It's a Love Thing (24 page)

“
I don’t care if I never
see Dex again after I leave Elspeth, but I have to try. I love him,
Emily. I know you understand love. Please.”

Emily sighed. “What is the
point?”

“
I won’t be able to save
his body, but he will still die. At least let me try to save his
soul.”

Emily bit her lip. “Fine.” She blew
out a breath then held up a hand when Sera grinned. “I will speak
with The Guides. But it’s not likely they will give an answer you
like.”

Sera threw her arms around Emily.
Emily stumbled back before she patted Sera on the shoulder. “Thank
you, thank you, thank you!”

Emily stepped away. “Be prepared,
Sera. The Guides will probably say no.”

Sera leaned back, folding her hands in
her lap. “Okay.”

Emily nodded curtly.
Without another word, she turned to the door and walked out. Sera
bit her lip then swung her legs over the edge. She looked down at
the thin hospital gown before turning her attention to the room
around her, searching for something to wear.
Nothing
. . . How long had Elspeth
been in the hospital?

Long
enough
, Elspeth’s voice
ventured.

I really am
sorry
, Sera said back.

It doesn’t matter. Maybe
I’ll get lucky and die before they take me
.

Elspeth’s attitude surprised Sera. And
the fading tenor of her thoughts. Elspeth’s voice was much quieter
than it had been at first. “Don’t you want—” Sera began.

The woman who looked like Elspeth came
back through the door. “Elspeth! What are you doing?” She rushed to
Sera’s side.

Sera hoped she sounded confident.
“Going home.” She stood up, wobbling on Elspeth’s weak
legs.

The woman gasped. “Impossible, Ellie.
You’re very sick.”

Sera looked up and met the woman’s
gaze. “I want to go home.”

*****

The heavy, wooden door
swung open slowly. Emily stood up from the bench outside, clutching
thin files in her right hand.
How am I
ever going to explain? I’m going to lose my position for
sure
. . .

“
They’re ready to see you,
Emily.”

Emily nodded at the man in the dark
suit and walked briskly, head held high, into the office of The
Guides. Five elderly men, the oldest in the middle, sat at a long
oak table, watching her as she entered.

“
Where is Sera Finn?” The
Guide on the far right asked.

Emily cleared her
throat.
How can I possibly tell him why
she isn’t here without prejudicing them right off?
“Please forgive her absence, sir.” Emily took a
deep breath.

The guide in the middle tapped his
chin. “She is still on Earth in Elspeth Ronan’s body,” he
guessed.

Emily nodded. She laid the files out
in front of her, opening Dex Porter’s first. “Sera Finn has asked
for the opportunity to use Elspeth Ronan’s body to attempt to save
Dex Porter’s soul.”

Silence pervaded the room. “Has Sera
Finn been told the consequences of such an action?” The guide on
the right of the reigning elder asked.

“
Yes, sir.”

“
Such an endeavor seems to
ask for too much sacrifice. There are so few subjects that meet the
criteria for extraction. She asks us to risk one of those precious
few?” The middle guide spoke again.

Emily swallowed and nodded once more.
“She asked that we consider the consequences of the Afterlife. Sera
Finn has a strong belief. The idea that someone she cares for so
much is risking his soul torments her in a way I don’t know if we
can understand.”

“
One soul from Earth versus
the worth of Sera Finn and Elspeth Ronan alone as progenitors?” The
guide on Emily’s far right shook his head. “We are talking about
hundreds of souls in comparison; souls that will not even have a
chance of life without these two young ladies.”

“
I understand, but please
consider it from Sera Finn’s perspective. The worth of Dex Porter’s
soul is very precious to her.”

The Guides all closed their eyes in
consultation. Emily sagged, wondering if she’d said enough to give
Sera her opportunity. After only a few moments they opened their
eyes.

