In His Hands, page 29
“Give me the globe!”
Isabelle spoke to Prado and told him to kick open the door of his stall. It was never locked so a simple kick or two would open it. Prado complained, but sensing the urgency in her command began kicking furiously until the gate gave way.
The animal came bounding out of the stall. Isabelle told him the man was an intruder and that he must attack it. Prado neighed and bucked and then reared up trying to kick the man. Andre ran inside Isabelle’s stall and shut the gate behind him. The horse kicked and bucked at the door but was helpless to do anything further since the gate could only open out.
Assured that he was safe from the flailing animal, Andre turned his attention back to Isabelle.
“Now, Isabelle, before we are interrupted again, where is the globe?”
Isabelle just stared at him. She told Prado to relax as she knew there was nothing the horse could do for her. The globe was still where she left it, under the bed she had just crawled out from under, but she knew how valuable it was, the power it held. She needed the globe now to help Blackie and Victor. She wasn’t going to just give it up.
Victor moaned and curled his body holding his stomach.
“Where is the globe?” Andre screamed.
Isabelle hands began to tremble. She was terrified, but she was not going to give up the globe. Not while she could cure Victor and possibly Blackie.
Andre cocked the gun which made a loud metallic snap. He was so close, so close that he could almost taste salvation. It all rested on this mute’s shoulders. He knew he couldn’t kill her. If he did he might never find the globe. No, he couldn’t kill her, but he sure as hell could terrorize her. Andre rushed forward and slapped the girl hard across the face sending her reeling. The blow nearly knocked Isabelle out. Her mouth was bleeding and her head ached. Slowly she got up and leaned against the wall. Andre came forward again and kicked her in the left shin as hard as he could. Isabelle collapsed in agony. The pain was like nothing she had ever experienced. She didn’t know what was more terrible, the pain or the apprehension she had for the next blow to come.
Andre’s mind was on fire. He could tell by the girl’s demeanor that she was about ready to give it up. Perhaps one more blow would be all it would take. He moved forward raised his arm but then suddenly stopped when a flicker of light caught his eye from beneath the cot to his left.
Andre’s search was over.
He scrambled to his knees and reached under the cot pulling out the velvet sack. The ball was glowing so wildly that some of the light was glistening through the small pinholes of fabric. Isabelle got up and circled around Andre who now paid her no attention at all. Andre sat down on the bed and pulled out the globe. It was glistening red, yellow and white, sparks of light revolving around the dark corners of the barn. Andre’s face glowed in the illumination as the ball grew brighter and brighter.
Isabelle ran from the barn.
Chapter 30
Tommy woke up startled by a nightmare. He turned to his right and saw his mother sleeping in the chair on the other side of the room. He straightened up again and thought about his dream. The girl he had seen the other day was running down a long dark corridor away from some sinister thing he couldn’t quite make out. An ominous ringing resounded in his head, like a gunshot, and that had been the thing that had woken him up.
What did it mean? he wondered.
Tommy thought back to his experience with the girl in the hallway. He had just been sitting there minding his own business when it felt like someone had just entered his head. It was like that odd feeling he had every once in a while that he was being watched. But this was different and Tommy had never experienced anything like it before.
He rolled over on his side careful not to disrupt the IV running through his hand. He had been awfully upset on that day when he had seen the girl. Worry about his mother and his condition had consumed him. When Doctor Tim came by it heightened his spirits somewhat and whatever communication he felt with the girl seemed then to dissipate.
For a moment his thoughts drifted from the girl to Doctor Tim. Why did he feel the way he did toward the doctor? The truth was he loved the man. He loved his dedication, his caring nature, his medical ability. The man represented everything that Tommy held dear and everything that Tommy would most likely never have an opportunity to accomplish. Imagining all the good Doctor Tim would do in his life made Tommy envious.
