“I understand,” confirmed Ron.
“Go ahead, but be here all the earlier Monday. I might want to do some follow up tests on Debbie. I’ll need you here.”
“Certainly, doctor,” assured Ron. “And I’ll let you know what I find out. I intend to consult another expert, one who doesn’t share my bias against things that seem to be magical or supernatural.”
Chapter 7
It was Friday evening, and like most Fridays Ron was spending it over at his mother’s house. They usually had a lot to talk about but not nearly so much as this evening. He’d been keeping her up to date on his adventures with Dr. Wilson and the FENS project for over two months now. As a retired surgical nurse, Loretta Griego could relate to the research pretty well. Indeed, she remembered well the day that Dr. Wilson first told her about his concept of FENS. Over a marvelous pot roast Ron told his mother, the incredible story of Debbie’s return and subsequent departure from the waking world of men. He even played part of the audio interview they had with Debbie.
“People in a coma don’t dream,” said Loretta, “it’s a medical reality. Maybe she was drifting into states of higher brain activity from time to time, approaching consciousness. It was then that she created this fantasy world. Your team just didn’t catch it. It is difficult to monitor her brain activity 24 and 7.”
“I’d considered that,” replied Ron. “But how could she have known about Leslie or Gwen? That’s what troubles me.”
“I don’t know,” admitted Loretta. “I just know that this patient of yours isn’t wasting away in a subterranean world filled with monsters. Balls of glass controlled by witches don’t steal your soul. Real witches don’t exist. Dear, those sorts of things don’t happen in the real world.”
Ron hesitated. “What about Aunt Sybil? You once told me that she was a witch.”
If looks could kill Ron was a dead man.
“I’m not sure if the word that best describes my younger sister should begin with a w or a b. Take your choice. We don’t talk. She gave our parents so much grief when she was growing up. She had questionable friends and I know that she was into drugs. It was the culture she wanted to be a part of. She walked out the door of our parent’s house when she was 18 and she never looked back. I’d just started to work with Dr. Wilson and I was living pretty far from home but I knew she had broken mom and dad’s heart. She headed off for San Francisco to be at the center of the hippy culture. She talked about discovering herself. Later I heard that she’d become a part of some crazy religious cult. While you were growing up, at your father’s urging, I allowed her to come and visit. He thought that it was important that she be a part of your life. He also wanted so much to be a peacemaker between us. That wasn’t going to happen.”
Ron only nodded. He figured that it would be best if he didn’t mention just how much he had come to love his eccentric Aunt Sybil. They’d kind of drifted apart these past years while he’d been at medical school. Still she would call him at least every Christmas and on his birthday. He’d made it a point never to pry into his aunt’s life or affairs. He knew that she had a degree in accounting. She was a CPA he thought, but he wasn’t quite sure. She worked for some charitable foundation in Pittsburgh. He was pretty sure that it was the very same one that had provided Dr. Wilson with his first big grant, but he wasn’t positive. At any rate his Aunt Sybil made good money by the sounds of it. She’d become a respectable person. Her hippy days were far behind her. So why did mom still hold a grudge?
“The last time I saw her was at your father’s funeral three years ago,” continued Loretta. “She is no longer welcome in my house and she knows it. I made that abundantly clear to her at his funeral. I haven’t seen or talked to her since.”
Ron really wanted to push his mother on some of the details of his aunt’s religion. Was she really a witch? Might she be able to shed some light on this sisterhood of twilight that Debbie had spoken of? Considering how she felt about her younger sibling, he didn’t tell his mother that he’d already contacted his aunt and would be driving the 180 miles to the suburbs of Pittsburgh to see her tomorrow. No, that would upset her needlessly. For the sake of all involved that would have to remain his little secret.
