Burning Eden Read Free Page B

wouldn’t let them. I was standing there screaming for someone to help him but they wouldn’t. Then everything fell silent and I sat down in the chair beside his hospital bed in complete shock knowing I had watched my husband die in a hospital and no one would help. I was looking over at the officer that had blocked the door and he had turned around raising his gun in my direction. I thought he was going to kill me but I followed his eyes over to Phil, who was now sitting up, alive, well sort of anyway. He looked alive except his eyes…they looked dead,” she stopped suddenly. She paused quietly as if reliving the moment made it feel more realistic or perhaps she felt it made it seem more like a bad dream.
                  “Were they white, mom? Were his eyes white?”
                  “Yes, and Phil turned to me but I knew he didn’t really recognize me. It wasn’t Phil anymore, and then he lunged at me and the cop shot him right in the middle of his head!”
                  “Oh my God, what the hell is going on?”
                  “I don’t know but something is wrong Edie, very, very, wrong. I want to get out of here. Will you please come get me?” she asked sounding a bit panicky.
                  “I’m on my way, mom.”
    *****
     
                  “I’m going to pick mom up from the hospital. I want you guys to stay in the house while I am gone, ok?” I asked my kids who were sitting in the living room. Kairo was playing a video game and Maddie was on her laptop. They didn’t seem worried at all about what had happened earlier. Once the blood had been cleaned up and the last cop had pulled off away they went back to Call of Duty and Facebook without a blink of an eye. I should be worried about their emotional detachment from the situation but I had other things to worry about right this second. I needed to get mom home from the hospital. “I mean it you two, stay in the house. Don’t even let Wiley out back.”
                  “We heard you mom but what’s the big deal? The cops shot the crazy guy, he’s dead, he can’t hurt anyone now,” Maddie said not even bothering to take her eyes off the screen.
                  “Yeah, what Maddie said,” Kairo added in his two cents.
                  “Just do what I tell you guys for once, please. I have a bad feeling about all this.”
                  “All what?” Kairo asked as he paused his game. I hadn’t even told them about Phil yet. I didn’t want to scare them yet I knew eventually I was going to have to be honest with them but it would have to wait until I got back from the hospital.
                  “I’ll explain when I get back from the hospital. Just trust me, all right?”
                  “Yeah, ok,” he answered turning back to his game. Maddie simply nodded her head letting me know she was listening. I was pretty sure when I came back they would be in the exact same positions. I walked to my bedroom and saw Cain was also on his laptop. Ah technology, what a wonderful way of keeping a family close, but I didn’t really have room to talk now did I? I spent every moment I could online talking with Jesse.
                  “I’ve got to go pick up mom from the hospital. Phil’s dead.”
                  “What did you say?” Cain said taking off his headphones so he could actually hear me.
                  “I said I need to go pick up mom from the hospital and Phil is dead,” I spoke with a slight attitude for having to repeat myself.
                  “Phil’s dead?”
                  “Yes, I’ll tell you more when I get back. Mom is in a bit of a hurry to get away from the hospital and I don’t blame her. Some really weird shit is going on Cain.”
                  “Well, I can’t really say I care