To read from the beginning, click the photos on the right.
Chapter XXXVII pgs. 242-244
The hand quivered. It was just a reflex and meant nothing. Maria knew this from her training. But she felt for a pulse nevertheless, and she found it beating stronger than it had back at the hospital room. She touched Johanna’s nose and felt a slow steady stream of air. She shook Johanna, but Johanna remained unresponsive.
“Get up. Wake up. If you want to live, get up.” Maria prodded and jostled and screamed at Johanna, but Johanna remained still. “I need your help. I can’t get you out of here by myself.” She dragged the box out of the locker and scooted it towards the padlocked door. She examined the walls looking for sheets of metal that could be peeled back. She looked up at the window through which she had crawled, so high off the ground. Maria tugged at the box, sliding it toward the window, all the time doubting she’d be able to get Johanna out. And she propped up the box containing Johanna’s limp body and pushed it towards the window’s opening, grateful that Johanna couldn’t feel what Maria was doing to her. She got Johanna’s body halfway out the window, then realized that what she was planning was impossible. She might be able to get Johanna out through the window, hopefully without major injury, but she could never carry Johanna the mile or so back to her car. Johanna’s body only weighed about ninety pounds, but it was still more than Maria could manage by herself, even if Johanna came to and could stumble. And if anyone caught her walking with Johanna… Maria didn’t even want to think of the consequences. She needed a way to get Johanna out through the window. She needed to think.
So Maria dragged the box back towards the shelves where the other crematory boxes were stored, and pushed it against the wall below the bottom shelf. Then she chose another box and moved it to the spot in the locker where Johanna had originally been placed. She loaded the box with four pork loins, hoping that their weight was close enough to that of Johanna’s body. Then she climbed out the window and jogged back to the parking lot at the institute where she’d left her car. Had it only been that morning? It seemed like an entire lifetime had passed in the course of that day.
Chapter XXXVII pgs. 242-244
The hand quivered. It was just a reflex and meant nothing. Maria knew this from her training. But she felt for a pulse nevertheless, and she found it beating stronger than it had back at the hospital room. She touched Johanna’s nose and felt a slow steady stream of air. She shook Johanna, but Johanna remained unresponsive.
“Get up. Wake up. If you want to live, get up.” Maria prodded and jostled and screamed at Johanna, but Johanna remained still. “I need your help. I can’t get you out of here by myself.” She dragged the box out of the locker and scooted it towards the padlocked door. She examined the walls looking for sheets of metal that could be peeled back. She looked up at the window through which she had crawled, so high off the ground. Maria tugged at the box, sliding it toward the window, all the time doubting she’d be able to get Johanna out. And she propped up the box containing Johanna’s limp body and pushed it towards the window’s opening, grateful that Johanna couldn’t feel what Maria was doing to her. She got Johanna’s body halfway out the window, then realized that what she was planning was impossible. She might be able to get Johanna out through the window, hopefully without major injury, but she could never carry Johanna the mile or so back to her car. Johanna’s body only weighed about ninety pounds, but it was still more than Maria could manage by herself, even if Johanna came to and could stumble. And if anyone caught her walking with Johanna… Maria didn’t even want to think of the consequences. She needed a way to get Johanna out through the window. She needed to think.
So Maria dragged the box back towards the shelves where the other crematory boxes were stored, and pushed it against the wall below the bottom shelf. Then she chose another box and moved it to the spot in the locker where Johanna had originally been placed. She loaded the box with four pork loins, hoping that their weight was close enough to that of Johanna’s body. Then she climbed out the window and jogged back to the parking lot at the institute where she’d left her car. Had it only been that morning? It seemed like an entire lifetime had passed in the course of that day.
No comments:
Post a Comment