Friday January 22nd, 1999 

Stephen.                                                         

I take my eyes off the road to glance up to see dark clouds above. Freezing cold air is blowing in. I toss my cig and roll up the window.  

Warmer days are on the way, unless we get another blizzard like we did back in ‘93. I think that was in April that year. The snow was like three feet in most spots, some were like eight or ten feet deep. What a freak storm that was. Aiden and Ethan walked a few miles through all that snow to get groceries. Lucky for us we lived near a little market gas station where the owners lived in an upstairs apartment, so we knew someone would be there. We had no power for days; everything was shut down. Mom had us huddled in the living room where the propane heater was. Those are good memories; don’t think I have any bad ones of hers. She was a great woman; I will always miss her.  

Driving alone for this long of a period gives you time to think. Road trips always seem to make me feel nostalgic.  

Nervous and excited to see my brother, Aiden, after more than two years. I glance at the digital clock, 3:37pm. Careful to stay under the speed limit. I need time to think. We have a lot to talk about.  

The fuel gage is a bit less than half a tank.  I just smoked my last cigarette. Two more hours to go at least. Time to make a stop. 

 Chelsea has me on edge, she is a bit uneasy about Aiden staying with us. She said I had changed a lot over the years. Her warnings make me feel distressed, but I got to do what’s right. 

 I take the next exit stopping at the Citgo station to fill up and get some smokes. I buy two packs of Bronco lights, an extra pack of smokes for Aiden, he will be happy to have them. I light up a fresh new cig after I get back on the highway. My seventh one today, more than usual.  

Chelsea is right about me though. I have changed, for the better. Having children was a big motivator for me to get my shit together. She is concerned Aiden will get me back into my old pattern of never being sober.  

Many things have changed over the years. I am sure he has changed for the better too. Prison can do that to a man. At least, I would think so. I only ever stayed overnight in jail. Nothing compared to Aiden with twenty-six months. Hard to imagine that amount of time.  

My hand reaches for the radio. Pulling back, I leave it off for now. Still haven’t considered everything that I need to say to Aiden. 

  Chelsea will just have to trust that I won’t sway from the good path she has put me on. I certainly don’t plan on going back into that old life anymore. Aiden is my brother; I have known him longer than her. He will stay with us for as long as he needs to. Chelsea always thought Aiden was a bad influence on me. Truth was I was the first to try something risky. Aiden did take things too far sometimes. I did whatever I wanted, we all had fun partying. Never was the same after I had a daughter.  

It was a few months before it all went down with Aiden and Kendra. I must have been the only one who believed Aiden was innocent, but I still had my doubts. Me and Chelsea were not together at the time, and I stayed drunk or high most of the time. Things came to a very low point after mom died. I was devastated and I knew I wanted to be more involved with my daughter’s life. Chelsea took care of me for a while, and we got married and had another baby girl. I am Trying to live straight, staying away from the harder stuff and taking care of my family like a man should. That’s why I must help my brother. Aiden will be quite surprised how much I have changed. Things won’t be the same as they were before. I hope he knows that.  

I see the sign for the State prison exit. Such a long time to be in prison only to be proven innocent at the end of it all. Kendra finally grew a conscience and confessed to lying under oath about the alleged rape and assault. I believed Aiden’s account of that night. He said they had sex after everyone else left his apartment, late that Friday night. She went home at four in the morning to a violent boyfriend. Aiden didn’t know that. He thought they had broken up. Aiden said he remembered being woken up by the sound of the police busting down his door. Dude must have beaten her up and she dialed 911. When the police arrived, she lost her nerve. Instead, she tells the story her boyfriend made up. Evidence against Aiden was strong enough for a ten-year sentence. 

 I pulled into the prison parking lot, Aiden was wearing a Nirvana T-shirt and holding his backpack. I park close to where he stands waiting. He walks over, looking brawnier than ever. I open the back hatch so he can put his bag inside.  

“Is that you Stephen?” I just laugh at him and give him a hug. “What’s with the glasses man?”  

“Oh, they are just for driving.” 

The silence driving back is awkward. I haven’t figured out yet, what exactly I want to say. I turn the radio on. ‘In political news. The President has denied all accusations against him.’ The voice on the radio says. ‘I did not have sexual relations with that woman.’ We both laugh.  

“What is that all about?” Aiden said. 

 “Oh, just some fat chick sucked his cock in the oval office.”  

