Oakwood Island

by Cormier, Angella; Arseneault, Pierre C;

  “Damn you!” shouted the spirit as it rushed towards the window. The doctor would not tolerate being distracted from the task at hand, not when he was living and especially not now that death had given him so much freedom and power. As the red aura made its way to the window, a blinding golden yellow light seeped through and completely lit up the hospital room before the crow flew off, carrying its golden rays with it into the distance.

  * * *

  The creaking of the rocking chair resonated within the small room. The Jeffersons played on the oldies channel with the sound off in one corner of the darkened room. Across the TV an old woman rocked her body back and forth while her long grey hair covered most of her face, her head bowed downward. The woman slowly lifted her head to glance outside her bedroom window. The steel bars that covered the reinforced glass a sullen reminder of her time spent here.

  Looking down at her hands, her wrists ached when she attempted to readjust her nightgown, the straps that were holding her down digging into her wrinkling skin. She didn’t feel the straps around her ankles as much anymore, but she knew she couldn’t go very far even if she had the strength to do so.

  When the door opened and the nurse walked in, the old woman turned her sorrowful eyes towards the small-framed nurse.

  “Are you ready for bed, Harriett?” asked the night nurse as she came into the room. “You didn’t want to go earlier and that was almost two hours ago, remember?”

  The nurse came closer to Harriett, carefully removing the straps from the old woman, questioning their need. She was such a small and frail woman; how could she ever try to escape or hurt anyone? Once all straps were removed she helped her patient over to her bed.

  “I brought you a little something to help you sleep, my dear. You must be tired.”

  The nurse took out two small sleeping pills and gave Harriett a bit of water along with them. As the frail woman slid under her warm covers and rested her head on her pillow, she took hold of the nurse’s left arm and looking her straight in the eye she exclaimed, “Have you seen Peggy Sue?”

  The nurse shook her head to say no and Harriett pressed on. “She was just here about a half hour ago looking for Dr. Edwards. She doesn’t know about us, so please, don’t tell her! That will make him mad with me. I can’t stand it when he is mad at me.”

  The nurse examined Harriett, feeling a rush of pity for the delusional woman. She softly patted Harriett’s arm and reassuringly replied in a calming voice. “I won’t tell anyone, I promise. Now close your eyes and get some rest, Harriett. You must be very tired.”

  Harriett snuggled into her cocoon of slumber, her three blankets on top of her small frame.

  “Yes, my shift tonight was a long one...” she said trailing off as her eyes began getting heavy.

  The nurse strapped one of the woman’s arms to the bed and said in a soft voice, “Now you know I need to put this on your arm so you don’t wander off again like you did last week.”

  Harriett was no longer listening to the nurse. She was looking past her, at the wall near the door. She smiled a wide smile and tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke softly, “Richard, my dear...”

  The doctor’s spirit looked at Harriett and answered. “You can see me today? Yesterday you could only hear me. I don’t understand why that is.” The spirit came a bit closer, examining his past lovers’ aging face.

  Harriett grinned before she replied. “Not sure what you mean, my love. You are very handsome tonight.”

  The nurse looked at Harriett, trying to understand why her patient had started to randomly speak to her past lover. She saw Harriett focusing her eyes past her and quickly glanced over her shoulder, almost expecting to see someone standing there. She quickly dismissed her foolish behaviour and finished pulling the covers up to Harriett’s chin and carefully tucking her into bed.

  “Sleep well, Harriett. Use the buzzer if you need anything, sweetie.” The nurse walked out of the room with a quiet footing and a wish that all her Daye Psychiatric Ward patients could be as docile as Harriett.

  “I wish I could sit and chat with you, Richard, but I’m so tired. Why am I so tired?” Harriett tried to move her hand to caress Richard, his face now but a few inches from hers. Her body now becoming armour against consciousness, her limbs did not respond when she tried to move them. Richard’s spirit spoke, resounding against the air in the room like an underwater current against a bottomless ocean.

