The Stone

 

Prologue

I have lived for 94 years and I am ready to go, but I can’t.  There is one more thing I must do.  I cannot let the stone be sold.  I must pass it on, or the whole world might pay for it.  If the stone were to be destroyed, it could potentially destroy all living things.  It is far more ancient than I am myself.  My granddaughter must take it, and guard it now.  If this is the last thing I do, my life will be a success.  

I know what that necklace can do. It has the power to change the whole world.  There is no way I will be lucky enough to take it from her dead body.  She will most definitely pass it on to one of her relatives.  One of her relatives that is here, in this hospital.  I must take her out.  I must get the stone!    

The Wilkens family was all in a terrible state of distress.  They had flown in from Fairfax, Virginia to Kansas City, Missouri to visit their Grandma, Eleanor, who was very close to death.  She had been battling Parkinson’s disease for the last 15 years.  Grandma was the wise matriarch of the family.  What would life be like without her?   

She had been sleeping for 5 hours, and the Wilkens family was beginning to think the worst- maybe she won’t ever wake up.  

Gathered around her bed were three of her beloved grandchildren, Kelsey, Brad, and Steven.  Alongside them was her daughter, Stephanie, and her husband Mark.  The doctor came in and told them they had to leave because they had to give Eleanor some more medicine.  The family reluctantly left the bedside of Grandma.  Kelsey waited the longest to exit the room, trying to make eye-contact with Grandma.  She wanted reassurance that she would be okay.    

It was around noon, and everyone was hungry.  Dad volunteered to run to Subway to go get sandwiches.  Kelsey quickly volunteered to go with Dad.  She desperately needed to get out of the hospital and away from all of the sadness.    

When we got in the car, it seemed as if Dad had something on his mind.  “Dad, is there something on your mind?”  

“Yeah Kels, I just don’t know what to think of this situation.  I saw you in the back there, and it looked to be that you were thinking about something.  What was it?”

“I was just thinking about Grandma and all of the good times we have had together.”

“Yeah, she always seemed to really like you.”

 

They picked up their lunch and returned to the hospital.  They all ate in silence.  Thirty minutes afterwards, the doctor met them in the lobby and told them they could come back if they wished, and that Grandma was awake.  There was a huge rush of happiness that the entire family felt when they heard she was awake.

Mrs. Wilkens, Steven, and Brad rushed in right away, and Kelsey and Mr. Wilkens walked in together.  They immediately went up to Grandma and told her how worried they were, and hugged her.  Grandma then did something very unexpected.  

“Do you think you could let me have some time alone with Kelsey right now?”  Grandma said.  I was so surprised, I tried to hide behind Dad.  

Mom was the first to answer as she turned to look at me, “Okay.”  Everybody walked back toward the lobby, giving me a strange stare.  I waited to move until everyone had left.

“Kelsey, come hold my hand,” She said.  “I need to talk to you about something very important.”

Okay Grandma, What is It?”  I walked over and sat in the chair next to her bed as a took her hand in mine.  I felt very nervous.

“Kelsey, this might make you feel overwhelmed, but I know I’m dying.  In fact, I am ready to die.  I doubt I will even make it to next week!  But there is one thing I must do before I go, and it is very important.”

Kelsey had no clue what to say, “What is it Grandma?” was all she could muster, as silent tears poured down her face like a rushing riving.     

“There is a special stone I have carried with me for almost 80 years now.  I was around your age when my Grandma gave it to me.  It has power you couldn’t even imagine.  You must guard it, and not let anyone else who isn’t apart of our family tree have it.  If they do, very bad things could happen to this planet.  Can you do that for me?”

“Oh, Great!  I guess.  Can I wear it around, or should I just keep it at home?”

“Do not leave it at home!  Somebody could break in and take it!  You must take it wherever you go, but don’t wear it so it is visible.”  Grandma began to pull it out from under her shirt.  It was a grey stone with red streaks in it.  It had a gold chain attached to it so you could wear it around your neck.  “Protect this with your life.”  When she put it in Kelsey’s hands, she grimaced.  “I am ready to go now.  I love you Kelsey.”  She then pulled the plug of what was supporting her life, and there was a huge siren that went off to tell the nurses to come in.  

Three nurses rushed in right away and ordered Kelsey to leave right away.  She shoved the stone in her boot, and ran to where she believed were her family.  They weren’t there.  

“Kelsey! Kelsey!”  She turned around to see a nurse calling her name.  She was standing near the door of Grandma’s room.  “Come over here.”

Kelsey swiftly walked over to the nurse and asked, “Have you seen my parents?”

