by L.A.A. Law
Chapter Five – Getting Down To Business
Needing a change of scenery, I decide to introduce myself to the psychiatric night nurses. Tiptoeing down the hallway, I hear voices coming from Gabriel’s room. The tenor voice is unmistakable and very angry. “I thought you were keeping an eye on him! Did you know he was going to take her? I didn’t want to lose this soul. What happened?”
Gabriel’s response sounds irritated. “She wasn’t the only soul I was watching out for. We saved the Krimsby baby!”
“He was innocent! They could have never touched him!” Andrew growls back. “What are you hiding?” An agonizing cry draws me closer to the door. “No! You knew they would take her and kept it from me.”
Gabriel responds contritely. “You know the treaty we made and how long it took us to agree. She was tagged and your interference could restart our war! It will be strained enough once they realize that she is here. You know who your interference thwarted and how he hates to lose!”
“She was headed here and as far as the one he fears is concerned, he will never have her if I can help it!”
Hearing footsteps, I walk down the hallway quickly. Andrew passes me, slamming the downstairs door. I hear Gabriel behind me.
“Good morning Mia. I hope Andrew and my arguing is not the reason you are up so early.” His stare assures me that he is aware I lingered in the hallway.
Trying to sound dismissive, “You didn’t disturb me at all. I want to introduce myself to the night staff. I didn’t even realize you were arguing until I saw Andrew storm out. Is there anything I can do to help?”
His beatific face appears worried that I heard too much. “Andrew is still upset. Sometimes dealing with patients who are terminal or that society deems reasonless is very difficult and tempers become short, but the difference you make in their lives is immeasurable. It gets to all of us and sometimes we need to vent. Our doors are always open if you need to vent. We may growl sometimes, but we never bite.” He chuckles softly as if I’m missing a joke.
“I’ll remember that and please think of my door too.” With that, I head toward the psychiatric building. As the cold air brushes my face, I laugh. If my family was correct about my running from my troubles, I would have chosen a warmer climate. Hitting my head, I laugh louder. If only I had thought of that last evening, maybe I could have slept.
I didn’t hear the approaching footsteps. “What’s so funny?” Startled, the computer bag slips from my arm and is about to crash against the pavement. In a flash, it is on my arm.
“How did you catch that?”
“I grabbed it as it was slipping from your arm.”
“I could have sworn…”
“Mia, did you sleep last night? You look very tired.”
“Thank you for saving the computer, it wouldn’t have been my best move to break equipment my first day.”
“Mia, equipment is easily replaceable. Are you beating yourself up again? This is a new start. No one here cares about your past. I have spoken very highly of you. I don’t speak highly of anyone that I don’t have complete confidence in.”
We step into another beautiful foyer with coco colored walls, cherry stained wainscoted wood and an open set of double doors leading to beautiful taupe colored living room with antique leather coaches and chairs facing a stone fireplace. The fire is roaring and the room smells of vanilla. I can’t help but stare at the brilliant picture above the mantle. “This scene is my favorite” Eva remarks softly.
The painting is a lighthouse, amidst a rolling sea covered with white caps. It shoots a brilliant beam across a lustrous, blue sky with only a few cirrus clouds. The stream appears to beat back the oncoming storm clouds, raging across a darkened forest. “The painting is remarkable and so is this room.”
“If you love this room, you will love the rest of the hospital. Each patient has a private room and socializes either here or in our recreation center. We try to provide more of a home environment. At times, we assign interns to accompany patients if they are having a bad day or want to hike.”
“Are there any patients who are not allowed to socialize?”
“Not in the buildings you will be working in. We have a restricted house, but that is a half mile down the road and secluded with a separate staff.”
“Eva, is William still here?”
“You remember him?” She sounds surprised.
“How could I forget? He was so young when his life was turned upside down in an instant.”
Her powder blue eyes appear to gray and her voice drops. “Yes, William has been here since you transcribed for me. This is his masterpiece. Come; let me show you your office. You can familiarize yourself with the files. We have twenty patients here presently. I have to speak with Andrew regarding Amber’s family.”
At the top of the stairwell, there is a large semi-circular nurses’ station with two women and a man behind computer screens whom Eva introduces as Jackson, Gina and Tanya. Expecting to see the beautiful, porcelain faces which I try to convince myself is a product of working here with the stress of long hours I notice only the man has pale features. Shaking their hands only his is cool.
“This is our office. She points to the end desk. That one is yours. There’s coffee across the hall. I put a mug in your draw. I have to go, but Catherine transferred all the patient files to your computer. If you need anything, Jackson is very helpful.”