  “That’s OK, Harriett. Get some rest. It will all be over soon.” Richard brushed Harriett’s hair from her forehead, and the grey strands fluttered from what would have appeared as a breeze. The doctor’s mouth transformed into a grin that carried a sinister and pervasive guise.

  * * *

  The large black bird had sat still on the ledge of Maggie’s window at the hospital. It watched her from a distance for a long time, studying her and her surroundings. It waited to see if anything out of the ordinary would reappear, but it did not.

  The bird turned its shiny black plumage away from the window, it hesitated for an instant, looking back inside before it took flight, large wings spreading wide and beating in unison as it took off. It flew directly to the old 1950 Ford truck and landed on the red faded paint on the hood. Inside sat Jack, his head bowed down.

  The old man’s hands were tight on the top portion of the steering wheel, though the truck was turned off. The chanting had beckoned the crow here. The low and muffled sounds that the old man vocalized retreated into the bird’s head as a rhythmic pounding that called to it and formed a sort of messaging that only the bird could understand. The bird loudly cawed and flapped the black wings twice, and peered again at the old man seated in his truck.

  The dirty glass of the windshield only hid part of the man’s body, his head perfectly in view of the crow’s eyesight. The man was not startled. His fingers slowly reached upwards, stretching into the air. He let go of the steering wheel and sat upright in his seat with his eyes still closed. Placing both hands on his legs, he opened his eyes, and stared at the bird to which he had called upon through his mind.

  Satisfied by the loud caw he’d managed to evoke from the bird, he stepped out of the truck and tipped his head to the crow. In return, the crow bowed its own head, recognizing the man’s gratitude for allowing this bond to continue. Jack walked out into the parking lot and followed the shadows instead of the sidewalks, careful to remain unseen. His body seemed to know exactly which steps to take and which to avoid in order to remain but a shadow himself.

  Once inside the dimly lit building, he waited until the guard at the desk was distracted to slip into a deserted corridor where he quickly opened the door to the stairs leading to the upper floors. He knew the way inside these halls and floors from years of mingling with the shadows, unbeknownst to the staff. He crept up the stairs slowly, but with steady footing, his focus on the room where the woman slept.

  Maggie sat on the edge of the hospital bed, her drool now thick with yellowish pus oozing down her chin and onto her gown. The front of the soaked gown clung to her thin body. The spirit of the doctor hastily returned to her side. Her eyes showed no recognition of her surroundings or of the spiritual presence that was fully immersed in its task of grabbing hold of her mind to fulfil his dark deeds. The doctor, now free of the pesky bird that seems to follow him everywhere, continued on his quest to control Maggie.

  “Good, my dear girl...You have done good. See what a blend of yellow goo and a little bit of encouragement can do? Now get up. Stand up Maggie.” His voice went from soft and encouraging to demanding within a few words. He grew impatient with each passing second as the girl just sat still.

  “STAND UP, MAGGIE!” repeated the doctor, his voice booming in her mind. At first her body didn’t respond, but then her small frame clumsily rose up from the bed, her legs weak, she stumbled a few steps to the left, banging her knee against the side table. She stood thou
gh weak, her legs and feet carrying the weight of her clouded mind and her trembling body. Her eyes appeared brighter now, though still half closed, they reflected speckles of bright red that could only come from the spirit world.

  “Good job, Maggie.” His words lashed out like those spoken to a dog after it fetched a thrown stick. “It’s time to go see your mother,” said the doctor. After every stick fetched, along with the praise comes a treat.

  * * *

  In a quiet hallway the door from the stairwell slowly opened. Jack took care to maintain his quiet entrance into the corridor. His footsteps were quick but light, so as to not stir suspicion from the nurses and doctors that might be in any of the rooms in this wing. From the mirror affixed on the corridor intersect, he spotted a woman in white stepping out from behind her station. Jack lurched into a darkened room where the door stood wide open. He heard the faint calling of the nurse to her patient in the slight distance.

