The Savior Rises (13 page)

“I offered to do what you wanted. You wouldn’t tell me what to do. WHAT IS IT YOU WANT FROM ME!” She couldn’t stop now. She just wanted it all to be over.

“What is it you want from me?

What is it you want from me?

What is it you want from me?”

Those were the last words she remembered. Somehow after that, the room went dark, and she blacked out. Her eyes remained fixed on Dennis. He lay on the table, no longer breathing. She wondered how many years he’d been alive only to be killed by his sibling. How sad is it when your own flesh and blood is the one who betrays you?

Isn’t that how the Bible started – Cain and Abel, brother against brother? What about the Civil War, death coming at the hands of uncles and cousins, all because people believed in and wanted different things. There’s no family; there’s no love. There’s only one thing in life that anyone shares, and that’s death.

If anyone in life deserves to die, it’s your own personal family. Her mind floated in space, and she wondered if she were asleep. Everything was dark. It was all closing in on her. She really was alone in the world, but aren’t we all alone?

The only god she could think of was the one buried six feet under the ground, rotting. The god of death. The god of despair. The god of anyone and everyone who had already left this world, with worms eating the last remains of their yet-to-be decayed flesh or already rotten corpses. The spirits from beyond had betrayed her for the last time. She knew full well there was nobody anyone could count on in life, nobody.

Stefani yawned and stretched her arms above her head. Her body kept getting sorer and stiffer every single morning. At that thought, she bolted upright and crashed back down on her mattress, pulling on the restraints holding her in place. She was fastened to a bed, her wrists held by cloth straps and her ankles secured with some white sterile ankle cuffs to the bottom railing.

Where was she? The walls were all white, and the only other thing in the room was a little white plastic chair that sat next to a white plastic table. There was one square window in the corner above her right shoulder, and the sun sneaked a peak at her through some rolling clouds.

“Do I hear somebody moving around in there?” a voice said from outside the closed door.

Stefani heard a key being inserted in a hole. The handle turned, and the door swung open.

“Staci?” Stefani said. “Staci, is that you? What are you doing? Why are you dressed like that?”

Staci entered the room dressed in a set of very used, faded light green scrubs and a generic pair of crocs. The kind of basic, non-descript shoes nurses wear. Comfortable, soft soles, lots of padding, made specifically for standing on your feet all day. Staci wasn’t a nurse, though. She was her roommate.

“Staci, what are you doing?” Stefani asked again.

“I hope we’re going to have a good day today,” Staci said in a tone often used with small children. “It’s time to take your medication, and I don’t want to fight with you about it. We don’t want anything like yesterday. Now, that wasn’t fun for any of us, was it?” she asked.

“Staci, what the hell is going on? What are you doing here? Why are you dressed like this? WHAT IN THE HELL IS HAPPENING TO ME!”

Stefani grew more anxious by the minute.

“Lori, can you come and help me, please. Looks like Stefani is going to give us some problems again. Stefani, Lori and I are going to hold your arms. If you take your medicine like Dr. Bob prescribed, we’ll let you watch TV. Stefani… Stefani, do you understand what I am saying to you?” Staci continued.

Stefani reached with both hands, lunging forward with all her might, but she couldn’t break the bindings holding her arms in place. She couldn’t figure out why she could pull chains out of a rock and mortar wall, but she couldn’t bend the bed frame a tiny bit. Maybe the drugs were affecting her.

Crap, she hadn’t been getting any drugs. She wasn’t ever here before. This was the first time she’d seen this place, yet her two roommates were trying to give her drugs. What was happening?

Staci abruptly threw a cup of water in Stefani’s face. Ice cold liquid ran down her cheeks and neck to her… -- what the heck? She was naked. She didn’t have on a top. Why would they have taken her clothes off?

“Stefani, this is your last chance. You can stay tied up in this bed all day. I don’t really give a crap. Or you can take your medication and go have breakfast. You know they have pancakes today, and you love those little pancakes. You can also watch TV,” Staci said. “Remember how much you enjoy The Price is Right? Drew Carey will be on again today. You like Drew Carey. Remember?”

Stefani had to think fast. She couldn’t stay tied up in bed all day. She had to figure out what was happening, and the only way to do that was to swallow some pills. She was so confused, she had no idea what was going on or how to react to this. What do you do when you wake up one day in an asylum?

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I seem to be a little disoriented this morning. Drop them in my mouth, and I’ll swallow them. No worries, I promise.”

“Ok, but if you try and bite me again, like you did yesterday, you’ll stay in here tied up for the entire week. Do you understand me?” Staci asked.

