Levels of Ascension BoxSet

by Amy Proebstel

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  DR. HUDDLESTON HAD done some research on Neal’s case type and had discovered an interesting lead. There was a doctor who specialized in multi-dimensional disorders who would probably be interested in hearing the details of this new case. He glanced at his watch and was pleased to see he still had another thirty minutes before Neal was scheduled to arrive. He picked up the phone and dialed Dr. Gascon’s number.

  “Hello, Dr. Gascon. My name’s Dr. Huddleston. Do you have a couple of minutes to discuss a patient of mine?”

  “Hello, Dr. Huddleston. I’m a very busy man. Maybe another time would be better.”

  “Wait, have you ever had a patient talk about a place called Tuala?” Dr. Huddleston spoke speedily before the other man had a chance to hang up the receiver.

  “You have my attention. Yes, I have heard of Tuala. How have you found out about it?”

  “Like I said, my patient believes he spent time there. When I was doing a little research, your name came up as an expert in this field. I would like to ask your advice as to the best course of action to take with my patient. We’ve had only the one session and the hypnosis seemed to be very beneficial…”

  “I can tell you right now, your patient needs someone like myself to take over his case. He needs specialized care and close monitoring if he is to get over his delusions of Tuala. I would recommend you refer him to me immediately and I will reschedule my other patients so he could be seen as soon as he arrives here.”

  Dr. Huddleston had not expected to lose his patient, he had merely wanted to get some guidance for treatment. “Well, I guess I can let him know you’ve offered to help. He is going to be arriving in my office in a few minutes.”

  “Good, you do that. Call me back and let me know when to expect him,” he spoke briskly and then hung up the phone.

  Dr. Huddleston stared at the receiver still in his hand. He could hardly believe the other doctor had hung up on him so rudely. While Dr. Gascon may be a busy man, it hardly seemed a good enough reason to be downright rude. Should he take the other doctor’s advice and refer him over, or should he continue to try to treat Neal’s condition? He turned his attention back to the article he had been reading on the computer and realized there was much more to this disorder than he felt equipped to handle. Dr. Gascon may have been rude, however, he had spoken the truth.

  His musings were interrupted when the receptionist buzzed through to his office. He hit the talk button and said, “Yes?”

  “Neal Taivas is here for his appointment,” the female voice spoke.

  “Send him on back.” He punched the end button and made up his mind at the same time.

  When his office door opened he stood up and smiled as he moved around his desk to shake hands with Neal. “It’s good to see you again. Go ahead and sit down. I want to discuss treatment options with you.”

  Neal shook the doctor’s hand and then wondered at the difference in his tone of voice. It seemed as if something were troubling the other man. He sat down on the oversized leather couch and waited anxiously.

  Dr. Huddleston retrieved his notepad from his desk before he sat down across from him. He glanced down, unnecessarily, to give himself a few more seconds to compose his proposition. “How have you been these past few days, Neal? Can you tell me if you remember more since we last spoke?”

  Neal nodded his head and said, “Yes. It seems as though the things we talked about before are more vivid. Also, I’ve been dreaming a lot about things I don’t actually remember. The dreams feel like memories, but they’re not my memories. Does that make sense?”

  Dr. Huddleston nodded confirmation. Neal’s case was much more complex than his standard case. He would be doing Neal a disservice if he did not offer the help of Dr. Gascon. “I’ve been doing some research on the type of condition you suffer from and I think I might have come up with a good solution for you.”

  “What is it?” Neal was eager to find anything which would offer a quick fix for his apparent amnesia.

  “There is a doctor in New York who specializes in your type of case. He has agreed to clear his schedule and see you a soon as you can arrange to go there. Does this sound like something you’d want to try?”

  “Do you think it’ll work? Will I get my memories back?”

  “Yes, I believe you’ll have your life back if you go to see him. He has offered an in-patient care option for you.” Dr. Huddleston tapped his pen softly on his notepad as he watched Neal’s expression while he processed this new alternative.

  “Okay then, I don’t see where I have much choice. I want to get my memories back so I can move on with my life. I’ve already lost enough time and I’m ready to move on. You can tell the doctor we will be able to meet with him tomorrow.”

  “Do you want to try another hypnosis session today or just wait until you meet with Dr. Gascon?”

  “There’s really no point in wasting your time if the other doctor will be taking over. I guess I should get packing and making the arrangements,” Neal said as he stood up and made ready to leave the office.

  “I’ll call Dr. Gascon right now. I wish you the best of luck, Neal.” He shook Neal’s hand and watched him leave the office.

  Without even sitting down, he pushed the talk button on the intercom and waited for the receptionist to pick up. “Can you please give Neal the following information? He is to meet with Dr. Gascon, Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, Queens, New York. Thank you.” He toggled off the intercom and pressed redial on the phone and told Dr. Gascon to expect a patient named Neal Taivas the following day. Dr. Huddleston hoped he had done the right thing by his patient since Dr. Gascon had seemed inordinately pleased to hear of his impending arrival.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Jessica looked up in alarm when she saw her son striding back into the reception area. She stood up and said, “What’s wrong, Neal?”