  “I’m coming, Mr. Johnson.”

  His hand reached for his hat, removing it before peering outside the door. His eyes searched the hall for the caretaker in white, but she had already made her way to care for her patient. The old hat slipped easily back onto its spot as Jack walked with long and quick strides three doors down the hall. He stood at the doorway for a moment, head bowed downward. He had to move quickly. This he knew for sure.

  * * *

  The walls surrounding Maggie reflected a muted shade of red. The aura shone so brightly in the spiritual world that it was casting itself onto the physical surroundings of the hospital room. Thin and weak legs made their way towards the door. Feet dragging, Maggie had managed to walk from the bed to the door with the doctor’s orders booming relentlessly in her mind. Her appearance was nothing short of lifeless. Her long hair once so fine and beautiful now sprung out behind her in a tangled and matted mess. Her cheeks once so rosy and full were now sunken and the dark circles under her eyes were proof that as strong and capable a women as she had been, that was all gone now.

  Maggie, or what was left of her, stood in front of the closed door with the spirit that was attached to her will hovering behind her. The doctor rose slightly higher than his victim and demanded she open the door. Maggie’s weak and blood encrusted hand reached out as it was commanded.

  * * *

  Jack cleared his mind, focusing on being present but also on what would happen in the next few moments. He reached deep within himself, breathing slowly he grasped that part of him that would see beyond time. Like the movement inside a mechanical clock, the internal gears and steel springs winding and clicking to make time advance, Jack’s internal movement worked in reverse. He slowed his soul down to a crawl, being focused on each moment as he conveyed his intent from his mind into existence.

  There he stood motionless for a few moments, collecting his energy before turning the handle swiftly. Stepping inside he faced the woman. His brows set in a strong line and his jaw clenched before he spoke.

  “What am I supposed to do with you?”

  The power this woman held inside of her could potentially wreak massive havoc and destroy Oakwood and its residents. He needed to make a difficult decision. He stared at Norah Jenkins lying peacefully in her bed. His hand let go of the door and it closed quietly. For a few moments he just stood there, unable to regain his concentration. He closed his eyes and sought answers from within. But the answers didn’t come. Only a jumbled mess of more questions and doubts poured over him all at once. His head bowed downward again. What was he going to do with her, he questioned himself again.

  * * *

  Maggie now walked slowly down the hallway. Her bare feet shuffled along, dragging her mangled body along with them. Eyes that could not see, rolled back into her head, she was guided by the doctor every step she took, his spirit floating behind her. It held her up with the power of the substance that would bring him his revenge. The grin on the spirit’s face widened at the realization that his plan was nearing completion.

  Down the hall the elevator dinged and the metal doors slid open. A nurse emerged, carrying an armload of charts and files. Her complete focus on the papers spared Maggie, the doctor’s puppet, from being noticed. The nurse quickly turned to her right down the hallway and was just as quickly out of sight. Though she was no longer around, the spirit now stared at the other occupant of the lift. His power over Maggie dropped as he saw Harriett standing there. Her eyes fixated on him, staring him down. A slight grin spread across Harriett’s face as the doors slid shut again.

  The doctor floated down towards the elevator. Losing control over Maggie, her body crumpling to the floor in a heap, her head bouncing off the linoleum. Her mouth gaped open with a fresh flow of pus filled saliva and blood. Ignoring this, the doctor turned his attention to the elevator to see what floor it came to a stop. Upon arriving and stopping at the top floor, the light stayed on. Once he knew for sure where he would need to go to find Harriett, he collected himself again and turned back to Maggie.

  “Come on, Maggie. Get up!”

  Her frail body failed on the first attempt to stand. Her arms and legs shook as she stood up, her hospital gown twisted around her waist.

  “Come now, girl. Walk faster!” His impatience grew as loud as his commands.

