BETTER SIGNAL
JESS
The night was still, the sky stretched wide above me, thick with stars. It should have been peaceful, but my heart was
hammering so hard I could barely hear anything else.
My hands clenched around my phone as I paced on top of this goddamn hill, willing for better reception.
Static crackled in my ear, followed by Luke’s voice–choppy but urgent.
“Something happened… Germany… this morning—well, their morning, our evening, or whatever…” He was talking fast, words breaking apart, stitched together by interference.
I stopped moving. “Luke, what? I can barely hear you.”
A rush of static, then-
“Her heart stopped, Jess.”
The words punched through me, ripping the air from my lungs.
It felt like something had slammed into my chest. I staggered, my knees giving out, and I dropped onto the cold, damp grass.
No.
No, no, no.
My mind reeled, scrambling, trying to make sense of what that
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BETTER SIGNAL
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meant.
Her heart stopped.
That meant…
That meant-
They had asked Josh to sign the DNR papers. They’d told him this would happen eventually. And if her heart stopped, then-
I pressed my fist against my mouth, barely suppressing the sob clawing its way up my throat.
She was gone.
Laura was gone.
Luke’s voice cut through the silence again, breaking apart, fragmented but urgent.
“They had to attempt–resuscitation–Josh was delaying-”
I blinked hard, my breath hitching. “What?” I croaked. “Babe. What the hell are you saying?”
More static. I shot to my feet, my pulse a drum in my ears as I climbed higher up the hill, searching desperately for a better signal.
Come on, come on, come on-
Then, clear as day, Luke’s voice finally came through.
“She woke up, Jess.”
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BETTER SIGNAL
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Everything stopped.
The world around me blurred, the night sky stretching, spinning, folding into itself.
No. That wasn’t possible.
Luke kept talking, his words almost breathless, like even he couldn’t believe what he was saying.
“Babe, she woke up.”
My body locked up, my breath coming in short, sharp bursts.
“They couldn’t get ahold of Josh, and he never signed,” Luke said, voice rough. “They had no choice but to resuscitate her. The professor said a lot of things that could have happened to have her wake up, but I couldn’t understand it.”
I felt something inside me crack open.
Laura wasn’t gone.
She was alive.
I didn’t think. I just ran.
My feet barely touched the ground as I bolted down the hill, gravity pulling me faster than I could control. Rocks and dirt slipped under my boots, and for a second, I was sure I was going to eat shit and break my face, but I didn’t care.
Laura was alive.
The words pounded in my chest, louder than my heartbeat, louder than the wind rushing past my ears.
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BETTER SIGNAL
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She woke up.
She woke up.
I nearly lost my footing, stumbling forward, arms flailing like a lunatic, but I caught myself at the last second and kept running.
The second I reached the campsite, my eyes locked on Asha.
She was still sitting in the field, her little face tilted toward the sky, soaking in the stars like they were magic. My two gremlins were still on either side of her, pointing at something, completely oblivious to the fact that their entire world had just changed.
I didn’t slow down.
“Asha!” I gasped, sprinting toward her, my chest heaving.
She turned her head just in time for me to scoop her up, lifting her off the ground and into my arms.
She squealed in surprise. “Auntie Jess-” Asha smiled up at me, and I watched one of the nature rangers tell me to keep quiet. I didn’t care.
I spun her around, laughing through the tears I didn’t even realize were falling.
“Your mommy is awake, baby girl!” I choked out, gripping her tight. “Your mommy is awake!”
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RUDE AWAKENING
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RUDE AWAKENING
