Page 27 of Brax (Voodoo Guardians #36)

“I-I don’t understand,” said Ines.

The skin from her forehead was pushing down on her eyelids, making it difficult for her to see. She tilted her head back, looking at the pretty little cottage with the wheelchair ramp.

“It’s your home,” said Stephanie.

“My h-home? Why? I tried to hurt you,” she said.

“You tried to help yourself,” said Stephanie. “I have to believe that you wouldn’t have harmed me.”

“I didn’t want to. I truly didn’t want to,” she whispered.

“Well, we’re going to make you as comfortable as possible,” said Lena. “We’ve got the bed nice and low for you. The chairs are lower. You’ve got access to thousands of movies, and someone will be here with you every day and every night.”

“Why? I’m not going to get better. You all know that. I’m dying. I know that,” she said. Wilson kneeled beside her, holding her disfigured hand.

“Because no one should die alone, Ines. No one.”

“I-I’m so confused.”

“And?” asked Bree. Ines looked up at her and didn’t say anything at first. “What else, Ines? You’re confused, and what else?”

“Angry,” she whispered.

“I didn’t hear you,” said Bree.

“Angry!” she yelled. “I’m so angry at him! Why me? Why did he do this to me? I was loyal to him. I was willing to do whatever needed to be done in the lab. Why choose me?”

“You were the closest genetic match to his wife and daughter,” said Thomas. “You didn’t know it, but your great-grandmother and his wife’s great-grandfather were first cousins. That’s the closest he could get.”

“I was related to him? Are you kidding me? I was related to that maniac, and he still wanted to kill me.”

“Technically, you were related to his wife,” said Thomas. “Tell us what we can do for you.”

“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head gently. “You’ve done more than I could have ever asked of anyone. This location, being right here on the water, is so peaceful and beautiful. Why is it cool out here on the porch? I know it’s hot.”

“We have misters and outdoor air conditioning so that you’d be comfortable out here,” said Cam. “Anything you need, you let us know.”

She turned to face Cruz, Wilson, Doc, Lena, and the rest of the medical team. They were all so beautiful. So handsome. So perfect in every way, and yet they looked at her just as they looked at their friends.

“H-how much time do I have?”

“A few days. Maybe a week or two,” said Riley. “I’m sorry, Ines.”

“Don’t be. I’m relieved.”

Zeus and Atlas came up on the porch, laying their noses at her hands. She smiled down at them, surprised that they weren’t afraid of her appearance either.

For days, people came and went from her little cottage ensuring her every comfort. They watched movies together, sang songs, read books, and ate together. When she could no longer lift the fork, they did it for her.

Four days later as Wilson checked on her vitals, he looked up at Stephanie and shook his head.

“Maybe a few hours, honey. She’s going fast now.”

“Not yet,” said Brax. “We have somewhere to take you.”

“Brax, I’m not sure she can be moved,” said Stephanie.

“I think she’ll want to be moved for this.” Ines opened her eyes but didn’t say anything as Brax lifted her from the sofa, carrying her down the steps and across the property to the waiting boat.

Saint wheeled the chair onto the boat. She was strapped in, and everyone followed in other boats. It was a beautiful, clear, sunny day. Stephanie knew immediately where they were headed.

“To the animals?” she whispered.

“She always wanted to go on a safari,” smiled Brax. “Matthew is making that happen for her.”

As everyone stepped off at the animal sanctuary, Ines was lifted and carried toward one of the elephants. A padded seat with a back provided support for her as she was strapped in. She laughed for the first time in days as the elephant stood.

Irene and Matthew walked slowly around the sanctuary, stopping now and then for the giraffes to touch their noses to her face or the monkeys to hug her. When they made the circle and came back around, they lifted her from the elephant once more.

“Th-that was b-beautiful,” she gasped. “It was ev-everything I dreamed.”

Matthew bent down, whispering to the young woman, kissing her forehead as Irene did the same.

“You’re free to go home now, child,” he said with adoration and kindness. “You deserve to be free of your pain.”

Stephanie reached for the woman’s hand, kneeling beside her.

“I will never forget you,” she said softly.

“It’s me that won’t forget you,” said Ines. “All of you.”

They were the last words she uttered. She closed her eyes, smiled, and fell asleep for the final time.

No one moved. No one left the island. They waited as the sun began to set, and Ines Ruben, nee Gage, found her way home.

She would be buried on the island of the animal sanctuary in the final place where she found peace and joy. The animals would be there to guard her, but there would be no ghost of Ines. She’d finished her time on earth and should have earned medals for it.

When the clinic re-opened, there was a new wing designated for research of rare diseases. It was named the Ines Gage Center for the Eradication of Rare Diseases. They weren’t going to stop until they were gone.

Riley, Suzette, Gabi, and Thomas wrote a paper about Ines and what was done to her, submitting it to several prestigious medical journals. They were invited to speak about it and discuss their findings.

“What happened to Ines Gage should have never been allowed to happen,” said Gabi. “She was the experiment that we all read about in horror stories. But she is not defined by her disfigurement or her disabilities. She was brilliant, beautiful, kind, and a victim. Relax. Sit back and get ready to hear the story of a young woman that needs to be told.”