He was supposed to meet me, but no one is in there. Aaron shrugged his shoulders, turned and walked away.
Funny, how my shoes sometimes don’t touch the ground.
Someone directed him back down the road. Aaron gasped as he saw a faint light hovering over Rocky Donnigan’s trailer home. He ran faster, away from the light, following the voice’s instructions. Eventually, he left the road and climbed over fences and trotted through fields and sprinted down a driveway to a house. He banged on the front door and then lurched back and ran away toward the trees.
Aaron flinched as another voice shouted at him, and he stopped and looked around but didn’t see anyone. “Who yelled at me?” he said.
No one answered.
I’m trying to do what I’m told.
He sprinted into the Big Thicket, stopped, and turned around. “Stop talking to me like that. That’s not fair. Why are you cursing at me and calling me a worthless doctor?”
Ripping off his shirt, soggy with sweat, he turned in circles and watched the trees dancing and swaying around him. I’ve got to find a place to hide. I’ll look for a big hole in a tree trunk to crawl into.
After weaving through the pines for several minutes, he spotted a bench and stumbled over to it. I’ll sit here for a while and think about where to hide.
He crossed his arms and rocked back and forth. All the images around him, the bench, the trees, the ground, were blurred and wavy, as if he were looking through translucent glass. People he didn’t recognize began to float out from the trees and across his vision. Faces bobbing and drifting in front of him dissolved into the heads of animals and into unrecognizable, snarling mouths with glistening fangs that dripped with blood. As Aaron waved his hands to swat away the menacing teeth, his head began to spin and he fell off the bench and rolled around on the ground.
A huge face appeared before him. It was covered with saggy skin and draining sores, and the mouth was sending out commands to him, with words and letters materializing in the air. “Go to the middle of the Big Thicket and find the evil one, Race Taggett. Kill him. Kill him.”
Aaron sat up and struck at the face with his fists. His body began to whirl and tumble, and he slid into a deep black hole and fell headlong into empty space, hurtling down, the grotesque faces yelling at him and flying after him deeper and deeper into the abyss …
Aaron’s eyes flew open. Above him was a white ceiling with bright fluorescent lights. He tried to lift a hand to scratch his nose, but his arm wouldn’t budge, so he raised his head and glanced around. “What the …” His wrists and legs were tied down to a stretcher.
Aaron’s eyes focused on a person standing at his bedside. “Daniel, is that you?” he said.
“Ah, you’re back with us. Yes, it’s me, sir,” Daniel said. “We brought you to the hospital.”
“What for? What happened to me?”
Daniel looked down. “Grant Belkin called EMS.”
“Was I in a car wreck?”
“No. Mr. Belkin found you wandering around.”
“Wandering?”
“Out of your head.”
Aaron’s vision blurred as he stared at Daniel. “Out of my head?”
“You were in the Big Thicket.”
Aaron sighed, closed his eyes, and fell back to sleep.
Aaron awakened several hours later and took note of the same ceiling and stretcher. Daniel sat in a chair near his bed.
“Hello again. You’ve been snoozing,” Daniel said.
Aaron lay quiet for several minutes and then looked at Daniel. “You said that you brought me here. In an ambulance?”
“Yes, sir.” Daniel stepped to the bedside as a male nurse walked into the room.
“So, he’s awake now?” the nurse said.
Daniel nodded. “He just woke up.”
“How do you feel?” the nurse said to Aaron.
“I’m confused about what’s going on with me.”
“Well, at least you’re coherent again. Let’s get these restraints off. I’ll tell the doctor you’re awake.”
Aaron stretched his arms, propped his pillow, and sat up. He turned to the nurse. “I guess I was incoherent?”
“You were, but you’re better now. Try to relax,” he said.
“Thanks for taking care of me.”
“That’s what we’re here for.” He patted Aaron’s shoulder, noted his vital signs, and left the room.
“I’m glad you pulled out of it,” Daniel said.
“So am I, whatever it was.” Aaron took a deep breath. “Incoherent in the Big Thicket. I have a bad feeling about this.”
“The doctors here will sort it all out.”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” Aaron read the tag on Daniel’s shirt. “So, you’re riding with EMS now. Are you training to be a paramedic?”
Daniel grinned. “Yes, sir. I’m in school now. The EMS company lets me help them out.”
Aaron shook hands with Daniel. “I appreciate all you’ve done for me.”
“It’s the least I could do.” Daniel stared at Aaron for a few seconds. “Good luck to you, Doc.” He gave Aaron a thumbs-up as he walked out of the room.
Several hours later, Aaron looked up as Grant Belkin and Rachel appeared at the door.
“Come on in,” Aaron said. He blushed and shrugged his shoulders as they approached his bedside.
Aaron held hands with Rachel. “I’m sorry—”
“Don’t worry about a thing. You’re okay now.”
Aaron squeezed Rachel’s hand and then turned to Grant. “You found me?”
“You made a ruckus at my front door, then you ran off. It took me a while to track you down.”