  * * *

  Jack gripped the pillow tight between his old yet strong hands. He stared down at Norah, while holding the pillow close to his chest. His eyes fixated on the woman, pondering his intent to kill her in order to save so many others. Her powers, dangerous to everyone even though she meant no harm to anyone, could eventually turn Oakwood Island into a massive graveyard or worse yet, an island filled with deranged and tormented residents.

  Thinking back, Jack should have known long before that she would turn out to become just like her aunt Theresa. Norah’s mother Eileen had escaped the family curse being born when she was. It was her twin sisters, Theresa and Evelyn who had the curse thrust upon them so many years prior.

  Jack had watched Norah’s aunts and her mother grow up. He soon discovered Theresa had been different since birth, strange occurrences following her wherever she went. Evelyn never seemed to be affected by the curse. Likely the same way that Norah had not been affected in the way that her sister Amy had been. But now that Amy was dead, the curse had become Norah’s to bear. The curse that engulfed her with powers beyond her control. He knew he needed to kill her now before she could ever have children of her own. Jack leaned in closer, his face in the dim light of the moon shining through the window.

  Norah was looking back at him. Her eyes but tiny slits, she spoke softly. “I know you.” She looked groggy with medication and sleep. “Jack, Harriett’s in trouble. Doctor Edwards wants to hurt her. You have to help her!”

  Seeing how Norah’s only concern was to help another, he saw a glimpse of her humanity come through. Jack hesitated, then stepped back and lowered the pillow to his side. He saw the goodness in the woman before him, not a monster, and realized that she needed to be saved, not killed. Jack dismissed his earlier intentions, knowing now why he felt compelled to come to Norah. She held a special ability as well, and through both their powers, they could somehow make things right. His instincts kicked in and he knew right away what he had to do.

  Dropping the pillow in the chair near the bed he called out to Norah as he opened the door, “I’ll be back later to see you again. Get some sleep, Norah. Everything is gonna be alright.”

  Norah stared at the door closing behind him and she wondered if he would make it back at all.

  * * *

  In the elevator alone, Maggie stood in a puddle of her own urine and bloody drool. The doors slid shut before her. The soft muzak that played in the elevator created a strange normalcy to the elevator ride as the instrumental version of The Girl From Ipanema softly played on. Her head slightly bowed to one side, her open mouth nearly touching her left shoulder. The elevator began its jo
urney upward when the doctor floated through the bottom of the lift. He joined her inside but for a moment and continued rising through the roof and then the shaft of the elevator until he reached the top floor. There he rushed through the doors before they opened and emerged into the sombre hallway. He searched in the darkness for Harriett. His aura dim now, he floated onward, intent on finding her. Down the hallway the door at the top of the stairs closed and clacked loudly, echoes filling the corridor. The stairs led to the roof of the hospital. Before he could start making his way towards the roof, the elevator dinged and the doors opened, revealing a broken Maggie inside.

  “Come with me.” The doctor’s voice was no longer commanding, but rather authoritative, much as it was when he was alive. When she didn’t react, he approached the elevator and told her again. “Come out of the elevator and into the hallway, Maggie.”

  She slowly turned and took a step forward; her head still slouched to one side, her arms dangling as she moved. The doors of the lift began closing and pressed against her shoulders and hips.

  “Damn you, Maggie! You need to hurry! Danny was never this slow. Now come on!” Losing patience, the doctor swiftly turned around to look at the rooftop door again.

  Down the other end of the hall, a nurse came out of a room carrying some dirty linen and loaded it in a cart. “What are you doing here young lady?” She noticed the patient’s appearance, the blood on her gown, and quizzically asked, “What happened to you? Let’s get you back to your room, OK deary?”

  Approaching Maggie, one of the dirty linen she’d just put in the cart flew out, landing behind her and brushing her stocking ankles.

  “What the...” Spinning around, she saw several more sheets and pillow cases rise out of the cart and all are sent in her direction, the cart suddenly jerked from its position by an unseen hand. The wheels creaked and groaned, thundering steel clattering as it began to hurtle towards her.