The reigning elder spoke. “We are not
callous. Though the sacrifice of one man’s soul may seem as
collateral damage to us, I feel The Creator would not agree. Still,
we cannot ignore the risk this will be to Elspeth Ronan’s body.
Sera Finn will be allowed one week to work a change in Dex Porter’s
heart. The progress will be closely monitored. If at any point we
deem there will be too much risk to Elspeth Ronan, or that there is
too little chance of Dex Porter changing, Sera Finn must relinquish
Elspeth Ronan.”

Emily tried to hide her relief. “Thank
you.”

“
As for her punishment . .
.” the elder added sternly.

Emily flipped open Sera’s file. “Of
course.”

*****

Sera almost felt Elspeth’s mom,
Corinne’s eyes on her as she watched anxiously from the porch while
Sera crossed the lawn to the Porter’s house. Corinne hadn’t
understood, but nothing Sera said on the trip from the hospital to
Elspeth’s house seemed to make any sense to Corinne anyway. Sera
finally told her she only wanted to take care of some things
before—then she cut off when a panicked look crossed Corinne’s
face.

Sera didn’t look back. She pressed on,
even though her body said she needed to rest. When she reached the
porch of the house next door, she gripped the railing and allowed
herself a moment to catch her breath. She turned toward Corinne and
waved, smiling to reassure the woman. She didn’t want Corinne
rushing across the intervening distance. Sera waited to hear
Elspeth’s thoughts, but none came—not even weak impressions of her
mood anymore, but she didn’t have time to consider what that
meant.

Sera climbed the steps carefully. She
paused before knocking on the door. Emily could show up at any
moment. At the very least Sera needed to talk to Dex one
time.

Mrs. Porter answered the door. She,
understandably, looked shocked to see Elspeth Ronan standing on her
doorstep. “Elspeth!”

“
Hello, Mrs.
Porter.”

“
Your mother said . .
.”

Sera shrugged. Explaining that she may
have gotten a second chance would take time she couldn’t afford.
“Is Dex here?”

Mrs. Porter’s shock turned to
confusion. “Yes. I’ll go get him. Would you like to come
in?”

Sera didn’t think it’d be a good idea
to step out of Corinne’s sight. She shook her head. “I’ll wait out
here.”

Mrs. Porter nodded. She left the door
open and disappeared. Sera tried to indiscriminately look over her
shoulder, hoping Emily didn’t pop up on the porch to drag Sera
away.

“
Elspeth?”

Dex’s voice made shivers run the full
length of Elspeth’s body. Emotion clogged her throat, preventing
Sera from speaking for several precious seconds.

“
Hello, Dex,” she finally
whispered, unable to say the words louder. It took too much effort
not to throw Elspeth’s body into his arms. Or caress the hard
features of his face and coax them into something softer, more like
himself.

“
What’re you doing here? I
thought you’d be dead by now.” He spoke in a cold, toneless
voice.

“
I got lucky.” Sera
shrugged. By the look that crossed Dex’s face, she knew it was the
wrong thing to say.

“
Good for you,” he barked.
He moved to shut the door.

“
Wait!” Sera put her hand
up, holding it open. “There’s something I need to tell you.
Something important.”

Dex paused, leaving only a crack
between them. “What?”

“
I . . . I almost died,”
Sera said. “And I saw . . . I saw Sera.”

If it was possible, Dex’s face
hardened exponentially. “Very funny, Elspeth.” The door shut with a
snap in her face.

She pounded on the door. “Dex,
please!” she shouted. He didn’t open it. Sera looked up. Corinne
was making her way across the lawn. Looking longingly at the door,
Sera climbed down the steps and walked back toward Elspeth’s
house.

“
What’s going on, Ellie?”
Corinne asked when they met in the middle. Sera let Corinne take
her arm and support her.

Her unsuccessful attempt to
speak to Dex had given her a cover story. Sera went with it. “I
talked to Sera when I almost . . . died.” She ignored the disbelief
in Corinne’s eyes. A weak shot of incredulity flashed across her
brain. Elspeth’s muted reaction to the story.
Why does that seem so impossible?
Sera asked, but didn’t receive an answer. She looked at the
house ahead of them and went on, “She wanted me to tell Dex
something. I won’t stop trying until I do. It was very important to
her.” Sera surged forward, though she knew pushing Elspeth’s weak
body was a mistake. She’d try calling Dex on the phone. Unless
Emily showed up first.

