“You’re going to be fine,” I pleaded as best as I could. “We’ll walk out of this horrid place together. I’ll gladly lead the way.” She started to cry. Something was wrong, but I did not know what it was. The nurse told me that Delancey’s right foot had been amputated.
Devastated, I tried to put a positive look on my face. Delancey sobbed uncontrollably. Her brown hair seemed darker, and tears trickled down her pale face. I didn’t know what to say or what to do. My hand was still holding hers. I squeezed a little tighter.
I glanced at her feet, covered by the white sheet, and she winced. “I don’t want you to see me this way,” she said.
“It’s okay…you’re the most beautiful girl ever.” I really meant it. I leaned over and kissed her purple lips.
The doctors came back into the room. They had to do one more surgery and demanded that I leave. The nurse explained that Delancey had glass in her kidneys. The doctor said Delancey needed more blood. The nurse explained that she had a rare blood type, and the hospital did not have enough of this blood.
“Just go and don’t look back at me,” Delancey said. “Promise that you won’t look back and see me like this.”
“I promise,” I said.
“I wouldn’t want you to remember me this way, with an amputated foot, and barely alive. Tell my parents I love them.” I released her hand. As I left the room, they moved her onto the operating table. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the sheet that was covering her fall to the floor.
I didn’t want to look back, but she screamed in pain when they moved her. I tried my best not to glance back, not to break my promise to her, not to look at her amputated foot. But there was a round mirror in the corner ceiling of the operating room, and I saw her in the mirror. She knew that I had seen her amputated foot. She sobbed loudly, and my head turned. I saw her on the operating table. She cried louder.
The moment I walked out of the operating room, her heart monitor went flat. The doctors tried to revive her. I stood and watched as they used the defibrillator several times. In the end, nothing could be done.
The surgeon walked out, and said, “Sorry. She lost too much blood. There was really nothing more we could’ve done. ”
The earth went silent. I could still feel her hand in mine. I heard them say, “time of death 5 a.m.” It echoed in my head. Devastated and destroyed, I thought I was in a bad dream.
I sat on the steps outside the hospital in shock and disbelief. The sun started to rise. My vision was still blurred. A man was walking his dog. I was so disoriented that it appeared the dog had three heads.
Delancey’s mother arrived, and so did Bruce. They asked how she was, and I couldn’t answer. Bruce picked me up off the ground and shook me.
“She wanted you to know that she loved you.” Her mother, decimated by my cruel words, fell to the ground. Delancey was the ninth student death that year.
My body ached, my lip was scabbed, my eyes bruised, and I could barely walk to the subway. But my physical pain did not compare to the depth of my strife and the torment of my grief.
I wondered if that night had just been a nightmare. But I knew it was real. How could this have happened? How could Death have cheated me yet again in my life? Every time an ounce of happiness came my way, any kind of love that entered my life, like with my mother, and grandfather, Death stole it away. I wished that there was a way to get her back. I had already lost so much in my life. Choking back more tears, I decided that I could not lose her.
The sunlight became brighter, and a thought entered my head. In the basement, was the bag from Sal’s house. His books and equipment were still in the bag. Sal said he would be at graduation. He might be my only hope. What if everything Sal said was true? What if he wasn’t completely crazy? I had to find him.
I needed to go to Stanton and bring everything he would need, the entire bag to graduation.
I was still a bloody mess, now wearing a destroyed tuxedo. but there was no time to change. John and Carlos arrived at my house just as I was walking out. They were on their way to graduation. I informed them of Delancey’s passing. Grief stricken, they would come with me to graduation.
The news of Delancey’s death had not reached the school. The graduating class was in the auditorium, cheering, smiling, and celebrating. No one knew. I walked in at the end of Doreen’s valedictory speech, still in my bloodstained tuxedo.
Doreen ended her speech stating how we were all about to embark on a new journey. Not Delancey though.
John informed me that Sam was nowhere to be found because he was not allowed to graduate due to his inability to pass the swim test.
Carlos said Sam was probably distraught over the incident at the prom, not being named valedictorian, and not graduating, but was unsure of the order of his emotions. Harvard would consequently have to rescind its offer to Sam. Everything was moving in slow motion.
John stood next to me during the graduation march. He was not going to go to college in the fall. His father would not allow it that year. John deferred his college acceptance for another year. He was clearly disappointed, but had chosen to obey his father.
Mr. Mash called out the names, one after another. Delancey’s name was called out. The audience applauded, whistled, and cheered on her behalf. No one knew that she had passed away. When she did not approach the stage, Mash skipped over her and called out the next student’s name.
Painfully distracted, I could not remember why I was even there. And then I saw the bag in my hand, Sal’s bag. I desperately needed him to help me. Mr. Mash continued calling the names of the graduates. I was inadvertently doing the graduation march and heading up to the stage, to shake Mr. Mash’s hand, to get my sheepskin.
John accepted his diploma and shook hands with Mr. Mash. Carlos did the same. Sal sat on the stage, separated from the rest of the senior class. Sal looked lost in thought, his body slouching off the chair. He was my only hope, no matter his mental state.
Would the circumstances of Delancey’s death have changed if I had asked her to be my date to the prom? If I’d had enough courage, and less insecurity, would she still be alive? I wondered if Sam was capable of feeling guilty.
“David Orpheus” called out Mr. Mash. I didn’t really hear him, as I was deep in thought. “David Orpheus – class of 1989.” Someone shook me by the shoulder and I started walking toward Mr. Mash. “Congratulations, young man,” he said. He handed me my sheepskin, and I thanked him.