A wave of nausea ran through his stomach again. The medicine they had him on now was strong. Doctor Tim had warned him that he might feel sick to his stomach at times. Tommy stared at the ceiling and began praying. Prayer helped calm him when he was scared or bitter about his illness. In his prayers he thanked God for giving him Doctor Tim and for showing him the little sparrow that had made such an impact on his consciousness.
Then a heartbreaking thought came to him, something he could not figure out. He was so thankful to God and yet so … frustrated. Why would God demonstrate to him Doctor Tim’s dedication, illustrate to him the true nature of commitment through the gallantry of a tiny bird, instill in him an insatiable desire to emulate their behavior and to do good in the world, and then simply snatch away his opportunity to act on it.
Fear rose in his chest and he began to cry. He desperately wanted his mother to come over and hold him, but she needed her sleep. He would not wake her up no matter how tough the night got.
He closed his eyes and thought about it some more. No, God would not do that. He would not have the wisdom to show him such bounty without a purpose. Something good was going to happen. Something good was going to happen …
Chapter 31
Demetri sprang from the cab and ran to the house. Amanda met him at the door and told him Isabelle was upstairs safely in her room. She didn’t know for sure but thought Andre was in the barn. Demetri told her to go upstairs and lock themselves in her bedroom. Then he went to his den and got his shotgun. He made sure both barrels were loaded and went back out the front door.
The wind had picked up some and a wild breeze was bending the limbs of the tall oaks on the property. Leaves skittered across the gravel as Demetri cautiously approached the red car. His concern was that somehow Quimby was inside hurt or worse. When he discovered the vehicle was empty, he turned around and faced the back of the property. The night light from a pole dimly lit the grounds. As Demetri began walking toward the barn, a burst of colored light blossomed from deep within the barn. Shards of light sparkled out from all the cracks and crevices in the wooden planks. The eruption of light grew like an expanding plume of flames. It peaked for a moment and then slowly receded in intensity until the fading glow dissolved totally.
Demetri cursed. The son-of-a-bitch had done it. Who would pay the price for this act of selfishness?
Demetri’s anger bubbled over. Now that the bastard had the thing, there was no reason to fear him. Demetri reached the barn and swung the door open wide.
“Andre! Where the hell are you?” Demetri looked down and saw Blackie on the ground in front of him. He bent down and raised the dog’s head. Blackie was dead. Demetri stood up again, cocked the shotgun and moved forward.
“Andre, where are you?”
“I’m here, Demetri.”
Demetri swung around to the voice and saw Andre seated on Isabelle’s cot. Looking down he saw the body of Victor sprawled in the dirt. He raised the shotgun and held it up to the dark figure. “Come out into the light.” Demetri stood back and watched Andre rise from the cot and step out into the middle of the barn.
“Certainly I will, Demetri. There’s no need for the gun now, my old friend. I’ve no desire to harm you.” Andre turned his head so that the dim light from outside the stall fell upon his face. Demetri took a step back. He was looking at Andre as he looked thirty years before: tall, handsome, well-defined, his hair dark and full. The ravages of the fire had disappeared.
“How do I look?” Andre suddenly moved forward to a glass window and caught his reflection in the light. He began to laugh raucously. “My, but ain’t I one beautiful son-of-a-bitch, eh?”
Andre started dancing a jig, hamming it up to an old Al Jolson number, I’m Sitting on Top of the World.
Demetri turned back and saw the globe sitting on the bed, a small single spark of yellow light dimly shining out. He went to Victor and bent down to examine him. He checked for a pulse and found none. Demetri bowed his head and sighed. Suddenly the sound of gravel spinning off of tires and the screeching of brakes came from the driveway. Demetri heard Amanda’s voice calling out and then the far door of the barn swung back open. The silhouette of two police officers standing at the door became visible. Demetri looked up at Andre. His face suddenly soured. He looked at Victor and realized the trouble he was in.
“Come out of there, now. You here!” Demetri recognized the Irish brogue of Mike O’Malley one of the local police officers.
