastered a smile on his face and walked up to the front desk.He wondered what Vale thought of the place.Cyril was used to visiting, but most people never set foot in a morgue.
Everything was white or gray, from the walls to the floor.It was cold, too, and Cyril always wondered if it was because of the many fridges that kept the bodies from decomposing.They were still in the entrance, but he could feel the cold down to his bones.
“Cyril,” the woman behind the front desk said.“It’s been a while.”A sad plant decorated the desk, but it did little to add warmth to the room.
It took Cyril a moment to remember the woman’s name, but when he did, he smiled back at her.“Hey, Jessica.”
“Who are you here to see today?”
“Sam Henderson.”
Jessica typed on her keyboard and hummed.“I see him.Accidental drowning?”
“Yes.The family asked me to reanimate him.”
Jessica glanced at Vale.“His brother?”
Right.Usually, when Cyril came to the morgue to reanimate a body, he had a family member with him.He wasn’t about to ask Katie to come today, though.He would have if he’d been sure he could reanimate Sam, but he didn’t want to disappoint Katie.
“Yes.It’s been really hard on him,” Cyril murmured.
“Well, you know the drill.”
Cyril signed his name on the register.He didn’t write down Vale’s name, opting instead to mention the Henderson family.He hoped Jessica wouldn’t check.
He led the way through the morgue.He knew where he was going, and the place hadn’t changed at all since the last time he’d been there.He was used to the cold and the smell of death and disinfectant.He didn’t particularly like this place, but in a way, it felt like he belonged.
There was an autopsy technician in the room when they got there.Cyril explained who they were here to see, and she showed them to the right drawer.She slid it out, but Sam was in a black bag, so Cyril didn’t see him right away.
The technician kept staring at Cyril, but she didn’t try to insert herself into what Cyril was about to do or to stop him.She seemed intimidated, which was ridiculous but useful because it meant that as soon as she finished opening the bag Sam was in, she retreated to the other side of the room.
“Go on,” Vale murmured.