Dre Kon sat upon an ornate golden throne at the center of a room of unbelievable subterranean splendor. The 40-foot diameter dome shaped room had walls of rock that were as smooth and shiny as translucent amber glass. Upon its walls hung surreal tapestries portraying a collage of colors, thoughts, and ideas that would have seemed meaningless to anyone else but a drell. The great throne lay at the center of 13 other thrones that all faced it. These were the thrones of the members of the high council. Right now they were all vacant and Dre Kon was alone, alone and troubled.
His lower two arms rested upon the armrest of the throne. The upper two rested upon his bulging forehead. One of the human slaves had nearly escaped. Not into the tunnels where she would have either become lost in the dark or been consumed by one of the beasts, but back to Earth. Fortunately, one of the watchers had retrieved her, but only after she might well have shared information about their kingdom with other humans. Never had this happened before, never. This incident threatened to compromise their entire way of life. They depended upon a constant flow of human souls, but they also depended upon their own anonymity. If the humans became aware of their presence those souls would be far more difficult to obtain.
A golden double door at the far end of the throne room opened and the watcher Lex Ton entered. He walked with some haste. Dre Kon watched him as he approached. Dre Kon was not happy with Lex Ton. His was the responsibility to monitor the souls within their charge, to make sure that none of them escaped. Up until now, his had largely been a ceremonial position. During Dre Kon’s reign no one had ever escaped. How could they? None had the power to leave this place and return to their original body on their green Earth. That is until now. In the light of that fact Lex Ton had apparently become careless. Now the question was what to do about it. Like his master, Lex Ton was clothed totally in a long black robe. Lex Ton bowed low before his master.
“I know who it was who escaped,” announced Lex Ton. “And I know where she went.”
“That is very comforting,” said Dre Kon. “It would have been better if you had discovered that earlier.”
“Yes, my lord,” said Lex Ton. “The fault is mine. I accept full responsibility.”
“And her name?” asked Dre Kon.
“Her name is Debbie Langmuir,” Lex Ton replied.
“Yes, I remember her,” noted Dre Kon. “Continue.”
“From what I was able to see, it was a group of human alchemists, I mean scientists, who brought her back to Earth,” continued Lex Ton. “They have developed a new kind of magic. It is a threat to us.”
Dre Kon nodded. “This has happened before but in my youth, during my grandfather’s reign, nearly ten human centuries ago. We lost more than a few souls before he regained control of the situation. In the end it cost him his throne. It took over fifty years before my family managed to regain our grip on the throne. I will not tolerate a similar situation during mine reign. Do I make myself clear?”
“Abundantly,” replied Lex Ton.
Dre Kon rose to his feet. “Then this is what you shall do; you shall travel back to Earth. You shall hunt down and exterminate all those who are a threat to us. You shall destroy this magic and all who have knowledge of it.”
“But I am a watcher not a tracker,” objected Lex Ton.
“You were a watcher but now you are a tracker,” said Dre Kon. “You will be one until you correct this problem you have brought upon us. Do I make myself clear?”
“Totally,” replied Lex Ton.
Dre Kon nodded. “Then make your plans. I do not want this incident to cloud your otherwise exemplary career.”
Lex Ton bowed and departed from the throne room. Dre Kon was confident that there would be no repeat of Lex Ton’s error in judgment. Dre Kon returned to his thoug
hts. Yes, they had to be thorough. He would have to arrange for some unfortunate accident to occur to this Debbie Langmuir. He couldn’t terminate her outright. No, that would draw some suspicion as to what she might have discovered. And he might as well terminate her cellmate and all of those who might have some knowledge of this incident in the process. As for the method; well, he would determine that later, once Lex Ton reported his mission accomplished. He would not risk having the world order his family had worked over 6,000 years to achieve compromised by a stupid human girl. He was so close to his ultimate goal. This was but a minor wrinkle in his overall plan. It would iron out quickly. His family’s dominion, his dominion over this subterranean realm would only strengthen even as he consolidated his influence over the world above.
