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“She fell!”
That’s all Stanford could think while he raced down the cliff side, Fiddleford trailing on his heels in just as much of a panic.
“She fell and it’s all my fault! I could have saved her! I SHOULD have saved her!”
He kept running, looking all along the base for any sign of life. Any sign of her.
Fiddleford nearly stumbled to the bottom behind him. He’d never seen Ford so worried, but he understood why. Adeline had been Ford’s assistant for a few years before he left home to help with Ford’s portal project. They were close. Close enough to even raise a young shapeshifter together. She knew things that Ford was still gaining confidence to tell him. Like who he’d talk to in his study all the time…
They reached the bottom and searched around for her. It was eerily quiet, all that could be heard was the wind and the occasional chirp of a bird. Far too cheery given the previous situation.
“Adeline!!!” Ford yelled at the top of his lungs. If she was close, she’d hear them. He’d make sure of it. “Addi!!!”
They searched the area, crying out for their friend. Fiddelford knew with each passing minute, the likely hood of finding her alive was dwindling, and Ford was showing it. He was becoming more frantic.
“Stanford… She may not have made it…” He didn’t like the thought any more than Stanford did. But he had to bring it up. Ford felt his hands shake.
“You don’t know that! We have to keep looking for her! She could be hurt!” How could Fiddleford even suggest such a thing? He looked up the cliff. It was at least a sixty foot drop. If she survived, she was definitely injured. “ADELINE!!!”
They kept searching. The body of the creature she fell behind rested on a large stone, completely limp and lifeless. Ford stared at it in an anxious stupor. If it couldn’t survive what were the chances of Adeline walking away from this?
Each passing minute felt like an eternity. There was a pond that ran to the lake not too far from the chimera. But still no Addi. Fiddleford watched Ford jump into the pond to look for her. Sharp boulders littered the bottom of the stream. Ford felt himself grow cold when he saw the blood.
“Stanford? I-is that-” Fiddleford was interrupted before he could finish his sentence by a weak cough. Ford reacted almost immediately, running towards the sound as quickly as possible.
She didn’t get too far from the pond. When they found her, she was lying on her back in the grass like a rag doll. A pool of water and blood was under her but she was conscious and breathing.
Ford felt the relief rush over him like a wave from the beach from his childhood. He went to her side and cradled her head.
“Hey, Stanford. Fiddleford. Are you guys okay?” She was so calm, like she hadn’t just endured what she did. Adeline held Ford’s hand reassuredly.
“We…um…we’re fine. We’re alright. Addi, what happened?” Ford could feel himself shake as he held her. She was hurt but she still was looking out for them first.
“I fell… I think I might have hit something… I got out of the water and came over here. I’m fine, though, I promise.”
Fiddelford was at her feet shortly. “Ford, we need to get her to a hospital. She’s pretty banged up.”
“I can get up on my own. I’m fine” A strained look came across her face, like she was trying to move a heavy object. “My legs… Am I moving my legs?…”
Fiddleford looked at her legs. They remained in their unmoved state. “Addi… I’m so sorry…” He frowned as he saw the tears go down her eyes.
“It’s okay, Addi… You’re going to be okay…” Ford wiped her tears away and tried to steady her. “We’re going to have to carry her. You take her feet, I’ve got her here. Be careful.”
Fiddleford nodded and Ford took hold of her under her arms carefully, trying to support her head while he did it.
“Careful. Careful, now” They started to lift her off the ground until she started screaming.
“Wait! Wait! Stop! She’s bleeding more! Put her back down!” The pool under her started going red and growing. She was going to bleed out if they moved her. She’d be dead before they even made it halfway to the road…
“Oh cheese and rice! Ford, we need to try and stop it!”
Ford snapped out of his daze and went to work. He had Fiddleford move her to her side so he could tend her wound. Ford put a clean clothe to it to pinch off the blood flow. They layed her back down and he made her as comfortable as he could.
“Go get help! We need an ambulance or something! Hurry!” He watched Fiddleford run off.
“What’s happening? What’s wrong?” She asked him with a hint of worry in her eyes. He had to keep her calm and conscious until help arrived.
“It’s fine. It’s alright. He’s just getting a little help is all. We can’t move you right now but you’re going to be okay.” She held his hand tighter.
“Are you okay? It didn’t hurt you too badly did it?” How could she stay so calm? She was dying in his arms and she was still asking Ford if he was okay. She was acting like she was perfectly fine rather than bleeding out on the cold hard ground. Like dying was just a minor inconvenience.
“I’m fine. Thanks to you. It would have been worse if you hadn’t intervened.” He kept his voice steady by some miracle.
She smiled and laughed. “Guess my days of field studies are over, huh? How long do you think I’ll be stuck in a hospital gown?”
“A week or two. We can add in some things to the house. I’m sure Fiddleford can make something to help you around. You know how he is with his pet projects. He even talked about making bionic legs one time. I’m sure he’d be glad to finally make them for you.” He smiled at the thought of her in those atrocious things.
“I’d like that. Promise you’ll bring Shifty with you when you visit?”
He moved some hair out of her face gently. “Everyday. I promise.” She smiled a little wider at that. How was he going to explain everything to Shifty. “Does anything hurt?”