“Mike? It’s Demetri. I’m coming out, Mike.” Demetri looked up at Andre. It was obvious to the both of them what the repercussions of Andre’s regained youth would be.
“No, you’re not going out there,” Andre said desperately.
“Give it up, Andre. Give it up.”
Andre’s face curled into a menacing sneer, as ugly as the scars that had previously riddled his face. His anger fumed over. He raised his gun and pointed it at Demetri. Then his hand began to quiver as the full weight of what the police could do to him became clear. He’d be locked up for the rest of his days. And now that he was healthy and springing with youth and energy, who knew how many years that would be.
“Demetri … is that you?”
“Yes, Mike. Give me a moment.”
“You got to come out now!” The policemen moved to either side of the corridor that ran down the middle of the barn positioning themselves for a better shot in case of a shootout.
The expression on Andre’s face drifted from anger to loathing to disgust and finally to a desolate admission of defeat. Then suddenly his face brightened. “Move away from the globe, Demetri.”
Demetri realized what Andre intended to do. He held his shotgun up at Andre. “No.”
“I’m warning you, Demetri. Move away!”
Demetri hesitated. He didn’t know what exactly to do. He figured that Andre wanted the globe so that he could quickly wish to be whisked away to some safe place. Demetri could not allow that. If Andre got away with the globe, there would be no end to it. No end until perhaps finally the resultant penalty for one of Andre’s future wishes would be his own demise.
“Get away now. I’m telling you, Demetri. Get away!”
“No, Andre.” Had it come to this? Did he need to murder his once best friend? Demetri put his finger on the trigger. Only remorse, regret and repentance prevented him from pulling the trigger.
“Demetri, we’re coming in,” O’Malley yelled.
Andre knew he could wait no longer. He shot Demetri in the leg. Demetri crumbled to the ground and the shotgun fell to the floor.
Andre jumped past him and grabbed the globe while Demetri sprawled in the dirt. Andre put the globe in his lap and quickly funneled his thoughts. Demetri tried to turn himself in the dirt so he could reach up and try to stop Andre.
“Demetri … Demetri?” the cop yelled out.
Panic ran through Andre’s head. He heard the policemen coming closer to the shed. They would be there in several more seconds. He had no time to waste. Quickly he concentrated on the globe and wished himself away from there. A vague, yearning arose in his scattered, panicked mind. He craved to be away, to be miles away, free from the cops, the estate, the arms of the law … away.
The ball glowed wildly spinning colors and strobe lighting around the barn. Demetri grimaced in pain as again he tried to boost himself up and pull the globe from Andre. The pain was too great. Demetri fell off to the right and passed out.
In a burst of light and color, Andre desperately wished himself to be miles away. In the final flash of light from the globe, he disappeared. The globe fell to the mattress and rolled up against the pillow. Only the tiny yellow flicker in the center remained.
Andre Haskim suddenly found himself floundering in Lake Michigan. Immediately he realized the terrible mistake he had made. The water was freezing cold and the waves were lapping around him. He was shrouded in absolute darkness. In the distance a blinking red lamp shone from the top of a lighthouse. The huge searchlight at the top slowly twirled sending a stark white ray of light out against the blackness. As the beam fell on Andre, he thrashed about in a wild panic trying to keep his head above the cascading waves.
The beacon illuminated him for a moment and then slowly spun past him on its never-ending journey. When it made a full rotation on its axis and returned to the spot where the struggling man had been floundering, it revealed only the dark, ceaseless waves.
Chapter 32
9:30 am, October 11, 1984
Isabelle sat quietly in the chair and watched as Amanda helped prop up her father’s pillow to make him more comfortable. When the emergency room people had stabilized Demetri, he was brought up to a room on the third floor. His former room had been on the fifth and Isabelle wondered how she was going to get back up there.
