Author's note: A couple of people have requested a chapter from Abe's point of view. I wasn't planning on writing one, but it seems Abe and Maggie had other plans. So, in case you haven't figured it out, here is Abe's chapter.
CRACK!!!
The altar stone shatters and Liz in now partially lying on a pile of rubble. Maggie is lying on the ground next to the altar, with one arm outstretched and she's not moving. I get to Maggie as fast as I can though there are still monsters running loose. A smaller demon jumps at me and latches itself onto my arm. I slam it into a nearby tree breaking its back.
I finally reach her and there's blood everywhere, her blood. I take off my jacket and carefully wrap her in it. The foam neoprene will hopefully slow the flow of blood. I'm glad she's unconscious so she can't feel any of this. I very gently lift her off the ground and then I start to run for the parking lot.
I manage to avoid a couple of demons and continue on my headlong flight. I can hear someone yelling behind me, but I ignore him. I also can hear something chasing me, so I run faster. I get to the trucks. I don't know how to drive, so I run past them. Whatever is chasing me stops shortly after I pass the vehicles.
A minute later, a truck pulls up behind me. I look over my shoulder. I can't see who's driving because of the headlights, but I touch Myers mind. I stop and get into the truck. Myers starts the truck moving before I even have the door all the way shut. He's panting and sweating and I can feel his worry for Maggie. He's to busy trying to keep the truck on the trail to say anything, for which I'm grateful. I can feel my gills moving faster than normal trying to absorb more oxygen out of the water in my respirator.
After a few more minutes of driving on the dirt, we reach the parking lot. After the wheels gain purchase on the asphalt, Myers floors it, launching us past Manning and the garbage truck. Once we're on the open road, Myers calls the bureau and tells them to have a medical team ready. They start asking questions about the injury, so he hands me the radio.
"There are four puncture wounds to the right shoulder," I tell them. I try to concentrate on the wounds and not the wounded. "There are also several lacerations on the back from the scapula to the pelvis region. There has been severe blood loss. The patient is unconscious."
They confirm what I've told them and then sign off. I drop the radio and hold her closer. I telepathically tell her to live, that I need her to live. Myers drives faster.
After what seems to be a million years, we finally reach the gates of the bureau, which automatically open just before we reach them. Myers doesn't slow down until he sees the medical team waiting for us in the garage. Then he slams on the brakes causing the truck to fishtail. I'll yell at him later for that boneheaded maneuver, but right now I need to concentrate on Maggie.
Someone opens up the passenger door and I hand Maggie to them. I get out and start following the gurney that's quickly heading down the hall. A couple members of the medical staff are trying to stop me. They keep trying to grab my arm and I keep trying to get past them. Suddenly, someone grabs me from behind, pinning my arms to my side. It's Myers. I start struggling with him.
"ABE!" Myers yells. "HOLD STILL AND LET THEM LOOK AT YOU!"
"NO!" I yell back. "MAGGIE NEEDS ME!"
Just then I feel a needle get jabbed into my shoulder and a burning sensation as something is injected into me. I fight even harder, but soon my vision gets blurred and I can't concentrate. Myers lets me go, and I slowly sink to the floor.
"Maggie," is the last thing I manage to say before I lose consciousness.
I wake up disoriented and groggy. I try to swim to clear my head, but I run into the glass. I turn and go in the opposite direction and run into the wall. I try and get my eyes to focus on my surroundings and I realize that I'm in the medical tank. I try to move my arms to reposition myself and discover that one of my arms is incased in the device that aids in the healing process. I try and remember when my arm got injured. Then I remember the demon that attacked me before I was able to reach Maggie.
"Welcome back, Blue," I hear. I turn toward the front of the tank and see Hellboy. His shirt is off and he's sporting several bandages across his arm and torso. He's leaning against the table in the middle of the room.
"How long have I been asleep?" I ask.
"A few of hours," he says. "And to head off the next question, she's alive. She just came out of surgery a little while ago. They say she's stable, but she's still in critical condition. The next twenty-four hours are the most crucial. She lost a lot of blood. They've already pumped three pints of blood into her."
"When did you start using such big words?" I tease, flipping upside down.
"I haven't," he growls. "I'm just telling you what they told me."
Before I get to depressed, I decide to change the subject.
"How's Liz?"
"She's fine," he says. "She's with Manning getting debriefed."
"How many did we lose?" I ask quietly, not really wanting the answer.