  “Nothing, Mom. It’s okay. Dr. Huddleston has referred me to a specialist.”

  “Oh,” she replied lamely at a loss for how else to respond.

  Neal stopped at the narrow window when he saw her waving at him to come over. He took the card she handed him and said, “Thank you.” He turned to his mom and handed her the card. “We’re supposed to go there tomorrow.”

  She took the card and read it. “Queens, New York? You can’t be serious, Neal!”

  “Dr. Huddleston said this other doctor specializes in my type of case. I thought you’d be thrilled to have the best doctor on my case.” He frowned slightly at his mother’s unexpected reaction.

  “But this is in New York. There’s so much we’ll have to do to get a place for us to stay while you’re being treated. We’ll need flights, a rental car, we’ll have pack…did he say how long we’d be there?”

  “Slow down, Mom. Dr. Huddleston said it would be an in-patient treatment so you won’t be staying there. You should just stay here at home and I’ll travel to New York to take care of this.” He could see her dubious expression and it hurt his feelings. “Mom, I’m a big boy now. I can travel by myself.”

  “I’m just afraid something will happen and I’ll lose you all over. I don’t think I’d survive losing you again.”

  He put his arm around her shoulders and turned her toward the exit, “Come on, we can talk about this on the way home. Better yet, let’s ask Dad what he thinks about the whole thing.”

  Jessica brightened at the thought of Neal, Sr. hearing Neal’s idea and putting a stop to it before it went too far. At the very least, Jessica knew she would be flying to New York with Neal to make sure he arrived safely. She might even plan to spend the week there to do some shopping.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  WILLIAN WAS FEELING a little more than anxious to be on his way to Earth. He knew it was going to take some time to make all of the arrangements for his trip, yet he could not help but feel he was being lured to get to Jena sooner. Every waking moment, he felt himself being pulled as if by destiny. Never before had he felt suc
h a strong urge to be near Jena and it made him anxious to be on his way.

  He had mediated three more session and had received glowing marks from Rasa. She had even complimented him on his knowledge of Earth and the places he was likely to travel through. Rasa had told him there were two more scheduled mediations for him to handle the next day and after that, she was going to suggest to Elder Wilken that he be released from further study to go to Earth.

  When he had heard the good news, he almost jumped for joy but managed to contain himself just before he made a fool of himself in front of Rasa. He never thought it possible, yet he had grown very fond of Rasa during the time he had been forced to work alongside her as an equal. He soon realized she had a very good grasp on local politics and an even better understanding of human interaction which made her very effective at helping people. He had a lot to learn from her stellar examples and was glad for the opportunity to work with her.

  The issue with transportation and money was soon resolved. Rasa had told him she had arranged for a friend of hers to meet him in a place called Central Park. The friend had agreed to be his guide all the way to Florida where she would help him shop for clothes, get him registered for school, and help him find a place to stay.

  It seemed everything was going to work out smoothly and efficiently so Willian had little to worry about other than Jena’s reaction to seeing him again. Jena was going to be the wildcard of the whole trip. Willian was certain she was angry at him for the letters he had sent her. Because he had been working with mediation matters, he could easily see how he had taken the wrong tactic to try to win her back. He would definitely have to step up his game if he were to get back into her good graces.

  Willian had just come inside from stretching his legs out in the gardens when he heard a familiar voice. He lengthened his stride to see what had happened to bring his mother to the Residence. When he rounded the corner he almost ran into the group of people talking.

  “Mom,” he called out.

  “Oh, hello, Willian,” Chelesa smiled and excused herself from the two people she had been talking with. She greeted her son with a big hug and then held him at arm’s length to see how well he was faring. “You look great!”

  “Thanks, Mom. What are you doing here? Is everything okay at home?”

  “Yes, yes, everything’s fine. I came to see Rasa on another matter, but I’m glad I got to see you before you left on your trip.” She winked at him since she knew her statement downplayed the journey on which her son was about to embark. “I hear you are quite the successful mediator.” She had heard of her son’s accomplishments from several people already and her pride could barely be contained.

  Willian smiled sheepishly and had to look away from his mother’s face to try to keep from blushing from her lavish praise. He changed the subject by asking, “Are you staying for dinner?”

  “Yes. In fact, I’ll be spending the night tonight. Rasa has agreed to give me a tour of the Residence and the best parts of town. You know, I’ve never visited here before and it is very impressive. When you get back from your trip and come home, we’ll have to compare notes on our impressions. There may be some things we should implement or change at home because of this experience.” Chelesa knew she was babbling and did not even try to stop it; she was so excited to see her son.

  “Okay,” Willian said with a slight smile. His mom seemed jittery and happy at the same time. He was trying to figure out what she was not saying even though she had spoken so much. She was not the type of person to talk just to hear herself, this was a new side of her he had never seen.

  “Oh, there’s Rasa now. I’ve got to go, Willian. I’ll see you at dinner.” She leaned forward and pulled his head down so she could kiss his cheek and then she moved away to go greet Rasa.

