Between

by Beckett, Shelby

• ISBN13: 9781477239940
• ISBN10: 1477239944
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-08-15
• Publisher: Author Solutions

Summary

Every future hangs on a choice. Beautiful Stacy Addison is in a coma, caught between this world and the next. Here an ominous Power, seeing her exceptional healing abilities as the key to expanding its own strength, forces her toward a decision that will alter her own future, as well as influence the future of the entire world. An eccentric neighbor, an ancient Greek god, and an unlikely mentor disguised as a cat help Stacy navigate life in the mysterious realm of BETWEEN. But despite all she learns there, Stacy still has to face the most profound choice she will ever make-return to the husband and daughter she loves, or embrace the dark Power's tempting offer to transform into reality her passionate dream of healing the world-unaware of the hidden price that she and the rest of humanity will have to pay. No matter which way she chooses . . . Earth's future will be decided BETWEEN.

Excerpts

Chapter 16 "Watch it! Coming through!" Stacy quickly stepped aside as two blue-suited attendants carrying a stretcher hurried past and disappeared through the door she had just exited. Minerva guided Stacy toward the center of an enormous, vaulted room filled with row upon row of desks separated by wide aisles. Looking up, Stacy saw that the entire ceiling was a skylight through which light was pouring, filling the vast space with airy luminosity. The section of the room toward which they were moving was crowded with people. Most of them were standing in lines that moved slowly past a row of desks set about three-quarters of the way toward the back of the room. Behind the desks sat men and women in green jump suits, busy at what appeared to be computers. One by one, each person in line took a seat in a chair beside one of the desks, where the official in charge engaged him or her in a brief dialogue, typing busily throughout the conversation. At the end of the discussion, an attendant in a blue jumpsuit stationed near the rear of the room stepped forward and led the interviewed person toward a large set of double doors set in the back wall. These doors were unlike any Stacy had seen since awakening in the temporary unit. All the doors in her room, as well as the one opening into the space where they were now standing, had appeared ordinary, like those with which she was familiar. This massive double portal, however, arched half way toward the distant ceiling, each side wider than her outstretched arms. The doors themselves were huge slabs of a material that glowed like highly polished mahogany, yet exuded a vibrant, welcoming warmth, as if they were alive. Intricately carved landscapes and figures covered every inch of their glossy surfaces. Stacy was unable to decide what these carvings depicted, because each time she looked, they seemed to have changed. She began to wonder if the images were somehow moving, shifting positions, as if they, too, were alive. To her surprise, this did not make her feel uneasy; rather, it tapped into a wellspring of wonder she had almost forgotten she possessed and flooded her with an almost overwhelming longing to press herself against the warm, living wood, to push open the doors and pass through them into what lay beyond. A sudden explosion of noise shifted her attention to the opposite wall. What looked like standard issue double doors had burst open, and a large, disorganized mass of brown-skinned people in brightly colored clothing was pouring into the room. Some were crying, some moaning and holding onto various parts of their bodies or to each other; many were silent and appeared dazed. Several attendants in blue jump suits were attempting to form the group into lines, while a cheerful-looking man in a similar outfit moved through the crowd, patting shoulders and speaking to each one, obviously comforting and reassuring them. Stacy turned toward Minerva. "Who are all these people? And what is this place?" "This is the Entry Processing Center, my dear, and these are new arrivals. To judge from their clothing, I'd say they're from India. They have just lost their physical bodies, probably in a train wreck, and they have come here to be processed." "Processed! What does that mean?" "It means that all their information must be taken by a Greeter, who then assigns them to an appropriate recuperation unit. Those whose bodies were badly injured and who need to recover from the tremendous shock this has caused, will go to what you would consider a hospital recovery unit. Those who are just emotionally traumatized will be sent to a unit that specializes in psychological care." Minerva led her to the nearest desk, where the green-suited woman sitting behind it glanced up and smiled, then went back to typing. Seated in a chair beside her was a dazed-looking man with a deep gash across his forehead. After asking his name three times, the woman lifted a small, flat object from the desktop and pressed it briefly against the undamaged part of his forehead. Immediately his picture and name appeared on the screen. "What is that?" Stacy whispered to Minerva. The woman at the computer looked up again. "This? It's a mnemometer. It instantly extracts all the data necessary to complete an individual's file. Watch." She pressed a button on the front of the device and instantly the man's life history scrolled across the screen. "It gives us information about the person from birth until the moment of death of the physical body." Stacy was intrigued. "Do you use it for everybody?" "No, only with those whose stress levels or injuries prevent them from communicating verbally with us." "But wouldn't it be easier just to get what you need from this little gizmo all the time?" The woman smiled. "Most people need to talk about what has happened to them. The sooner they do that, the faster they heal and adjust to their new lives." Stacy watched as the last of the train wreck line exited through the huge, carved double doors in the back wall. "What's behind those? Most of the people I've seen checked in here are taken through them. Where do they go?" Minerva shook her head. "I can answer that in a general way, but until you're ready to leave your body behind permanently, you can't find out for yourself. In fact," her expression seemed a little wistful to Stacy, "I'm not allowed through those doors yet, either." "So it's a big secret?" "Not really. They are part of the boundary that divides Between from Home. Only those who have permanently lost their bodies, what you think of as died, are allowed to cross that line." "Oh." Stacy moved a little away from the doors. "Maybe I'll hold off awhile on finding out more about that."