Hey everyone! Today, I’d like to share a free chapter from The Departure: Leslie Kim Serial #001. This book is a prequel to the Leslie Kim serials, which is probably obvious when you realize he isn’t quite old enough to feature heavily in this chapter. Don’t worry, he’s only a baby for this chapter. It doesn’t take long before our traumatized hero goes on to kick Vampire butt.
CHAPTER ONE
The room was covered in blood. The nurses had tried to wipe it up where they could, but there was no time. A large clot still sat on the scale in the corner of the room. Chul’s hands shook as he held his tiny son. The boy was six weeks early, yet he had not needed assistance breathing on his own. His wife’s blood still smeared across the boy’s forehead.
Chul did not force himself to look at him. He closed his eyes and soaked in the silence. There was a cold burst of air from the vent on the ceiling. It cooled his skin and took the burn from his eyes. The anger in his chest seemed to be seeping out of every pore.
Time passed at a crawl. It was disrupted by a loud, high-pitched cry from his son. Chul rocked the baby gently and slowly, but his efforts seem to frustrate the child more.
He pressed the button on the wall that called for the nurse.
The baby seemed to calm a little when he stood, but he had to be careful not to slip on the blood that pooled in spots on the floor.
“Mr. Kim, you called?”
The nurse had large brown eyes that welled with compassion.
“My son is hungry. I cannot feed him, and he is crying,” Chul said.
The nurse approached him slowly and gently scooped the baby from his arms.
“He’s a little cold. I don’t think he liked the air blowing on him. I’ll take him to the nursery,” she said at a whisper.
“Wait – have you heard any more about my wife?”
The nurse paused in the doorway and glanced around the room at the carnage.
“I’ll have the doctor come in to speak with you,” she assured him. “Does the baby have a name?”
“No, I’m not sure. My wife was going to choose.”
The nurse offered a faint smile. “I’ll have the doctor come in as soon as I can.”
Time ceased to exist while Chul waited. The heavy feeling in his chest didn’t move. It was like a bowling ball was sat in the center of it.
A young doctor knocked on the already open door. He was standing halfway in the hallway and he leaned in to speak to him. “Mr. Kim? I’m Dr. Leoman, who worked on your wife. Why don’t you come with me?”
Chul followed the doctor through the hospital until they reached The Morgue.
“No, it isn’t possible.” Chul said.
Dr. Leoman rested a hand on his shoulder. “I know this is difficult. But we did all that we could. Your wife was very brave-“
“I want to see her.”
Dr. Leoman dropped his hand and opened the door with his hospital pass. Inside was a wall of gray, locked boxes and a metal table in the center of it. A large circular light cast a harsh glare on the white sheet that clearly covered a body. Dr. Leoman held the door for Chul to enter the room and then followed him to the table. The doctor pulled the sheet back and revealed Sarah’s face. It looked more like a wax statue of her than the real thing. Sarah had been full of life and the body in front of him almost looked fake.
“How did this happen?” Chul asked. He rested his hand on his wife’s soft, blonde hair. He brushed a piece of it away from her face and tucked it behind her ear, the way she always did.
“Your wife had already lost a significant amount of blood before she made it to us,” Dr. Leoman explained.
Chul shook his head as the tears dripped from his cheeks onto the cold, metal table.
“Once she was in our care, she had lost about 1000 milliliters of blood. This would have been survivable under normal circumstances. But we did not know how much she had already lost from the attack.”
Dr. Leoman lifted the thin sheet and pulled it back. He brushed her hair away from her neck and revealed a gruesome bite on her neck. The skin around the wound was dark blue and grey.
Chul covered his mouth with the back of his hand. He felt the burn of bile rise in his throat.
“Who could have done this?” Chul asked.
“I am afraid that’s going to be a question for the police to answer. They will interview the witnesses. I’m sure you’ll hear from them soon. Right now, you can just focus on going home with your son.”
The doctor lifted the sheet over the wound so that only her face was showing.
“I will give you a few moments alone.”
The doctor left the room and Chul raced to the garbage can and emptied the contents of his stomach.
His sobs offended his own ears. They sounded like had to come from someone else, someone that he didn’t recognize. He stumbled back to the body.
“Oh, Sarah. I’m so sorry. I should have been there.”
