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When I look up, Meredith is crying. She tells me over and over again how glad she is that I’m safe. For the first time, I understand how much she cares about me. All this time, she was trying to protect me from the bad man. She finally did. When I look over her shoulder, I see two big men carrying out Mr. Graveyard. He’s covered in blood and his eyes are closed. No!
I look at Meredith and let her go, walking slowly to Graveyard. The men are talking to each other, but I don’t listen to what they are saying. I won’t let him die.
“Put him on the ground,” I tell them.
For a little while, they stare at me, confused. I’ve heard Meredith say that men are stupid, but I get it now. They’re looking at me like I have two heads, but I think I asked them to do something really simple.
“Do it,” Meredith tells them in a strangled voice.
She looks at Graveyard sadly. I’ve never seen her so sad. I think she must care about him too.
“I’m going to fix him,” I tell her, and her eyes soften.
“Oh, sweetie,” she says in that way grownups always talk when they want to tell you something disappointing.
She walks over to me and crouches on the ground. Her arms are on my shoulders. She’s going to give me a very serious talk, I just know it.
“I don’t think he’s going to make it.” Her voice breaks. But she’s trying to stay strong for me. She’s trying to be grown-up and pretend that everything will be okay. She doesn’t know everything will be okay.
I put my hand on her face, and she stops crying.
“Meredith,” I whisper. “I understand now. I’m going to save him. He’s going to be okay.”
“What do you want to do, Prez?” one of the big guys asks Miss Tory’s husband.
He looks at Graveyard’s face, then looks at me.
“He won’t make it to the hospital at this rate,” he says. He looks at me very seriously. “Charlie, do you think you can help him?”
I go to Graveyard and touch him. He’s not dead, but he’s very weak. I feel the life draining from his body, but it doesn’t scare me anymore. I can fix this. I heard the bad man yelling. I can stop death.
I put my hands on his chest, where the blood is coming from. I close my eyes and focus on all the energy inside of me. I picture a little ball of light, and I make it all gather in my chest. Then, I imagine that it’s jumping out of me and into Graveyard. It takes a while. I feel the wind blowing around me, but I can’t hear anything. All I can see is the ball of light, and Graveyard needs it right now.
I feel tired as the light goes into Graveyard, but that’s okay. I can handle it. There’s something wet on my face. I must be crying again, but I hear Meredith screaming at me. She sounds very far away, like she’s in a tunnel. I block her out, focusing on the light. It’s almost gone. It’s almost in Graveyard now.
Hands grab me, trying to pull on me, but I fight them back. I don’t know how I do it exactly, but something in me pushes them back. Then all the light is inside of Graveyard. I feel his heartbeat. It’s strong and healthy. He’ll be okay.
With all the light gone now, I’m too tired to open my eyes.
Charlie collapses in a heap, and it’s all I can do not to run to her, but Pocus holds me tight.
“Let me go!” I scream, fighting him off.
He doesn’t move until Graveyard coughs. He releases me quickly. Like he’s too shocked by what he’s just witnessed to hold on anymore. I scramble over to Charlie’s body and shake her.
“Charlie, sweetie,” I scream. “Charlie, please wake up!”
I drop my head to her chest and listen for a heartbeat. I hold my breath for five seconds, then ten. I don’t feel like I’ll be able to breathe until I know that she’s alive. Then, as I’m about to run out of air, I hear the faint sound of her heart beating. She’s okay. At the very least, she’s alive. But she’s very weak.
“We need to get out of here,” I tell the men, my voice thick with emotion. “Please tell me one of you thought to bring a car.”
We’re not getting Graveyard and Charlie out of here on their bikes. Pocus and Seer look at each other sheepishly, but another man pipes in.
“Ma’am. I do have a car parked less than a mile away. I’ll go get it now.”
“Run,” I tell him forcefully. “Please,” I add in a whisper, my attention focused on Charlie.
I can’t believe what I just witnessed. It was like the entire earth was moving at her command. She sat there with her eyes closed, and clouds gathered. The wind blew so hard I thought we would get blown over. Then she started shaking and her nose was bleeding, and I knew it was too much for her. I thought she was killing herself. I couldn’t lose both of them.
