“Don’t pretend to feel sorry when I know you’re not,” Ben said, sounding more defeated than anything. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you and your doctor friend were behind this. However, as I have no evidence, I’m just calling to apologize that we can’t attempt to find your friend and we move on.”
Mark froze, his eyes darting to Greg and Abby who were waiting patiently for the word. “You do realize we have another plan, don’t you?”
“I realize you do, yes,” Ben said, “but it’s a plan that’s not only illegal, but would also cost me my job if I went through with it. I’m sorry but you’re out of luck. I’m washing my hands of this whole situation and I’m getting back to work. Tell my sister I’ll call her a little later and we can chat.”
Mark sat there, the phone pressed to the side of his head even after the line had gone dead. Eventually he dropped his arm and let out a long breath. “He’s not going to help us.”
“What?” Abby asked. “What do you mean?”
“Well, our little plan worked, and his warrant was denied, but he’s decided that he’s not going to help,” Mark said with a helpless shrug.
“So we go without him,” Greg said.
“And do what? Risk everything to get Yehuda out?” Abby asked. “It’s all well and good for you and Yehuda,” she said, pointing at Mark, “but what about the rest of us? Greg, are you okay risking your life, your career, for this?”
“Yes,” Greg said with a shrug. “I’m sorry, Abby, but I thought you were as well. When you consider the consequences…”
“No,” Abby said. “We need my brother’s help.” She got up and stormed to the table, rummaging around in Greg’s little black bag. “This is the only way.”
It took Mark and Greg too long to realize what she was doing. She had obviously paid attention when Greg was explaining how to administer the dosage of opiates, because before either of the men could rush to her side, she had jammed the hypodermic needle full of opiates into her arm and pushed the plunger down.
“Abby, don’t!” Greg cried, but it was in vain.
Abby wavered on the spot for a moment and then smiled at the pair. “Just call him when it wakes up.” And then, before their eyes, she hit the floor.
Mark looked over at Greg, his eyes wide with panic. “What do we do?”
“She’s going to be out cold for hours,” Greg said. He stepped over her lying body and grabbed his bag, plopping down in a chair next to where she lay. Inside was the vial of liquid anti-depressant and he pulled out a second syringe. “The only thing I can do is give her this and hope it has enough counter effect.”
Mark wrung his hands, feeling utterly helpless. “And if it doesn’t?”
“I don’t know,” Greg said. He began to measure out the proper dosage into the syringe. Greg slipped from the chair to his knees next to her. Picking up her arm, Greg began to search for a vein with his thumb.
Mark watched as he pressed the needle just under the skin, but to his absolute horror, before he could depress the plunger, Abby’s eyes flew open and her hand closed around Greg’s wrist, hard. Mark heard a crackling noise as Greg’s fingers went limp and he let out a small cry of pain.
“I think not,” came a deeper, more gravelly sound from Abby’s mouth. Her hand released Greg’s wrist and she tossed the syringe aside. “I’m not entirely sure what you three apes have been planning, but whatever it is, consider your plans changed.”
Holding his wrist, Greg backed up as Abby’s body stood, shaking her hair out and grinning a little. “Who are you?” Greg asked as he struggled to his feet.
“That, my pretty little meat-puppet, is none of your business. What is your business is giving me that little black bag of tricks and the keys to your car.” Her eyes flashed, mouth turned down into a terrifying frown.
Greg looked over at Mark and then handed the bag and his keys over. “Look, if you try and keep her body for too long, you’re going to kill her.”
The thing walked over to Abby’s wall mirror and began smoothing down her hair, turning from side to side with a grin. “Oh don’t you worry your pretty little head about that. I have no plans to kill this one. She’s going to be very useful in the future.”
Mark slowly closed the space between himself and Greg. “Any idea who she is?”
Greg shook his head slightly. “Not a clue. I’m afraid my mortal consciousness isn’t very familiar with most of them.”
