Black Sunshine

Chapter 16 - You Only Really Die When Your Memory is Finally Forgotten

Solana stared in disbelief at Nera laid out on the metal table in the hospital’s morgue. A pristine white sheet covered everything but her face. Nera’s corpse, her brain reminded her unhelpfully. This couldn’t possibly be, but Nera was still.

Too still.

This was all her fault. Her mind forced the thought onto her and guilt filled her throat with bile. If she had only been able to resist the Bishop of Ruin’s influence sooner, Nera would have been safe. She would have lived. If she had only realized sooner, she wouldn’t have been the one that killed Nera.

She had killed.

The thought of it pressed down on her shoulders. Not only had she killed the Bishop of Ruin, something she felt she could eventually justify given his actions, but also Nera. There was no coming back from that. She had killed the only woman she had ever loved.

Not for the first time in the last three days, she began to sob.

“I still don’t know why I’m here,” she faintly heard a gruff voice saying.

“Because she was one of us. You will pay your respects, or you will find yourself new employment,” an even more gruff, older voice answered a little more clearly.

“I can’t believe she’s gone,” a lighter voice full of grief said from just outside the door.

Solana looked up when the squeaking door opened. She wiped her tears from her face, and sniffled. Two tough looking women stood in the doorway with- their child?

“I’m sorry, would you mind waiting a moment? The nurse said he’d be back shortly to put her away,” Solana said, barely keeping her voice from quavering.

“Oh! You must be Solana!” the child said. No, not a child. She was one of the shorter races. She ran up and hugged Solana which threw her off for a moment, but it was definitely something she needed.

“Kiddo, what have I told you about hugging strangers,” the older woman said with a grimace, “I’m sorry, her people are culturally very touchy.”

“Honestly, I needed this,” Solana couldn’t stop the tears from flowing, and she hugged the woman tighter.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” the tall badger-like woman said mechanically.

“Go stand guard outside, Gryla,” the older woman sighed, before turning to Solana, “Please excuse our intrusion on your grief. My name is Olise, and that is Kiddo. We are colleagues of Nera. We were told we could come see her body here. We will happily wait outside until you are finished.”

“No, please stay,” Solana surprised herself, “I know who you are. Nera spoke fondly of her time with your g- organization.”

“I see,” Olise said, somewhat awkwardly.

She walked up to where Nera lay, and looked at her silently. Solana could see the grief in her eyes, her face seemed all too at home in grief. As though she had lost much in her many years. Kiddo stayed near Solana gently comforting her.

Shortly after a knock came at the door, and a tall shark-like man dressed in scrubs and a white coat entered. This must be the doctor, here to put Nera away.

“Excuse me,” he said, “I was told I could examine Nera down here.”

“Ah, yes, come in,” Olise said before Solana could speak, “Doctor Shorque, have you met Solana?”

“I have. Please accept my condolences, Solana,” Doctor Shorque said as he took her hand gently. His skin was rough but warm.

“I had no idea that Nera knew so many kind people,” Solana said in spite of herself, “I’m glad.”

“I know this is not ideal timing, but please allow me to confirm the hospital’s diagnosis. I can’t guarantee anything, but I do know some things that they don’t.”

“I don’t mind,” Solana said, a faint glimmer of hope trying to form inside her, she squashed it quickly, “Should we wait outside?”

“If you like, but there is no need. My tools are non-invasive.”

Solana nodded and watched as the doctor pulled out strange brass instruments. Some of them had gems that shone, and others were carved with strange symbols. He worked quickly. Placing objects against Nera’s head, her heart, and at one point tapping her shoulder with a small hammer.

He sighed, “I’m afraid they were correct. I’m so sorry.”

Kiddo began crying softly, and buried her head in Solana’s shoulder. Olise’s face became even tighter with grief. They sat in the cold room, and silently mourned the loss of a warmth in their life.

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Noises of an argument outside the door were faintly heard.

“Damnit, Gryla! You can let the-” Olise began saying.

Everyone jumped when the door burst open once again, and an old woman walked in. Outside the door, Gryla was kneeling on the ground while another old woman with a red bandana and long white hair held her arm in a twisted position that had to be excruciating.

“There you are! See? I told you you were dead,” she exclaimed pointing at Nera’s body and looking to the side as though she were addressing someone.

She paused for a moment as though listening, before sighing, “Fine! I’ll see what I can do. No guarantees, though, and if I can’t do anything you are going to move on. Deal?” She emphasized you by pointing violently at the spot she was addressing.

Olise was the first to overcome her shock at the abrupt entrance of what had to be a crazy woman, “Ella?! What are you doing? Can you not see that we are trying to grieve?”

