The Cursed Man (19 page)

“Just take a moment and tell me what you hear.”

Alister fell silent and rocked on his heels as he waited.

“And what am I supposed to be listening for?”

“Just tell me what you hear.”

Anna fell silent. “I don't hear anything.”

“Yeah, I noticed the silence when we were sitting on the bench. You underestimated my ability to notice all the birds were gone.”

“The direction of this conversation has become absurd,” Anna said. “I'm not comfortable with it.”

“I suspected that you were death after you returned the second day, but your persistence fooled me.”

Anna grabbed Alister's elbow and spun him around. “If I'm death as you claim, how do you explain Michael being alive?”

Alister shrugged. “Last time I saw him, he didn't look well. And that first day we went outside, the birds were chirping and I even saw a bird fly out of a tree. The breeze rustled the leaves and everything felt so alive and clean.” Alister looked around. “It was fresh.”  He started to walk. “But today everything seems so,” he said, settling his gaze on Anna, “dead.”

Anna crossed her arms. “Look,” she said.

“No, you look. I know what you are and what you've done, so why don't you stop playing with me?”

“You seriously can't believe what you're saying.”

“Just stop it, OK?” His fists were clenched and his eyes were filled with anger. “Don't treat me like I'm stupid.” He turned away to try and hide what stirred within. “I need you to come clean so I can deal with this. That void I spoke to you about, the one that was filled? Well, since your arrival, that feeling has only intensified.”

Anna raised a brow. “I would like to respond to you without you telling me I'm lying or having you so insistent that you completely shut down. If you would like, I could just agree with you so you can believe this fantasy is real. If that is what you want, then you can lock yourself away from the rest of the world forever, and I will leave you alone.”

Alister pursed his lips and fought against his frustration.

“You need to learn how to listen to me.”

Alister crossed his arms and searched for the breeze, but there wasn't one.

“You need to know it's common for a patient to develop feelings for their doctors that care for them. And I will never admit to anything that isn't true.”

Alister reached out and brushed his fingers across Anna's cheek. “How come your skin is always ice-cold?”

Anna sighed and resisted a shiver. “Where are the words to answer you?”

“I'm sure you'll find them.” He pointed farther down the path that led to the front of the hospital. The air was thick with a haze he hadn't noticed before. “I would like to go that way.” And carried a horrible smell. “Maybe I'll be lucky enough to meet some of the people that work here.”

Anna hesitated, and Alister saw it. He kept on the path and left her behind.

“Alister!” she said. “You asked that I keep everyone away and now you are in search of someone? They won't be out here per your request.”

“You mean to tell me you've shut down the entire operation of a hospital so I can go outside?” Alister said, and he placed his hands over his heart. “I'm really flattered, doctor. Thank you.”

Anna closed her eyes and sighed.

“What is it you're so afraid of me finding?” Alister said. “You go to extremes to get me outside to see the beauty that is beyond my room, and now that I want to see things, you resist me. What's around the front of the hospital?”

“Nothing,” Anna said. She submitted herself to follow Alister with a sigh. “I'm concerned about your behavior. Have you taken the medicine like I've instructed?”

Alister sniffed the air and looked to Anna in question. “Tell me you smell that.”

“Alister? I asked you a question. Have you taken your medication?”

Alister drew in a deep breath and tried to identify the smell that stained the air. “What in the hell is that?”

Anna drew a deep breath. “I don't smell anything.”

A distant crackling sound interrupted Alister's investigation and pulled him forward. “This way.” He quickened his pace toward the front of the hospital. “That sounds like something is on fire.”

He rounded the corner and faced bright orange, blue and yellow flames that raged from an intense bonfire. The flames belched smoke and soot that gushed upward in a toxic puff. The golf cart he had seen Michael drive by in was parked near the blaze. The tarp that covered the cart it was towing was pulled away, and a pile of human and animal carcasses sat in plain sight.

Alister's mouth hung open as he watched Michael carry bodies from the cart and struggle to place them on the fire without burning himself. He looked over his shoulder at Anna and pointed at what he saw. “What is he doing?”

Anna searched the area Alister pointed toward. “What is it, Alister? What do you see?”

An intense anger burning as brightly as the bonfire raged inside Alister. Either Anna was completely blind, or she was playing stupid.

“Don't give me that shit,” he said. “What is with that big fucking fire and all the bodies Michael is burning?”

“You need to calm down,” Anna said, and she looked to see if she could find what Alister claimed to see. “There is no fire.”

Alister could see the blaze reflecting inside Anna's eyes. “What do you mean there is no fire?” He jabbed his finger in the air and stomped his foot with each word. “It is right there in front of you! Are you blind?”

Anna backed away and withdrew a small remote control from her pocket. She pressed a button on the remote. “We need to go back inside so you can calm down.”

“I'm not going anywhere with you.” He took a step away.

“This was a mistake. I shouldn't have pushed you to do this.”

Alister held his hands out toward the fire. “How can you tell me to calm down when I can feel the heat from here?”

“I think it's best if we just get you back to your room now.”

Alister looked at Anna with disdain. “What are you trying to do to me? You tell me stories and lie to me—for what?”

Two male orderlies emerged from the hospital and took a hold of Alister by the arms.

“Get your hands off of me!” Alister said, and he struggled to break free from the firm hands that bound him.

“Please get the patient back to his room,” Anna said. She visibly trembled and seemed winded. “And please have him restrained to the bed.”

“Restrained?” Alister said. “Go ahead—that won't keep me from finding out the truth.”

“Relax,” one of the orderlies said, and Alister knew it was Michael. Alister no longer struggled against his hold and looked at Michael. “You've got to help me. She's driving me mad.”

