Chapter 2 - Patient
VZ-4A73-DM
Vlad stares at the ceiling trying to
make sense of everything that happened that day. He figures he's been in this
room for a week based on the number of breakfast he's declined. He slams his
down on the mattress in frustration. His mind comes back to one conclusion, but
he knows no one would believe him if he presented this theory: demonic
possession. He stops staring at the ceiling, and gets out of bed. He walks
around the wooden table in the middle of the room with two loops attached to
the top to calm his nerves because the more he tries to apply logic to why he's
in this cell, the more frustrated he gets. He keeps back and forth between the
padded walls, there's a knock on the steel door.
"Dr. Zhernakov, time for
lunch," he hears Johannes shout from behind the door. Vlad stops in the
middle of his room to watch at the slot in the padded, steel door flip down,
and a tray appears. Vlad looks at the turkey sandwich, and feels nauseous. He
thinks about the last thing that he put into his mouth. Vlad grabs the
container of apple juice and replies, "Johannes, you can take the rest
back. I'm not hungry."
"Doctor, you should try to eat
something. It's been three days since you even took a bite of your meal."
"Johannes, if the patient isn't
hungry, no point in leaving their meal. Replace what was taken, and give it to
the next patient," Mr. Brown states. "Also, I need you to secure the
patient. He has a session in five minutes with a new doctor."
"I do have a name, Michael,"
Vlad snorts back at Mr. Brown. "Also, I know how protocols work inside my
own damn hospital!"
"Johannes, restrain the patient
please," Michael orders.
Vlad sits down at the table, and lays
his hands face up next to the two loops used to detain a patients' wrist in case
they get violent. Vlad used to think they were a bit overkill, but over the
years, the detaining of one's arms has kept him from being injured while in
sessions with patients. However, he's never been on this side of the table, so
he doesn't know how he will react during his first session since all the
tragedy unfolded. He also wonders who the new doctor is. He has to truly accept
he's suspended until the official investigation is over, which means he's left
in the dark on official business until he's cleared by Michael and the legal
department of any wrong doing.
Johannes unlocks the door, and walks
in with a pair of leather straps. Johannes makes sure the door is secured, Vlad
stares in shock at Johannes. His entire left side of his face is bruised, and
his nose is covered in a thick bandage. Vlad hasn’t been able to ask Johannes
about his thoughts about that afternoon, but this is the first time he's heard
from Johannes. Vlad makes a mental note to ask him about it when Michael isn't
around. Right now, Vlad is going to be a good patient, and get through this
session so maybe he can return to his work soon.
"I'm sorry, Doctor, "
Johannes whispers as he secures the straps to the table.
"You're fine. You're doing your
job," Vlad replies back. He's unhappy he's being treated like a patient,
but overall, he can't fault them for being cautious considering the last thing
he did was eat another man's heart. He should be happy he's up here instead of
being down in Domus Metus.
"Is the patient secured
yet?" Asks Michael.
"Yes, Mr. Brown," announces
Johannes.
"Good. The doctor is here. Please
let him in."
Johannes unlocks the door while Vlad
watches a man in a black suit walks into the room carrying a brown briefcase.
Johannes closes the door, and stands to the left of it. Vlad looks into the
doctor's brown eyes, and can almost see the fear in his eyes. The doctor sets
down his briefcase onto the table, and sits down across from Vlad. He pulls out
a file folder, and runs his hand through his graying black hair. Vlad chuckles
at the nervousness oozing from this so-called doctor. Vlad almost feels like
instead of sending an experienced psychologist, they sent one fresh out of
college.
"Morning, Dr. Zhernakov. I'm Dr.
Timothy Anderson," states Tim while fiddling with the file folder.
"I'm with the FBI, and I'm here to ask you a few questions."
"Dr. Anderson, there's no reason
to be nervous," Vlad replies. He begins to wonder why a government agent
was sent all there down here. He knew an outside doctor would do his mental
evaluation after the incident because state laws dictate any accidents between
doctor and patient must be investigated by an outside source, but he never
thought they would fly one in from D.C.
"I'm not nervous, more like very
perplexed," replies Tim. "I've been reading your records, and I still
can't figure out one thing."
"What made me turn cannibalistic
after watching a patient brutally murdered an employee inside my
hospital?" Vlad flatly asks.
"Exactly."
"I don't think you'll believe my
answer," Vlad says. "Scientifically, there's no logical explanation
for the events that unfolded, but I've been developing a hypothesis."
"What's your hypothesis?"
Tim asks, pulling out a tablet out of the briefcase, and starts tapping on it.
"Are you a religious man, Dr.
Anderson?" Vlad asks.
Tim sets down the tablet and replies,
"No."
"Well, after what I saw that day,
I would consider becoming one very quickly if you're going to keep setting foot
in this place,” Vlad explains. "It might save your life."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because every inch of my being
believes that a darker force was at play. How else can anyone even explain how
a patient that weighed 120lbs rip steel out of solid concrete after driving his
bare hand through another man's chest?"