"Two," he tells me. "There are a lot of injuries, mostly cuts and broken bones. Guillermo's leg got pretty badly mauled. He may lose it. Myers has a dislocated shoulder."
"He drove with a dislocated shoulder? I'm impressed," I say.
"Don't be," he replies. "You dislocated it."
"When did I…?"
"When you guys came back," he answers me before I can finish asking the question.
I vaguely remember the struggle I had with Myers. I flip back over and sink to the bottom of the tank.
Myers walks in pushing a cart with pancakes, bacon and a bowl of rotten eggs. He's having a little bit of a hard time maneuvering the thing since one of his arms is in a sling. Hellboy goes over and helps him unload most of the cart onto the table. While Hellboy starts' eating his breakfast, Myers pushes the cart over to the tank with the eggs. I push myself up to Myers eye level.
"I'm sorry," I tell him. "I never meant to…"
"Hey, it's alright," he interrupts, not quite looking me in the eye. "Getting hurt comes with the job."
"Getting hurt by monsters, not by your co-workers," I tell him.
"You were understandably upset," he says as he starts dropping eggs into the feeding chute. "She'll be alright. The doctors say she's young, strong and healthy. That's three points in her favor."
I'm not sure what to say to this, so I start eating my breakfast. As Myers leaves, Dr. Jones walks in looking at a chart. He's an older gentleman. What's left of his hair is short and white. He stops in front of the tank and looks up at me over his glasses.
"Good morning, Abe," he says. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm still feeling a bit groggy, but that's probably just from the tranquilizer I was given," I answer. "My arm hurts but I can move my fingers."
"Sorry about the tranquilizer," he replies. "We had no choice since you wouldn't hold still, and you were bleeding rather profusely. We put in twenty-three stitches. Luckily there was no serious damage done."
"When can I get out of here?" I ask.
"In a few days," he answers. "We need to give your arm time to heal before we can let you go back to your tank."
"I'd like to see, Miss Cavendish," I tell him.
"You'll just have wait until you get out of here," he says. "We can't move your tank, and moving her is out of the question. Her condition is too delicate."
"I understand," I say quietly as I sink back to the bottom of the tank. An uneaten egg lies in my hand. I'm suddenly not very hungry, so I just sit there staring at it. I realize I haven't told Maggie what my favorite food is.
The next few days pass excruciatingly slowly. I get visits from Liz and Hellboy on a regular basis. Myers comes in with my meals. Manning comes in to get my report. Dr. Jones comes in every once and a while to check on me. I spend the rest of my time playing with my Rubik's cube and reading. Of course, reading is a bit difficult if there's no one there to turn the pages for me. I did get another side done on my cube, but I had to ruin one of my completed sides to do it. Most of the time, I spend thinking about Maggie and remembering.
I remember when she first walked into the library. It still amazes me that she thought I was beautiful and that her opinion didn't change even after she learned I wasn't just a big fish. I remember how she wore her composure like a suit of armor. I remember her stopping Red from lighting his cigar. The look on his face was priceless. I wish Liz could have been there with her camera.
I remember how she convinced Manning that her powers were real. They still haven't replaced that table.
I remember how she fell into my arms after she closed the fissure. It was the first time she had killed. She'd never intentionally hurt another living thing in all of her life. It shook her to the core of her being.
I remember the look on her face when she saw that I could get close to Magick. That was another Polaroid moment.
I remember our first kiss. I remember the feeling of her hair in my hands and how it felt against the webbing between my fingers. I remember her taste, her smell. I remember her confusion and fear. I never realized that one kiss could mean so much.
I remember the dreams I had after she left. They were very…intense. I remember the pain I thought I caused her.
I remember being dragged out of my tank and being forced to go on a mission I didn't want to be on. I remember hearing her voice and feeling the touch of her hand on my arm. I thought it was a dream until she apologized. I remember opening my eyes and seeing a goddess.
I remember her soaking her feet in my tank. I remember finding out about her grandmother's plans. I remember not wanting to wait nearly a year to have her. I remember her response.
I remember her leaving to find the answer to a half remembered prophesy. I remember the very intense dream I had that night. Foam neoprene doesn't stretch.
I remember her introducing me to Guillermo. A man she loved like an uncle, even though he was not related to her.
I remember leaving the library after Guillermo fell asleep while trying to translate the book. I went looking for her and I found her asleep. I remember waking her up and her reaction. I remember the feeling of her skin on my own. I still don't remember how I got that shirt off of her though.
