Eldritch

Chapter 29

'Mom,' Daniel blubbers. 'Mom, please stay awake. Don't close your eyes, Mom.'

His hands tremble as he holds one to her face, attempting to awaken her, and presses the other to her wound. Louis and Lisa kneel beside him. 'Come on Marissa,' he says, shaking her gently. He slides his hands along the ground below her back and scoops her up.

'Come on, Dan,' Louis swallows, rushing along the woodland with Marissa in his arms. Daniel follows swiftly, while the Sheriff orders the remaining teenagers to get into his car with him.

Sophie and Martin clamber into the backseat, and Lisa glances back and forward between them and Daniel, who's sliding his mother onto the backseat of Marissa's car and squeezing her hand as she slips in and out of unconsciousness. Louis starts the engine and reverses at the highest speed possible. 'Sheriff, I'll come to the station after. I'm just going to make sure Dan's okay. Please save Ella, Sean and Charlene.'

Then, she hops inside her jeep and hurries down the long winding lane after them.

----

As Lisa bounds into the hospital, it doesn't take long for her to spot Daniel. He's seated on a chair in the corridor, rocking back and forth, his head bowed as he runs his blood stained hands through his sleek, dark hair.

She pulls the chair beside him along, so as to seat herself opposite him. 'Hey, Dan,' she says. 'What's happening?'

His breaths unsteady and his eyes glossy with tears, he slowly raises his head to face her. 'She's being brought into surgery. They haven't told us anything. My dad's gone to ask them what's going to happen.'

Lisa slowly reaches in and takes Daniel's quivering hands from his face. She intertwines her fingers with his, and brings his hands down to rest at his lap. He then starts to shake his leg instead. Lisa continues to squeeze his hands, not caring about the blood spatters rubbing onto her skin too. She brings one of her hands to his face and grazes his cheek gently. 'Sheriff Ryan has gone to Annie's house to find Ella, Sean and Charlene. Your mom's going to be okay,' she tells him.

The doubt in her voice betrays her attempt at solacing him. 'But, what if she's not?' he swallows. 'What if she dies, Lisa? If that happens, it'll be all my fault. No, it is all my fault. She's my Mom, and if she doesn't make it, I- I--'

When Lisa grabs the back of his blood stained shirt and pulls him into a hug, he doesn't resist. All he does is cry. He cries, while he slowly sinks downwards, his head resting short of Lisa's lap. She swallows down the tears of empathy that threaten to roll down her cheeks. She places her hand atop his head and gently ruffles his hair. It's then that he slowly rises back up, biting his lip to suppress his tears and skimming his tear stained face with the cuff of his shirt to wipe it dry.

'I'm sorry,' he says. 'It's just, everyone close to me end up getting hurt. Mia, Charlene, Ella, Sean, and now, my Mom. I can't lose her too. She's always been the one I talked to about everything. She always helped me. And I did this to her.'

'No, you didn't,' she cries. She places her hand over his once more. 'She did what a mother should do. She protected you. Because she loves you. And it's not hard to see why, Dan.'

He swallows and remains still in his seat as Lisa inches closer to him. She pushes her soft, welcoming lips to his, and kisses him passionately, running her polished fingernails through his hair. As she pulls away, the expression on Daniel's face is a mixture of confusion, awe, and most prevalently, a sense of absolute adoration.

'Why did you do that?' he asks.

She swallows and cracks a weak smile. 'I wanted to make you feel better, I guess, even if only for a second,' she tells him. Her head bowed, she continues. 'And I'm still in love with you, Dan.'

Daniel continues to gaze at her in silence, and is about to lock lips with her once again, when Louis appears in the corridor. He jumps up from his seat and paces toward his father.

'What's going on?' he asks. 'Is she going to be okay?'

'They're operating, to remove the branch, and get rid of any splinters that may cause infection.'

Daniel nods. 'But, is she going to be okay?'

Louis looks away. He wants to answer with yes. He wants to look his son in the eye as he answers, but he physically can't find the strength to. 'It's too early to tell, son. We'll know more later on, when the operation is over.'

Daniel nods, feelings of guilt returning to his core. He feels choked by it. He tries not to cry again. Especially not in front of his father. But, with his heart wrenching like it is, he can't suppress it fully. He releases quiet, soft, whimpering sounds as Louis pulls Daniel to his chest in a tight father-son hug.