“No.  Can you tell me what happened when you were in that room with your Grandma?”  

“She gave me this neat stone, and then she said that she was ready to go, so she pulled the plug.”  Kelsey hadn’t yet come to her senses.  She was in a greatm state of shock.  

“Really?  Can I see that stone?”

Kelsey reached into her boot to pick it up, but then she remembered what Grandma had said, and decided to leave it where it was.  “I can’t.  I can’t let you see it.  It is too valuable.”

“Is that true?”  She had a strange look on her face that gave Kelsey the sense that she was the nicest person ever.  “Why is that”

Kelsey became defendant.  She wasn’t going to reveal anymore information.  “That is none of your business.”  

The unexpected happened.  The nurse took a gun out of her pocket so Kelsey could see it.  She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, but she knew she couldn’t do that, because the nurse would shoot, and then no one would be able to protect the stone.  She took the stone out showed it to the nurse.  

The nurse looked satisfied, so she put it away.  “That is very cool.”  She had a big smile on her face.  “Why don’t you come with me.”  Kelsey never would’ve listened, but she knew she had to.  The nurse led her outside, away from the hospital, and towards the parking lot.  She went to her car, unlocked it, and told Kelsey to get in.  Kelsey knew that she would be gagged, and tied up in the car, so she had to make a move really quickly.  

She wasn’t a very violent person at all.  She was always a smart, yet popular girl with a lot of friends.  Her friends would always watch romantic movies and braid each other’s hair, not watch thriller movies and play fight.  She was not at all equipped for this situation, but something had to give.  

The nurse opened the door and told her to get in.  She cooperatively got in.  She saw her chance.  As the nurse walked around the front of the car to get in on the other side, she got out and started to run.

Her great idea lasted 2 seconds.  The nurse saw her right away.  “Stop now or you are dead!”  When Kelsey turned around, the gun was already level with her head.  She stopped right away and put her hands up as she walked to the car.  They both got in the car together.

Kelsey was so shocked right now.  She had no clue what to do.  She closed the door.  When she put on her seatbelt, the nurse bashed the butt of her gun into the back of Kelsey’s head.  Kelsey was knocked unconscious.

When Kelsey woke up, her arms were tightly tied behind her back, and her legs were tied together as well.  There was a bandanna covering her eyes and an old rag shoved in her mouth.  Kelsey heard something that sounded like an engine of a car running.  She had no clue what to do, so she started nodding her head to let the nurse know she had awoke.  The nurse definitely understood, and violently tore the bandanna that was covering her eyes.  She could now see.  

She began to wonder how long she had been knocked out, because they were driving in the middle of no where.  She didn’t recognize at all where she was.  “Where are we?”  She timidly asked.

“It doesn’t matter.  We will stop soon.”  It was clear that the nurse was in charge.  This couldn’t be good.  

After about 5 more minutes of silence, the nurse pulled over on the side of the rural road.  Everything was super dusty, and there were thousands of little stones everywhere.  “Get out of the car.  Now.”  Kelsey tried to move, but only squirmed around.  The nurse took out a knife and sliced her hands free.  When the nurse put the knife away, Kelsey tried to make her second move.  she tried to slam the nurses head into the dashboard, but this plan lasted about 2 seconds too.  She slammed her head into the dashboard, but it wasn’t nearly hard enough to knock her out.  The nurse was furious.  She took out her knife and slashed Kelsey’s arm enough for it to hurt and for blood.  

Kelsey was appalled.  She was feeling something she had never felt before.  She wasn’t really scared anymore, and the pain was bad, but she was really just pissed off.  “Who are you?”  Was all she said as she got out of the car.  

“Just get out and do what I say,”  was what the nurse replied with.  “Give me the stone.”

Kelsey hesitantly took it out of her boot and put it in the nurses hand.  This put a huge evil smile on the nurse’s face. “Thank you.”  She put the necklace around her neck, and tucked the stone in her shirt.  “Get back in the car.”  Kelsey felt defeated.  She got back in the car.  She sat in the passenger seat as she did before.  The nurse went to the trunk to most likely grab some more cloth to tie her up again.

She was right.  The nurse had come back with some more cloth.  She then took out her gun.  “I hate to do this, but I have to.”  

She watched the nurse load the gun and fire a couple of blanks in the street.  She then turned to Kelsey, and fired one that lodged in her right foot.  Her foot was like a roof on a rainy day.  The foot was dripping blood off the sides.  She thought about asking for the nurse to just kill her, but she couldn’t, she had to go down fighting.  She got even more pissed off.  

