Page 35 of Shadow Scorching

“We’ll get Carson on this—” I stopped as Penn appeared in the doorway. “Hey, find anything?”

“I found a spell for attacking revenants. It’s something I can do, I think.” She yawned. “I feel like my head’s full of ghosts and spirits, after all the research I did today.”

I glanced at the clock. It was now past dinner time and lunch seemed a million miles away. “We should eat dinner,” I said. “I’m tired too. Let’s bag work for the evening and watch a movie over some dinner. What do we have that we can heat up?”

Penn laughed. “I put a frozen lasagna in the oven. It should be ready in about ten minutes. Why don’t you pick out a movie? But, can we avoid a ghost story? I’ll get out plates and silverware. We can eat in front of the TV.

Fifteen minutes later, we were curled up in front of the TV, with an oldie-but-goodie on the screen. As the T-Rex from Jurassic Park bellowed out his roar, we lost ourselves in lasagna, dinosaurs, and the falling snow that drifted past, outside the window.

Morning arrivedand I texted Jet back, telling him I’d get What-The-App and let him know when I had it. I did my best to sound excited. Then, I looked outside, cinching my robe tightly around me as I stepped onto the frozen porch.

It had stopped snowing, and everything was covered with a sparkling blanket of white—unmarred except by some animal that had trekked across the front yard. I inhaled a sharp breath, the cold slicing through my lungs. But it smelled clean and clear, and the sky showed patches of blue amidst the silverish clouds that boiled overhead.

As I stood there, looking around, I noticed that my neighbor across the street had several boxes piled on her doorstep, and a few newspapers had piled up. She always took things in promptly. Alarmed, I hurried back inside.

“Hey, Penn, I’m going to dress and go over to check on Terri. She has a bunch of mail piled on her porch.”

“That’s unusual,” Penn said. “I’ll start breakfast while you do that.”

I darted back into my bedroom and quickly slid into jeans and a cowl-necked sweater, then zipped up my boots. Dante was putting on his shoes, after his night on the sofa.

“Hey, come with me, please?” I grabbed my phone and found the spare key to Terri’s house that she had given me. While we weren’t good friends, we considered each other to be good enough neighbors to share keys in case of emergency.

Dante yanked on his jacket and followed me out into the yard. We cautiously made our way through the snow and across the street, to Terri’s place. It was a lovely little house, English-cottage style, with a trellis arching over the front gate. Hergardens were always tended carefully, and she maintained her house as meticulously as she did her yard.

“Terri?” I called, as we headed up on the porch. I rang the bell, growing worried as there was no answer. Her car was in her driveway.

“I’ll go around back,” Dante said, as I prepared to unlock her door.

Pushing open the door, I peeked inside. “Terri?”

I heard a muffled sound, but it seemed to come from a distance. Then, as I stepped inside, Dante’s voice came from around the back of the house.

“Kyann! Call an ambulance.”

I raced through the house and opened the kitchen door, leading out into the backyard. There, Terri was sprawled on the back porch, a plastic tarp over her. Dante was kneeling beside her. Terri was so pale that, at first, I thought she was dead. But she moaned gently as Dante stripped off his jacket and rested it over her.

I dialed 9-1-1 and, as soon as the operator came on, I gave them the address. “We need an ambulance. My neighbor’s on her back porch and I think she’s been out here at least part of the night. She’s unconscious but breathing.”

“We’re on the way. Can you move her inside and find blankets to cover her? If she’s wearing wet clothing, remove it.”

“Yes. I left the front door unlocked, so come in that way.”

Together, Dante and I managed to get her inside and onto the sofa. I scooped up her cat—she had a blind, fat cat named Bubbles, whom she adored, tucked her in the bathroom, and shut the door. As Dante kept watch over Terri, I darted into her bedroom and found a warm nightgown and several blankets. With Dante’s help, we got Terri out of her shirt, which was damp, and her jeans, which were also damp. The moisture had gotten into her clothing and I tossed the clothes to the side.Then, Dante and I slid her nightgown over her head, propped her up so she wasn’t lying flat, and covered her with the blankets.

At that moment, sirens wailed as the medics arrived. Penn appeared in the door before they did.

“I got worried and then I heard the sirens—oh, what happened?” She took one look at Terri and gasped. “Terri—is she okay?”

“I don’t know. We found her on her back porch. She’s unconscious.” I moved out of the way to let the medics get to her, as Dante took one of the young men with him to show him where we found her.

“It’s a good thing you found her when you did,” the medic said, checking her blood pressure. “Any longer and she’d be facing frostbite. At least she appears to have been wearing gloves and shoes that kept her feet dry. I think she’s been out there awhile.” He took her temperature. “Her temperature is ninety-four. It looks like she hit her head when she fell. She’s got a small lump on her skull. Do you happen to know what she was doing?”

“No. Even though the back porch is enclosed, it’s not heated. She keeps a lot of supplies for her plants there, as well as spare cat food and a small pantry and freezer.” I stared at the prone figure. “Will she be okay?”

“I can’t make that determination, but I think she has a good chance. If she lives, it will be because you and your friend found her.” The medic stood, motioning for the gurney. As they lifted her onto it, he turned to me. “Do you know if she has any next of kin?”

I thought about it for a moment. “I think she has a daughter. I’ll try to find her information. Terri’s got a list of emergency numbers somewhere. I’ll also make sure her cat gets fed and taken care of.”

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