Chapter 28 - Dead or Alive?
Recap:
We worked together and knitted the bone back stronger than before. We checked the nerves in his leg next. I wanted to see if he had better blood flow. I was thrown back into my body quickly, not understanding what was going on.
I took a huge gulp of air, Ander doing the same. Our mom was looking at us as if we were aliens. I didn’t care. I needed to find out why I was thrown out of Griffith’s body.
“Holy shit! Get the doctor now!” I yelled.
Griffith’s POV
Pain. All I felt was pain. Pain in my head. Pain in my back. Pain in my neck and pain in my legs. It was excruciating, depilating, and all-encompassing. I had never felt this much pain, not when I broke my leg jumping out of my window. I dealt with the pain by ignoring it, but I couldn’t this time.
I could remember my mom standing over me and then nothing. I was in the dark about everything else, well, I was in the dark anyway. I know my mom didn’t hurt me. What the hell happened to me? And why wasn’t I coming up out of the darkness? I could someone talking, someone yelling orders to someone, but I couldn’t tell who it was and why they were yelling.
I wanted out of the darkness now. I didn’t like making my family worried. Oh, Goddess, poor Makenzie was probably going crazy. I knew she would be worried and crying. I didn’t want to see her crying. Ever. I wanted her to be happy and healthy, not thinking I was dying. She needed me. I needed her.
I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t able to open my eyes. I could hear someone talking, but it sounded as I was underwater listening. I can’t make out who was talking. All I could tell who it was. Damn it! I needed to let my family know I was okay, but how was I supposed to do this? Wait! Was I dead or alive? Great, now I've scared myself.
The darkness slowly faded, showing a bright light. Oh, Goddess, I was dying. No! I wasn’t ready. I was still too young. I couldn’t leave my mate behind. I couldn’t leave my family behind. What would happen to all of them if I wasn’t here? Who would take over the pack and keep everyone safe? I couldn’t let them feel this pain. Fuck! I forgot Winter, Summer, and Kaiden could feel whatever pain I was going through as if it was their own. I was tired. Weak. I wanted to give up, but I was motivated to stay with my mate and family.
Fuck me!
I felt as if thousands of volts of electricity were hitting me all at once. The pain lit me up from the inside out. What the hell were they doing to me? I couldn’t tell if they were trying to save me or kill me. I couldn’t tell them to stop. It was frustrating and painful. Very painful. I felt the jolt of electricity again, causing me to shudder and shake.
My darkness was fading to a bright white, so bright I had to close my eyes to protect them. When I opened my eyes again and I saw that I was in a beautiful garden. The smells made me salivate. But, I didn’t know where I was. I looked around me and noticed a figure moving towards me. The figure seemed very far from me but was moving fast. I shook where I laid. I was scared for some reason. I felt as if something was going to change within me and I wasn’t sure I wanted anything to change.
The figure got closer to me, causing my jaw to drop. “Grandma?”
“Yes, grandson, it’s your grandma. I wasn’t what you were expecting was I?” She asked as she giggled.
I stood up. “I’ve seen pictures of you. Mom keeps yours and grandpa’s pictures on the wall and tells us all about you. Where am I and can I hug you?” I replied, wanting to run to her and spend the day with her. I wanted to get to know my grandparents on my mother’s side.
“The living cannot touch the dead, grandson. I wish it wasn’t true. We’ve watched over all of you from the beginning. You’re a fine young man, Griffith, but-” she tried to say.
“-But, you were not to tell him what to do or why.” The Moon Goddess looked me over and smiled. You are too early, Griffith. I will give you a choice. You can stay with me and I’ll bring your mate to you or you can go back. If you stay here there is no telling how your family will react. I need an answer quickly, Griffith.”
I felt another jolt of electricity through my body. I cried out in pain and went to my knees, tears flowing down my face. How in the hell was I in pain if I was here?
“Quickly, Griffith,” she yelled, her voice high pitched
“Back. I want to go back. I need to think about how this will affect everyone. Please, grandma, send me back.”
“I love you, grandson. Give your mom a kiss from me, okay?” She asked as I felt I was being thrown from a great height. It felt as if I was in a tsunami. A hurricane. A vortex. A tornado. It had me screaming in freight. I didn’t care if I sounded like a scared child, because at that minute I was a scared child.
“Time of death, twelve-fifty-one am,” A man announced, sounding sad.
“No! No, Griffith, you come back to me, do you hear me? You can’t be dead. We haven’t started our life yet,” Mackenzie screamed as she beat on my chest.
“Wait, why am I still dead?” I heard a voice in my head, telling me to take a deep breath when Makenzie hit my chest again. I could hear my mom weeping along with my siblings. I couldn’t do this to my family.
“Makenzie?” I whispered in her mind. “Hit me again. Hit me in the chest. Come on, honey. I’ll come back to you when you hit me.” I was praying she could hear what I was saying in my mind.
Just as I was about to give up on being with my family Makensie punched the hell out of my chest, breaking two of my ribs and causing me to sit straight up in bed, scaring the shit out of everyone.
I watched as the doctor dropped his pen and notebook, his eyes wide in shock and his mouth hanging open. The rest of my family looked at me as if they had seen a ghost. I halfway expected some of them to faint. They hadn’t moved. They hadn’t said a word.
Mackenzie started kissing me all over my face, transferring some of the dirt that was on me to her face and clothes. She didn’t stop kissing me and giggling. “I knew you would come back to me. Sorry for thumping your chest hard, but something told me to do it.” She started laughing and crying.
I pulled her closer. “I told you to thump me. I whispered it, praying you could hear me. I-”
“Move it!” My mom yelled out, only allowing Makenzie to stay close to me. “Oh Goddess, you were dead, Griffith. You were dead for over an hour. How in the hell are you alive? Hell, I don’t care how I only care that you are okay. Well?” She demanded, her hand in tight fists.
I knew she was trying to find out if I was her Griffth and not a copy of another person. She was afraid I was a shapeshifter. I laughed at her craziness. “It’s me, Mom. I took a trip up and spoke to your mom. She wanted me to tell you how much she missed you and loves you. I was also with my other grandma. She was quizzing me, well, until she panicked and told me I had to decide whether to stay there or here.”
My mom was squeezing the shit out of me, acting over the top. Didn’t she have faith in me? Couldn’t she feel me as I rubbed her back? She dragged me into her lap, not caring about my ribs.
“Women are crazy, Griffith, didn’t you know this already?” My wolf decided to pipe in with his thoughts as I snorted.
"My baby!" My mom wailed as she pulled me into her lap, not remembering my broken ribs until I cried out.
"How?" Autumn asked the one question everyone else was wondering.
"Well..."
A/N: What is his answer going to be? What happened to him? Why did he die? Any ideas?