"You're saying that a demon
possessed the deceased patient and you as well?" Tim asks continuing to
type away on his tablet.
"I was not in control of my own
actions when I picked up that heart," Vlad says. His hands begin to shake.
His mind replies the memories of that day. Andrew was barely strong enough to
lift up his mattress, much less toss Johannes around like a rag doll. Then, the
force required for bare flesh to break through the spine and the sternum is
humanly impossible. The voice in his head when he picked up Henry's heart still
haunts his dreams. He has accepted demonic possession to be the only reason for
all that to happen, but for a psychologist to even suggest that is career
suicide. However, that theory is the only thing that is helping Vlad to keep his
mind intact even though he may never leave this room again.
"Mind if I ask if you saw this
demon?"
"A man with red eyes," Vlad
says. His skin grows cold at the mere mention of what he saw.
"Interesting," Tim replies
typing away without looking up.
Vlad feels even colder. The light in
the room slowly begins to fade into darkness. In the middle of the ceiling, he
sees two red eyes appearing in a circle of a swirling black mass The left eye
blinks at him, and disappears. The lighting inside the room returns to normal.
Vlad tries to jolt from the table, but the restraints only fling him back
towards the table. His whole body shakes whimpering, "He was here."
"Who was here?" Tim asks
without a single glance away from the screen.
"No one,” Vlad replies. Vlad has
concluded Tim will never believe that Red Eyes was in the room. Even mentioning
it will lead to more notes, and more pills. So, Vlad stays quiet trying to stop
his hands from shaking. He wonders if what he witnessed was from starvation
since he hasn’t had the desire to eat anything for days.
"If you do see The Boogeyman
again, let me know," retorts Tim placing the tablet back into the
briefcase. He puts the file back in and closes the briefcase while stating,
"Thank you for your time, Dr. Zhernakov. We'll be in touch."
Vlad feels his entire body go cold. He
smells sulfur., and the entire room begins to fade back into darkness. He looks
at Tim, and sees his eyes are now glowing red. Tim stands up, and leans across
the table. Out of his mouth comes a shadowy voice, "Not even your
colleagues believe you."
"Release him. It's me you
want."
"I have no use for your pitiful
soul," replies Red Eyes. "Besides, I have you right where I want you.
Your powerless within this cell."
Before Vlad can say anything, blood
begins to ooze out of the table. Vlad watches the blood spells out
"murderer" in front of him. He looks up to see Tim holding a pen
against his throat while Red Eyes states, "I wonder how deep of a hole
you'll be tossed in for killing such an innocent man." Red Eyes drops the
pen while the room fills with a bright light, like a 1,000 spotlights are
pointed at the room at once. Vlad closes his eyes due to the light becomes
blinding. He hears Red Eyes shout to someone or something unseen, "Not
you!"
Vlad feels a cool breeze fill the
room. The smell of sulfur is replaced by the smell of mint. He shudders feeling
a hand with skin soft as silk rub the top of his head while he hears a faint
voice state, "I'm too weak to vanquish him forever, but he's gone for now.
You may open your eyes."
Vlad open eyes his eyes, and sees a
large white feather on the table. Tim sits in there in the chair passed out
with a red mark on his throat where Red Eyes placed the pen. Vlad touches the
feather causing it to glow. Vlad’s body is bathed in a faint white light. The
sensation of the cool breeze returns. Inside his head, he hears a voice say,
"Release me from my mortal prison, and we can defeat Red Eyes."
"Who are you?" Vlad asks out
loud. The light vanishes, and the feather is gone.
Tim jumps out of the chair and asks,
"What the fuck happened?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I
told you," Vlad replies while focusing on the spot where the feather was,
wondering who or what scared Red Eyes like that.
Tim rushes over to the door and bangs
on it while shouting, "Let me out of here!"
The door opens, and Tim rushes out of
it. The door closes, and Vlad sits there in silence still strapped to the
table. Despite Red Eyes showing up, he finds himself feeling at peace. His
hands aren't shaking, and his mind is clear of all thoughts. He wants to smile,
but he fights the urge. The door opens, and in walks Johannes holding a strait
jacket and chains to bound around his ankles as Michael stands at the doorway,
tapping his fingers against a file folder.
"Your stunt has booked you a cell
down in Domus Metus, Patient VZ-4A73-DM," states Michael bitterly.
"Johannes, please escort the patient down."
Johannes unstraps Vlad from the table.
The smell of sulfur returns, and Vlad's entire body goes cold. "You'll never
defeat me," Vlad hears Red Eyes says inside his head before everything
goes dark once more. The last thing Vlad remembers hearing is Johannes
screaming, "Let go of Mr. Brown, Dr. Zhernakov!"
