Legacy (10 page)

CHAPTER TEN

I opened my eyes and found myself not looking up at the ceiling of the police station, but to the sight of wide open sky filled with a dark grey haze and as I breathed in the air, I immediately realized that there was some kind of fire burning not too far away from where I lay right now.

I looked around to work out where I was and I was shocked to find that I was laying on a riverbank.

I instinctively checked my body for any evidence that I had been in the water before waking up, but not one part of my clothing showed any sign of wetness.

Why am I here?

I should be in the police station right now.

Is this another of my crazy dreams?

Whatever questions were going through my mind would have to wait as I suddenly heard a rustling noise coming from a bush to my left.

Fearing what may pop out from behind it, I struggled to my feet to try and find a hiding place – I really can’t put up with any more shit right now.

But I was too slow and the figure of a man appeared before me and judging by the way he was struggling to walk, he was in an incredible amount of pain.

He dropped to the ground directly in front of me completely exhausted and lay there motionless for a couple of seconds before stretching his arm out in a hopeless attempt to reach the water, only to fail.

He rolled onto his back and looked blankly towards the sky, not even acknowledging me standing beside him.

His face was full of cuts and completely covered in dried blood, but even through his injuries, I noticed that he was the young man that I had encountered in my last dream.

It was plain to see that his injuries were severe and his chest began to rise and fall quickly as his body began struggling to take in vital air and I could see the fear in his eyes as he fought to survive.

I knelt at his side and tried to comfort him, but every time I touched him, just like in my last dream, my hands just passed through him as if he wasn’t even there.

But everything else around me seemed real enough – I could hear the water, feel the ground, smell the smoky air, but anyone around me was unable to be touched.

I felt so helpless as I watched the poor man struggle to keep alive – the last thing I wanted right now was to witness another death before my very eyes and I was so transfixed on the dying man that I failed to notice someone else joining us on the riverbank.

I nearly jumped out of my skin as another man wearing a long dark hooded cloak walked past me.

Without saying a word, the hooded man headed towards the dying man and as he stood above him for a few seconds, I feared that he may kill him.

But I was completely wrong - he lifted the motionless man off the ground almost effortlessly and placed him on his shoulder.

I followed closely behind the hooded man as he walked through a thick woodland which ran alongside the riverbank until we reached a clearing where a lone wooden house stood – it was evident that this was where we were all heading.

As we reached the house, the man turned the front door latch and the door opened welcoming him inside.

I was impressed by how easily the man had been able to carry someone on his shoulder for such a distance without any rest and even now he had reached his destination, he still showed no signs of fatigue.

I had to move quickly as the man kicked the door to close it behind him.

The wounded man was gently placed upon a fur rug directly in front of a heavenly welcoming log fire which gave out an incredible heat as its flames burnt.

I watched the flames dance above the logs for a few moments and became almost hypnotized by the sight. The last time I had seen a proper fire burning in a house like that was when I was a little girl visiting my grandmother and just remembering that momentarily brought back some happy memories.

My moment of reminiscing came to an abrupt end when the man walked between me and the fire to pick up a jug that he had on a heavy oak table which sat majestically next to a large wooden chair.

He poured some liquid from it which I can only guess was water into a metal tankard that was also on the table before kneeling down beside the wounded man to lift his head to help him accept the drink that was being offered.

Only a small amount managed to pass his lips, and as more was being forced into his mouth, it just began to run down his jaw and onto his neck.

The small amount that did manage to get into his mouth struggled past his throat which instantly caused him to cough and splutter as he tried to catch breath at the same time.

The coughing spell seemed to go on for ages, but when it finally did come to an end, the wounded man’s head was placed gently back onto the soft rug and I watched the other man rise to his feet and head out of the room.

I moved towards the fire and noticed that the man was now sleeping instead of struggling for life – in fact, he had begun to move himself almost into a fetal position as his body warmed.

He looked just like a helpless child unable to do anything for himself, but completely dependent on someone else to nurse him back to good health again and after witnessing so much death, I felt good at witnessing that a life may have been saved instead.

Curiosity got the better of me as I wondered why the other man had gone and I headed towards the door that he had not long walked through, only to be stopped in my tracks as he returned, carrying a bundle of blankets in his arms.

