Final chapter. Thanks everyone for reading. Please review.
Chapter 8
Carey jumped as someone shook her awake.
"Mrs. Martin?" asked a nurse who was standing over her.
"Yes," said Carey.
"Your son Cody just got out of surgery," said the nurse.
"Oh, thank God. How is he?" questioned Carey.
"Just fine. The surgery went very well," replied the nurse. "There wasn't a whole lot of damage. Just some tissue damage and a few cracks in the bone. He'll be able to go home in a few days." Carey nodded.
"Do you know how my other son is doing?" asked Carey.
"Yes. There was some very significant damage but the surgeons are confident they'll be able to restore his ear to normal. He may need one or two more surgeries to help him get his hearing back. But doctors are very confident he'll make a complete recovery," explained the nurse. Carey let out a deep sigh. It was over. Her boys would be OK. Carey followed the nurse down to Cody's room. He was sleeping peacefully with his hurt leg in a cast. He an air tube in his nose and some sensors taped to his chest to monitor his heart rate. Carey ran a hand through his hair.
"Hey, Cody. I'm here now. Everything's going to be OK. You were so brave tonight," said Carey softly. She sat with Cody for a few minutes, crying quietly. She started to think about the fact that she had killed two men. It made her feel sick to her stomach. It made her feel even more sick to think about what Cyrus could have done to Zack. Or what that sick lawyer would have done to any of them. Carey left Cody's room and headed to the bathroom. She threw up a little in a sink and splashed some water on her face.
"It's over. The boys are safe. Don't worry yourself to death," said Carey, staring down as the water went down the drain. When she looked up into the mirror, she gasped. Vincent was standing behind her. And he did not look happy. Vincent slammed her head into the mirror and threw her to the ground. Carey moaned in pain as she hit the bathroom tile with a sickening thud. Vincent loomed over her, his gun pointed at her shoulder. He fired. Carey let out a cry as the bullet ripped through her flesh. Vincent smiled evilly.
"You've been fucking with me all night. I told you that everything would be over at dawn. It's dawn in about ten minutes. My flight leaves soon. But I think I'll stick around. So when you take your last breath I want you to think about something. Think about me torturing your boys before I kill them. Think about their screams of pain and terror. Think about the blood pouring from their mangled bodies. And think about me, showing no mercy and taking absolute pleasure in every second." Carey started crying. For the first time in her life she felt powerless to protect her children. Through every hardship the boys went through in life, Carey always felt there was a way to keep them safe and get them out of harms way. But now she felt there was no way to stop Vincent from viciously murdering her boys. Then fate intervened. The bathroom door opened and a nurse walked in. Vincent fired a shot into the nurses head. Carey sprang into action. She kicked Vincent in the head and between the legs. Vincent moaned in pain and fell to the ground. His gun slid under a stall. Carey stood up and raced out of the room. The hospital was practically empty. But Carey knew that Nick Miller was somewhere in the hospital. She had to get to him. As Carey was racing down the hall, she heard the bathroom door burst open and Vincent run into the hall. A bullet whizzed past Carey's ear. Carey rounded a corner. She saw Nick talking to a doctor in a room at the far end of the hall. Carey started for the room when she heard Vincent approaching the hall. Carey ducked into an empty room. She knew Vincent wasn't far behind. Carey turned off the lights and hid under the bed. She held her breath as Vincent passed the room. Carey closed her eyes and started to pray. Her heart began to race when the door opened.
"Carey, get out from under the bed," said Vincent in a very calm and eerie voice. Carey gulped. Vincent slowly turned the lights on in the room.
"Carey, get out from under the bed," said Vincent. Carey let out a loud cry.
"If you don't I'm going to go shoot Cody in the face. Get the fuck out from under the bed," ordered Vincent. Carey slowly crawled out from under the bed. Vincent motioned for her to sit on the bed.
"Please leave the boys alone. Kill me if you have to. Just leave them alone," said Carey. Vincent narrowed his eyes. He prepared to shoot. Carey took one last chance at survival. She launched herself at Vincent. The two crashed into the door. It burst open, spilling the two into the hall. Nick Miller had been walking towards the room, attracted by Carey's cry. He drew his gun and fired two shots in Vincent's throat as Vincent stood up. Vincent gagged as blood shot everywhere. He leaned against the wall. Nick finished him off with three bullets in the chest. Carey was crying on the ground as Vincent's dead body slid down the wall, red smearing everywhere. Nick helped Carey up and took her to get medical attention.
It took awhile for backup to arrive. Nick stayed with Carey as her wound was stitched up. Zack was out of surgery so Carey went to be with him. Zack was doing better then expected. His ear had been rebuilt and the internal damage had been fixed. He was sleeping soundly with a bandage wrapped around his head and a tube in his mouth. Carey rubbed his head and smiled. It was over. Vincent was dead. The nightmare was over. Carey sighed and fell asleep in her chair.
Zack lay in his hospital bed. It was a week later. Cody had been released from the hospital and had full movement of his leg. Zack still had a quite a struggle ahead of him. He needed two or three more surgeries on his ear. He only had a single bandage on his ear instead of having one wrapped around his entire head. Zack looked up as Carey walked into the room.
"Hey, honey," said Carey. Zack gave her a weak smile. Carey sat down next to him.
"How do you feel?" asked Carey. Zack shrugged. Carey held his hand.
"Mom, I need to ask you something," said Zack. Carey nodded.
"Why did you want that man to shoot me instead of Cody?" asked Zack, his eyes welling up with tears. Carey sighed.
"Because you're stronger. I know you'll forgive me one day. Imagine how it would effect Cody if I chose him. He'd think I hated him. He would become an emotional wreck. But I know you'll come to understand why I did it." Tears came to Carey's eyes. Zack started to cry too. Carey pulled him into a hug.
"I forgive you Mom," said Zack through his tears. Carey smiled and kissed him on the head. Zack fell asleep in her arms. Carey laid him back down and watched him sleep, wondering what the future held for them.
That's it. Pray for Dawn comes to an end. Hope you all like the ending. Thank you for reading. I didn't put much after Vincent's death because I felt that his death was really the end of the story since all the angst came from him. I put in the Zack scene based on requests from a reader. Thank you everyone for reading. Sequel may or may not come. It depends on if everyone would like to see the characters again and see another suspenseful and gruesome fic like this again. There is a story called Mania which is my new big suspense story. Please read that. It's a Zack fic and I'm really excited about it. My first romance too. It's kind of a dark, suspenseful, angsty, romance story. I want more readers. Until next time