A Long Labor Ended
Ben pushed me aside as if I were nothing, then leaned forward to face Mr. Bouchard, who was still seated in his wheelchair beside the bed. He extended his other hand with his palm open, as if demanding something. We all held our breath, not knowing what to expect. Slowly, Mr. Bouchard lifted the hand that had not been touching Ben, and placed his fist over Ben's open palm. Only then did I realize that every time I had ever seen him his right fist was tightly clenched, as if he could not open it. In fact, I had kind of assumed that this was just a normal part of his disability. He proved me wrong when, without any ceremony or discomfort, he unclenched his fist and two small silver objects fell into Ben's hand. I was horrified to realize that they were the dog tags from the visions.
Before I could intervene, Ben had reattached the plates to the chain and placed it around his neck. The room groaned as the shadows in the corners deepened. The dark tendrils, which I had sensed when I first walked into the room were now detaching themselves from Mr. Bouchard, and moving toward Ben. I tried to rush to him, to take the dog tags off of him, but I found I couldn't move.
He snapped his head in my direction and laughed. “Is this what you want, lover?” he smirked as he rubbed his obviously hard dick through his hospital gown. I felt my own lust growing at the mere thought of it, but the feeling felt wrong, unnatural, as if it were being forced on me. I felt my own dick start to harden in response, and struggled not to get lost in the sexual haze that was somehow overwhelming me.
“Put that away!” Sabina strode forward and confronted Ben directly. “It doesn't belong to you.”
“Go home to your toys, child,” he mocked, dismissing her with a wave of his hand.
But Sabina stood her ground. “I don't think so.” She lunged forward and pulled the dog tags from his neck, startling us all with her quick decisive action.
Ben let out a roar. “We will have you!” he threatened, as he reached to grab her.
“You shall not.” The voice was quiet and unhurried. It seemed to come from Sabina, but it didn't sound like her. It was richer and deeper, and carried more authority. Ben froze at the sound of it, and I recognized it instantly. It was Andi. Sabina held the dog tags aloft in defiance, and I began to see a familiar silver glimmer surround her. She stepped backwards away from Ben, but a silver shape remained where she had been. It slowly grew in stature and held tight to the dog tags as Sabina retreated.
“Hell no!” Cecil cursed under his breath as he and the remaining nurses fled the room.
“And you shall not have him either,” Andi said softly, but with a finality that would bear no denial. She appeared to clench her fist around the dog tags, and pulled them back toward her torso with a sudden jerk. Simultaneously a dark form emerged from Ben, as if it were being ripped from his body by force. It hovered for a moment in the space between Ben and Andi, seeming to struggle to be free of her control. “Your master awaits your return,” she said quietly, but with an intensity that felt almost like a threat. “He will not be pleased. Now, be gone” Her tone was calm but firm, and the effect was immediate. The shadow that had darkened the room flew out of the window as if it were attached to a spring that had been stretched too far, and had suddenly been released. Ben fell back into his bed with a thump as the room brightened noticeably.
The shadow had been exorcised, but the dark tendrils that had been connected to it remained, although now they felt less menacing, diminished, as if they had lost the thing that gave them power and purpose. As they began to shrink, they also began to migrate to the corners of the room, seeking out whatever shadow they could find. Andi now turned her attention to them and said, “Your long imprisonment is over. The time has come to know peace” Then turning to me, she said, “Guide them home. Speak.”
I wasn't quite sure, but I thought she must be referencing the cloud of witness. I looked beyond the light that indicated Andi's presence and saw the infinity of lights surrounding the room, just like I had seen in the boarding house days before. I had no idea what to say, but as I opened my mouth I found it was not me speaking, rather the thousands of lights spoke through me in different languages and dialects. I heard the sound of a multitude calling the names of their loved ones, and I sensed the connections between the points of light and the shadowy tendrils that now shivered in the darkest recesses of the room. I also felt the emotions of each voice as they mourned the long separation from their loved ones, and pleaded for reconciliation. The heartbreak was almost overwhelming.
“I got here as quick as I could! What did I ...miss?” Helmut stopped short just a step or two into the room and took in the unexpected scene that greeted him. An unexplained bright light shone in the center of the room, but the edges of the room seemed to writhe with dark shapes. The old man in the wheelchair sat next to the bed where Ben lay, covered in bandages, and I stood in the midst of it all speaking in tongues. “Quite a bit, by the look of things,” he joked under his breath, although he sensed that this was not the time for levity, and refrained from laughing. Instead, he quietly walked over to Phil and Kevin, and embraced them both, giving Phil a peck on the cheek.