It had been a long night. Police had been all over searching the grounds and the barn while emergency personnel tried as hard as they could to help Victor and Demetri. Demetri had been whisked away in an ambulance. They had finally carried Victor out on a gurney with a blanket over his face. Isabelle knew what that meant. Isabelle had wondered what had become of Quimby and only when Amanda had taken her to a different room on the fourth floor did she see that he was also in the hospital. They had visited him for a while before coming down to see her father. Quimby was awake, but his head was bandaged and his speech slow and slurred. Isabelle did not know what had happened to him, but she assumed it had something to do with the monster man.
Isabelle looked down at her feet where the big purse she had insisted on taking to the hospital leaned up against the foot of the chair. In all her excitement and nervousness, Amanda had barely noticed it when she loaded Isabelle into the car for the ride to the hospital. A nurse came into the room pushing a cart that contained several different items on it. She spoke quickly to Amanda who then looked at Isabelle and nodded her head. She walked over to Isabelle and indicated that she needed to leave the room. Isabelle understood, grabbed her purse and let Amanda lead her down the hall to a room where a television set in the corner showed a Tom and Jerry cartoon. She made Isabelle understand she was to stay there until she came back. Then she went hustling back down the hallway to Demetri’s room.
Isabelle thought about what had happened when the police finally took control of the situation the night before. Once she thought it safe, Amanda had run out to the barn. Isabelle followed her out the door but went around the long way to approach the barn from the rear. Through a window she saw the men working on her father. It seemed he was very groggy but other than a wound to his leg which they were busily wrapping, he seemed okay. They had taken him out to the corridor once they had secured him on the gurney and stopped the bleeding. Isabelle saw the globe lying on the bed hidden partially by a pillow. Once they led both Victor and Demetri out, Isabelle snuck in the back door and hid the ball once again beneath her bed.
While the cartoon blared from the TV, Isabelle grabbed her purse and walked across the hall to the elevator. She pressed the up button and waited for it to arrive. No one seemed to be paying any attention to her. The elevator came and she boarded. An older couple was standing in the car and they smiled at the girl. They began speaking to her, but Isabelle could not understand what they were saying. She just smiled and waited for the door to open on the fifth floor.
Quickly she made her way down the corridor until she came to the room she wanted. Slowly she pushed open the door and peeked in. The boy was sitting across the way in a chair staring out the window. His view faced the west where the last of the overcast cloud layer was slowly moving toward them exposing a bright blue sky.
Isabelle stepped in, closed the door and walked over to the boy. Tommy had been napping but awoke when the girl reached him. He sat up straight and stared at her for a moment.
“Hi,” he said.
Isabelle did not respond, but smiled.
Tommy looked at the girl and wondered who she was. She obviously must have been a patient, he assumed, though he wondered why she was not wearing the usual hospital garb.
“Are you sick, too?” Tommy asked with some hesitation.
A look of frustration came over Isabelle. She so desperately wanted to understand what the boy was saying and respond to him, but of course, she couldn’t. Tommy asked again, but Isabelle just looked at him with a smile on her face. Tommy assumed there must have been something wrong with her throat. He put his hand up to his mouth and throat as if to ask her if it hurt. Isabelle just stared at him. Tommy didn’t know what else to do so he reached over and grabbed Isabelle’s hand. Isabelle grabbed it back and together they smiled at each other.
Tommy turned back toward the window. It didn’t matter much. He was glad for the company. His mother had to leave earlier to run a few errands. He’d been having a bad day. The dizzy spells had returned and so did the nausea. He had a small hospital pan next to him just in case he threw up again. All morning Tommy had felt disheartened and alone. He tried to keep up his courage, but it was waning. He had been repeating the phrase to himself all night, that something good was going to happen, but then he had a visit from Doctor Tim after his mother left. The doctor seemed different. It was almost like he was apologizing to Tommy without saying so. He looked at the charts and had a discussion with the nurse. Something she had done brought it all clear to Tommy that all hope was lost. Doctor Tim had taken her aside and was whispering to her. Suddenly in the middle of a sentence he bowed his head slightly and the nurse latched onto his arm and squeezed it. They didn’t think Tommy had seen it, but he had.
