Ember's Choice

“The book, Miss Lorenson,” The tall man with the blue tie spoke again. He was losing his patience, and it wasn’t her fault. “Or you’ll never have access to the bank account again.” The man in the grey tie fingered the IV bag absentmindedly.

It was the hardest decision of Ember’s life, and it was also the most unfair decision. The hospital room equipment beeped and hummed around her, making each of Lily’s breaths sound like a death toll. “I don’t know. I just don’t know.” She said, and she looked between the men and her twin sister, feeling her stomach clench. She balled her fist against her knees, trying so hard to focus pass the flashes of the last day and a half.

Ember had just clocked out of her second job. One of the regulars, Michael, had stopped her as she exited the café. “Your sister made the transplant list,” he had said, and Ember then noticed his usual newspaper was absent. She had nodded, needing to get to the bank to deposit her tip money before it closed. “But you don’t have enough to cover the surgery-”

She had cut him off, feeling unsettled by the odd intensity of his usually wizened gaze. Ember replied, “almost, my classmates are hosting a raffle to try to get the rest.”

“I trust you, Ember. I trust you more than any human I’ve ever met,” he had sighed, gesturing to the chair beside him. She had worked so hard not to let her irritation and confusion at his tone show on her face. “So much so, that if you go to your bank account, you will see that twenty-thousand dollars was deposited as we were speaking.” Michael had seemed so serious that she hurried to sit and open her banking app on her phone.

Ember had almost sobbed as she saw the entirety of the amount that she needed to pay the insurance company for the transplant. Tears had stung her eyes as she choked out. “Michael, I can’t… I can’t accept this money for free.”

“Nothing in life is free dear. I simply wanted you to see how much I trust you” Michael said. He had been smiling, and Ember had felt like her life was finally looking up. She had prayed so hard for the funds to save Lily. “The money is yours, whether you accept or refuse my offer.” She had searched his face for any sign of perverse intent, but Michael had just seemed unsettled. She had noticed that his eyes kept wandering around.

“What offer?” Ember had asked in a whisper, not wanting her fellow employees to overhear. She didn’t want their judgement.

“Take this, walk away, and never come back to this café again,” Michael had muttered, and then he had slid the black book across the metal table to her. “I trust you, Ember. I trust you.” She had taken the book, shouldered her purse, and walked away. She had made it to the corner before she looked back, and Michael had vanished.

Ember hadn’t opened the book on the bus or at the bank. She hadn’t even looked at it until she reached the hospital. “I have the money, Lily,” She had sniffled, squeezing the frail hand on the sheets. Then she had settled back into her usual chair and pulled it from her purse. It had been such an unimpressive black book at first glance.

The book itself had been worn leather, with cracks along the binding from being opened. The edges of the white pages had been stained yellow with touch, and the embossed writing on it had long since been smoothed to near unreadable. It was just a little, black book, no different than the dozens she had seen on shelves in stores. When she had opened it, Ember had known she was in over her head. The pages had glowed gold, and the red writing on the page had burst into the air around her. She had slammed it shut, but the writing hand lingered briefly. Most of it had been unintelligible to her, but a single sentence had been in English. Humans can’t be trusted.

The words had faded from the air, and Ember had stuffed it in her purse. Then, she had acted on instinct, pulling it out, and hiding it under her comatose sister’s legs. Ember had vowed to take the book somewhere and bury it when she left the hospital. That vow had broken when the men in suits came in the room. They had asked for the book. Ember had denied she had it. They had pleaded it as a matter of national security, but Ember denied having the book. Now they were threatening her sister and had made her bank account vanish, so Ember had to make a choice.

“It’s just a book, Miss Lorenson. We know Michael gave it to you. We picked up the signal it emitted from this very room,” Gray tie man said, folding his hands behind his back, and Ember finally met his gaze. “Just give us the book, and your sister will finally have a working heart.”

“I don’t know what book you’re looking for. I haven’t had any book but the one you found in my purse,” Ember said, finally holding their gaze. “You won’t show me a badge. You won’t tell me your names. You need to leave before I call the police.” She knew it was an empty threat, but she didn’t care. “I have proof with paper statements that the account existed. I will find some way to get it back. Just leave us alone. I have nothing to give,” she hissed, never leaving her chair. The single sentence was seared in her mind, and her brain ached to go down tangents that couldn't be real. What she knew was that if she broke trust to save her sister, Lily would never forgive her.

Red Tie and Gray Tie moved back to stand on the other side of Lily’s bed. They shared a long look, and then they shook their heads. Red Tie lifted the sheet off of Lily’s legs, but before Ember could protest, Grey Tie had pulled the book out and waved it. “No! You can’t!” Ember cried, shooting to her feet.

“We can,” Red Tie said. He pulled something from his pocket and touched it to Lily’s head, as Gray Tie tucked the book into his coat’s inner pocket.

“What are you doing?!” She asked in a sob. She tried to grab Red Tie’s hand, watching in confusion as a gold line of script shimmered on Lily’s head. Ember yelped when he grabbed her wrist and dragged the thing across her forehead.

Gray Tie smiled at her, and Ember swore his black eyes glowed purple. “It will make sense when the gathering begins,” Red Tie said as he released her arm, and she staggered back, almost tripping over the chair. When she steadied herself, they had vanished. Ember turned back to Lily, and she watched as her sister’s monitor began to go haywire. The golden script on her forehead glowed, and three words came into focus.

Nurses rushed in, and Ember staggered back. She caught sight of her reflection in the window, and she felt her chest swell in fear and joy. The same words on Lily’s head were written on her own: to be trusted. The television screen in the room lit up, with an emergency news broadcast. "Her heart rate, it's returning to normal," a nurse said.

"My fellow Americans," Ember turned to see the President on the screen. "The world as we know it has changed, and it will never be the same." A square appeared in the upper left hand screen, showing videos of space ships approaching earth. "We don't know what they want, but the messages they have sent said they will know who they can trust."

Ember looked to Lily, then her own reflection. Beyond the window, lights pierced the dark clouds. She fell to her knees and knew that she was safe. Lily was also safe. A doctor came in, and Ember didn't worry. He could be trusted.