Infernal Revelation : Collected Episodes 1-4 (9781311980007) by Michael Coorlim
Authors: Michael Coorlim
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Gideon's hand in a
half-toss as he spun away and made a run for it.
***
Gideon ran.
The deputies chased.
Jello Biafra was right.
It was an
unbeatable high.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Lily didn't make her
move right away, crouching and watching the deputies chase after
Gideon. It was hard to process the absurd sight, but more
importantly she wanted to make sure that the three lawmen running
after him weren't going to be joined by a late fourth.
Did the deputies always
travel in pairs? She tried to remember, but honestly hadn't ever
paid much attention to the police. They were just there , a presence, she'd
been taught, to help good people, and keep the troublemakers at
bay.
Good people like her. Troublemakers like
Gideon.
And yet here she was, sneaking through
shattered glass into the hospital. And Gideon was rough around the
edges, but she'd never heard of him or his fellow stoners doing
anything worse than petty vandalism or shoplifting. But here he
was, smashing a window and running from the police, just to help
her. Risking his freedom and his future for a girl he hardly knew,
one who might be -- as far as she knew -- responsible for the death
of at least one of her friends.
She stopped herself. There wasn't any more
time for guilt. Not now. She would need her wits about herself to
find Ashley. There wouldn't be any answers in her injured friend's
hospital bed, but at least she could apologize. At least she could
say goodbye.
Like she never got to say goodbye to
Lauren.
Lily jogged past the reception desk. It was
vacant, the nurse probably having gone to help the orderly with the
broken glass. Lily pulled out the crumpled print-out that Delilah
had given her.
Ashley was in 237. Second floor. Laton
general was a large hospital for such a small town.
Lily jogged past the elevators to the
stairwell. Less chance of getting caught. That made sense, right?
Gideon would know. She didn't feel like being trapped in a small
box, anyway.
The second floor was much quieter than the
first. The soles of her sneakers squeaked loudly in her ears with
each step, sound like nails on a chalkboard. She stopped to take
them off, carrying them as she searched for her friend's room.
Lily reached an intersection at the end of
the hall. To the left, a plaque directed her, rooms 225 through
235. To her left, 241 to 250.
What the hell? Where was 237?
A soft chime from the elevator prompted Lily
to action, and she ducked around the corner to the left. She
stopped, back flat against the bricks, ears straining. In her fear
every sense felt heightened, every sound was magnified, down to the
ticking of a nearby clock and the pounding of her heartbeat.
Footfalls sounded as someone emerged from
the elevator and started down the hall. The hallway tiles' echo
confounded Lily, and she couldn't tell right away if the new
arrival was coming towards her or heading away. Her own heart beat
fiercely in her chest, and she felt suddenly trapped, sure that
anyone could hear it, sure that at any moment a deputy would round
the corner. She was certain that Gideon had been caught, had
confessed, had implicated her as not just an accomplice, but as a
ring-leader in this scheme. Why had she trusted him?
The steps softened slightly, and she
realized with a sense of relief that they were headed in the other
direction, away from her intersection. She sagged against the wall,
exhaling a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
After the footsteps had almost faded, Lily
crept off down the hall, keeping an eye out for room 237. The
corridor turned, again and again, forming a rectangle as it came
back to itself at the intersection.
What the hell? Where was Ashley's room?
She slipped to the corner again and peered
down the hall past the elevators, but didn't see whomever had
gotten off the elevator. There, past the restroom and nurse's
station was what looked like another suite of rooms. Lily hadn't
been too aware of what was going on around her when
half-toss as he spun away and made a run for it.
***
Gideon ran.
The deputies chased.
Jello Biafra was right.
It was an
unbeatable high.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Lily didn't make her
move right away, crouching and watching the deputies chase after
Gideon. It was hard to process the absurd sight, but more
importantly she wanted to make sure that the three lawmen running
after him weren't going to be joined by a late fourth.
Did the deputies always
travel in pairs? She tried to remember, but honestly hadn't ever
paid much attention to the police. They were just there , a presence, she'd
been taught, to help good people, and keep the troublemakers at
bay.
Good people like her. Troublemakers like
Gideon.
And yet here she was, sneaking through
shattered glass into the hospital. And Gideon was rough around the
edges, but she'd never heard of him or his fellow stoners doing
anything worse than petty vandalism or shoplifting. But here he
was, smashing a window and running from the police, just to help
her. Risking his freedom and his future for a girl he hardly knew,
one who might be -- as far as she knew -- responsible for the death
of at least one of her friends.
She stopped herself. There wasn't any more
time for guilt. Not now. She would need her wits about herself to
find Ashley. There wouldn't be any answers in her injured friend's
hospital bed, but at least she could apologize. At least she could
say goodbye.
Like she never got to say goodbye to
Lauren.
Lily jogged past the reception desk. It was
vacant, the nurse probably having gone to help the orderly with the
broken glass. Lily pulled out the crumpled print-out that Delilah
had given her.
Ashley was in 237. Second floor. Laton
general was a large hospital for such a small town.
Lily jogged past the elevators to the
stairwell. Less chance of getting caught. That made sense, right?
Gideon would know. She didn't feel like being trapped in a small
box, anyway.
The second floor was much quieter than the
first. The soles of her sneakers squeaked loudly in her ears with
each step, sound like nails on a chalkboard. She stopped to take
them off, carrying them as she searched for her friend's room.
Lily reached an intersection at the end of
the hall. To the left, a plaque directed her, rooms 225 through
235. To her left, 241 to 250.
What the hell? Where was 237?
A soft chime from the elevator prompted Lily
to action, and she ducked around the corner to the left. She
stopped, back flat against the bricks, ears straining. In her fear
every sense felt heightened, every sound was magnified, down to the
ticking of a nearby clock and the pounding of her heartbeat.
Footfalls sounded as someone emerged from
the elevator and started down the hall. The hallway tiles' echo
confounded Lily, and she couldn't tell right away if the new
arrival was coming towards her or heading away. Her own heart beat
fiercely in her chest, and she felt suddenly trapped, sure that
anyone could hear it, sure that at any moment a deputy would round
the corner. She was certain that Gideon had been caught, had
confessed, had implicated her as not just an accomplice, but as a
ring-leader in this scheme. Why had she trusted him?
The steps softened slightly, and she
realized with a sense of relief that they were headed in the other
direction, away from her intersection. She sagged against the wall,
exhaling a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
After the footsteps had almost faded, Lily
crept off down the hall, keeping an eye out for room 237. The
corridor turned, again and again, forming a rectangle as it came
back to itself at the intersection.
What the hell? Where was Ashley's room?
She slipped to the corner again and peered
down the hall past the elevators, but didn't see whomever had
gotten off the elevator. There, past the restroom and nurse's
station was what looked like another suite of rooms. Lily hadn't
been too aware of what was going on around her when
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