by J Niessen
Chapter Six: Asylum
Unable to afford costly lawyer fees, and forced to go with a public defender, Frankie is advised that it’s in his best interests to plead guilty to the charges brought against him. Otherwise the penalties of his sentence could be greater, if his case went to trial and he was found guilty.
As Zeke listens closely to the verdict he’s disappointed by the judge’s response.
“Mr. Severino. I’ve seen the remorse in your heart. I don’t believe that making you sit behind bars for the rest of your life will cause greater repentance, in regards to the loss of your loved one. The burden you must carry for the rest of your life is certainly greater than any penalties the state of California could bear down on you. This noted, I am imposing a mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison for the death of Bruce Fairchild.”
Thankful relief and heavy sorrow pours from Frankie’s heart, embellished by sensitized sobriety. His face collapses into his hands; his sobs echo through the court room.
“Mr. Severino, I want you to look at me when I’m speaking to you,” the judge orders. Frankie’s face is a mess when looking up. Zeke’s qualms dissipate, aware of additional matters.
“I understand that the loss of your partner was a crime of passion. I would hope that you have learned from the mistakes of your actions. However,” the judge shifts topics, “there is no excuse for breaking into a person’s place of business, ruining their livelihood, and paving a path of destruction for those standing in the way.” The judge stares coldly at Frankie, waiting for him to declare the motives behind his atrocious behavior. Frankie keeps silent.
Perturbed, the judge tells him “For that I am adding an additional 10 years in response to the charges of assault with a deadly weapon, and for the brutal violence you carried out against the two gentlemen which you barged in on and attacked. You’ve been found guilty of possessing a felony weapon, used during the crime. The state of California rules such control unacceptable, carrying a minimum sentence of 5 years to be served behind bars.” Finished, the judge turns to Bentley, who sits alongside Frankie, being tried at the same time.
“You two are grown adults,” the judge claims, drawing Bentley’s full attention. “After going over your psychological evaluations, Mr. Fairchild, I find you exhibit no remorse for the crimes you were involved with.” Zeke is excited because the blame reflects poorly on Frankie as the orchestrator. “You will serve a minimum of 10 years for your involvement in these crimes, which you have pled guilty of.”
“This is perfect” Zeke ponders. “Now I’ll have someone on the inside, keeping an eye on Frankie, there to cause problematic conditions as time goes on. It’s unlikely that Bentley will remain the best of buddies with the guy that flipped out and caved their close friend’s head in.”
The reward of witnessing Frankie’s 25 year sentence has its limitations. It’s corrupted by the distress in Zeke’s heart, from dealing with the recent loss of his friend, Brandon.
It’s surreal to find himself standing down here in this torture dungeon with Jeffery.
Brandon, aware of the impact it will have, aims to alter the doctor’s typical behavior.
The phrase echoes in Jeffery’s head when Brandon condemns “You made me this way.” It’s the same reasoning Jeffery uses to settle his own troubled memories, originating from when he’s younger, initiated by his father, while living in a strict community with a guarded underworld.
The breath of Brandon’s words seep into the doctor’s mind. He feels no longer in control, seeming to have entered a past moment. Displaced, an evil spirit comes over Jeffery; the same one which possessed his influential father. With senses heightened, his mind separates from his body, watching from over his shoulder as the controlling force instructs motions to carry out. He slams Brandon’s head against a metal pipe that runs through the lower boiler level.
Brandon’s consciousness retreats into a coma, his body then brutalized just as Jeffery’s body was by his Amish father, the Archbishop, when Jeffery was just a boy. The doctor later regains his senses and routinely forces his lifeless victim into the crematorium.
There Brandon is aware of the fire that blasts from all around him. He feels trapped, as if sitting in the middle of the sun. He tries to close his eyes, in this dream-like state, or to turn and look away, but the brilliance can’t be blocked out. Brandon is the last piece that investigators need to pin Jeffery Hopkins with numerous counts of rape and the murder of those victims. The planted monitor cameras record the entire event. Brandon realizes that the familiar presence from the recovery room is here with him. It’s Brandon’s responsibility to take that creature with him.
As Brandon departs a vice releases from his soul, seizing the presence haunting Jeffery.
These three spiritual essences depart from Earth, and in an instant they are confined to Hell.
The stone that is on his person, as Brandon is cremated, bonds to his soul and accompanies him into the afterlife. Brandon experiences horrifying, never-ending circumstances as a prisoner of the under realm. Facing extreme trials with each level he goes through, he is the only one in that living nightmare who controls such a rare device, as the force of the talisman.