  Willian stood staring after his mom and wondering what was really going on. His mother was acting a bit too strange for his taste. Maybe this was going to be another lesson of Elder Wilken’s. He decided in that moment to not say anything about his mother’s behavior. He would simply watch and listen, as Elder Wilken had instructed, and see if he could come up with the answer himself. With his new plan in mind, he felt smug satisfaction at his self-control.

  He greeted a few of the people he recognized in the hall before moving along to head to the study hall. There were still some aspects of Earth he wanted to research before he no longer had access to the information. His thought about school earlier had made him want to research the school system to see what he was getting himself into.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  On his way to work, Riccan received a message on his telepod asking him to stop by and talk to his mother before work. He glanced at his timepiece and realized he would have to time it to work if he were to stop first. He shrugged his shoulders and reset the destination coordinates to his mother’s house instead of work. Seldom did she ask anything of him and he was curious to find out what she wanted to discuss.

  Unlike usual, Riccan landed the telepod and entered the Residence without being greeted by his mother on the balcony. More curious than ever, he hastened his steps to get to her office. The door was open and the room was empty. Baffled, he turned and went to his father’s office where he found both parents seated together, deep in discussion which abruptly ended when they heard Riccan.

  “Riccan, my boy!” Daven rose to give his son a hug in greeting.

  “It’s been forever since I’ve seen you, Dad. You must be keeping yourself busy!”

  “Always! Here, have a seat. Your mother has some interesting news to share with you.” He went back around his desk and resumed his usual seat. He sat back in the chair and waited for his wife to direct the conversation.

  Riccan leaned down and kissed his mother’s cheek before he sat in the vacant chair next to her. “Hi, Mom. What’s going on?”

  “I found out something about one of the names on the list you gave me of Ela Nena’s business meetings. Apparently, this man, Faegan, is a very elusive man. Luckily there was a video of the award’s ceremony and I was able to get a good picture of his face for the facial recognition program on your father’s patil.”

  Riccan looked over at his dad with raised eyebrows and said, “I’d heard about that program becoming available, but I didn’t know you had already gotten it. Is it really as good as it’s been talked about?”

  “This is the first time we’ve had need of it and it seemed to work perfectly. Come see for yourself,” Daven said as he tapped the icon on the screen to pull up the program. He opened the search done by Nena and tipped his head out of the field of view so Riccan could see for himself.

  Riccan whistled with appreciation. “That’s really slick. It’s definitely the same man!”

  “Yes and I really wanted to be positive since what I discovered didn’t go so well. His real name is Vanion and his usual companions leave a lot to be desired. Because he presented the award to Ela Nena, then it’s safe to say, there’s definitely something suspicious with the award she received.” His mother’s expression told him she was both pleased with her detective work as well as concerned for his safety.

  “Jena came to the same conclusion last night,” Riccan agreed.

  Nena was shocked to hear about Jena’s idea. She would ask her about it when they came to stay with them later in the mesan.

  “What else did you learn about Vanion?” Riccan asked.

  “That was the part which prompted me to have you come over before work. It appears Vanion is the right-hand man for Lucinden. So, you see, if he’s involved, then nobody at your work is safe. Riccan, it’s too dangerous for you to go back there. Maybe you should quit and focus more of your attention on your new family in Earth.” Nena knew he would refuse, yet she could not help but ask.

  “I have to see something through, first. I was actually already considering the idea of quitting after the last go-around with Ela Nena. Did you dig up anything else?”

  “Don’t you think what I found is enough?!”
>
  “It definitely verifies what we were already thinking. Okay, well, if that’s everything, then I should get going so I won’t have to time it. Try not to worry, Mom. I’m on guard already so I will keep myself safe. I love you both.” He kissed his mother again before he left the room and hurried back to his telepod.

  Once he had parked the telepod on the roof of the Telepod Engineering Company, Riccan formulated a plan on the elevator ride down to his floor. When he got to his office, he shut his office door and turned on his patil. He looked at Ela Nena’s calendar and discovered she was not going to be in any meetings for another hour. He sent her a quick message to ask if she had time to meet with him regarding an unusual matter.

  Since he had flagged the message as urgent he did not have long to wait until he received an affirmative reply. She had typed the message back telling him to come up immediately. The actual message had been terse and rude, but Riccan chose to ignore the insult in favor of getting this meeting over with as fast as possible.

  He locked his patil and returned to the hallway to wait for the elevator. Since he was waiting for it, it seemed to take forever to get to his floor again. Once inside, he had to stop at nearly every floor on the way back up to the thirteenth floor. Riccan did not even wait for the doors to open all the way before he pushed himself through the opening.

  Several of the staff members were looking at him strangely for his hurrying, but he did not bother to explain himself. He marched directly to Ela Nena’s office and knocked on the door with two sharp taps with his index finger’s knuckle.

  “Come!” Ela Nena called out.

  “Thanks for seeing me on such short notice.” Immediately upon entering the room he felt the same amount of power as he had felt in his home library. He had definite confirmation of there being a samara somewhere in the office. The question remained as to where the samara could be hidden and if Ela Nena had knowledge of its whereabouts.