Evolution # 5

Where is Lily?

Where is Lily?

XV

"Where is Lily? Where is Lily?" Evan shouted loudly from his bed. He located the nurse call button and pressed repeatedly. "Someone needs to tell me where she is," he shouted again.

A minute later, a male nurse entered the room.

Evan is sobbing uncontrollably but shouts again, "Where is Lily? Where is my Lily?"

"Mr. Schreiner, right now I need you to calm down please. Who is Lily?" the nurse asks.

"She is my girlfriend, she's supposed to be my fiance by now.........she is my everything," Evan responds with melancholy.

"Ok, got it. But is she here at our facility? Do you know what room she is in? " asks the nurse.

"No, I'm not even sure she's alive. Oh my god........I don't even know if she is still alive!" he shouted and immediately started sobbing again.

"Mr. Schreiner, right now, we need you to focus on getting you healthy. I'll check around to see if I can find any info on Lily for you. What's her last name?" the nurse asked as he reviewed Evan's medical file.

Evan knew he had to settle himself down. He knew that if Lily was still alive he would find her. He knew she must be alive, she had to be. Otherwise, what point would there be for him to still be here.
"Colon. C....O......L....O....N is her last name. She was with me in the channel when the explosions went off. Holy Shit- the explosions. Do you know what caused the explosions? Do you know if there is anything left up there? All I remember is fire, lots of fire, fire dancing across the water as if it was alive and it knew what it was doing. Yes, it knew exactly what it was doing......" Evan trailed off back into his own thoughts.

"I'm sorry Mr. Schreiner, but I'm not sure what happened up top. I can only tell you that I know there were reports of explosions and we felt the aftershocks down here for a few seconds. But that's all I know. Let me see if I can find any info for you about Lily Colon. I can't make any promises."

Evan chafed at the last comment.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Can you help with anything? Do you know anything? Can you get me anyone in here who knows anything?" Evan shouted and then immediately realized his anger was currently mis-placed and added a calm, "Please and Thanks" with the fakest smile he could muster.

XVI

A few minutes later, Dr. Rudy Collins enters Evan's room. He has Evan's medical file in his hands and begins to review the notes.

"So do you know where Lily is? " Evan asks excitedly.

"Lily? " responds Dr. Collins, "Who is Lily?
"She is my fiancee. Well- she should be my fiance. I didn't get the chance to ask her because of the explosions. Last night was supposed to be completely magical life changing night for her and I. Instead...............it went to shit."

"Was she in the channel with you then?" asked Dr. Collins.

"Yes, she was. You've seen her then? You have her under your care?"

"Well, not exactly. I have some unfortunate news to share with you, Mr. Schreiner. Mr. Evan Schreiner, correct? " asked Dr. Collins matter-of-factly.

"Yes, I"m Evan Schreiner. Where is Lily? Why will no one answer my question?" Evan shouted angrily.

"I'm afraid the female did not survive. Our team did everything that they could but were unable to save her. I'm so sorry for your loss," Dr Collins stated.

Evan felt as if his mind left his body. This could not be correct. This could not be real. He had to be wrong. They had to be wrong. Evan knew that if she was gone really gone, he would have felt it in his bones, to his core. He could not be on this planet alive, without LIly. What would be the point?

"No" Evan screamed, "No. Don't say that. She is not gone. She can't be gone!"

"I'm sorry Mr. Schreiner. Our team was unable to reach her in the channel during the rescue attempt. We were fortunate to save you. I'm so sorry about your loss. I'm so sorry that I'm the one who has to tell you. Take some time to grieve, but you will need to prepare yourself to move on. You will need to focus on healing yourself."

Evan closed his eyes and tried to fight back the tears. He thought of Lily drifting away from him in the water. He thought of him screaming her name as his mouth filled with water and she just kept drifting away. He was certain that he had seen a human like figure grab Lily at the same time that they grabbed him and saved him. Were they human? It was the first time Evan had thought again about being saved. He knew he had glimpsed what appeared to be the gills of a fish on the man who had rescued him. Was it some kind of a new underwater suit? But they had no suit on that Evan could remember. He opened his eyes.

Dr. Collins had left the room.

Evan screamed one more time, "Where is my Lily? She can't be gone!"