Claire Saunders's Story

“Why so glum Partner?”

Eli turned on the stool to see a tall man wearing what to Eli looked like a brown Stetson or other type of cowboy hat and a long black duster. The hat obscured the man’s face with shadow. His dirty, naked feet were resting on the table in front of him, muck seemed to ooze from the man’s pores and land with thick splats on the table. He produced a cigarette along with a lighter seemingly from thin air and while he lit the smoke his face was illumined showing a craggy face with dark eyes that seemed to suck in surrounding light.

“I’m having a strange night.” The man’s bizarre appearance put Eli on edge so he turned back to the bar.

“I suppose you are, Eli.”

Eli spun in his stool and faced the man.

“How’d you know…”

“Eli please, let’s not ask stupid questions.”

Eli didn’t know what to say it was like the cogs in his brain were barley turning.

“You’re dying, what does that feel like?” The man was talking to Eli but also thinking aloud.

“I’m not I’m…”

“Ticket sir.”

The man with the “Staff” badage was standing beside Eli with his hole punch at the read. “It’s time to punch your ticket.”

Eli handed over his ticket and with a quick click the bald man punched a hole in Eli’s Ticket.

“If you’ll follow me sir your party is waiting.”

“My party?”

“Yes Miss Elizabeth Button.”

“Lizzie?”

The car crash and the girl with the flame red hair came flooding back to him.

“Little lizzie? She finally got invited to the big party. I had fun with her.”

Eli looked at the man in confusion.

“You were there when I came for her. How she screamed your name.”

“Sir please.” The bald man said as he gently took Eli by the elbow. “Just follow me.”

Eli stood and followed the man toward the Dining room. The large imposing doors swung open and Eli found himself engulfed in a white light.

#

Lawson was moving as soon as the siren started to beep and the voice over the PA system announced a code blue in room 142.
Eli’s room.

“Jesus I need a crash cart. 142! 142!”

Lawson took the elevator as he knew his old bones would be much slower on the stairs. By the time he made it to Eli the nurses were already starting in intubate
and Lawson immediately took over. Eli was asphyxiating on his own vomit which was pouring out of the Sheriff’s mouth. Lawson needed to get past that open and airway or else the Sheriff would surely die. Time was critical as the longer Lawson took the less of Eli’ mind there would be left to save.

Suddenly Eli’s body was wracked with spasms and Lawson felt the tube tube slip from his grasp. The vomit turned red telling Lawson that the tube had damaged something. The nurses tried to secure Eli while Lawson prepared a muscle relaxant. The spasms were costing seconds that should be spent getting oxygen to Eli’s brain in addition to wasting whatever oxygen was left in Eli’s body.

Lawson cursed softly.

#

She was in a red dress and sitting alone stirring the ice in her drink with a muddler. The blad man showed Eli to his seat which he collapsed into.

“Lizzie?” He croaked as his throat felt scratchy.

“I wasn’t expecting you so soon but I’m glad you’re here.”

“Where is here?”

“Don’t be dense. Whats the last thing you remember before arriving?”

“Getting shot.”

“And now you’re talking to your dead high school sweetheart.”

“So I’m dead?”

“Oh yeah.”

Eli didn’t have any strong feelings about that which scared him.

“It alright though Eli you still have a job to do.”

“I thought heaven was supposed to be a relaxing place.”

“This look like heaven to you?”

She had always given him a hard time, in fact it was something he loved about her.

“So where are we?”

“Let’s call it Limbo. You met the cowboy out there?”

“Yeah he said he knew you.”

“That’s… We’re not talking about that. We’re talking about getting out of here.”

“Ok how do we do it?”

“Him, the Cowboy he’s keeping us here, we keep him alive but not well fed.”

“Fed?”

“Fear, he needs fear, but the dead provide much at least not here in Limbo.”

“So what’s he doing?”

“We have a lot to talk about before we can get into that.”