I stood staring at the audience. No one else understood my grief. Hardly anyone knew that we were married, that we were in love, and that everything was lost. I had not only received a diploma from high school, but also an education in death, pain, and grief.
Mash was distracted by my blood stained tuxedo. I looked like a complete disaster.
Mr. Mash spoke into the microphone. “And now, we are going to spice things up a little. Don’t ever say your high school graduation was boring. With a very special performance of Separate Ways…also known as Worlds Apart…. here is David and the Stanton Serpents Band.”
The curtains behind me rose high into the ceiling. The band assembled, and Ms. Virgil placed a guitar in my hand. I walked over to my microphone, stopping off and giving Sal his bag.
The intro started, heavy drums, just like we had practiced. Like a zombie, as if I was in a trance, I sang Separate Ways. I sang every word, with all the haunting pain that filled my heart. My vocals ricocheted of the walls of the auditorium. I wept as I sang; my fingers burned as I strummed and played every chord.
I felt lost when it was over. The audience, students, parents, and teachers alike, stood and cheered. The song was only a blur. I had almost no memory of performing. Everyone was patting me on the back and congratulating me. I spoke into the microphone. “That was for Delancey; it was her favorite song. She passed away a few hours ago.”
The audience gasped. My announcement created havoc and commotion. The senior class was in grief. I walked down the stage, and Sal was waiting for me.
“Now I know why you brought the bag. Are you ready to do this?” he asked.
I could not answer. I could barely understand what he was saying. Every sound was muffled.
“There’s no turning back, David, whatever happens. There is no turning back. If
you go down this path, I really don’t know.” Sal was genuinely concerned. “You could end up like me.”
Amidst the confusion, Sal and I walked out of the auditorium. He led me through
a dark hallway in the basement. We went to a sublevel, and then through the boiler room and main plumbing room. We made several turns. I kept walking, unable to comprehend how my feet were moving. Sal led the way, talking fast, all kinds of nonsensical explanations coming out of his mouth. He talked about being homeless, living in the basement of the school, building the Leviathon with parts from the school’s labs. Sal kept babbling on and on.
Minutes later we entered the school’s electrical room. There was small door with a combination lock to the far left. I had no idea where I was anymore. Sal knew the combination, and opened the lock. We crawled through the small doorway into another dark room. Then Sal turned on the lights.
In the middle of the room was the design I had seen in Sal’s book. It was the Leviathon, a monstrous set of copper wires coiled about six feet high. There were wires connected to electrical outlets, and a large looming structure at the top. It seemed different from the sketch in Sal’s book, and I did not know why.
Sal lifted a series of switches on a panel, placing them in the upright position. The Leviathion lit up, and sparks flew from different sections. I didn’t know how it worked, but I did know that it was using a lot of electricity. Sal was like a mad scientist from an old black and white science fiction movie. And so was the machine.
He opened the bag, pulled out all the missing parts, all the things he needed to make it function. At the very end, Sal removed a copper helmet from the bag, and using a stepping stool, connected it to the large looming contraption at the top of the machine. Now it looked exactly as it had in his sketch.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
I needed to get Delancey back. I couldn’t think straight; I was too consumed with grief. I had lost a lot in my life, and I couldn’t lose her too. Losing her was too much to bear.
“I have no choice,” I replied. “Full speed ahead.”
It was hot outside, normal for June. It was even warmer standing next to the Leviathon. I was sweating from the heat, and thirsty, probably even dehydrated. The sweltering heat rose off the machine like poisonous gas. I walked around in circles, not knowing which direction to head into.
Sal took a while to set up the equipment. I watched in silence. He had never been the same since using the Leviathon. He explained how he had really messed up his last “journey to the underworld.”
“David, I know how much Delancey meant to you. I really wish that you didn’t need to do this. But I understand.” He pointed to the stepping stool and told me to climb up and get into the Leviathon. I followed his instructions, numb to everything else that was happening. Once I was inside the serpentine coils, he placed the metal helmet onto my head.
“David, the longer you are gone, the worse it’s going to be.”
The room started to get dim, the sounds muffled. I heard clanking noises. A strong breeze whisked from nowhere, and I closed my eyes, for just a second.
Chapter 24
I was trying to find a way out of Stanton. The doors were all locked. The hallways were empty. I was wandering in the hallways of Stanton’s basement. There was no sign of Sal.
I found a stairwell, and with more grace and agility than ever before, I quickly raced up the flight of stairs. There wasn’t a single sound, not a soul stirring. The doors were all locked, but the windows were open.
I climbed out of a window, and landed on the street. At first I didn’t realize where I was, but then I saw a woman in a snug black dress. There was no one else on the streets of Brooklyn, no cars, no people, and no birds, no one except for Delfina.
The psychic was waiting for me outside her store front.
“I knew you’d come,” she said.
“Delancey’s gone,” I said.
“I know.”
“I need to get her back.”
“I know.”
“What do I need to do?” I asked.
“Let’s get started.”
We went inside her store, and she locked the door and closed the blinds.
Darkness surrounded me.
“I need a glass of water,” I said.
“Of course, come with me and I’ll explain what you need to do.”
I sat on a couch, in the back of her store. She lit a few candles, and the room started to reveal itself. There were statues, and paintings, and antiques. I noticed relics, and knives, and various religious icons.
“Delancey is dead, but not completely gone,” she said.
“Are you responsible for this? Didn’t you complete a ritual with Sam that led to this?”
“Listen to me very carefully. I am truly very sorry. I can help you get her back, but it is very difficult and against the natural order of the universe. Bringing her back is very dangerous.”