Pouring a large mug of coffee hoping it will awaken my tired senses, I turn, bumping into someone who is too close. Reaching for the toppling mug, I notice male shoes.
“Jackson, I’m so sorry!” Looking up, my mouth dries as my eyes meet Andrew’s. Anger overshadows his perfect features and his raging eyes turn from gray to pitch black.
“How did you….”I cower from his angry voice. Gabriel appears out of nowhere. Gripping his shoulder, he whirls him around to meet his equally fierce face. Staring at him, Gabriel’s blue eyes change to thunderstorm gray. Their tension is palpable. Their heads touch briefly and Andrew storms out.
“Mia, are you alright?” Gabriel mutters, removing the mug from my shaking hands.
I pause to calm my voice. “I’m fine; I didn’t mean to spill coffee on him. He was just so close and…”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.” Then his eyes shift, telling me he is hedging. “I’m sure it is just stress.”
“What’s going on? Maybe I can help.”
“Mia, I need to speak with him and should let you go back to work.” His austere expression tells me the conversation is over. He is out of sight, before I even cross the hallway.
Trying to concentrate on work, I open Teri’s file. She lost her brother and parents in an arson fire. The police surmised she escaped by climbing out a window and down a drainpipe. Despite intense therapy, Teri contended her family was attacked by dark, shadowy creatures that emerged from a hall closet flew at her mother and brother, killing them instantly and then slowly ripped her father apart. She described the attackers as inhumanly strong with pale complexions, sharp teeth and eyes which changed to pitch black. Teri claimed when the fire started, a beautiful, winged lady whisked her away. After years of enduring Teri’s screams for the creatures to leave her alone and almost being killed by a kitchen knife Terri wielded to keep them away, her grandmother allowed Gabriel, the attending physician, to institutionalize her here.
The next file is a fifty year old man, John, who suffers from hallucinations since his car accident. The police report revealed that John was found slumped over the wheel and his wife was ejected and decapitated when she hit a tree. John claimed an animal intentionally hit his car to make him slide down an embankment and that the animal turned into a man, grabbed his wife, attacked her and threw her against the tree. John was admitted here after attacking a man on the street for failing to save his wife. I am surprised to see it Catherine’s name as attending physician.
The next case involves eighteen year old Marcus who lost his twin brot
her when their boat capsized. Marcus and Lucas were trapped underneath. His parents found him. While holding the side of the boat, he was screaming that a woman was attacking Lucas. Lucas’ body was recovered five days later. Marcus became withdrawn and was sent to a psychiatrist to deal with his brother’s death and contention that a guardian angel passed him to his parents. Marcus’s mother admitted him here after his father died in a car accident and Marcus became more withdrawn. At night, she would hear him screaming that he could feel his brother’s pain and saw him fighting with the air asking to be brought to Lucas.
The next file is of eight year old Stephanie. At the age of five, a ranger’s report revealed that Stephanie’s family was attacked by bears while camping. Stephanie claimed that a large wolf grabbed her mother before turning into a man and dragging her into the trees. Running into her father’s tent, she saw a woman biting his neck and the bodies of her brothers. The report noted that despite the lack of blood at the scene, they were unable to find any of the bloodied bears. A ranger noted that Stephanie claimed the woman who attacked her father was going to grab her when a woman with crystal eyes and surrounded by a bright light rescued her and took her to where her younger David was wrapped in the wings of a fair haired man. Stephanie’s erratic behavior and her claims that the wolves were still after them led to her commitment. Flipping to her commitment paper’s I am surprised to see Andrew’s name.
Reading through the remaining files, common threads become apparent. Each patient believes they were saved from an extraordinary evil being by something purely good and each was transferred here by someone who is now on staff.
Images of my own accident flash before my eyes. Eva’s pokes her head in the doorway. “Are you ready to meet your patients?” Rising, I grab the computer. “Leave that. Patients here react better to casual conversation and gentle influence, especially after undergoing years of traditional analysis which failed.”
Stepping into Marcus’ room, I am stunned to see that it looks like a typical teenager’s room, complete with gaming console and television entertainment center.
“Marcus, this is Mia, she will be assisting me.”
“Hi Marcus, it is nice to meet you.” Extending my hand, his vigorous response surprises me.
“Any friend of Eva will become a friend of mine. Are they protecting you too?”
Eva stiffens beside me. “Marcus, I’m sorry to cut this introduction short, but I have to show Mia around before helping Andrew.”