“No. It doesn’t hurt at all, actually.” She was taking shallow breaths and started shaking a bit. “I’m tired…”
“Addi, no. You need to stay awake. You need to stay with me, okay? Talk to me. Talk to me about Shifty. What were you reading before we left?” He held her closer just to keep her from shaking. He was losing her.
“Pinnochio… It’s his favorite… I need to read him the rest when we get home. Maybe after lunch…” She winced a bit. Ford gripped Addi’s hand tighter.
“Why is it his favorite?”
She blinked at him, trying to remember why Shifty loved the story so much. “He knows what it’s like to not be what you’re pretending to be. He thinks that maybe there’s a way for him to be normal too…” She started crying more. “He’s perfect just the way he is. I tell him that everyday. He just wants to know where he fits into all this…”
Ford wiped her tears away. “He knows, Addi. Don’t worry, he knows. Keep talking to me.”
“You’re perfect too, Stanford. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” She knew all about how Ford was picked on as a kid, why he kept his hands in his coat pockets when they’d be around people. She seemed to be the only girl to not be repulsed by his deformity. Rather, she embraced every strange aspect of his life.
“I know. Thank you for putting up with me for so long, Addi. I don’t know what I’d do without you around. I’d probably have fallen into the bottomless pit by now.” That made her laugh. Ford smiled at her. She was always such a mother hen but he appreciated it every second. It was easy to forget to take care of yourself when you’ve been alone for so long.
“Stanford, could we go visit your folks sometime soon? I think we could all use some time off. Fiddleford could go visit his family and Shifty could finally meet his granparents. See the beach, even. Doesn’t that sound nice?” Addi must have seen some of Ford’s old childhood pictures. He rarely talked about Glass Shard Beach. Too many bad memories over there.
“Of course we can go there. The beach is nice this time of year.” She was getting colder.
“I’ve never seen the ocean…”
“Then we’d better make that trip soon. It’s beautiful. You’ll love it. I-I know you will.” His voice was starting to give away his emotions. She looked so broken and exhausted in his arms. Adeline started breathing heavily and pained.
“Addi?! Hold on, Fiddleford will be back soon with help! Just stay with me!”
“It hurts, Ford!” She squeezed his hand almost painfully. Ford looked around all over the place. There was no sign of life other than them. No sign of Fiddleford or any assistance. He could always yell, but they were out in the middle of nowhere. No one would be able to hear him. Help wasn’t coming soon enough.
“IS ANYBODY OUT THERE?!” Maybe Fiddleford was just having a hard time finding them. The woods were huge and the base of the cliff was wide. They could be on their way right now. “SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!” His voice started going hoarse from yelling. “Stay with me, Adeline! Don’t you dare give up on me! Keep talking to me! You need to keep going, Addi! Come on!”
“Ford… I can’t…” She sounded so weak…
“Help’s coming, Addi! Just keep talking to me! Please, just keep talking to me!” He cupped her face so he could keep her focused. She was clammy and cold to the touch.
“Stanford, I-” She went silent midsentence, her grip on his hand going loose. Ford felt her go limp in his arms. Addi was still staring at him when he saw the life leave her eyes. His eyes started burning when he saw all the blood under her.
“Addi?.. Come on, Addi… Please don’t do this… Don’t do this… Help’s coming… Please…” He hugged her close and felt the tears run down his face. “Addi… Wake up… Shifty’s waiting on you to come home… He needs you… I need you…” His anguish was taking over as he cried into her hair. He had failed her. She needed him to save her and he couldn’t. One of the few people in the world that accepted him needed him in her time of crisis and he couldn’t help her.
And now she was gone.
When Fiddleford had finally made it back he didn’t know what to expect. He thought there was enough time. He called for help and had paramedics racing behind him until he stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw. Right there in the clearing where he and Ford had found Addi broken and bleeding was his friend weeping and holding a lifeless corpse.
They didn’t make it.
“Stanford…” Ford didn’t look up at him until he physically touched him. His eyes were red and he was covered in blood. He was startled. Fiddleford had never seen someone so distraught. “Ford… I’m so sorry… We came as fast as we could… Her injuries must have been worse than we thought…”
Ford didn’t answer him. He just sat there and craddled Adeline protectively, as if she were just sleeping. One of the paramedics approached him cautiously.
“Sir, we need you to let her go. We need to take her.”
Still nothing from Ford. He held onto her closer, rocking gently as he did it. He wasn’t about to let anyone take her from him willingly. “I tried to save her…” His voice was so quiet, Fiddleford almost didn’t hear him. “I tried to save her but I couldn’t. She’s gone because of me…”
“No, none of this is your fault, Stanford. Don’t you go blamin yourself for this. She wouldn’t want that and you know it.”
Ford burried his face in her hair at that. Fiddleford could see how much this hurt his friend. “It’s okay… They just need to take her somewhere safe. They’re going to take good care of her, I promise. You just need to let them.”
Ford nodded slowly and loosened his grip on Adeline. The paramedics gingerly took her away from him. He just watched them as they covered her up, never taking his eyes off of her. Fiddleford rested a hand on his shoulder. “It’s gonna be okay, Stanford…” Ford was silent and hugged his friend.
“She’s gone…”
“I know. I’m so sorry, Ford…”
“Addi’s gone…”