When Mrs. Porter answered the phone,
Sera repeated the story she told Corinne. Mrs. Porter sounded like
she believed it just as much as her son, but she agreed not to tell
Dex who was on the other end before she handed it over.

“
Dex, I know you don’t want
to talk to me but please just hear me out before you hang up.
Please,” Sera said in a rush.

“
I don’t believe you saw
Sera.”

Sera swallowed back a crushing wave of
anguish at the hopelessness in Dex’s tone. “That’s okay. I just
want to tell you something. Please just give me the
chance.”

“
How could Sera talk to
you? She’s dead.”

Oh, Dex.
“From heaven.”

“
There’s no such thing. If
there was a God, He’d stop killing everyone off. At the least He’d
kill me. So either He doesn’t exist or He doesn’t care. Either
way.”

“
You don’t really believe
that . . .” Anguish seeped into Sera’s hushed voice.

“
Get this over with,
Elspeth. I don’t need to be preached to. What does
Sera
want?” He sneered
her name.

Sera cringed. “She wants me to save
you.”

Dex laughed harshly. “Save
me?”

Sera rushed on, knowing the
opportunity may not last much longer. Knowing Dex was probably
close to hanging up. “She’s sad, Dex. Sad you’re destroying your
life like this. How can you expect to see her again when you’re
doing the things you’re doing?” She closed her eyes, praying for
forgiveness for the lie.

“
I’m never seeing Sera
again.” Dex’s voice cracked ever so slightly. “So it doesn’t
matter.” He hung up before Sera said another word.

Sera set the phone down.

“
Well?” Corinne
asked.

Sera forced a laugh. “He reacted like
I expected.”

Corinne’s face twisted. “Poor
Dex.”

Sera nodded and reached across the
space to wrap her arms around Corinne’s shoulders. “Everything will
be okay,” she promised.

Corinne gripped her tighter, her
shoulders shaking.

Go to your room to
rest.
Emily’s voice echoed in Sera’s
mind.

Sera swallowed, nodding even though
she didn’t know if Emily saw her or not. “I need to go lay
down.”

Corrine pulled away. “Of course, I’m
sorry. Let me help you.” She led Sera down a hallway. “If you need
anything . . .” Corrine’s voice seemed to fail her. She nodded and
closed the door.

Sera ran her fingers along the door
before going to the bed and sinking down into it. It surprised her
how much the simple expedition to Dex’s house drained Elspeth’s
strength. That didn’t bode well for Sera. It meant The Guides
probably wouldn’t be able to rule in favor of Sera’s proposal to
use Elspeth’s body.

Sera gulped back another almost
debilitating swell of emotion. What if they didn’t let her stay?
She couldn’t, in good faith, sacrifice something that wasn’t hers
for Dex. If she could use her own body, it’d be a different story.
But Elspeth, like so few around the world, had an opportunity to
survive; to live on and repopulate the earth after Polio-Variant IV
decimated the population.

“
You are fortunate.”
Emily’s voice startled Sera.

She sat up without thinking. “Why?”
She tried to calm the rush of her heartbeat. Perhaps The Guides had
only agreed to take Sera back.

“
The Guides are affected by
your concern for Dex’s afterlife. They will allow you a limited
time to try rehabilitating him.”

Sera tried to smile, tried to be
grateful. Her emotions tripped over “limited.” “How long?” she
whispered, the rough, gravelly quality of Elspeth’s voice coming
back out.

“
One week.”

Sera’s heart dropped. “A
week?”

“
The Guides are not
confident in Dex’s willingness to ‘be saved,’ as you put it. They
will not risk Elspeth’s body beyond this time period. It would put
her extraction in jeopardy.”