“With good reason,” the thing said as it turned to Mark and Greg. “Your little friend Asclepius is a pain in our ass, so damn nosy, so damn unnecessary. So damn addicted to the feeling of this mortal coil.” The thing rubbed its hands up and down Abby’s front. “Mmm but some of it is nice, isn’t it?” It grinned at Mark and gave a small wink. “We certainly had a good time, didn’t we?”
Mark felt bile rise into his throat and he couldn’t bring himself to answer that question. “What are you going to do with her?”
“I’m afraid you already know about our little compound, so all I can really do is warn you to stay the hell away. Believe me, if you don’t want everyone dead, and I mean everyone, you’ll mind your business and move on with your lives.”
The thing inside Abby tossed the keys to the car up in the air and caught them. “Well boys, I’m on my way. It’s been very nice, and maybe if I come around again, we can have a little bit of fun. If you’re ever lucky enough to talk to Abby again, tell her I said thanks.” With a smile and a nod, the front door flew open and the creature disappeared.
The moment the door shut, Mark began to panic. “We can’t just let her go.”
“We don’t exactly have a choice,” Greg said in a very right voice as his hand held his wrist, his face grimacing in pain.
“Is it broken?” Mark asked quietly.
Greg gave a short nod. “It’s definitely broken, in several places I’m guessing. Whoever is inside of Abby is extremely strong.”
“That could be anyone or anything,” Mark said pacing the room a bit. “My strength far surpasses that of natural human capacity. I figured that wasn’t unique amongst the old ones.”
“I suppose it’s not,” Greg said. He walked into Abby’s kitchen and Mark could hear him pulling ice into a dish towel. When he came out, he was pressing the makeshift ice pack onto his arm.
“We have to go after her,” Mark said. “There’s no telling what she’s going to do, and they obviously have some sort of plan beyond healing people.”
“I picked up on that as well,” Greg said. “Look, if I’m going to be of any help, I’m going to have to let Asclepius take over for a bit. Luckily for me, my god is the god of healing, and therefore can accelerate the healing process in my wrist. It does, however, also mean that you’re going to have to put up with him and reign him in. He has some idea of how dire this situation is, and how much worse it could get, so as long as you keep reminding him of that, he should stay in line.”
“And Ben?” Mark asked.
“Let’s call him before I bring Asclepius over,” Greg said and fished out his phone gingerly with his uninjured hand. He pressed a key on the phone and then handed it over to Mark.
It rang several times before Ben’s tired voice picked up. “What now?”
“We’re having a bit of a situation,” Mark said.
“Is that so?” Ben asked. “Look, I’ve already explained to you that I’m washing my hands of this entire operation…”
“Abby’s gone,” Mark blurted out.
“Excuse me?” Ben asked, his voice dangerously quiet.
“Abby’s gone. This god thing took her,” Mark said.
“How is that possible?” Ben demanded.
“She was a little flustered that you wouldn’t help so she got into Greg’s medicine bag, injected herself with a sedative and it took over,” Mark said.
“And where is she now?”
Mark let out a little sigh and rubbed his hand down his face. “She broke Greg’s wrist, stole the bag of sedative and the bag of the
antidote and took Greg’s car.”
“Please tell me this is some sort of sick joke in order to get my cooperation,” Ben said, his tone almost begging.
“I wish it was,” Mark said in a rush. “I promise you Ben, I’m not lying. She’s heading out to that compound in Washington, and whatever their plans are, we’ve got to get inside there before they can begin to carry them out.”
Ben was silent for so long Mark thought for a moment Ben had hung up. “Where are you now?”
“We’re at Abby’s place. We were trying to rid her house of anything that might have been used to drug her,” Mark said.
“I’m on my way.”
The line went dead, and Mark set the phone down on the small table. He turned to Greg, who was looking very pale and his hands were trembling with the pain. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Is Ben coming?” Greg asked in response.
“He said he’s on his way,” Mark replied with a short shrug.
