Children of Redemption (Children of Vice 3)

BEEP!

BEEP!

BEEP!

BEEP!

“Helen! Helen, calm down!” my dad yelled at me, but I didn’t understand. Where was Wyatt? “Sweetheart, please!”

It hurt!

Opening my eyes, the lights were so bright they were blinding. I coughed and struggled against the tube in my mouth.

“Helen, hold on…”

Mom…

“She’s choking. Get it out of her!”

Dad…

Where’s Wyatt?

“…whe…” I coughed. My throat felt like sandpaper and tree bark, but I needed to speak. As I opened my eyes, they wandered all over until finally the blurs became steady, and I could see them. Mom and Darcy were on one side, and my dad on the other. They looked…like they hadn’t slept or changed in weeks.

“Sweetheart!” My mom put her hand on my face, and tears came pouring down.

I tried to reach up to brush their hands away, but my hands felt weird. Looking down, I saw the large bandages and wires in my hand, holding it down. Again, my heart felt heavy, and my throat closed up.

“It’s okay.” My dad put his white hand over my wrist. “You’re okay. Five fingers. Five toes. You’re okay, breathe.”

I took a deep breath and looked around again…it was a hospital. Okay, we’re in a hospital.

“That’s right, sweetheart, breathe,” my mom said as she brushed my hair from my face.

Looking at her, I took another deep breath…ignoring the pain, opening my mouth. All I could manage to say was, “W…y…Wyatt.”

I waited, looking toward her and waited, but she just stared back at me. Why was she just staring at me? Was my voice too low? Swallowing slowly, I opened my mouth one more time, making sure to clearly say it so she could hear me. “W...Wyatt?”

Again, she didn’t reply. Instead, her eyes…they looked like she was about to cry. Looking away from her and to my father, I asked again. “Wyatt?”

He made a face, like he cringed, and maybe he thought I didn’t notice because he forced himself to smile. “Rest, sweetheart, we’ll talk later—”

“WYATT!” I screamed, shifting my gaze around my parents to my brother. Knowing he wouldn’t lie to me, but he wouldn’t look me in the eye.

Since they wouldn’t tell me, I looked to my left, and thankfully, that hand was listening to me. Gritting my teeth, I lifted it and tried to yank the wires of myself.

“Helen, stop!” my dad hollered, grabbing onto my hand.

“WYATT!”

“Helen, you just need to relax. You’ve been asleep for a few days—”

Why couldn’t they hear? “WYATT! WHERE IS WYATT? ANSWER ME!”

“HE’S BRAIN DEAD!” Darcy finally yelled back at me, eyes filled with tears. He put his hand on my arm. “He…a bullet cracked his skull…that, plus the rest of his injuries…it was too much. He was declared brain dead three day ago. We haven’t turned off the machines. We were waiting for Ethan to go get Dona and for you to wake up. But he’s gone.”

I stared at him and shook my head. I tried to move out of bed. But I couldn’t. It felt like everyone was holding me down.