Again, Lance couldn't respond. Three ghosts in the room, all wanting to speak to him, and he had to bite his tongue.
"Lance will be okay. Dislocated shoulder and some lacerations. Jackson and Megan are okay, both with a lot of lacerations. Martin has lacerations and a broken ankle. Lizzy is going into surgery for a deep cut on her leg, but it's Angus that we're all worried about." Jeremy went on to tell them about Angus's injury and what was going on upstairs in the operating room.
Lance closed his eyes as he listened. He was too worried to rest, but so exhausted. It was probably an adrenaline dump.Everything hurt. He had no clue what time it was. If there was a clock in the room, he was faced away from it. It didn't matter. He just needed to get upstairs.
"All done," the nurse informed him as she covered him back up.
"Good." Lance struggled to sit up.
"Wait, don't go moving around. Let me get my stuff off the bed, then I'll help you turn over."
"Get me some scrubs to wear," Lance told her, then realizing his tone, he added, "Please."
"Let's talk to your doctor first." She came around and helped him to roll to his back, then eased the bed up into a sitting position.
"He's got to be busy. I'm not staying overnight. Let me get upstairs. If I feel worse through the night, I'll let a nurse know. Remember, I'm a doctor. I can take care of myself. Free up a bed for someone who needs it." He swung his legs over the side of the bed.
"You need to sign forms if you're leaving against medical advice," she warned.
"Then go get them and find me some scrubs to wear or I'm going to put on my bloody, torn clothes." Lance fought through the pain in his shoulder, aware of the three ghosts watching him. He wanted to yell at them as well, but no good would come of it. They were trying to help in any way they could. It wasn't their fault that they couldn't do much. He was thankful for the information they supplied and their ability to go into places he couldn't.
"Lance, she's just doing her job," Bethany told him. "Give her a break. It's insane out there."
"Sorry." Lance sighed. "I'm just worried about Angus." He was speaking to Bethany, but the nurse thought it was for her.
"I know. I'll see what I can find you to wear and get the forms. Just give me a few minutes, then once I help you dress, I'll find someone to wheel you upstairs." The nurse grabbed his chart from the foot of the bed.
"Thanks." Lance looked around for his shoes. He had no clue where his stuff had gone. Once the nurse left the room, Lance looked at Ray. "Have you ever seen a spirit leave a body and become a ghost while the physical body still lives?"
Ray's brows furrowed. "It can happen during surgery or near-death experiences. You've heard the cases of people looking down on their body during surgery. Why?"
"Lizzy and I saw Angus leave his body. Well, almost leave it. He wasn't fully out when Betty rushed at him and seemed to grab him, then both of them disappeared," Lance explained. "We haven't seen either of them since, but Angus has a pulse and is breathing."
"Betty is gone?" Bethany looked stricken.
"Yeah, no one has seen her since." Lance ran his fingers through his hair, feeling a few small cuts in his scalp.
"I don't know." Ray frowned. "It's possible Angus had a near-death experience. The cord that connects the soul to the body wasn't severed if he's still alive. As far as I know, once that cord is severed, the physical body dies."
"Cord?" Lance asked.
"Sure. There's a cord that's kind of like a rope that tethers the soul to the physical body. People who astral project talk about seeing it. It connects to the physical body while it appears to sleep, but a person can wander around as spirit as long as that cord stays connected to a body. It's hard to do. Not many can." Ray glanced at Bethany. "Have you ever seen one?"
Bethany shook her head.
"Neither have I," Jeremy told them. "So when I died, my cord broke?"
"Yep, it's what holds us here in the physical realm. Once it's cut, we can't go back to physical. My guess is Angus's cord wasn't cut, but that doesn't explain about Betty. I can't imagine why she's gone," Ray said.
"Unless she fell into the light," Bethany whispered.
"Is that even possible? I'd think it has to be a conscious choice to go into the light," Lance stated.
"I've gotten pretty close to the light over the years, and have never been drawn into it, but if she flung herself at Angus…" Ray shrugged. "I just don't know."
They stared at each other in silence, all of them contemplating the possibility that Betty might really be gone. It couldn't be. The pain of that would be like suffering a death. He wasn't sure Lizzy could cope, especially with what was going on with Angus.
"I'm going to go check on Angus." Ray appeared to kiss Bethany on the cheek. "I doubt I can tell anything, but it's worth a try."