“I’m going to let Asclepius come through, then. Ben’s pretty good at keeping him in check, and as long as you keep focused on the plan, you should be able to pull this off. When Asclepius takes over, let him know that the serum is in my jacket pocket, and there’s enough to last for six days. Tell him to pay special attention to my liver though. The last time he had taken over for more than a few hours, my liver enzymes were elevated to a potentially dangerous level, and I’m not sure if it’s from the possession or from the drug cocktail I’m taking to let him in.”
“Okay,” Mark said.
Greg reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle of clear liquid. He gave Mark a weak smile and said, “See you on the other side,” and with that, he took a sip and laid his head back, eyes fluttering closed.
Mark watched with bated breath as Greg lay there. For quite some time, nothing happened. Mark thought maybe something had gone wrong, but as he stood to shake Greg and make sure all was okay, Greg’s eyes flew open and he sat up.
“Jesus, what did he do?” The voice coming out of Greg was not Greg’s, but the voice Mark had heard at the hotel a couple of nights before. It was Asclepius. Asclepius twitched the wrist and winced. “It’s broken.”
“He, er, he said you could heal it,” Mark said.
Asclepius’s eyes darted over to Mark, looking almost surprised to see someone else there. “You’re still here? And no coma friend still, eh?”
“Not quite yet,” Mark said, feeling suddenly exhausted and overwhelmed. “We’re in a bit of a tight spot, it seems.”
“Well from the tension in this body, I can tell,” Asclepius said, standing up and giving his back a stretch.
“Greg wanted me to tell you that there’s enough serum in the coat to last six days,” Mark said in his subdued tone, “and to keep an eye on the liver. He said something about dangerously high liver enzymes… I think.”
“I was afraid of that,” the god said, pulling a face. “Six days though, eh? We going on an adventure?”
“We may be,” Mark said. “We’re waiting for Ben to get here.”
“Oh wonderful. Mr. Stick-up-his-ass is joining us? Why, exactly, was he invited?” Asclepius asked as he wandered into the kitchen. He returned with a can of cola and a bag of potato chips in his good hand. The broken wrist was stretched outright, and though it was bright red and swollen, Mark could already see some of the swelling starting to reduce.
“Abby’s been taken over,” Mark said.
Asclepius opened the soft drink with a loud crack and took a long drink before he answered. “Ah, well I warned you all that was coming,” he said with a shrug. “They give out their name?”
“No,” Mark said. “In fact, whoever it was seemed very keen on keeping their identity a secret.”
“They have been awfully hush-hush lately,” he replied and munched on a couple of chips. “Oh well, let’s let this baby heal up while we wait for gramps, and then see what we can do about the sister. You like porn? I’m kind of in the mood for a little girl-on-girl.”
Forty
Ben stood outside Abby’s apartment, the key to her door in his hand, for a good ten minutes before he had the courage to open the door and walk inside. His sister had gone, that much was obvious. Ben had tried her cell phone no less than a dozen times, only to have the call sent to voicemail after one ring.
The idea that she was possessed was a little too much for Ben to process, and for the moment he was trying to wrap his mind around the idea that this was some sort of elaborate plan of Mark’s to get Ben to agree to head up to Washington.
He debated about smoking a cigarette, or five, but that wasn’t going to help and he really wanted to kick the habit anyway. With a deep breath, Ben turned the key in the lock and walked in. The one thing he didn’t expect to find was Greg on the sofa, foot up, cigar burning and some rather racy adult film on the television.
Mark, for his part, was sitting in the dining room, his head bowed over a book, his face rather red. Mark looked up when Ben walked in and his smile was one of extreme relief. “You’re here.”
Greg looked up at Ben from the couch, the cigar clenched between his teeth and he grinned. “Hey there, detective. Come to arrest me?” The voice wasn’t Greg’s but it was familiar, as was the smell of the cigar and the presence of scotch in a glass on the table.
“Asclepius,” Ben said with a small sigh.
“In the flesh, so to speak,” he said. He brandished his broken wrist, the bruise across the skin wide and the swelling reaching all the way down the fingers. “Seems my little friend Greg had an accident courtesy of your sister, so I’m working my magic and getting him healed up. As a bonus I’m watching porn and getting drunk. Care to join me?”