The woman sighed again, turning to Olise, “Oh, I know. I’m sorry, but I’ve hardly slept in three days because this- well, I shouldn’t use that sort of language in front of her loved ones. Nera sent me to try and fix her.”

“What is that supposed to mean,” Solana demanded, standing to her feet, magic swirling around her ready to deal with whatever was about to happen.

Olise held her hands out to stop Solana, “Wait, calm down, we know her. It might sound strange but she’s a necromancer.”

“A necromancer!” Solana said, decidedly not calming down.

“She might be the only person who could help Nera,” Kiddo chimed in.

“I don’t want Nera’s corpse being puppeted around by some, some madwoman!”

“She wouldn’t be a puppet, any more than you are,” Ella said calmly, “I would simply be putting her spirit back in her body. It would be up to Sharkie here to fix up the flesh.” She gestured towards Doctor Shorque.

“I’ve told you a thousand times not to call me that, Ella!” Doctor Shorque shouted.

“Oh? Are you too grown up for nicknames now or something?” Ella responded.

“Doctor Shorque?” Solana turned to the doctor, allowing the magic to dissipate slightly, “Is what she’s saying true? Could Nera be brought back?”

“It’s a bit of a long shot. I don’t want you to get your hopes up, but there’s a slight possibility. I don’t fully understand how Ella’s magic works, if I’m being honest, but if she’s just putting Nera’s spirit back in, and I can heal the body… ”

“If there were even a slight chance, you know Nera would want you to do it,” Olise said to Solana matter-of-factly.

Solana sighed, “I know. Alright. Do it.”

“We’re going to need to move her into an operating room immediately,” Doctor Shorque said, “I doubt the hospital would give the time of day to an odd request like this which means we will need to force our way into one.”

Gryla, who had long since been allowed to stand and had been watching the proceedings silently, grinned a toothy grin.

“You leave that to us,” Olise said, “Ruth, I expect you to help.”

“Why not,” the old woman who had subdued Gryla said with a wicked smile, “things were getting awfully boring around here.”

After that, Doctor Shorque and Solana grabbed the medical equipment they would need while Olise and Ella pushed Nera into the operating room that Gryla and Ruth hijacked.

“Okay, Solana, I understand you have nursing training, so I’m going to need you to assist me,” Doctor Shorque said.

“I might as well,” she responded, despondent, “it’s not like they’re gonna let me work here after this.”

“Ha! If you do a good enough job, I might hire you. The rest of you guard the doors or go into observation.”

“You should get her body in as good of shape as you can, before I do my part, Sharkie,” Ella said standing at the end of the bed.

“That’s easier said than done, I’m afraid,” Doctor Shorque, pulled out a round piece of glass bound in brass, and covered in strange symbols holding it over Nera’s abdomen, “I used the rite of Falthily at Gost. Before her rampage.”

“Are you serious?” Ella asked, eyes wide, before shaking her head, “Do your best, then, I guess.”

After hours of hard work, with so many devices Solana started having trouble keeping track of them all, it was time for Ella to do her part.

“That’s as far as I can go, Ella. It’s your turn.”

For Ella’s part it just kind of looked like she had grabbed someone by the shoulders and thrown them onto the table where Nera lay. It was disturbingly anticlimactic and violent.

“Now, we wait,” Ella said, crossing her arms.

“For how long?” Solana was about to ask, but Nera let out a horrible gasp. Her breathing stabilized after a moment.

“Why can’t I move my arms?” Nera asked faintly.

“You’ve been mostly dead all day,” Kiddo answered from the observation room.

“Kiddo!” Olise scolded.

“What? It’s true!”

“Hey, there Kiddo,” Nera said with a pained smile, Solana could hardly believe her eyes, “Is Solana safe?”

“Nera!” Solana sobbed, “I thought I’d lost you!”

“Ha,” Nera laughed weakly, more bravado than humor, “It’ll take a lot more than that to kill me.”

Solana punched Nera in the shoulder, “No, it didn’t, you idiot! You got lucky Ella was here. What the hell would I do without you? You didn’t even think about that before you ran off on some stupid rampage did you?”

“I’m sorry,” Nera said solemnly, “I couldn’t stand the thought of what might be happening to you.”

“So you took stupid risks?”

“Yeah. In hindsight, there were some stupid risks.”

Solana sniffled, and hugged Nera tightly, “As long as you recognize that.”

They stayed like this for quite a while, possibly too long given where they were, but neither one of them cared. They had finally been reunited and neither of them would allow them to be separated again.