“Sure.”

Stefani opened her mouth, and Staci dropped in a couple little pink pills and one blue one. She thought about not swallowing, but Staci held her mouth closed, and Lori did something to her throat until everything went down. Whatever they’d given her was in her system now.

“Now, that was a good girl. We’ll come back in 30 minutes or so and see how you feel. K?”

With the statement trailing off, Staci and Lori both walked out the door and headed down the hall to their next victim.

What was that?
Stefani thought. She felt like every morning she woke up in the Twilight Zone, in some new world or foreign land. Nothing was ever the same twice. Was she supposed to pretend she was crazy, locked up in a Cracker Jack Box? She wasn’t crazy. She knew full well what was happening.

As she lay there contemplating her latest dilemma, the room started spinning. Her entire body felt limp, almost numb. Finally, Staci came back through the door with a wheelchair. But, by then, Stefani would’ve sworn she’d already wet the bed. She just didn’t seem to have any feeling anymore. She almost didn’t even care what happened.

Staci lifted her into the chair after releasing her arms and legs. She had to practically roll Stefani off the bed before linking her arms under Stefani’s shoulders and propping her in the wheelchair. Thankfully, Staci threw a robe over Stefani’s naked body before they left the room.

WOW, there are a lot of people in here,
Stefani thought to herself as they made their way to the main room. Most of the people were women, but there were a few men, as well. It looked like there were guards stationed at every door. Staci wheeled her up to the TV, and, sure enough, The Price is Right was in full swing.

Jesus
, she thought to herself, The Price is Right. She wondered whatever happened to Bob Barker and how old he must now be. The man hosted the show for a billion years it seemed. Still, why did Staci think she had any interest in The Price is Right? Come to mention it, why was she sitting in a wheel chair with drool flowing down her chin in a house for the loco vegetables? What were these people trying to do to her?

“Hey, what are you in for?” the lady next to her tapped her on her shoulder as she asked. “They got me for pissing in public. Said I was a nuisance, so they locked me up. I still think it was because I saw those two policemen flying. They really could fly you know – wings and all.”

Stefani sat there and wondered if maybe she was crazy.  Gargoyles, wings, people getting their heads chopped off, sword fights, car chases? None of it added up. She was a stripper who had a waitressing job. Did she think she’d somehow turned into a super hero? What did it matter anyway, she had probably lost both jobs by now. She hadn’t checked in for work in days.

She wondered if anyone even missed her. She’d never really been nice to anyone at either job. She had no friends. Her roommates seemed to all be nurses in her psychiatric ward. What chance did she have of convincing anyone she was anything other than a mixed bag of nuts?

“I’m here for killing a few gargoyles and Roguls. Roguls are gargoyles’ human slaves. They pledge their support in the hopes of being a gargoyle themselves someday. But, most of the time, they just turn into these Hell hounds with really bad breath. We killed a couple of them. These dogs are as big as a pure-bred racing horse. They smell, as well, almost as bad as you do, you freak of nature.”

“You really might want to try being a little more polite,” said the guy sitting next to her. “I have been here for nine years now, and trust me, all we have is each other. They’re after you, though, for something special, aren’t they? Don’t give in, keep fighting. You’re the key, you know. You’re the prophecy that’s been passed down for centuries, I can feel it. You are…”

Whack.

“I’m pretty sure I told you to shut up, Ralph. If I hear you speak another word, I’ll personally cut out your tongue and shove it up your nostril. Do you understand me?”

The burly guard screamed at Ralph, who was now completely silent. His head was bowed, and his entire body became submissive.

“You didn’t have to hit me so hard,” Ralph whispered as he flinched and ducked his head again. By his reactions, he seemed accustomed to a lot of abuse. Stefani wondered if the guards hit everyone there.

She diverted her attention from the confrontation with her new best friend and shifted her gaze to the surroundings that encompassed the recreation area. She looked at the cracked, monochromatic walls, and her eye caught site of the same two posters that had been in her bedroom. The pair hung together every few feet. There must’ve been 30 of them, pair after pair, one right after the other.

As she looked at the posters of Bath and Ladispoli, she cried. Was she really losing her mind? How was it possible? Did a person know when they were crazy, or did every wacky loon think they were sane? Both of her hands were shaking, and she couldn’t keep her left eye from twitching spasmodically.

The orderly pulled Stefani’s wheelchair back and said, “Let’s take you to breakfast, Miss Hernandez. You must be starving, and they have your pancakes.”