I remember her feeling of guilt when she realized that she created the altar. I remember her facing Hellboy down.
I remember the feeling of fear I had when I heard the first scream during battle. I remember the relief I felt when I realized that it wasn't hers. I remember seeing the demon jump her from behind and knock her to the ground. I remember her scream of pain. I remember shooting it and kicking it off of her. I remember being attacked and pushed away from her. I remember the fear of seeing her lying there, bleeding.
I remember.
Finally, Dr. Jones gives me the all clear to return to my tank. But instead of heading there, I go looking for Maggie. I find her in the ICU, which isn't to surprising. Her condition is still considered serious. She's lying on her stomach, asleep. The bandages completely cover her right shoulder and the ones on her torso go from her arm pits down to her hips. She's very pale and there's blood dried in her hair. I go to the far side of the bed and I sit down in the chair there, since that's the way she's facing. There's an IV in her arm and I can hear the heart monitor beeping.
"Maggie," I call quietly, taking her undamaged hand in mine. "Maggie, are you awake?"
She doesn't respond. Dr. Evans walks in.
"Magpie, please wake up."
She still doesn't respond. I had hoped that by using the pet name her father used for her might get a reaction. It did the last time I used it.
"She won't respond," says Dr. Evans. "She's in a drug induced coma."
"Why?" I ask without looking up.
"We're afraid that if she wakes up right now, she'll go into shock from the pain," is the response. "And that is something that she really doesn't need."
"How long are you going to leave her like this?"
"Possibly another day. Two tops," she responds as she checks the read outs from the monitors. She writes something on Maggie's chart. "We don't want to leave her in that condition for fear brain damage may occur. It's been a while since her last dosage, so the nurse should be coming in to give her the next dose soon."
"Thank you."
As Dr. Evans leaves, I think about what books I want to get from the library. Hellboy comes charging in. He grabs the TV remote laying on a table and turns on the set, quickly scanning the channels.
"I don't think she's in any condition to watch television, Red," I tell him.
"I'm not turning it on for her," he says as he finds the station he wants.
There's a news program on. It's showing a picture of Maggie and the news anchor is talking about her disappearance from her home a few days ago. There is no sign of forced entry and her car is gone. There's a clip of reporters trying to talk to an elderly woman with white hair, who is obviously distraught. The caption at the bottom of the picture says, "Susan Cavendish – Grandmother." The end of the report states that the FBI have been called into help. Hellboy turns off the set and then turns to look at me.
"Has Manning seen this?" I ask.
"Yeah," he answers. "He saw it last night. He's planning on bring her in. And he wants us to make ourselves scarce when he does."
"Why is he bringing her in?" I ask.
"Because this woman is bossier than your girlfriend," he says. "When he tried to get her to call off the search, she demanded to know why. He tried to tell her some story about Cavendish being away on a mission for the government, but Granny saw right through that lie. She threatened lawsuits and reporters galore if he didn't produce her granddaughter. And since she can't be moved, he's bringing the old biddy here."
"When will they be here?" I finally get to see her, and I don't want to leave.
"Soon, he called a little while ago," he says quietly. "We need to leave now."
"No," I tell him. "I finally get to see her. I'm here less than five minutes and now I'm being told I have to leave."
"We have to," he responds. "I know how you feel, Blue. I'd be madder than a wet hen if I had to leave Liz in this state. But we have to go now."
Before I can respond, I hear footsteps and voices down the hall. I look at Red and give him a small smile.
"To late," I say.
A few moments later, Manning and the lady from the news clip walk in. Manning looks like he's about to blow a gasket and the woman turns whiter than her hair.
"Dr. Manning, what are these things doing in my granddaughter's room?" she demands turning to him.
"Hey!" snarls Hellboy. "I'm not a thing. I have a name."
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Cavendish," Manning stammers. "They were just leaving."
"No, I'm not," I say quietly. I look at Maggie. I thought I felt her hand twitch.
"And, what, precisely, are you?" she demands.
"Icthyo Sapien," I answer, looking up at her. The twitch must have been my imagination. "But my friends call me Abe."
I didn't think she could go any whiter, but she does.
"Not Abe Sapien?" she barely whispers. I nod. "How dare you!? Where do you get off kissing my granddaughter?"
Before I can answer I hear, "Leave him alone, Grandmother."