The power of the stone is a transporter, which Brandon uses to gather an army of angels with. They are the fallen ones, imprisoned throughout Hell, condemned as traitors; the ones he dreamt of while in the hospital bed; those cast to earth having betrayed their Creator. Since that period they have turned from the leadership of the one who lead their rebellion. For this they wait, sentenced in exile, for betraying the betrayer, prisoners within the wastages of Hades.
With the stone formed as part of his core being, Brandon is destined to bring the relic back with him. If returned to the realm of earth, it will cook an invisible layer of reality.
Jeffery has plenty of time to reflect on life while in prison.
There he is visited several times by Christ, within his dreams.
The conversion takes place when hearing the song Hosanna played over the hall speakers, outside his death-row cell. It starts with observing the words, as they settle; deep inside he undergoes a renewal. He gives in completely, forming a close relationship with the Lord. The Holy Spirit frees up the burden of sin Jeffery’s carried his entire life.
That depression Jeffery carried for so long was a trying weight of guilt he learned to accept as part of reality, denying in his younger years the possibility of a spiritual solution which can absolve all wrongdoings. Curling up into a fetal position on the cell floor, guilt accuses him of being unworthy, yet the Spirit of the Lord reassures him, expressing that all fall short of God’s forgiveness, but that through His death and spilled blood Christ paid the price for our wrongdoings, and for that we have the opportunity of grace and eternal salvation.
This answers Brandon’s preexisting question, if the joy of innocence can be reclaimed.
If we come to Christ, then He can renew our minds and hearts, making us complete again.
Remember that the Lord is the designer of our talents; we’re to use them to glorify Him. If we seek to do this, He will bless us with even greater abilities throughout our Christian lives.
Though he created the medical facility out of personal selfishness, to be used for his evil devices, it’s clear to Jeffery later that the Lord uses man’s self-centered constructions and turns those resources around…for the benefit of mankind. It comes as an outrage to the public to learn, that after serving 4 years, Jeffery is absolved of his crimes and released back into society.
Brandon bides his time, as the days of his eternal slumber pass into years.
Know that certain elected officials, when retiring from office, have the ability to grant a pardon. The outgoing governor of California exercises this power, and frees Dr. Hopkins as Jeffery is 4 years into his lifetime sentence. Behind closed doors it’s revealed the reasons why.
In Dr. Hopkins’ absence, the medical re
search facility continues to broaden its capabilities. The Hopkins Research Facility utilizes the ability to extract foreign DNA from a test subject, then clone that imprinted information, and bring back human life which was once believed to have been lost. They use this advancement on Jeffery Hopkins, resurrecting each one of his victims. Brandon senses his soul fading, as the facility replicates his former body. He only has the chance to retrieve one last soldier, before he’s brought back among Earth’s living.
Paired with onsite researchers, Brandon reveals a unique ability to probe his memories and tap into the spiritual experiences of others, using the rune’s potential…contained within Brandon’s resurrected body. Eventually the power of the relic lowers the protective boundary separating the spiritual realm, from that of Earth’s, and Heaven’s castaways emerge.
Keeping Dr. Jeffery Hopkins alive is a remarkable blessing; rather than following sentence by rushing him out of the courtroom and having him stand before a firing squad to be executed.
Some of the Hopkins victims (brought back to life with DNA extraction and rapid cloning techniques, run by The Hopkins Facility) return with fluent warning of where they awoke following death. Rescued from Hell’s asylum, the souls of the resurrected victims share their after-death experiences, which the facility is able to broadcast across the globe, causing a life-changing effect on millions of viewers. Contrary to these displays, the glory of Heaven, televised by tapping into those returned Believers, only comes through as a blinding light.
Sadly, there are many within the world’s population who continue their wicked ways, still refusing to accept Christ, even after viewing Hell’s abounding atrocities.
It takes insight to understand the secrets locked away behind a person’s heart, clarifying an individual’s stubbornness. Otherwise extreme honesty helps to explain why one would resist a relationship with their personal Savior, and why they would turn down an opportunity to be with Him in Heaven. Christ is a figure of authority. Man’s heart naturally despises divine hierarchy. Man hates when being told what he can and can’t do. Fear insists that this way of living will constitute sorrow, when handing over the reins of their life to Christ.
For many the choice to relent comes too late, their death eternal, their fate forever sealed.
* * The End * *
[Still to Come, Part Three: Electric Chair]