THE SECOND SIGHT
Chapter 79
THE RESURRECTION
BOAT
(angrily)
Hey, wait a bloody second, you mean sonofab****!
The Angel of Death didn’t seem to hear me because I felt its constricting presence un-der me, lifting me up and away from my body as people were rushed out of the reception area of the hotel.
My body was suspended, tilted sideways toward the pool.
I could see that my legs were twisted at very awkward angles, and my head was indeed split into two with some gooey white stuff spilling out; brain matter, more like.
BOAT
(fearfully, fiercely)
Move into the water, goddamn it!
And then, as if it had heard me, my body began to roll, sli-pping off that concrete slope by some gravitational for-ce, sliding by painstaking miniscule grades as my soul rose higher and higher, and the Angel of Death placed his hands on me, lifting me away slowly … and then my bullet-riddled broken body splashed into the swimming-pool.
I almost heard the eerie sigh of the strange being bearing me away, and then he seemed to drop me and ascended gradually without my soul…
And then I was falling, easing my way throu-ghthe water, seeing my bloodied body sinking slowly toward the floor of the pool. My soul smashed into my body, and we became one again.
Mercifully everything blacked out immediately, but not before I had seen the Angel of Death moving slowly toward the skies, and then disappearing into the clouds.
BOAT
(muttering)
bas***d!
I came to a choking awareness.
I tried to breathe, and got a jolt as water rushed throu-ghmy nostrils.
My eyes sprang open and my limbs flailed.
I was still in the pool … but I was moving.
I was moving!
I held my breath and brushed my hands over my head, expecting to feel the gaping wound where the bullet had split the skull open, but nothing. No pain, no wound.
My hands were all over my che-st and stomach. Nothing! But I had hit ha-rd concrete, ha-rd enough to break all the bones in my body.
But I was whole!
But then there was crimson all around me. The water was filled with blood, evidence that I had entered it fatally wounded.
Damn me to ashes, it had worked!
But I was drowning.
My exhilaration was so complete that I had forgotten for a moment that I was in the swimming pool. Already I felt movement above me and looked up. About three people were coming down toward me, obviously a rescue party.
I kicked upward, swerving them, and surfaced.
I looked into the dark sky and felt like hollering my head off. I gasped painfully for breath and as the would-be rescuers surfaced alongside I grabbed the concrete edge of the pool and pulled myself out of the water.
A sizeable crowd had gathered even at that late hour. A few hotel security were around too, and their faces were so filled with disbelief and shock.
AN OBESE WOMAN
(explaining to a young couple)
My God, he jumped from the top floor! Of all the silly things to do! These young men are mad!
A THIN MAN
(shocked)
No, no, no! He didn’t jump! I was in that chair! He fell on the concrete, and his body was broken! There was blood all over him! That man should be dead!!
There was confusion, and I walked quickly out, heading for the sliding gla-ss doors.
SECURITY 1
Sir, sir, I think you ought to come with us. What you did is certainly against hotel regulations.
I glared at him.
I was entering the reception area, and could see from the clock above the long mahogany desk that it was three in the morning.
BOAT
(coldly)
I’m sorry, but believe me, you don’t want to detain me.
They paused, about four of them, looking puzzled.
SECURITY 2
There’re bullet holes in your shirt, sir! I really think you should come with us!
I glanced down at my we-t clothes.
BOAT
Hell, you’re right, dude, I got bullets holes in my f******g shirt.
He wanted to pursue it, but one of them – a tall, lean man – grabbed his arm and shook his head.
The huge car park was almost empty, but my Chrysler was parked where we had left it the previous night.
Hideous was splashed on the roof of the car, tentacles spread luxuriously.
It was the demon that saw me first, I guess. It suddenly balled itself into a quivering little ball, and its one pink eye turned to me, filled with sudden panic. Its haunches were tensed below its body, ready for flight.
I pointed a finger at Hideous.
BOAT
You keep still, motherf****er!
It hissed, its fear sending out a repulsive odour from its body.
My wrath was so full it was choking me.
BOAT
(coldly)
You piece of sh*t! Just burn! In the name of Jesus Christ just f*****g explode!
I saw the intensified panic in its eye, and heard its wail of frantic pain a brief second before bloated and shattered into smithereens, and I got a lifetime of satisfaction from that sight.
I laughed maniacally as the pieces of Hideous began to burn, and heard its screams of abject pain and horror.
BOAT
(laughing gleefully)
Oooohhh yeaaaaahh! That ones for Bob, you motherf****r!!
My car keys were still in my pocket, and I deactivated the alarm and got in the car.
My turn was ti-ght, and I shot out of the car park.
Once more the chase was on, and this time I was armoured.
I had seen death. I had chatted with death, and it had turned out to be something terrible, something scary, something diabolic. They had killed me, and I had returned from the verge of death.
The wrath was a bitter feeling in my gut.
I was so angry that I wished those demons were facing me now.
Also read – The Second Sight – Episode 24
Luckily I still had one old habit I hadn’t quite gotten to quitting yet.
In my former life of drugs and s-ex I always kept a small airti-ght briefcase in my car containing two sets of clothes.
It was one of the codes of the professional player: always keep nice clothes nearby for you wouldn’t know when you might need to change quickly to impress.
I parked the car on a lonely stretch of road, got out, walked to the boot and brou-ght out the briefcase. I stri-pped off my we-t bullet-ridden clothes. The dark suit, silk blue tie and the matching silk tie still bore the sharp lines of the iron and the folds, and I ru-bbed my hands down them a number of times to resto-re some sanity to the curves.
I applied some deodorant, dressed quickly, and splashed some perfume on me.
