Lazarus by Chris Kauzlarich

Lazarus by Chris Kauzlarich

Author:Chris Kauzlarich [Kauzlarich, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-09-13T00:00:00+00:00


CHAPTER ELEVEN

The light was blazing, a white glare blotting out the horizon. Lavender, stronger than before, seemed to dance with the honeysuckle at each breath, overwhelming her senses; taste and smell. She could feel the grass beneath her fingers, dewy and lush, tickling her arms and jutting between her fingers.

“Mama?”

The light receded as footsteps reached her ears, gentle and swift. The cabin rested in the distance, squat and familiar, as two women stood apart mere feet from one another and beckoned to her, seemingly unaware of the other. One of them was Mama, thin and determined, exuding her will against her visitor, an older woman, yet ageless, face wreathed in fireflies.

“Mama, what do I do?” she yelled, her vocal cords raw.

Her mother’s hand extended, and her eyes flashed, pulling her daughter into her orbit like a black hole, forcing the pulses of the other woman away.

“Kami, baby, come to me.”

She pulled herself upright, thrusting her arms forward, stretching as much as she could, flailing and reaching for her mother’s fingers. They came so close, what seemed like inches, a humming white noise building to a crescendo in her ears.

“A little more, baby. Ka-“

“-m31. Am31, you have to wake up. Come on.”

Kami’s eyes opened, and the bright light remained, but the periphery was sterile metal and tile, the chocolate features of her mother fading into the paleness of the doctor. All but her eyes, green flecked with brown. Kind-eyes, she needed to trust her.

“You came back.”

Kami didn’t even recognize her voice, raw and phlegmy, a sound more like a gargle than anything else.

The woman winced before nodding.

“I am going to get you out of here. We don’t have much time, and we can talk later. They will kill us both once they notice, once they see.”

Kind-eyes nodded her head toward the camera in the corner of the room, its circular lens as dangerous as a bullseye.

Kami nodded, her whole body shaking as she tried to move her legs to the edge of the bed.

“Too… weak.”

Her breath was labored as she tried to move, not knowing how long it had been since she’d moved that far, tremors rattling the bedside bar as she grabbed it.

“Name…” she asked in little more than a whisper.

“Violet.”

“I’m Kami.”

Violet stared back at Kami, a recognition passing over like the noonday sun, and for the first time, Kami felt seen, as if those words stripping away her number made her the real person she was again. Violet nodded, eyes glistening with tears, acknowledging what Kami had sensed.

“Ok, Kami, let’s get out of here.”

The process was slow as Kami moved in fits and starts, like an infant taking its first steps, and after several minutes, Violet supported her as they opened the door to the room.

“I’m not sure how far I can make it at this rate. Let me-“

“No. Don’t leave me here again.”

Kami’s voice recovered a bit of its strength.

“I was just going to find a wheelchair.”

“I’d rather crawl than be left here to be put back.”

Violet nodded, feeling the chill in Kami’s voice, and started walking.



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