#

“Time of death 2015 hours.” Lawson said with a shake of his head.

Finally Eli was at rest. The spasms hadn’t stopped until the Sheriff’s heart had finally given out. Only a nurse remained scribbling some final pieces of paperwork
while Lawson cleaned up Eli. He closed the Sheriff’s eyes and wiped the blood and vomit from the man’s chin.

“Are you alright Doctor Lawson?”

It was Nurse Oldman, a young man with sandy blonde hair.

“I’m fine Tim. I knew his father, he was a good man like his son.”

Lawson turned and Tim noticed the red rims around the Doctor’s eyes. He knew Lawson found it hard to remain detached from his patients but he’d never seen the man so open with grief. For a brief instant Tim saw Lawson as an elderly man and not the brilliant Doctor with unlimited energy he usually saw.

“Doctor I’m going to call the on call. I think you shoul take a few hours it’s been a really long day.”

He thought Lawson would argue but the Doctor just clapped Tim on the shoulder and walked off toward his office.

Tim made his way to reception and after filing the paperwork related to Eli’s death he picked up the phone and punched in the on call Doctor’s Phone Number.

“Hello, I’m looking for Doctor Saunders.”

#

Adams was explaining how he had arrived at the decision to start a man hunt to Hayden and Temple when Blake and Barton entered.

“So Hank Phillips ran into a hunter out in the woods took his name and gave the list to the Sherriff. With… everything that’s happened the Sherriff never got to see the list. Agent Barton and I only discovered it when we got back here.”

The phone rang and Justine answered as Blake and Barton joined the conversation while Deputy Adams continued his brief.

“Ok so with the weather the way it is Renner will need shelter and there are a few places the Guy could have gone. There’s the mine not far from where he was found and the Saw mill is pretty close too. He’ll be wanting to keep off the roads because of the police presence so I reckon he’ll be hiding somewhere till the storm lets him make a move.”

“Yes he’s shot a cop there’s no way he’ll use the Hi-Lux again every badge in the state has that description.”

“Oh my God… Yes thank you, of course…” It was Justine. She hung up the phone and glanced over her desk and the assembled group.

“Sheriff Carter just died in Hospital.”

A stunned silence fell on the group and Blake recognised now was the time to introduce himself. He cleared his throat and addressed the room.

“The death of Sheriff Carter is a tragedy and we will avenge him but the way he would have wanted. I didn’t know the man but he died saving two kids and from what I’ve heard he was fine Lawman, he’d want this motherfucker brought to justice and that’s exactly what we are going to do. Renner will be taken alive and will face his crimes, there will be no reprisals against this man because it will fuck the case we clear here?” He let his words settle before continuing. “Remember we have a missing girl still out there.”

He nodded at Deputy Adams who continued speaking.

“So I think we should hit the mine first then try the Saw mill.”

Blake looked at the map Adams was using as a visual aid. “Ok make it happen. Barton and Temple liaise with the locals and go get this bastard.”

#

Cassandra Bishop watched her child stir in her sleep before she drifted off. Confusion was wracking her, she was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep but she knew it wouldn’t come. For months her dreams had been invaded with dreams of Benson and the dark man, then Julian disappeared. She knew he was dead before they found the body Benson told her in a dream, he taunted her with the knowledge for how her child had died, in agony surrounded by dark figures.

Benson let her hear his screams.

Now all she had left was Juliet and nobody was going to hurt her.

#

The woman approached Nathaniel’s door and gave the door a quick rap. A short house keeper answered the door.

“FBI. I’m Agent Burrows and this Agent Martin. We need to speak to Mr Alexander.”

She flashed the bogus FBI ID and barged into the house. The housekeeper said something about the boy being asleep.

“Well go wake him.” Agent Martin said his goatee twitching with annoyance.

The pair remained in the hallway waiting for Nathaniel to show up. It was unfortunate the housekeeper had seen their faces.

It meant she would be the first to die.