“How is she?” Eric asked, dripping soy sauce on his white rice. He really wanted to see Anna, but neither he, Matt, or Ryan could get there yet. Maybe tomorrow. Jack had scouted the hospital and learned just how many entrances there were and that most of the reporters were at one of them. But it also seemed like the police were keeping them back so that other patients and their families could come and go without a media circus in the way. But if the boys got inside to see Anna, they needed permission from Anna’s parents, who Quincy and Jack would try to convince, but they worried this would cause a conversation with them about what was going on. They owed her parents that, but one reason Jack had just gone there was to bring Anna up to speed.
“No real change,” Jack replied.
“What did she want with the priest?” Ryan asked. He had asked earlier but got the same answer as now—she wouldn’t say.
Matt asked, “Do you think she’s going through a religious experience or something?”
“Hard to say,” Eric asked. “It’s certainly enough to cause that sort of thing, from what I know, which isn’t much. Ryan is our expert on trauma making you religious.”
Ryan grimaced, spearing a piece of orange chicken. “Yeah. I mean, her guilt has to be astronomically worse than mine. I only paralyzed Daniel. I really wish I could be there for her.”
“I know you will be,” Eric assured him. “We’ll get to her soon, hopefully on Earth before we get summoned–” He paused, eyes lighting up. “Jesus! We forgot about something. When that happens, the summoning spell is supposed to heal us.”
He watched their faces as realization sank in, which was obvious from the smiles and Ryan jumping to his feet.
“Holy shit!” the big guy said. “It should heal her!”
“Oh my God,” said Jack, as Ryan paced in excitement. “Are you guys serious? You all forgot this?”
They all looked caught between relief and feeling stupid, this being a minor detail they may not have told Jack. Eric put down his chopsticks and said, “Well, we’ve never tested it. I mean, we only went three times, and we were already fine. We only know this because Lorian told us.”
“Do you think it would really heal her all the way?” Jack asked.
“It almost has to,” said Ryan, turning toward them, eyes bright. “I mean, what would be the point of summoning a paralyzed healer?”
Eric observed, “Even if it doesn’t do it, she should be able to heal herself once there, if she can reach a god.”
“Right!” agreed Ryan. He picked his beer for a celebratory drink.
“I have to get to the hospital to tell Anna this,” said Jack, looking like he meant to do it now.
Eric shook his head. “Well, I agree, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I don’t want to give her false hope. We should not be too excited to tell her in case we’re wrong. I think right now we’re all a little too keyed up about it.”
Jack laughed. “Yeah, sure. I hear you. I wouldn’t be able to say it calmly and her parents might ask questions.”
“Exactly.”
Matt said, “And here all this time I’ve been worried about being summoned again, and now I want to do it.” He let out an enormous sigh that mirrored the room’s mood. “Do you guys get nervous when we get into a car now? I mean, what happened to her could happen to any of us.”
“Yeah,” said Eric, having thought the same thing all day, since he’d spent far too much time in one. He had kept thinking to stay off a highway, but even the back roads were at least 35 mph and being hit at that speed was still enough to kill anyone. Driving through neighborhoods meant less traffic, but it could certainly take forever to get anywhere that way, though it was worth it. They were lucky Anna was not dead, as no healing would change that. “I think we need to limit our travel.”
“Imagine being in a plane at thirty-five-thousand feet,” started the techie, “and you get summoned. When you come back, this time there’s no plane.”
“Geez,” said Jack, opening a beer. “I should think through more of this.”
“Yes,” said Eric, taking a beer for himself. “Speaking of summoning, the next time it happens, Anna will return to the hospital room she’s in at the time. Jack, that means you may need to hang around the hospital for a sign of her.”
“Sure, whatever you need. How am I going to know she’s back?”
“Keep your phone on and charged. We all need to make a point of having our phone in a pocket. When we get back, our first action aside from getting out of sight and safe is to call or text Jack.”
“Good plan,” said Ryan, coming back to the table and sitting down. He grabbed a fork and dove into a dumpling.
Eric turned to Jack. “You can be in the hospital lobby, or cafeteria. Just keep changing places so no one sees you hanging around too much for too long, and when you get a message from one of us, you head straight for her room to help her. I would have a change of clothes for her, a hat to hide her hair in, that sort of thing. She might need shoes.”
Jack nodded. “Yeah, I still have the key to her place and will head over there, keep a bag ready.” He pursed his lips.
“What?” Eric asked, sensing another problem he would need to solve. Fortunately, he enjoyed being analytical and creating plans, especially when they worked, but there seemed to be an awful lot of issues coming up all the time now.
Jack let out a breath and looked apologetic.