He placed one immediately over the injured man’s torso and folded the others to produce a makeshift pillow to rest his head upon.

As the man lifted the wounded man’s head upon it, his patient suddenly began to show signs of distress and had to be held down firmly as his body began to violently convulse followed by flailing arms and legs in all directions as he tried to fight against the pain.

If anyone was going to be capable of holding someone down, it was most certainly the man who had managed to carry a fully ground injured man here in the first place and as the wounded man’s convulsions began to slowly subside, the grip on him became looser and looser until he didn’t have to hold him at all.

The wounded man returned to his childlike position and I saw the other man remove his cloak from his head, but try as I might to catch a glimpse of his face, his head seemed to turn at the most inopportune moment, revealing only the back of his head.

I heard a strange gurgling noise and realized that it was coming from the wounded man and as I looked down, I could see him staring up at the ceiling.

And then it hit me.

The wounded man lying just a few feet from me was none other than the man who had come to my aid and saved my life in the alleyway last night.

How could I ever forget those hypnotic dark blue eyes that had met mine? They were the only features of him that I could recall until now.

But now I could finally see his face, but how could I give a description of him to the police now when I said that I couldn’t remember what he looked like before?

They would most certainly ask me why I had taken so long to describe him to them and I can see their faces now if I told them that I had seen him again in a vision – they don’t exactly hold the highest opinion of me already.

But why am I having these visions? What do they all mean?

And what the hell is happening with this man’s eyes? They’re certainly having some effect on me, both good and bad.

But who was the man next to him helping him to return to good health?

Unfortunately, the answer to that question will have to wait.

Everything around me is beginning to spin and I am starting to feel incredibly dizzy.

I try to move around, but as I do so, incredibly bright flashes seem to go off in my head and I can feel my legs starting to give way below me.

My body feels like it is being pulled from side to side uncontrollably and try as I can to see what’s going on around me, all I can see is a blur and within a few seconds, the two men and the house are no longer in my sights.

In fact everything is now black.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

I don’t know how long I had passed out for, but when I opened my eyes, I found myself looking up at a jet white ceiling with long bright strip-lights hanging from it and as I looked around, I quickly realized that I was no longer in the wooden cottage, but now laying in a hospital bed in a ward of my own.

I also realized that the pulling sensations I had experienced earlier was down to a nurse who was standing to my left moving me about to change the pillows behind my head.

I could hear muffled voices coming from outside the room as staff moved quickly along the corridor tending to other patients, but my room remained quiet apart from the frequent beeps from a machine set up to my right that was recording my heartbeat and blood pressure.

Through the small glass window in the door I could see the outline of a man’s head and shoulders and judging by his silhouette, he certainly wasn’t the smallest of men.

The nurse tending to me noticed that I had woken up and as my face turned towards her, she gave out a welcoming smile – something I hadn’t experienced over the last day.

              “Hello there.” The nurse said gently, “Nice to see you wide awake at last. You certainly caused a stir around here when the police brought you in earlier.”

I tried to reply to the nurse, but all that came from my mouth was nothing short of mumbling.

              “I don’t know what’s happened to you,” the nurse continued, “but whatever it is, it’s important enough for a couple of policemen to be keeping watch outside.”

That would explain the man’s outline that I could see through the glass on the door.

My back was beginning to hurt a little so I tried to move around to a more comfortable position, but just the slightest movement sent a sharp pain from my left shoulder down to my legs.

The nurse moved closer and helped me.

              “You will feel a little sore for a while,” the nurse said as she puffed up the pillows behind me, “apparently you had a nasty fall when you passed out. You’re here just as a precaution so we can do some tests and hopefully find out exactly why you’re having these fainting spells. The police have told us that this was not the first time you’ve passed out in the last twenty four hours – so it’s better to be safe than sorry, I say. Besides, you’re in the best place if it happens again. So you have the pleasure of a relaxing hospital stay while I have the pleasure of eyeing up a couple of sexy men in uniform outside!”

I have seen enough policemen over the last few hours to last me a lifetime and no matter how sexy those two were outside the door, the nurse was welcome to them.