It was nearly eleven and visiting hours at the Martin Neurological Institute had been over for the better part of an hour as twenty-eight-year-old Nurse Claudia West made her rounds. There wasn’t much territory to cover. There was only one wing of the institute with resident patients. This wasn’t, after all, a hospital as much as it was a research center. She would be off at midnight and she was already very tired. She had just passed room 124 when she heard a voice from within the room; a deep gruff voice. She hesitated, then turned. A pair of cards with the names Debbie Langmuir and Leslie Cosland were displayed on the door. She had been caring for Debbie for nearly a month now, though Leslie was a newer arrival. Both patients had been totally unresponsive at the time of their admissions, in a deep coma; that was until today.
She’d been there to see Debbie emerge from her coma for nearly two hours this afternoon. She’d been so happy for her. It was a miracle. Yet she’d relapsed back into the darkness shortly afterward. Now that was strange. But stranger still were the things she’d spoken of during that hour. Could such things really be possible? She hadn’t heard it all but what she’d heard had been incredible.
There it was again, a voice from beyond the door. Had Debbie returned to consciousness again? The door was just slightly ajar. Claudia moved toward it.
“You are as good as dead already, Debbie Langmuir,” said the deep voice. “You shall pay dearly for your moment in the sun. I will have you and all of those who stand with you.”
Someone was in there with them, and by the sounds of it they weren’t exactly friendly. She quickly pulled the small radio from her belt, pressed the transmit button.
“Carlos we’ve got a problem,” she said in a quiet voice. “We have an intruder in room 124. They sound really weird and very threatening, whoever they are. You better get here fast.”
“Ten-four on my way,” was the almost immediate response.
“What we’re going to do to you will make you pray for death,” said the mysterious voice.
Claudia was confused, uncertain as to what to do. Could she really wait for Carlos? That was probably the smart thing to do. But suppose this guy killed those two helpless girls. She’d never forgive herself if that happened. She reached into her pocket, fumbled around until she came up with her pepper spray. She might be able to incapacitate this guy just long enough to give those two girls a chance; give Carlos time to get here. After but a few seconds hesitation she burst into the room. In the semidarkness she saw the hooded figure standing just a few feet away from Debbie’s bed, his gaunt hand raised. She plowed into him with all of her strength. It was like hitting a two-ton boulder. She barely budged him.
He turned around. Only then, when she gazed into its huge red eyes, did she realize that this thing was not human. She knew there and then that she was in a world of hurt. She sprayed the pepper spray directly into those huge glowing eyes, with apparently no effect.
He swiftly grabbed her by the throat and lifted her into the air with one hand. He examined her carefully. “You are of little value to me,” he said. “You are too old. But you know things that I must know, so I will have you. Perhaps you shall amuse me.”
Claudia’s eyes locked with those of the beast, then she went limp. He dropped her seemingly lifeless body to the floor. He turned back toward Debbie even as he heard the footfalls coming down the hall. He faded into a mist.
Just seconds later Carlos burst into the room gun drawn. He scanned his surroundings carefully to discover nothing but the two girls in their beds and Nurse West lying on the floor. Once he realized that the intruder had fled he switched on the lights and then knelt at Claudia’s side. There wasn’t a mark on her. She seemed to be out cold. He checked her pulse. He was relieved to find it strong and regular.
“Claudia,” he said. There was no response. He went for his radio. “This is Sanchez; we have a code red in room 124. Nurse West is down and unresponsive. I need a medical team down here right now. There is also a possible intruder on the premises. I’m going to need backup, contact the York PD.”
“Ten-four,” came the response.
Within thirty seconds two nurses, an orderly, and Dr. Wilson had arrived in the room. After several minutes it became clear that Nurse West was not going to return to consciousness anytime soon. To Wilson the symptoms were all too familiar. It looked like Hobarts, but it couldn’t be. Nurse West didn’t fit the profile at all. What was going on here?
“Check her card in the personnel file,” said Wilson, “you should find her emergency contact information there and her medical file. Her parents live right here in York. They’ll need to be contacted.”