Aaron gazed past him. “I remember a loud buzzing in my ears and my eyes went blurry. I heard people giving me orders and then I started seeing things, hideous creatures floating in front of me.”
Grant nodded. “You were hallucinatin’.”
Aaron’s eyes widened. “It was very real. Like a horror movie, except that I thought it was actually happening to me.”
Rachel patted his hand. “I’m glad it’s over.”
Aaron shook his head. “I never want to go through that again. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.”
“They gave you medication when you got here. I think it’s workin’,” Grant said.
“At least the buzzing and weird visions are gone now. What the heck happened to me?”
Grant scratched his cheek. “The doctor will be here soon.”
Aaron sighed. “Then I’ll get the scoop.”
“A lot has been happenin’ to you lately. People can become ill with all that stress.”
A doctor entered the room and introduced herself as a psychiatrist.
“What do you think is wrong with me?” Aaron said.
“It appears that you had a breakdown, a psychotic episode.”
“That’s what I figured.”
“We gave you an antipsychotic medication when you arrived here. It seems to have helped. At first, you were hallucinating.”
“Am I schizophrenic?”
“Not necessarily. If you’ve never had an episode before, this could be the only psychotic break you’ll ever have, but now we know you’re susceptible. It could happen again.”
Aaron shook his head. “I surely hope not. Do you think something led to my breakdown?”
She leaned toward him. “They tell me you’ve had plenty of shocks to your system recently.”
“That’s true. So, you’re saying maybe I had a breakdown from post-traumatic stress?”
“Not maybe. I think that’s your main problem. Anyway, I’ll prescribe medication to help prevent it happening again, then I’ll see you in my office in one week and we can adjust your therapy from there.”
“I can still practice medicine, right?”
“Of course you can, but you may need to remain on medication.”
“Oh, how well do I know that mantra: ‘Sir, remember to take your medicine.
’ ”
She nodded. “Good. I don’t believe you’ll be a problem patient.”
“I appreciate your help.”
“I think you’re going to be fine.” She smiled at Aaron and left the room.
Grant touched Aaron’s arm. “You’re back to the Aaron we all know.”
Aaron laughed. “I guess that’s good. I’ll try to be a better Aaron now.”
“Take it from me, you’re better already. It’s all for the good.”
He looked up at Grant. “You say that like you really mean it.”
“I do.”
Aaron grabbed his hand. “Thanks for finding me.”
“I did what anyone else would do. We’ve got to keep you healthy. This town needs a good doctor like you.” Grant nestled his cowboy hat back on his head. “See you back at the ranch.”
After Grant left, Aaron held Rachel’s hand and looked at her. “You didn’t know this about me before. I didn’t know this about me.”
Rachel shook her head. “It doesn’t change anything.”
“I must have a genetic flaw—”
“No one is perfect. All of us have flaws.”
“Think about it for a while.” Aaron swallowed. “I’d understand if you—”
Rachel squeezed his hand. “I want to be with you.”
Aaron grinned and looked at her eyes and dimples. A familiar warm flush coursed over him.
“I’ve got to check on things at my house,” she said.
“Sure. I’ll be all right.”
Alone again, Aaron stared out of the window of his room at the morning sky.
I wonder why Race Taggett didn’t find me out there.
Chapter 51
I’ve got to get back to work, Aaron thought. Taking more time off wouldn’t be good for me.
It was Monday, four days after his psychotic breakdown. He lay awake in his own bed well before the alarm clock was set to ring.
I wonder how everyone will treat me.
As he opened the front door of the clinic, he heard a familiar voice.
“Good morning, Doc,” Stella said.
Aaron stopped, took a deep breath, and scanned the waiting room and the hallway. “It’s good to be back.”
Stella walked out from behind the registration desk. “Good for us, too. Otherwise, we don’t make a living. You look great.”
“Thanks. I feel good. Not just good. I feel better today than I’ve felt in a long time.”
“Wonderful. Let’s fire this place up again.”
“Did you change the light bulbs? It looks a lot brighter in here now.”
Stella smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. “No. The light bulbs are the same. I think you’re the one that’s been changed.”
Aaron sighed. “For the better I hope.” Everything feels fine.
An hour later, Aaron entered a patient room and saw an adolescent boy sitting on the examination table, rocking back and forth. A woman stood and greeted Aaron. “I’m Owen’s mother.”
“What can I do for you today?” Aaron said.
“Owen has had problems in school for a while, but recently he’s been acting very strange.”
Owen stared ahead of him as he rocked.
“How has his behavior been strange?” Aaron said.
“Sometimes when he talks, he doesn’t make sense, and he’s been disappearing from the house. We find him outside, usually hiding in bushes. He acts like he’s afraid of something, and he won’t leave the bushes. We have a hard time getting him back into the house.”
Aaron stood beside Owen. “Why do you hide outside?”
Owen looked down. “Because they yell at me.”
“That’s what he tells us,” Owen’s mother said. “But we certainly never yell at him. Do you think he’s imagining these things?”
“That’s possible.” I know exactly what he’s going through. He’s trying to get away from the cruel voices.
