A tongue lapping across her face awakened Katie, and she opened her eyes. It was night, but the sky was full of light.
“Maggie,” she whispered. “Good girl.”
The sound that filled Katie’s ears was that of a locomotive, or maybe a tornado, close by. She tried to sit up, but the pain in her side was so excruciating, it took her breath again. She suddenly realized where she was. She turned her head and looked toward the house. Orange flames were shooting through the roof, reaching at least fifty feet into the air and throwing sparkling embers another thirty feet higher. Katie had managed to push herself a good hundred feet from the house before she passed out, but the heat was so intense, she felt as though she were slowly roasting.
Maggie bolted toward the side of the house and disappeared.
She must be going to check on the others. They must have gotten out.
Katie planted the soles of her feet firmly against the ground and began to push again, dragging herself farther away from the heat. She took shallow breaths in an effort to alleviate some of the pain. She wondered how many of her ribs had been broken in the fall, because every time she took a breath, no matter how shallow, and every time she moved her upper body in the least, it felt as if a butcher knife were being plunged into her side.
She thought briefly of the cowards who did this. It had to be the druggers. Someone had told someone about her visit to the DEA office. She thought of the eyes that watched her as she was leaving, and she wondered whether one of those pairs of eyes was responsible for what was happening now.
Aunt Mary. Lottie. Did they get out? Did they get Luke out? Are they hurt? Dead? No, please God, not dead. Not again.
She shouldn’t have gone off the trail in the park. She shouldn’t have let the druggers see her. She shouldn’t have told Aunt Mary. At the very least, their house was burning because of her.
Katie became aware of headlights coming down the driveway. They drew nearer. She heard a door slam, then heavy footsteps approaching. Someone was kneeling beside her. She looked at the face. It was Mr. Torbett, the nearest neighbor, a friendly, white-haired farmer with the longest fingers Katie had ever seen. Kneeling on the other side of Katie was Mr. Torbett’s wife, Rose.
“Katie!” Mr. Torbett cried. “Dear God, Katie. Are you all right? What happened?”
He reached behind her neck and lifted her head.
No! No! Don’t move me!
Razor-sharp pain shot through Katie’s body.
“The others,” she whispered, and the blackness enveloped her again.
The next time Katie opened her eyes, the woman standing above her was a stranger. She was pretty, middle-aged, with sharp features and hazel eyes. Her black hair was pulled tightly into a bun, and she was wearing white. Katie thought she might be an angel. She was fiddling with a bag of liquid that hung from a stand next to the bed.
“Where am I?” Katie said. Her mouth was dry, her tongue like sandpaper, but she felt as relaxed as she’d ever felt in her life. “Am I in heaven?”
“You’re in the hospital, sweetie,” the nurse said. She moved next to the bed and took Katie’s hand. “But you’re going to be fine.”
Katie smiled at the nurse and looked at her name tag. It said her name was June.
“Am I sick?” Katie said. “How did I get here?”
“You don’t remember?”
Katie thought for a moment, but she couldn’t remember. Truth be known, she didn’t care. She felt as if she were floating. She shook her head slowly.
“You had a little accident,” Nurse June said. “Just go on back to sleep now. We’re going to take good care of you.”
“Do you know Aunt Mary?” Katie said. “She works at the hospital.”
The angel turned away for several seconds. When she turned back, Katie thought she saw a tear slip from her right eye and run down her cheek. She wondered why the woman was crying.
“Yes, honey, I know her.”
“Is she here?”
“You just rest now,” the nurse said. “Your aunt Mary will always be there for you.”