IF GEORGE MET TRU
IF GEORGE MET TRU
By SANDEFUR
Disclaimer: I have no claims on anything associated with Dead Like Me or Tru Calling
In the downtown morgue, there is an old observation deck above the main examining room. Abandoned for years, the observation corridor was locked and nearly forgotten. However, tonight a man and a woman entered easily, for the man had a very old key.
To the casual observer, only the middle-aged man and beautiful young woman were visible, but with them was the soul of a very recently dead 18 year old girl-Georgia L. Lass.
George paused at the observation window and stared down at her own autopsy. Her companions, Rube and Betty, gave her space and time to deal with the bizarre experience. As the silence dragged on, Rube felt the need to say something…
"It's like looking at a bowl of homemade peach cobbler you just dropped on the floor. As good as it might have been, you just don't want it any more."
Oddly, the comment seemed to make George feel better.
"I don't get it. Why do an autopsy?" she asked.
Betty replied, "They still have to identify the body."
"How hard can that be?"
"You were hit by an object traveling 200 miles per hour with a surface temperature exceeding 1500 degrees fahrenheit. Do the math."
George went briefly silent as she watched the medical examiner reassemble chunks of her naked body back into the semblance of a person. As she began to recognize the vague form of her mortal remains, George became a little nauseated.
"Uh, this has been lovely and all, but don't you think it's time we should be going?"
Rube asked, "You got some place to be?"
Cautiously, she asked, ""I don't know. Do I?"
"Well, you've got to stick around until your body is laid to rest."
"I'm meat in a zip-loc, how much more rest do I need?" she asked, indicating the scene below. She noticed a young woman had joined the medical examiner.
"It's not important. What's important is you say a proper goodbye to this life before you say hello to the next."
"What do you mean, the next one? What, am I being reincarnated or something?"
"Don't be an ass." Rube said, for some reason annoyed.
Rube and Betty began walking away, and George wondered what she had said that was so wrong. George began to follow, but suddenly stopped. What was happening? She felt an almost irresistible tug that was pulling her towards… No! That was impossible.
"Guys, something is… wrong."
Rube and Betty turned just in time to see George become a smoky form and disappear through the floor towards where her body lay.
Stunned, Rube could only murmur… "This is different."
Minutes before, Tru Davies had entered the examining room to find her friend and boss Davis at his gruesome task. Amazingly, he had managed to reassemble most of the body back into the form of the young girl who had died so spectacularly.
"She's beginning to look human again." Tru remarked.
"I'm doing the best I can, but hers will definitely be a closed casket funeral."
"Not surprising considering how she died. Imagine getting hit by falling debris from an old Russian space station."
"Near as I can tell, it was the toilet seat from a zero-grav toilet. Did the thumbprint bring any results?"
"It took awhile, but the fax just came in. No results from the DMV, but she was on record as having spent half a semester at my alma mater. Meet Georgia L. Lass, known as George."
Tru showed Davis the fax, which included a copy of George's old student I.D. The pretty girl in the photo stared blankly at the camera.
"At least we can finally notify her family."
"Not to mention the press. There's a group of reporters outside waiting for info."
Suddenly, a raspy, moaning sound came from the exam table. The mess of blood and bone that was George's skull managed to gasp out the two words that had become so familiar to Tru… "Help me."
The day went into rewind and started over with Tru waking up to the sound of her alarm clock. She had picked a lousy day to sleep late. She had another person to save, but how to go about it? Tru knew the victim, George, would be at Midtown Plaza at 1:07 today, but she preferred not to risk being there when the explosion came.
Tru's first stop was at Hudson University. When she had been there as an undergrad, she had worked part time in the records department to earn extra money. Tru still had friends among the clerks, and one favor later, she had George's complete file.
Quickly, Tru punched in George's home phone number on her cell.
"Hello, Lass residence." a woman's voice answered.
"Mrs. Lass, my name is Tru Davies. May I speak to George?"
"I'm sorry, she's not home. Would you like to leave a message?"
"It's really important that I get in touch with her."
"How do you know my daughter?"
"We were friends in college before she dropped out."
"Really? I didn't know she had any friends. If it is truly important, George is working today as a temp at the Happy Time employment agency."
"Is-is that near the Midtown Plaza?"
"Just around the corner from there…"
Tru had already disconnected and was at a dead run. Time was getting short.
By the time Tru arrived at Happy Time, the lunch hour was already at hand. As she emerged from one elevator, Tru noticed a heavy-set woman entering the other one… the receptionist? No one was manning the reception desk, and most of the office was deserted. Tru spotted a middle-aged woman at a corner cubicle.
"Welcome to Happy Time. May I help you?"
"I hope so. I was looking for my… cousin. There's a family emergency, and I need to find her. Georgia Lass?"
"Oh, Miss Lass. She's in the basement filing today. If you hurry, you may be able to catch her before she leaves for lunch."
Tru turned and rushed back to the elevator. Delores Herbig called after her… "I hope everything works out okay."
Tru soon arrived in the basement file room. She spotted a nerdy guy with curly hair and glasses.
"Have you seen George Lass?" she desperately asked.
"Sorry, you just missed her. She'll be back from her lunch break in around 35 minutes."
Muttering curses under her breath over her bad luck, Tru once again rushed back to the elevator. She was out of options. The Lass girl could have gone anywheres for lunch, but Tru knew the one spot the girl would be a few minutes after one. At ground zero of the biggest explosion to ever rock the city.
At exactly one p.m., Tru was standing in the center of Midtown Plaza. Nervouly, she cast a glance at the sky. Of course there was nothing yet to see. The deadly space junk was still somewheres over the Pacific.
Tru stood on one of the benches and carefully scanned the crowd. She tried to remember that as bad as the explosion had been, only one person had died. All she had to do was get George a relatively short distance from the impact spot… the exact spot where she was standing.
Involuntarily, she once again glanced at the sky. The minutes were ticking by, and Tru was starting to sweat. This was going to be close.
There she was! She was briefly chatting with a middle-aged African-American man. Tru didn't hesitate. She ran at top speed towards the blonde girl, who was obliviously walking towards her.
No time for subtlety, Tru tackled George hard. As they rolled and tumbled upon the ground, George shouted out…
"What the hell? Get off of me, bitch!"
Tru ignored her and screamed to the crowd: "Get down! Everyone hit the deck!"
That was all she could manage. The screeching sound of the approaching space junk drowned out all other sounds. Several people dropped to the ground, but most stared stupidly at the blazing danger.
The explosion rocked the plaza, shattering windows and throwing debris everywheres. Tru rose unsteadily to her feet and surveyed the damage. Several people were injured, but there wasn't a corpse in sight. Relieved, Tru turned back to George and saw that same African-American gentleman helping her to her feet. Was that a sparkle of light?
"Oh God, I could have been killed. Lady, you saved my life!"
"Yeah, I guess I did. Try making good use of it."
As Tru walked away, she was watched closely by three confused Reapers.
"I had to put her soul back."
"I know. I saw what happened, and I still can't believe it. It's almost as if that other girl knew what was going to occur." Rube said.
"Does this mean G.L. Lass's soul will rot within her?" Betty asked.
"No, she fairly missed her appointment, so this one is a pass. It's rare, but it happens. Looks like the blonde girl will have a long life after all."
The End. Please review.
I hope you enjoyed my Dead Like Me/Tru Calling crossover. For another one involving George and Tru, check out my story, THE GATHERING under the TV show Joan of Arcadia.