Chapter 78 - Willow

Just as she was about to get her hands on me, a clear loop of plastic tubing was lowered over her head. She jerked back. Her eyes bulged as her tongue protruded from her mouth slightly.

Nico's face appeared from over her shoulder. "Not today, bitch."

Angela's fingers went to her neck. Her nails dug bloody grooves into her flesh as she tried to loosen the makeshift noose.

I would remember her sobbing gurgles in my nightmares.

All at once, my room was full of people. Shouted questions ricocheted from one end of the room to the other. I couldn't hear any particular thought, just a loud, screaming cacophony that made my teeth ache and my jaw clench.

Putting two fingers in my mouth, I whistled once. A sharp, shrill cry that shut everyone up in an instant. The blessed silence wrapped around me. "One person at a time, for crap's sake." This was a hospital with fully functioning adults, right?

A distinguished black gentleman moved to the front of the medical posse. "What is go