“Not another word,” Michael said. His command was like that of a disappointed parent disciplining their child. “You are doing this to yourself.”

He guided Alister down the path and back inside his room.

Alister sat on his bed, the confusion inside his mind as thick as the smoke outside. “Are you going to tell me I didn't see that fire and all those bodies you were burning?”

Michael laid Alister flat on the bed and started to secure restraints to his wrists, waist and ankles. “I believe that you believe that what you say is the truth. But that doesn't always make it so.”

“How about you?” Alister said to the other orderly as the straps being tightened around his body pinched his skin and cut off his circulation. “Are you standing by his story?”

“Sir,” the orderly said, “you should know we're not qualified to help you with your condition. You need to communicate your concerns to your doctor.”

“I see,” Alister said. A tear of frustration rolled from the corner of his eye. “But before you go, if you would be so kind to explain why I can smell the smoke on your clothing?”

 

 

The past.

 

Alister stood three feet away from his window and watched a group of hospital patients monitored by three staff members. Although he longed to be out there with them, he knew it was impossible. The curse wouldn't allow it.

The patients worked in the garden, and that was how they were rewarded for their compliance and good behavior. For hours, they would cultivate the land, pull weeds and plant annuals.

It had been nearly two weeks since Alister arrived at Sunnyside Capable Care, and he hadn't spoken to anyone since the crazy woman attacked him. Three meals arrived every day at precise times, and the staff members that entered his room kept quiet, kept their distance and moved with haste.

A large man that wore overalls held Alister's attention. There was no question that he was a patient. He had been on his knees for a long time and took small mounds of dirt out of a hole with a hand shovel. His bright red face dripped with sweat. He suddenly paused in his work. He raised his eyes and looked to Alister.

Alister took two steps back, and his eyes remained on the large man. There was no way he could have seen Alister. The bright day's sun would have made it impossible to see into his dark room.

But the large man stood and waved at Alister, and Alister sat on his bed. There is no way he would offer the curse any opportunity to get anyone ever again.

The large man wiped his brow, tugged on his pant legs and knelt again. He returned his attention to the hole in the ground.

 

 

 

“I believe you can hear me,” Alister said into the darkened room. His voice sounded flat, and it faded quickly. “I believed you heard me the first day I prayed to you.” He knelt in the center of the room and waited for a response to his declaration.

“That's okay,” he said after a brief moment of silence, his voice dropping to a whisper. “I am a patient man and humble enough to know you don't owe me anything in return for what I have to offer you.”

A thump in the corner of the room demanded Alister's attention, but the darkness surrounding him offered no details.

“Hello?” He swallowed hard. “Is someone there?” His eyes bulged and he didn't blink as he hoped to catch a glimpse of whatever was near.

A second, more pronounced thump in the opposite corner made Alister jump to his feet. “OK,” he said, his heart hammering inside his chest like a thousand feet stomping, “you're scaring me. Maybe I'm not ready for this.” His legs trembled and his throat felt dry. He rubbed his arms against a sudden blast of cold that caressed his flesh.

Unexpectedly, the door to the room he occupied opened, and light from the hallway beamed inside. Alister squinted against the sudden brightness and tried to focus on who or what might have opened it. Suddenly, the front door to the house opened and slammed shut with such force trinkets on tabletops and inside display cabinets rattled.

Running out of his room and through the house, Alister paused only long enough to open the front door. Sprinting to the sidewalk, he looked down the street both ways and only saw the regular flow of traffic.

A vehicle came to an abrupt stop in the northbound lane, halting traffic in that direction. Alister watched the driver, a young woman, exit her vehicle and train her eyes on him. She crossed over the southbound lane without yielding to traffic and stopped before Alister.

“You've been heard,” she said, and she smiled. Her eyes appeared unfocused and her actions seemed controlled. “I hope you're ready for this.”

The young woman turned away from Alister and faced her car. She looked over her shoulder toward Alister. “The shit is about to hit the fan.” She stepped off the curb and hurried into the southbound lane. A passing vehicle struck her, throwing her into the air. Tires squealed and Alister watched the woman twirl without control until she smashed onto the windshield of a stopped northbound vehicle. Blood poured from ripped flesh, and the unfocused look in her eyes became everlasting.

 A wave of screams erupted like lava exploding from a volatile volcano. People stepped out of their vehicles and inspected the woman with unblemished horror. Alister remained on the sidewalk, the shouts became background noise as he tried to understand what had just happened. The reason behind the bizarre tragedy should have been obvious to him, but the idea that he'd gotten death's attention overshadowed his logic.

 

 

Present day.

 

“I'm hungry,” Alister said to Anna. She had just entered his room, and he watched her move to the chair by the window and sit.

“I promise you will eat soon enough,” Anna said. “Have you been given enough time to cool off?”

“I was hoping you'd leave me strapped to this bed and not feed me. Then I can prove that what I tell you about the curse is all true.”

“Don't be ridiculous,” Anna bit back. “I'm your doctor, not death incarnate, and certainly not someone willing to starve someone to try and make a point.”

“You know I won't starve. You won't—”

“Let you? It turns you into this hulking zombie that doesn't stop until your necessities are met?”

Alister looked away. “You make it sound silly when you say it like that.”

“Because it is silly, Alister. That's been my point.” Anna searched her pocket and came out with a bottle of pills. “And I know you know that, and I can't understand why you resist the truth.”

“Most of the things you tell me are nothing but your truth. They don't mean anything to me.”

“No,” Anna said firmly. “They are your truths, but you're unwilling to face them. Do you not want to get better?”

“No,” Alister said as he struggled against the leather straps that bound him. They rustled as they pulled back, and Alister quickly gave up the fight. He allowed his body to sink into the mattress. “I know my memories are real.”