Page 4 of Spark
"Not sure," Mom said, studying the scene with her usual calm focus in the midst of a crisis. "It looks like it might be an allergic reaction of some kind—Mitya and Daniel are saying that his throat is swollen and bruised-looking."
If this had been a movie, this was the moment when Sophie would have risen to the occasion and saved the day using knowledge acquired during her stint staffing the mobile medical clinics in Todos Santos.
Unfortunately, this was real life, and she'd spent most of her year abroad doing the necessary but boring paperwork that kept the clinics running while the volunteer doctors and nurses actually treated the clinic’s patients.
Plus, she was so shaken by what she'd just seen, that she was rooted to the spot, her heart pounding so hard that it was difficult to breathe or think.
"His throat's been crushed by something, and these marks look a hell of a lot like something tried to take a bite out of him," Daniel observed in his soft Gulf Coast accent. "What the hell happened here?"
"I have no idea," Mitya replied. "One minute, he was just standing there, and the next minute, he fell over. Sophie saw something, though." His clear gray gaze pinned her. "What did you see, sweetheart?"
"I—" Sophie began.Should I tell him that it was a ghost of some kind? It's not like anyone ever believed me before. "I'm not sure. I just had a—a really bad feeling."
"Huh." Daniel looked around at his staff and the diners, most of whom were glued to the spectacle. A few people had their phones out and were busy filming. "Anyone else see anything?"
A babble of excited questions and comments filled the air, and Sophie realized that she was indeed the only one who had seen the monster attack Javier.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Daniel announced briskly after a few seconds. "I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask y'all to leave the dining room temporarily. Dinner service will resume shortly. Please wait in the lobby for a few minutes while we take care of things here."
His gaze stopped on the female maître d'hôtel. "Veronica, make sure everyone's desserts are comped tonight." Then he told one of the other waiters: "Florian, inform the kitchen we're pausing dinner service until further notice." Finally, he addressed Mom. "Damaris, darlin', what's the ETA on that ambulance?"
Still on the phone, she raised a finger, indicating that the emergency dispatcher was speaking. A moment later she said, "Linda says that the ambulance is on its way. But it'll be at least fifteen minutes."
"Dammit," Daniel breathed.
Beside him, Javier was visibly fighting to breathe. His dark eyes were wide with terror, and the terrible wheezing sound as he struggled to inhale made Sophie's blood run cold.
Calm but intense, Daniel addressed Chris and Mitya. "Junior, Mitya, I believe we're going to have to open an airway."
"Hey, Ms. Kiddo." Damaris touched Sophie's shoulder, gently urging her to follow the rest of the diners streaming out of the restaurant.
Sophie's last glimpse of the scene as she left the dining room was Chris's face looking pale and uncharacteristically serious as he knelt at Javier's side, opening the front of the man's shirt while Mitya and Daniel tore through the contents of the first aid case.
Out in the hotel's huge lobby with its vaulted ceiling four stories high, dark hardwood floors, and huge stone fireplace, Mom led Sophie to a secluded corner, away from the other diners. "Sophie, wanna tell me what happened in there just now?"
"Y-you saw," Sophie wished her voice wasn't quavering. She felt like such a mess.
I wish I was the kind of person who could just jump in and save the day. But I'm just plain old Sophie, Bearpaw Ridge's most ordinary girl. Maybe that'll change once I become a doctor.
"Oh, c'mon." Damaris put her hand on her hips and pursed her lips skeptically. "Kiddo, you sawsomething. I heard you yell for someone to leave that waiter alone right before he collapsed. So, spill."
Sophie sighed.
Well, it's not like I was ever able to hide anything from Mom…or lie to her, she thought.
Years of working in human resources and an early association with some really scary people had honed Mom's powers of observation to an uncanny degree.
"Okay, I did see…something…attack Javier," Sophie confessed in a low voice. "It looked like some kind of monster. Like—like a werewolf. But not like any of the wolf shifters here," she added hastily. "More like a movie werewolf. I think it was some kind of ghost."
Mom frowned. "You mean, a ghost werewolf?" She shook her head. "Look, I know there’s all kinds of stories about this hotel being haunted, and I want to believe you, but no one else saw anything strange."
"If you don't believe me, then why even bother asking?" Sophie was sorry she'd said anything.
It was the same old story, and she should have expected that no one—not even Mom—would believe her.
When she turned thirteen, she suddenly began seeing ghosts. When she was dumb enough to mention one of the sightings, no one believed her, not even Chris or Matt.
Word spread around middle school, and people started making fun of her. One or two of the girls even accused her of faking a paranormal ability to try and get attention as one of the few Ordinary students in a predominantly shifter student body.