He found her hand beneath the sheet and laid his head onto her chest. His tears soaked the fabric.
“I’m so stupid. I’m always late. I should never have made you wait. How could this happen?”
He repeated himself, he kissed her face, he recoiled at her cold skin.
It felt like an eternity that he was tortured by her being almost there. But empty inside.
A soft knock on the door was followed by the entrance of a nurse. It was the same doe eyed nurse that had taken his son before.
“Mr. Kim, I’m so sorry for your loss. You don’t deserve this and your sweet baby –” her voice trembled and choked. She quickly cleared her throat and continued, “I want you to know that I found this in her belongings.”
“Sarah’s?”
“Yes,” she handed him a clear bag full with blood-stained clothing and her jewelry. On top was a folded-up piece of paper.
Chul grabbed the paper and wiped his face with his palm. He carefully unfolded it. It was still wet with blood in the corners.
Baby Names
Leslie
Ezra
Joshua
Chul set his jaw. He wouldn’t name his child a Biblical name after a God had taken his world from him this way.
“She wasn’t set on a name,” Chul said. “We thought we still had time. She wasn’t due for weeks.”
“Do you like any of them?” the nurse asked.
“I’ll call him Leslie. It’s what she wanted.”
He felt a soft hand on his shoulder.
“I think that’s a wonderful choice. It’s time to see him now, he needs his Daddy.”
Chul tucked Sarah’s belongings under his arm. “No, he needs a father. He will have to be strong to recover from this.”
“He is, Mr. Kim. He’s a fighter. I can tell already.”
The nurse led the way to the door and held it open for him.
“The nursery is this way.”
They had to go back up the elevator to reach the part of the hospital where they stored the living.
“What is your name?” Chul asked. “You’ve been with me all night but I’m not sure I caught it.”
“I’m Ella. It’s been a real pleasure to care for your family,” she paused and then added, “I am truly sorry about your wife.”
“Her name was Sarah.”
“So it was.” Ella confirmed.
She unlocked the door to the nursery and led him to a washing station. Chul washed away what was left of his wife.
“I have something else for you,” Ella said. She went to the nurse’s station and grabbed a brown gift bag from behind the counter. She brought it to him.
Inside was a pair of sweats and a t-shirt with the name of the hospital on them, Sunbeam Memorial Hospital. Chul lifted them out and looked at his own clothes which were splattered in blood.
He recalled finding Sarah on the street, soaking his own clothes when he lifted her into the car. He had driven just five blocks to the hospital, but it was still too late.
“You can change in there and I’ll go collect Leslie and finish up the paperwork.” Ella guided him to a private bathroom. “No one should bring their baby home like that.”
Chul peeled the clothes off of himself and dampened the rough paper towels to wipe down. He pulled the soft new clothes on and forced himself to leave the bathroom. The solitude was better than the reality that he would soon have a newborn to care for.
Ella was waiting for him at the nurses’ station. She held Leslie tucked in one arm, swaddled in a blue muslin blanket. In her other arm was another small bag.
“You’ve been too kind, Ella.” Chul said.
“Nonsense. We give these to every parent leaving with their baby. It has just a few onesies, some diapers and wipes, a few pacifiers, and I threw in some sample formula to get you started. Don’t forget to get more of the essentials soon. You will be shocked how quickly he goes through them.”
She carefully passed off the baby and his items. Then, she pulled two bracelets from her pocket.
“These were your wives; I’m going to put them in his bag. You’re going to be okay, Mr. Kim. Do you have a way to get home?”
Chul nodded. “I drove here.”
Ella pressed a button and the double wide doors opened into the hallway.
He walked away from the nursery and was eager to put the memories behind him. He held in his arms a bag full of the bloody clothes from the past and the fresh new clothes for the baby.
Chul paused at a large window and looked down at the city. The morning was just beginning, and the sun cracked through the city skyline.
He wished that he could find a way to fling himself through the window and splatter on the pavement below. The imagery was vivid. Chul looked down at the sleeping infant in his arms and wished even more that he could take Leslie with him.
He never wanted to be a father, now this child was forever damaged.
“I can help you to your car, Mr. Kim.”
Ella must have noticed his hesitation.
“I am all alone, I better get used to it sometime.” Chul said and turned down the hall.
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