Aaron turned to Owen’s mother. “I’d like to refer him to a local psychiatrist. I think he needs a thorough evaluation.”
“Can he be helped?”
Aaron nodded. “Absolutely he can.” Believe me, I know.
Just after closing time, Aaron sat in a chair across from Stella at the registration desk. He leaned toward her. “How have you been sleeping?”
“You’re wondering how I’m doing after—”
Aaron nodded. “After we found out Brad was the one who accidentally caused your son’s death.”
Stella smiled. “I’m feeling much better about things.”
“You’re letting go of the anger?”
She swelled her chest. “Does it look that way?”
Aaron smiled. “Yes, it does.”
“I’m glad it shows.”
“I think you answered your own burning question.”
Stella looked puzzled, and then she nodded. “Oh, you mean about forgiveness.”
“Clearing out the pain with forgiveness.”
“I guess I did answer it.”
“Come on, let’s dance,” Aaron said.
Stella laughed. “Dance? Whatever for?”
“We’re both feeling good. Let’s do it.” He walked over to her and escorted her to the waiting room.
Aaron waltzed with her in circles.
“Stop a minute. If we’re going to do a happy dance, I’ll teach you the Cajun jig,” Stella said. “Follow my steps.”
As she hummed a festive Cajun song beat, they held hands and pushed and pulled their arms back and forth, with an up and down movement of their bodies combined with twirls and spins and any other variations around the floor that Stella could think of.
“Where did you learn a Cajun dance?”
“In the early years of our marriage, we’d spend a weekend now and then in Louisiana, and we’d go to Cajun dancehalls after dinner. You should try it.”
“I might do that.”
After several minutes, Stella stopped, out of breath. “You learn fast.”
Aaron laughed and walked her to the front door. “Thanks. That was fun. I could hear the Cajun accordion and fiddle playing as we danced.”
“It’s a great way to celebrate.” Stella’s jolly face beamed. “You brought back good memories for me.”
That evening, Aaron drove to Rachel’s house for dinner. A pleasant aroma of tomato sauce with a hint of garlic greeted Aaron at the front door.
They sat down close to each other at the dining room table, toasted their wine glasses, and dove into the savory meal.
“This lasagna is terrific,” Aaron said through a mouthful of pasta.
Rachel smiled. “It’s one of my specialties.”
After dinner, Rachel stood and walked over to a window that looked out to the trees behind her house. “I got some weird news today.”
Aaron joined her. “What?”
“Remember I told you about my ex-fiance?”
“How could I forget? The doctor in prison for Medicare fraud, right?”
“That’s him. A friend at the hospital called me and said he’s not in prison anymore.”
“Maybe they released him for good behavior or some other reason?”
“I don’t know why he’s out. But I wonder if he’s still mad at me.”
“Why would he be mad at you?”
Rachel sighed. “I’ll tell you the whole story someday.”
Chapter 52
Aaron felt less stressed since starting his new antipsychotic medication, and he experienced no significant side effects. Even his anxiety over Race calmed down a bit.
One afternoon—nine days after Aaron’s return to work—his new neighbor Emily knocked on his front door.
“Hello, Em—”
“We’re moving out tomorrow.” Emily’s wide eyes were bloodshot. “I haven’t slept in a week.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I think that house is haunted.”
“The Taggett’s old house? Haunted?”
“Our kids told us about
a light moving around deep in the woods in back of the house. And I saw it, too, a few nights ago.”
“A light? Like a flashlight?”
“No, not really. It’s a faint light, and it floats around.”
“That’s weird.”
“We hear strange noises at night. Sometimes it sounds like moaning, from deep in the forest. It’s too creepy.”
“I don’t think I could sleep in that house, either.”
Emily shivered. “I heard stories about that crazy guy who killed girls. He used to live in that house.”
“Race Taggett.”
“What happened to him? Is he in prison?”
“No. They haven’t found him. The police think he’s hiding out somewhere in the Big Thicket.”
“We’re staying in a motel tonight.” She looked back at the trees across the road. “We’ve got to get away from here.”
“I don’t blame you.”
Aaron closed and locked the door. He felt tightness in his throat.
Race is still roaming out there, somewhere.
Chapter 53
Tucker Boudreaux rushed into the clinic near closing time the next day, his hair ruffled with a cowlick jutting straight up.
Aaron hurried over to him. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ve been worried sick. Mama told me about something I’d said.”
Aaron smiled. “Now, what are you worried about? Did you say something about me?”
“Not you, your bele, your girlfriend.”
“Rachel? What about her?”
“I’m afraid for her. Somebody is going to hurt her, soon.”
Aaron’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“Just please keep a close eye on her. I’ll feel better.”
“Okay, I will. Thanks for letting me know.”
Aaron frowned as he watched Tucker leave.
A short time later in the parking lot, Aaron called Rachel on his cell phone.
“Hi, Aaron.”
“I just called to say hello. Is everything all right?” he said.
“Sure. It’s nice of you to think about me.”
“Nothing unusual has happened recently?”
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