This is just something that crossed my mind and it was dying to be let out. I love the idea of Sister Jude and Sister Mary Eunice being like family, and I thought if Sister Mary Eunice was sent to heaven, she might wait for Jude.
Mary Eunice looked up at the Monsignor, the man she had wronged. The devil in her body had not only sinned in her name, but it had taken down this great man as well- This virtuous man who had been nothing but kind to her.
"I'm sorry, Monsignor. I'm tired of fighting." She was crying now. It was too much. She could feel herself starting to slip. "I want to let go," she said out loud. The Monsignor looked into her eyes and she saw his pity.
"Then let go of me, Sister." Her eyes stayed locked onto his, unsure, and he nodded. Slowly, she released her hold on him and stepped back, holding her hands up in surrender.
In an instant, he pulled her over the railing and she was falling.
Everything felt slow and empty as Mary Eunice fell. She looked up at the Monsignor, hoping he understood how grateful she was. Hoping he knew he was forgiven. She silently prayed that the drop would kill her. Would it hurt? Would she end up in hell? She couldn't imagine a worse hell than the one she'd been living in for those past weeks, but the thought crossed her mind.
Her life dissolved as she neared the ground, every bright memory passing and fading. The day at the pool, the people she'd hurt in here, those she'd saved before all of this. And Sister Jude. She had destroyed Sister Jude, the one person who had believed in her. The woman had been like a mother to her and now she was all but gone. Mary Eunice didn't have anything real to live for anymore. Maybe she never had. She knew the ground was close and death was even closer. But she wasn't afraid.
When she finally hit the hard stone, she didn't feel a thing. Her body was broken and bleeding, but it was already dead. The dark angel stepped forward and knelt at Mary Eunice's side, black wings extended. Mary Eunice's tired soul smiled. She was ready.
"Take me," she whispered.
"I'll take both of you." Shachath bent and kissed her softly. And she was free.
Judy Martin. Judy Martin. That was her name. That girl had said so. Laney? No, Lana. Lana Banana. And the other nuns and patients had called her that too. Her name was Judy Martin.
Lana was gone. She'd been gone for a while. They had shut down Briarcliff once she'd exposed everything that had gone on. She had come to visit Judy yesterday. Was it yesterday? No. It must have been today. Just a few hours ago. Her nurse had brought Lana in and she'd started talking. And then crying.
"I'm so sorry, Jude," she'd said. She held Jude's hand. "I got you out, but I didn't save you. I couldn't save you. But she's dead, Mary Eunice is. She's gone. And Oliver confessed, finally. They cleared Kit. Maybe there's some justice in the world. I don't know." She wiped her tears and shook her head. Jude was trying to think through her permanent haze. Mary Eunice. Not her Mary Eunice? No. But she could remember something about it.
"Dead?" She asked. "Mary. No. That sweet girl. My Mary Eunice. The devil- He made her do it." A tear slid down her face and Lana wiped it away. She did remember. "My poor, pure girl. The Monsignor… He saved her."
"No," Lana whispered. She shook her head again, holding Jude's hands tighter to make her understand. "No, Jude. He killed her."
"That was the only way," Jude replied. She began to cry with joy. She had been saved. Of course Mary Eunice had been saved. "She's out now. Saved. He saved her!" A nurse heard Jude scream and came into the room.
"Ms. Winters, I'm afraid you'll have to go. She's going to need to lie down for a while." Lana nodded.
"I'm going to go now, Judy. I'll visit you again when you're feeling better. Okay?" Jude didn't respond and Lana tried to smile through her tears. "Alright. Bye, Judy." Then she left Jude alone in her little white room. This place was better than Briarcliff, but she still didn't like it. When she could think clearly, she just wanted it to end. Right now, remembering again that Mary Eunice was gone and safe from the devil, she felt like her work was done. She had paid her debt and helped save a young soul to make up for the one she had almost destroyed years ago. It was all done.
A sound caught her attention and brought her out of her broken thoughts. It was the rustle of feathers. She looked up from her bed and saw Death standing at her door. She stepped forward and smiled.
"You're finally ready now, Jude. I can tell. All your work is done in this world." She continued and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Will you come with me?" For the first time in weeks, Jude smiled.
"Of course. I want to see her. She'll be there, won't she?"
"She will. I have the feeling she's been waiting for you. Just lay back and let go."
Jude listened. She lay back against her pillows and closed her eyes. She heard a whoosh as Shachath's black wings unfolded. Soft lips brushed hers and she was gone.
She could see a light. It wasn't painfully bright, it was just the sun. It hung high in the sky above the vast field. A single, tall tree stood in the middle of everything. It was peaceful and beautiful. Jude knew to go to the tree. She walked to it and saw the girl sitting against its trunk. Her hair was golden and it fell across her face and her dress was pure white. She was waiting for something.
"Mary Eunice," Jude said. The girl looked up. It was her. She stood and ran the rest of the distance to Jude. Before Jude could say anything else, Mary Eunice's arms were around her and she was sobbing and apologizing.
"It wasn't me, Sister Jude, I swear! I'm so sorry! I tried-" Jude pushed her back and smiled.
"I know, my child, I know. I don't blame you. You couldn't help yourself."
"B-but I killed people! And the Monsignor…"
"Mary Eunice, it's alright." She shook the girl's shoulders lightly. Her pretty face was red and wet with tears. "It wasn't you. None of it was you. You were fighting the most powerful evil there is and you came out of it with your soul intact. You won. And you were forgiven."
"I was?" She asked.
"Of course you were, child. You're here. If God blamed you, you wouldn't be here." Mary Eunice took a deep breath and smiled.
"You're right. Thank you, Sister Jude."
"Please, just call me Judy."
"Alright." She nodded, wiping her eyes. "I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry for what I did to you." Jude grabbed her hands and kept smiling.
"No harm done. I've got my mind back in here and that's all that counts. There is no room for sorrow in this place." She pulled on Mary Eunice's hand and gestured towards the path in the grass. "Come on. We might as well see what else heaven has to offer." Mary Eunice smiled and followed.
Together they walked off down the path through the glorious field, both finally and truly free.