The nurse bent down to tie her feet together, and Kelsey saw her chance.  This was her chance, the nurse wasn’t looking!  Quickly, she only had a couple more seconds before the nurse looked up.  She finally thought of something.

She grabbed the necklace that was around her neck and pulled it towards her body as hard as possible.  She had caught the nurse off guard.  The nurse tried to pull the gun out of her pocket, but Kelsey was ready.  With her left hand, she punched the gun out of the nurses hand, and before the nurse could react, she slammed the nurses head as hard as she could into the dashboard.

The crash made a huge sound.  The nurse was unconscious, so Kelsey took the necklace off of her, and put it back in her boot.  Her left foot was completely immobile, so she hopped out of the car on one foot.  She  picked the gun up from the floor of the car, and stashed it in her pocket.  She was now at a dead end.  She didn’t really know how to drive, so she was kind of stuck.  She could check the nurse to see if she had a cell phone or any money.  She had both.

Kelsey thought about calling for the police, but then realized it would be better to call an ambulance that would bring her back to the hospital, and a cop car that would justify the nurse.  

She dialed 911.  

“Hello, is anybody there?”

Yes, this is Kelsey Wilkens.  I was just taken hostage by one of the nurses at the UMKC hospital.  I have no clue where I am now.”  There was something in her voice that was very different.  She wasn’t the timid person she normally was on the telephone.  She seemed confident.  

“Okay, are you in any danger as of now?”

“No, the nurse is unconscious.”   She said that with such pride, because she knew she never would’ve been able to what she had done even yesterday.  

“Can you give a description of where you are?”

“Sure.  I am in the middle of nowhere.  It seems to be a very rural area in maybe Kansas or Missouri.  I was knocked unconscious, and then I woke up and we were in the middle of nowhere.”

“Okay, we will try to find you.  We will send an ambulance and a police car.  Just stay where you are.”

 

Kelsey really didn’t want this nurse to wake up anytime soon, so she took the gun, and smashed it into the forehead of the nurse, sort of like how the nurse did to her.  She then just lay there thinking about what had happened.  Gosh, this had been an eventful day. She then started to think about her family, and where they might’ve gone.  hopefully they weren’t taken by some evil people too.  If they were, she would have the police of her side.  

 

The police car and ambulance arrived together after about an hour, which meant that she must not have been knocked out for that long.  Kelsey felt a sudden rush of happiness, knowing she was safe now.  

The people in the ambulance suddenly came out with a stretcher and tended to Kelsey.  They put her on the stretcher and carried her over to the ambulance.  It happened so quickly, she didn’t even get to see what happened to the nurse.  The doctors all surrounded and tended to her leg.  It hurt so bad, she passed out again.  

She woke up in the hospital that Grandma died in.  She was surrounded by her family, just like grandma.  Her family all looked worried like they were when Grandma was asleep.  

They didn’t seem to notice her wake up, so she let them know.  “Hi guys!”  She said. She couldn’t really feel her leg, but other than that, she felt great.  

“Oh my gosh, how are you?”  Mom said, she was the most worried.  It seemed like her dad was calm about it just like before.  Her brothers seemed to be wandering off now.  

“I feel great.  I think I have changed in a good way guys.”  

“Honey, that is great, but I want to hear what happened first.”

Kelsey told them all that happened.  Mom and Dad listened intently without interrupting at all.  Brad and Steven were playing around with each other in the back.  She was just happy to see them all together.  She also wanted to hear what had happened to them.

“Where did you go after Grandma told you she wanted to talk with me?”

“There was a very nice nurse that took us outside and played with the children.  He was incredibly nice.  The doctor came later and said that Grandma had died, and that you were missing.  I was worried sick about you!”

“That is crazy.”  He then realized that her boots had been removed, and that must’ve meant her stone was moved.  She prayed really fast that she wasn’t being treated by another evil nurse who wanted the stone from her.  “Have you seen a stone that was attached to a gold chain?”

“Yes, it is right here,” her dad had said.  He then handed it to her.  “Did Grandma give this to you?”  He now had a smile on his face as if he knew the answer.  

Kelsey quickly put it around her neck and hid the stone.  “It was the last thing she did.”  

Dad gave her a look as if he were there.  “You look tired, why don’t you get some sleep.”

He was right.  She was so tired she might fall asleep any moment.  “Alright.”

 

Epilogue

The nurse was sent to jail for 10 years years, under the charge of kidnapping a child.  Kelsey decided not to press any further charges, in effort to not exploit the stone.

As for Kelsey, she lived a life very similar to her Grandma’s.  She lived to the age of 94.  Before her death, she passed the stone on to her own grandchild, Eleanor.