Why did people keep calling them her pancakes? Her lips were so numb; she didn’t know if she could even eat any pancakes. As the orderly rolled her to the breakfast table, an older lady sitting all alone held up a sign as she passed by.

They are after you.

That was all it said.

What was that supposed to mean? How did all of these sick people know who she was and what was happening in her life? It didn’t make any sense.

They pushed her up to the table and set a plate of silver dollar pancakes in front of her. Her place setting also had one container of syrup and a plastic fork. She thought it was logical to be given a plastic fork – she just couldn’t figure out how to cut her pancakes with it. Her hands still felt numb, and her coordination was completely lost. Eating wouldn’t be the easiest thing for her to do. Maybe they would try starving her by robbing her of all her physical maneuverability.

There was a young lady, probably 15 or 16, sitting at the table next to her. Within seconds of taking her first bite, the girl leaned over and said,

“You have to figure out a way to run. They won’t rest until they consume you. You’re the key.”

“HOLY SHIT, PEOPLE. WILL YOU LEAVE ME ALONE!” she screamed, while picking up her plate and launching it against the far wall. Her four pancakes flew in different directions, and the syrup sprayed the old guy sitting across from her. He smiled an almost toothless grin. He had only three remaining, two on top and one on the bottom in the front. All three were solid black.

Stefani cried again. She couldn’t control herself anymore. Why was she here? Can people really do this to somebody with nobody noticing? Didn’t she have any rights?

“WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE!” she screamed at nobody in particular.

“Stefani, what’s with the tears?” Staci said as she grabbed her chair and wheeled her backward. She pushed Stefani toward another door as she continued talking. “Dr. Bob is waiting to see you. Do you remember Dr. Bob? You seemed to like him the last time you two chatted. He really does think highly of you.”

Staci rolled her into a small room that held only a desk and a small plastic chair on rollers. Dr. Bob stared at her from across the desolate surface until Staci closed the door firmly behind her. Apparently she was on her way to harass other patients, leaving Stefani alone with this freaky little man.

He looked familiar to Stefani, but she just couldn’t…wait a minute, this was the doctor from the hospital. He was the doctor who took her blood samples. The same doctor who she’d cut off when Dennis arrived. That was the night she met Matt. But both Matt and Dennis were now dead.  Everyone seemed to die around her except Dr. Bob. He was alive and ticking.

“How are you feeling today, Stefani?” he asked in a freaky cracking voice. He wheeled his chair closer to her, the legs screeching in protest. He placed his hand inside her robe, and suddenly Stefani was again fully aware she had no clothes on.

“Do you like that, Stefani?” Dr. Bob asked. “Does that feel nice? You know, if you’re nice to me, I can be nice to you, as well. We can make a deal, you and me. Your stay here could be….ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Stefani felt well enough to grab Dr. Bob’s right finger and break it clean off his hand. He sat there for a second grabbing at his missing appendage, screaming almost silently, until Stefani picked up the clipboard and smacked him across the head. When he fell off his stool, she heard a loud pop as Dr. Bob’s head hit the tile floor.

“You’d better think twice before ever touching my breasts again, you perverted freak. I don’t care how much medication I’m on, I will rip out your heart.”

She stood as she continued her speech. Her legs were wobbly, but strong enough to keep her upright as she began repeatedly kicking Dr. Bob in the stomach and crotch.

She pulled off his white coat, grabbed his glasses, badge, and car keys and walked out the door. After taking a couple of wrong turns she found herself in the parking lot and hit the alarm button on the key pad. The car screeched its sounds of warning, drawing her over like a beacon. Damn, a BMW. She’d always wanted to drive a BMW.

The medicine had been short lived. She didn’t have much trouble walking and quickly started to feel like her old self again. She still couldn’t figure out who her old self really was, though.

Her plan was simple. She had to figure out where she was, head home, pack, and get lost for a very long time. Whoever these freaks were, their games were getting sicker.

Greg sat in the observation room smiling. This damn girl just kept going, didn’t she?

“Get Staci back to the apartment, now,” he said into the intercom. Just in case Stefani headed back there, it might help to keep her confused as long as possible. She had no idea what was happening to her, the poor girl.

Stefani walked through the front door of what she thought was her home, and there was Staci, sitting on the couch watching TV.

“Hey, Stefani!” Staci yelled, as Stefani walked by. Stefani didn’t even acknowledge her. She walked into her room and slammed the door. She grabbed her suitcase from the upper shelf of her closet and threw in some clothes. God only knew what was happening, but she didn’t care. It seemed like she was just packing a few days ago. She didn’t even remember what happened to her bag from the trip to Europe.