As we walk down the hallway, “What did he mean by they are protecting me?”
For the first time, Eva’s eyes refuse to meet mine. “I’m sure you read his file and know that he believes an angel saved him. He also believes angels are watching over the staff members.” Despite her dismissive tone, there appears to be something more.
Stepping into John’s room, he is watching the stock report. “Good morning, how are your stocks doing today?”
“It’s time to sell. What would you say to using the profits and starting a stable for Stephanie?”
Eva shakes her head. “Ray will be back soon with the horses for a few days.”
John turns to me. “You must be Mia. Are you as good a doctor as Eva?” Laughing, he holds out his hand.
“I hope to be one day.”
Winking, “She’s a real angel.”
“John, Mia will take you to Catherine in an hour.”
Walking out, Eva appears relaxed.
“John is quite a character, but should he be trading stock?”
“In fiscal matters, John is more astute than I am. He is a multimillionaire and even convinced a court that he was cognizant enough to transfer his wealth to his sons. He transferred all but five hundred fifty thousand. Fifty thousand he used to start trading stock again. It helped in his recovery. We ensure he only trades on days he is not depressed. Five hundred thousand he requested his sons donate to the hospital. We are sufficiently endowed, so we keep it in an account for John. He’s never needed it though and has built his portfolio to seven hundred thousand. More importantly, his sons trusting him to do this through his old company, helps him remarkably.”
“That’s amazing, but if he’s doing well, could he leave?”
“John left, but called and wanted to return because he felt as if something was coming after him.”
Stopping at the entrance, Eva puts her coat on. I do the same and follow her to the recreation building. Most of the walls were taken out to accommodate a pool, workout area, gaming and music room. At the pool, Eva introduces me to Teri before she’s paged. “Amber’s family must be here.” She mutters concerned.
“Can I do anything?”
“Go back to the psychiatric unit, you can visit with William and then take John later.”
Walking back, I marvel at how the atmosphere is unlike anywhere else, the staff and patients are more like friends. Looking around, my thoughts wander. How could they cure me without a stitch of evidence remaining from my accident? Why are they hiding their involvement? My mind shifts to Marcus’ comment and how uncomfortable Eva became. As my eyes catch sight of the brilliant colors of a painting, all errant thoughts leave me and I find myself walking toward it and William. Gazing upon the dimly lit cabin surrounded by woods and uneven terrain, a memory sparks with me as a vision of my limp body being carried over rough ground flashes before me.
William turns. Recognizing me instantly, he heads over. “Did they try to get you too? Mia, don’t worry you’re safe here.”
“Did who try to get me?”
“The dark ones who come to take you away, they took my whole family away and turned them into dark shadows!”
Hearing his anxiety, I try to reassure him. “No, no one came for me.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Eva hired me to help you and the others.”
He smiles widely. “That’s good. You have a good light around you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t have a shade of darkness. You’re a good person.” He states confidently.
Hoping that he can shed some light on my errant thoughts since leaving Marcus, I try to engage in light conversation. “William, what did you mean when you said I would be safe here?”
His features turn intense as he stares into my eyes as if gauging whether or not to impart his beliefs upon me. Trying to reassure him that he could trust me, I speak softly. “Whatever you say to me won’t go any further. I came here to help.”
My reassuring demeanor wins him over. “This place is run mostly by people who have light auras around them. Those who are not as bright and have shadows trying to encroach upon them don’t come near us.”
The intern sitting next to William’s painting shifts as if straining to hear. Knowing how uncomfortable Eva became when Marcus mentioned something similar, I decide not to pursue this further. “Your painting is wonderful.”
“I paint to occupy my mind and express what I see. Despite some of my images, no one looks at me like I’m impaired.”
“I’m sure no one here thinks of you that way.”
“That’s why I like it. Even the others know what I’m talking about and are not frightened. It is very nice here, even the food is great. Have you tried it?”
“I had some of Gabriel’s chowder last night, it was heavenly.”
He bursts out laughing and then stops abruptly as someone crosses the courtyard. The wind begins to blow hard as clouds overshadow the courtyard.
“William, do you know who that is?”
“It’s Catherine’s brother, Francis. I should get these inside.” He replies anxiously, picking up his easel.
“Can I bring something inside for you?”
“No thank you, Dmitri always helps me.”
They scurry inside. As soon as they do, the sun pokes out. Looking down at my phone, I still have twenty minutes before escorting John to Catherine. Sitting down, I close my eyes, lifting my
face to the sun.