“Be not afraid,” Andi continued. “The time of judgment is past. Forgiveness is come, and the beloved ones call you by name. Behold!” As she spoke, I saw a faint light emanating from Phil, Helmut, and Kevin. like the light I had seen between Helmut and Kevin when we helped banish the shadow spirit from Evelyn's kitchen. But this light was purer and brighter, and as the voices continued to issue from my mouth, it grew in intensity, spreading gently through the room, like whisps of smoke, dislodging the dark tendrils from their hiding places, and escorting each of them to the point of light that was calling their name through me.
When the last shadow had joined with the light that was calling it home, and they had all faded from sight, Andi gently placed the dog tags in Mr. Bouchard's lap. “Your labor has ended, brave soul, but your time grows short. Make your peace and learn the forgiveness that only you can give.” She then leaned forward and seemed to offer him a light kiss on the forehead, before evaporating
The stillness of the room was absolute, and no one seemed to breathe for an eternity. Finally it was Mr. Bouchard who broke the spell as he let out a long sigh and lifted his head, quietly uttering a single word. “Finally”.
It was as if a cramp had released. Everyone started talking at once, asking questions, offering opinions, wondering out loud what the hell had just happened. Then above it all Ben let out a wail of pain as his newly inflicted wounds made their presence known in his consciousness. “What the fuck! Oh my god, who did this to me?!”
This finally prompted the nurse to overcome her fear and peek back into the room. She made everyone but me leave, then promptly went to get Ben some pain meds. I held him and comforted him until she returned, but I had no real answers to his questions. The nurse pulled me aside and said, “That medication will put him to sleep in just a few minutes, and with what he's been through today, the emotional trauma of self harm, the blood loss, the freaky whatever that was that happened in his room, I think sleep is what he needs most right now.”
In my own mind I added the stress of being possessed by a multitude of evil ghosts to the list of draining events that he had experienced today, but didn't share that with her. “I understand,” I replied, thanking her for her concern.
“And don't worry, we'll be keeping a close eye on him from now on,” she added as a reassurance. “He won't be able to harm himself again here, at least, not on my watch.” She smiled and patted my shoulder for further reassurance, but I wasn't worried about that. I knew it was the spirit that had made him do that, and I knew it was gone now. Still, I heard her intentions. She was encouraging me to leave and let Ben sleep in peace. So I took my leave of him, giving him a long slow kiss, and noticing that he was already halfway gone. I promised I would be back in the afternoon, and headed downstairs to see if anyone was still in the building.
I found Sabina sitting on the patio with Mr. Bouchard, talking like old friends. “There your are,” Sabina smiled before I could even greet them. “How's Ben?”
“I do apologize,” Mr. Bouchard added. “I never imagined they would go to such lengths...”
“Who exactly are 'they',” I asked, still confused, and angry. “And what the hell does the exorcism of Legion have to do with anything?” Then turning to Sabina, I added, “He's in a lot of pain, but they've given him some medication and he's sleeping.” I realized that the events of the morning had taken a rather heavy emotional toll on me, and despite my desire to better understand what we had just experienced, I really needed some space. “I...I can't manage to talk right now,” I apologized, “But I do want to talk with you both sometime later. Can we do that?”
They both agreed and Sabina gave me a long tight hug before whispering, “You are not alone in this. We are all here for you, no matter what”
“I know, sweetie,” I whispered back, giving her a small peck on the cheek. “Thank you.”
I thought about heading to the cottage for some peace and quiet, or maybe going to the Hathaway to be alone. I even considered stopping into the boarding house, knowing Phil would give me all the space I needed. But in the end I decided to return to Ben's room. I knew it wasn't really private, and I might risk the ire of an overprotective nurse, but all I wanted was to be at his side, even if he was in a drug induced stupor. He was my home, my safe place, and besides, I wanted to be there for him when he woke up.
I assured the nurse that I would not disturb him, before quietly returning to his bedside. I had to fight the desire to crawl under the covers with him and hold him, but I knew such an action would only aggravate any pain he might still be feeling. Instead, I pulled a chair next to the bed, and rested my head on the sheet next to his hand. I didn't think I was tired, but clearly the excitement of the morning had exhausted me more than I realized, and I was soon fast asleep.
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