the thing was, she wasnāt going to be able to pass the recertification exam, and she couldnāt figure out why. annabelle studied. she practiced. she pulled out every trick and shortcut sheād learned during her two years as an EMT and none of it worked. she just ā she didnāt get it. it made no sense.
āwake up,ā she urged the dummy, pressing her hands to the pulse points on its wrists.Ā ācome on.Ā what the fuck.ā
āyeah, i donāt think that asking nicely is going to do the trick,ā hank said, his eyebrows raised. his helmet, the special one theyād decorated for him with craft supplies from michaelās when heād gotten promoted to firestation chief, sat askew on his head.Ā āi can see now why they didnāt pass you.ā
annabelle rolled her eyes.Ā āitās a psychological thing,ā she said.Ā āitās like, you give the brain an instruction and it follows naturally. and the pulse-point thing always works. i donāt know why itās not, like, in any of the books, but i swear to god itās worked for me every time.ā
it was true that annabelle had the best record on low body counts, which was good because she was the smallest person on the team not counting Georgie, who was a corgi. jake and lillian were always making fun of her for having been the shortest of their whole rookie class. but it hadnāt ever been a problemĀ before; annabelle rarely had to carry anybody out, because she was good enough at getting them on their feet.
but none of that would matter if she couldnāt pass her stupid recertification exam, because theyād take her badge and sheād have to go be, like, a doctor or something.
hank blew out a long breath and sunk down to where she was kneeling on the station floor in full fire gear, giving CPR to the practice dummy, whom they called dierdre. there was a little light that went on when youād saved its life. it had been a dull gray for an hour now.
ālook, AB. i know youāre a good firefighter, and i know you know how to deliver CPR. just do it like you do it during an emergency. youāre overthinking it.ā
ābut this isĀ what i do during an emergency!ā annabelle cried, throwing her hands up.Ā āi put my hands on their pulse points and i use psychological mumbo-jumbo and they just get up and walk!āĀ
hank blinked.Ā āā¦really,ā he said, voice flat.Ā āpeople whoāve been inhaling smoke for half an hour just ā¦ get up and walk.ā
āthe brain is an incredibly powerful organ,ā said annabelle, shrugging.Ā ālook man, i donāt know, okay? but it works. i havenāt had to actually do CPR in like a year and a half.ā
he gave her a long, quiet look and said,Ā āwellā¦.huh,ā before pushing himself back up onto his feet and frowning off into the distance.Ā ākeep practicing,ā he said after a minute, and left her there.
āwhat the fuck, man,ā she said, sliding into the truck next to him as the sirens went on.Ā āi canāt get CPR on one fucking dummy and suddenly you donāt trust me to do my job without supervision?ā
carl and bethany very carefully did not meet her eyes in the rearview from the backseat. bethany pulled a magazine from beneath the seat and said loudly,Ā ālook, carl, jennifer aniston and brad pitt are getting back together.ā
āthank christ,ā said carl.Ā āiāve been really worried about jen.ā
hank gave annabelle the flat look that had gotten him promoted to firestation chief in the first place, the one that said iām your dad and you donāt want to disappoint me.Ā as always, annabelle wilted underneath it, sliding down in her seat and crossing her arms over her chest. it was a difficult feat in full gear but she wanted him to know she was feeling sullen.
āi trust you completely,ā hank told her, his voice a light scold.Ā āi want to see you in action so i can help you figure out whatās going wrong with the dummies. sometimes itās hard for the brain to accurately remember everything that happens during a crisis.ā
annabelle rolled her eyes.Ā āi told you,ā she said.Ā āitās just ā itās the same thing every time, Iām not like, blacking out.ā
āgreat, then iām about to learn a cool new trick,ā hank said serenely, and pulled the truck out of the lot. annabelle kept her gaze focused out of the window, watching the city pass as carl and bethany talked loudly about which celebrities were dating which other celebrities and who wore what better. she tried to swallow down the nerves that tightened her throat. maybe the dummy was right. maybe she wasĀ doing something else and didnāt remember it. maybe the last two years had been a fluke and she had no business being a firefighter. maybe she was about to get fired.