I stuffed my we-t clothes into the briefcase again, and then I got back behind the wheel, started up and drove fast out of there.
Someone – or something – was going to pay.
It was as simple as that. I had been scared bad, and the scent of death still clung to me like some dank aftershave.
But no more.
I was tired of the running, and I had finally come into my own, responding to the calling.
This was Showtime!
I drove straight to the Portville General Hospital.
It was basically like the rest of the angel town.
Set apart from the city centre, its route was peppered with laboratories, pharmaceuticals, sports complexes, health shops and other glossy shops ranging from exotic foods to health-conscious fashion shops.
The four-lane street that eventually led to the gigantic hospital was something of an ostentatious exhibition.
The buildings were many, separated by gla-ssy expanses and beautiful mini gardens.
At that hour of the dawn it would all have seemed pretty beautiful and peaceful, but something was happening there when I arrived.
I had felt rather strongly – from an alien kind of awareness – that the Okai-demon would go after Paul Anderson to finish him off as it had promised.
DAWN VISIT
And when I saw the wailing sirens of the cops and firemen I knew that everything was in motion.
A security guard told me when I parked my car and got out that a portion of the Premier Male Ward D had caught fire.
He didn’t know whether it was an electrical fault or from a careless cigarette-smoking patient, but it had grown quite fierce, lic-king up the skies like ‘the devil’s own tongue’.
BOAT
Premier Ward?
I strived to keep the worry from my voice.
SECURITY GUARD
Yep, sir. That’s where they keep all those fat rich folk, you know, politicians and the f*****ng loaded. They’re always doing crazy things like that. They’re gonna raze the whole f*****g place to the ground one of these days, I tell ya.
I moved quickly, running when nobody was watching.
I knew what was happening. The fire wasn’t from an electrical fault or cigarette. It had been set deliberately to create a diversion.
If there was a D Premier Ward, then it presupposes that there would be an A, B and C.
The diversion would be aimed at drawing attention from where Anderson was being kept so that his death would be smooth and wouldn’t draw so much attention.
I followed the firemen and cops, and eventually came across four hulking buildings. They were buried in a profusion of royal palms and tall flower plants. They were lettered A-D, the Premier Wards.
The D was covered by a pall of smoke and an angry fire was lic-king it, but I could see that it was gradually being controlled. Shouts and screams were everywhere.
Police, firemen, nurses, guards – they were all milling around, trying to save patients and property.
I entered Ward C.
A serene reception – soft-coloured furniture, subdued ceiling lighting, a beautiful aquarium, very low soulful music, a gla-ss-topped C-shaped desk – an indication of a hospital doing well.
Two tired-looking male nurses were behind the desk.
A hospital security guard was holding a plastic cu-p un-der a Nescafe dispenser, and he glanced at me briefly as I approached the desk.
The two nurses were not at all receptive, and when I enquired about Pastor Paul Anderson they told me there was an emergency, and if I wanted to see any patient I would have to come back in the morning during visiting hours.
BOAT
(impatiently)
No, please. You don’t un-derstand. I have to see him urgently.
NURSE 1
(indignantly)
Why in the name of God do you need to see that man for at such an ungodly hour? Guy can’t even speak, for crissakes. He’s paralyzed from the ne-ck down, and he’s been on a life-saver since he got here.
A cool voice said behind me, and I turned to see the security guard standing just at my elbow, holding his steaming plastic cu-p of Nescafe dangerously tilted.
SECURITY GUARD
That’s alright, fellas, He’s okay. He’s from the old man’s home. Wouldn’t hurt nothing to let him see the man, would it?
The two of them consulted briefly, and then one shrugged.
NURSE 2
Well, guess not, if you can vouch for him. You have to take him, though. We’re a bit busy with calls here.
My new friend smiled.
He was tall and thin, sp-otting a huge handlebar moustache. It had been a long time since I saw anything like it; I thought they went out of fashion decades ago.
His eyes crinkled at the sides when he smiled.
JOSH
“You might be wondering about me. The name’s Josh Aboagye. I’m a member of the church. Been seeing you and the pastor together quite lately. Come with me, I’ll show you to his ward.
I murmured my thanks as we entered an elevator. It travelled just one block and stopped.
We were on an L-shaped corridor which was brilliantly lighted. We walked past another gla-ss-encased nurses’ quarters and he waved to the three fresh-looking nurses in there.
Also read – The Second Sight – Episode 57
When we went round the bend we met another security guard, this one big and muscular, and Josh Aboagye stopped.
JOSH
You go ahead. The Pastor’s ward is the last door on the right.
SECURITY GUARD
Who, your pastor?
JOSH
Yep. Man here is pastor’s friend. He wants to see him.
The other man gave me the look over, and then he nodded.
SECURITY GUARD
You have to wait a bit, though. There’s a doctor with him.
Aboagye’s eyes narrowed.
JOSH
A doc? At this hour? Why something bad happened to Pastor Anderson?
The man shrugged.
SECURITY GUARD
“Nothing that I know of. This guy just came in about a couple of minutes ago, one of the visiting specialists, he said, and he had the tabs to prove it. We had orders since morning that he might come around, and he chose this hour to arrive. Said there was some complications he had at the female ward or something like that.
I panicked.
First the fire, and now a visiting doctor to see Anderson?
No way!
Diversion, murder!
BOAT
Well, I’ll ask him if I could see the pastor.
Aboagye waved me away.
I took just three steps, and then I saw it.
A black moving ma-ss, a cloud of blackness with a violent inner core, and it was sidling up against the white wall.
It was sparkling, acutely agitated as if it wanted to be unleashed.
The shadow of death …
Death Eyes!
It was here again.
TBc…