Carlos looked to Dr. Wilson, concern and frustration in his eyes. “Did that intruder do this to her?”
“I don’t see how,” admitted Wilson. “She might still come out of it. Her parents will make the final decision but my recommendation is that she remain here under observation. We can probably do more for her here than they could at Memorial.”
Carlos nodded. “I just don’t get it,” he said. “She couldn’t have been in there more than thirty seconds before I arrived. How could that intruder have gotten away?”
Wilson didn’t reply. He looked to the window. No, he couldn’t have gotten out that way. The York Police would be here in a few minutes to help search for the intruder. Perhaps they would be able to shed some light on this mystery.
The next day of work in the tunnels didn’t seem as difficult to Debbie. Her experience of returning to Earth and subsequently being pulled back seemed to have actually rejuvenated her. It was difficult for her to hide these facts from her taskmaster. She especially had to hide her hand and the condition of her voice. Still everyone was so preoccupied with the work at hand they didn’t seem to notice.
Debbie only wished that she could have said the same about David. He seemed so weak. No, she couldn’t lose him, not now, not when their deliverance might well be in sight. “Please, Lord,” she whispered, “give him the strength to see him through just a few more days.”
It wasn’t until the end of the day that Lukor arrived and pulled her aside along with Leslie, Gwen, David, Camron, and Marci. They were taken some distance up the tunnel toward their cellblock before Lukor spoke.
“There is a new assignment fer ya,” began Lukor, gazing out at the six young humans before him. “I’ve been ordered to take the six of ya to the crystal cavern three days hence. It is the only place where the glowing crystals that are used to illuminate the caverns around ya can be found. We’re ta mine for da crystals. It is a bit of a walk through the dark, nearly a three-day journey, but we’ll need to make it in two. We will be living there fer as long as it takes to collect enough crystals fer the new cellblock. Then we’ll haul them back.”
The group looked around at each other. A change of scenery might not be a bad thing. Yet Debbie had the feeling that there was something more to this than Lukor had said. Why the six of them? She gazed into the great being’s eyes.
“This is not an unusual journey,” he continued. “We need to do it from time to time to replenish our supply of crystals. What is unusual is that we really don’t need the crystals right now, we have plenty. I explained this to the drell messenger but he didn�
��t seem to be in a mood to listen to me. Furthermore, da drells selected each of you for this assignment by name. They also were very specific that it should be me and Lemnock that takes ya there, no other. It is a dangerous journey, many hazards along the way. Usually we’ll take fifteen or twenty guards to protect the workers from the cave beasts when we go on such a mission, but not this time.”
“Lovely,” whispered David.
“But why us?” objected Camron. “What’s so special about us?”
“I don’t know,” admitted Lukor, but I have my suspicions. And there is more. Da drells specified that I keep each of ya securely chained hand and foot during this expedition, that I not take any chances of yer escaping. Even when you were working I was ta grant ya as little freedom as was necessary. It was the way that the drell messenger said it that made me suspicious.” Lukor turned to Debbie. “What do you know about it?”
“Me?” asked Debbie, who responded in a voice a bit louder and clearer than she might have liked.
Lukor drew closer to her, looking her over carefully, even sniffing her. “Yer different. Something has changed.” He examined her still closer. He seemed shocked by what he discovered. “Yer skin is unbruised, perfect, like that of a baby.” He paused, looked at the bloodstained cloth around her hand. “I’d like to see the place where you were injured yesterday. I want to see how it’s healing.”
Debbie considered trying to make up some kind of excuse not to show it but it was of no use. She knew that she’d been found out. She unwrapped the makeshift bandage to reveal her uninjured hand.
“No, that’s not possible!” gasped Marci. “I saw that cut myself, it was deep, very deep. I had real fears that in this environment it would surely become infected. Now I can’t even see where the laceration was.”
The others drew close to view this miracle. It was incredible.
The Realm of the Drells Page 10