there wasnāt a fire, though the alarm was going off. instead they found a bag of smoking popcorn and the collapsed heap of a forty-five year old bachelor type, down to just his boxers and a pair of slippers with llamas on them. he had no pulse.Ā
hank held carl and bethany back, directing them to deal with the smoke from the popcorn; annabelle he pointed toward the resident with a jerk of his chin.Ā
she sighed, kneeling by his side. she pressed her hands flat to his heart and then dragged them across his chest and down each arm, to his wrists. with her thumbs on his pulse point, she hissed,Ā āletās go, man. up and at āem. youāre not meant to die in your underwear while cooking popcorn, come on.ā
she held her breath for a few moments, conscious of hankās eyes on her, and let out a long sigh of relief when she felt his pulse jump beneath her, watched his eyes flicker.Ā āwhat the fuck?ā he asked, voice a croak.Ā āwhat happened?ā
āyou gotta eat more vegetables, bud,ā annabelle told him, and looped his arm over her shoulders to help him get to his feet. she was so relieved she could have wept, but instead met hankās eyes with a challenging glare. see?Ā she thought. i told you.Ā āletās get you to the ambulance.ā
āthe bad news is that you have a lot of practicing to do if you want to pass your recert,ā hank said without preamble, showing up at her apartment. she didnāt think sheād ever seen him in jeans before. it was weird.Ā āthe good news is i understand your problem now.ā
annabelle stepped aside, beckoning him in.Ā āwhat problem?ā she demanded.Ā āit worked! you saw it work. thatās the opposite of a problem.ā
hank shrugged. he handed her a trifold that heād clearly printed off at home. it said so you think youāre a necromancer. annabelle blinked down at it, and then up at hank, and then down at the trifold again.Ā āi ā¦ donāt understand whatās happening here,ā she told him honestly.Ā
āiām not in the community and theyāre kind of cagey, so i canāt really tell you a lot,ā hank told her, stilted and visibly uncomfortable.Ā ābut i have a cousin who is, and um, i just want you to know that this doesnāt change anything. youāre still who youāve always been and you have my complete support. weāll figure out how to get around the recert. maybe iāll ā i can put you on admin duty to give you time to study. weāll say itās because of an injury.ā
āhank,ā annabelle said, with some urgency.Ā āhank, this flier says the word necromancer.ā
āyes,ā agreed hank, looking relieved.Ā āoh, good, youāve heard of it already. i thought i was going to have to have the whole your body is changingĀ talk.ā
annabelle shook her head.Ā āno, i ā hank. you know that ā¦ um, you know that necromancy isnāt real, right? people canāt bring other people back from the dead. thatās crazy.ā
āannabelle, not four hours ago you instructed a dead man to stand up and he did.ā
āokay, he wasnāt dead, obviously. he was almostĀ dead, at best.ā
āi felt his pulse! it was very faint!ā
āyou calledĀ his pulse. no one else would have felt it, because it wasnāt there except in response to you.ā
āhank, what the fuck.ā
he shrugged.Ā āread the flier,ā he instructed.Ā āand bring dierdre home with you. youāre going to have to practice a lot if you want to get recertified, considering you havenāt one time had to use any of the skills you learned the first go around.ā
he bussed her temple as he went by, letting himself out of her apartment with a friendly wave. annabelle looked down at the flier in her hand with a frown. when she unfolded it, the first page said, everyoneās necromancy journey is different, but most people discover their gift by accident. have you ever brought a pet back to life? touched an elderly relatives hand and seen some of the color flood back into their face? or perhaps, more subtly, been able to keep cut flowers alive long past their purchase date?
annabelle looked at her kitchen table. sheād had the same vase of tulips on it since she moved in, three years ago. it was true they periodically started to wilt, but she usually just changed their water and they were fine, popping back up one after the other as she slid them into the fresh vase.Ā
āwell shit,ā annabelle said, letting the flier fall from her hands.
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