“No, and I’d like you to turn that off,” Ben replied. “I want to know where the hell my sister is.”
“I already explained that situation to you,” Mark said, walking into the room. “Believe me or not, your sister’s body has been absconded by some creature and she’s on her way to Washington as we speak.”
For some reason, those words caused something in Ben to snap. He just sort of lost it, rage flooding him, the pent up frustration from listening to these fairy tales was exploding. Without even realizing he was doing it, Ben had drawn his gun and shoved it in Mark’s face.
“Enough,” he hissed. “Where the hell is my sister?”
“I’m not lying to you,” Mark said, holding up his hands. “That gun isn’t going to do much but slow me down, and that won’t be good for any of us, so why don’t you just put it away.”
Ben growled, taking a step toward Mark, who held fast in his spot. “I refuse to believe anything you say.”
The room went quiet as the man on the sofa used the remote to switch off the TV. He shifted up onto his knees so his front was pressing against the back of the couch, and he had a small smile on his face. “Listen, Benny boy, he’s not lying. If he was lying, I wouldn’t be able to do this.”
Asclepius held out his hand, and to Ben’s absolute surprise, his gun went flying across the room, landing almost daintily in Asclepius’s palm. “What the hell?” Ben gasped.
“I don’t know what else to do to convince you, kid,” Asclepius said with a shrug as he set the gun down on the table. “Going on a shooting spree isn’t going to get your sister here any quicker, and frankly, the god that’s got her body might find that amusing rather than terrifying.”
Ben’s hands were trembling as he dropped them to his side. He felt suddenly naked, stripped of every sense of reason and defense, and for the first time in a long, long time, he was on the verge of tears. Something in him gave, not much, but enough. “I can’t take this. I’m going to get locked up in a mental hospital after all this is done.”
“Oh I wouldn’t say that,” Asclepius said with a grin. “Just think of it as an elaborate game of pretend… or something. I don’t know, whatever you humans do to deal with situations you can’t reason your way out of. I mean honestly, it has to happen
all the time. The human brain’s capacity for understanding the beyond is terrifyingly small. I’m not sure how you handle it.”
“We don’t,” Mark said quietly. “That much should be obvious based on human behavior.”
“True,” Asclepius said with a sigh. He settled back down on the couch and patted the cushion next to him. “Pop a squat, Benny, and let’s game plan.”
Seemingly not of his own accord, Ben felt his feet propel him across the room to the edge of the sofa where he took a seat as far from Asclepius as he could manage. He crossed his arms, feeling defensive, and eyed his gun.
“I could kill you before you could move,” Asclepius said casually. “I don’t want to, believe me, but I’ll do what I have to do. I have a good deal going on with this one, and I’m in no hurry to send this body rotting into the ground.”
Ben clenched his jaw. “Who has my sister?”
“We’re not sure,” Mark said, taking a seat in the chair nearest to Ben. He put his hands between his knees and leaned forward. “I tried to find out, to get some clue, but whoever it was seemed pretty determined to keep its identity from us.”
“You both do realize I can’t get up to Washington legally, right? I could report my sister missing, however she’s a consenting adult, and if she wants to go, she can go,” Ben said in a defeated tone.
“Perhaps we could report the car stolen, have highway patrol pick her up?” Mark offered.
Asclepius threw his head back and laughed. “You really think that would end well for the officer?”
Ben cleared his throat. “We’re going to have to try and get in without the help of law enforcement. We can attempt to join the cult or something… see what we can do.”
Mark held up a hand. “Wait a moment. That might work.”
“Is that so, padre?” Asclepius said. “You don’t think they’ll recognize the three of us instantly?”
“They might,” Mark said, clearly referring to the gods, “but what about the humans? The gods are going to have to sleep at some point to keep their vessels from wearing out and dying on them too fast, right?”
The Awakening (The Judas Curse Book 1) Page 31