“Damn, fat chicks do suck cock the best.” 

 I switch the radio dial. ‘Every breath I take. Every move I make.’ The choir sang akin to a church choir. Aiden flicks another cigarette out the window and turns down the radio.  

“I could have gone to the funeral you know. They allow inmates to do that kind of thing.” 

 I didn’t expect this to come up. “I know, Aiden but you must understand, it was shortly after you had to go on suicide watch. We thought it best to wait to give you the news.” 

He lights up another cig. “I told you before what happened. There was a fight, and I went on suicide watch to protect myself. Who is we, anyway?”.  

 “Can we not talk about this now. What happened can’t be changed.” I exhale and take a drag off my cig. “What matters now is that your free. We are going to celebrate. Sam is meeting us at the bar.” I smile and raise my eyebrows. Attempting to nudge him into a better mood.  

I push my Bloodhound Gang tape in. Bass plays the drum claps, sounds of a synth play. ‘Baby we ain’t nothing but mammals so let’s do it like they do….’ The music stays on and we both smoke one cigarette after another, all the way to Seymour. We meet up with our old friend Sam. The bar is slow tonight. There is a small group playing pool and a couple at a booth. Aiden sees Sam sitting at the bar. He still looks like he wears whatever he can find at the thrift store in his size. All white sneakers, brown corduroys and a black t-shirt. Me and Sam never really hit it off in the past. He was a good drinking buddy. It’s always fun and good times with Sam. Never knew him to have a sincere moment. He stands up from the barstool and we all shake hands and hug.  

“Two beers and two whiskey shots.” Sam asks the bartender. “Your free! Let’s get drunk!”  

 “What are you having?” The bearded bartender asks me. 

 “Lite beer, whatever is on tap.”  

Aiden and Sam pick up their drinks. “We are going to play pool.” 

 I wait for my drink then head over. Sam is rearranging the balls. 

 “Remember back when we were roommates?” Sam asks me. “I go upstairs with my girl, everyone else is passed out. Aiden gets a wild hair up his ass. Decides to turn all the furniture upside down.” Pointing a beer filled hand at Aiden. Chugging what was left in the mug.  

“Yeah, that was nuts.”  I take a drink of beer. 

“What can I say.” Sinking the white ball. Laughing. “I was drunk, seemed like a funny thing to do.” Aiden strikes the ball with his pool stick. 

“You were the only one laughing.” Sam placed the white ball on the table. 

 “What’s new with Ethan?” Aiden asks.  

“He loves the beach. Getting along great with James, apparently.” 

 “Cool, hey, get a shot bro.” I shake my head no. “Designated driver?”   

Never understood why Ethan wanted to live with James. I was ten years old before I even knew his name. Shows up at moms’ funeral and try’s to be our dad suddenly. They lay down their pool sticks to get more drinks. I was not drinking too much tonight. Losing interest in pool we head to the outside patio. The furniture is rugged. A few tables and chairs and a small fire pit going. We all huddle next to the fire, smoking and drinking. A girl walks out on the patio. Sam recognizes her. She has blonde hair, fixed up in a feathery pattern. Her skirt is so short it would be easy to see if she was wearing any panties. She came right over to Sam. 

 “Hi, I’m Sara, I’m a stripper.” She says smiling, in a slurring Betty Boop voice.  

Me and Aiden look at each other grinning holding back laughter. Sam grabs her hand and they both walk over to a table. She walks back over just as quickly.  

“Introduce me to your friends.”   

A bit embarrassed, Sam points at me. “This is Stephen, and this is Aiden.” Sam tries to get her to go with him again. Instead, she starts making out with him. She looks at Aiden winking. 

 “Ya’ll wants to dance?” She asks.  

“I think it’s about time for me to go.”  

“See you later.” Aiden said. 

“I can give Aiden a ride.” Sam said.  

 I was clearly getting in the way of their good time. I leave the bar a little bit buzzed. I have driven in worse conditions. I head to my secluded home off the backroads. I walk in a few minutes after one. Chelsea and the kids are all asleep. Grabbing some blankets from the closet. I put a bed together on the couch, I don’t want to wake her. She works in the morning. I lay down and close my eyes. Slowing my thoughts to focus on the sounds of the night. This old single-wide has thin walls. The hum of the crickets outside lulls my mind smoothly to sleep. 

-  

I am awakened by a loud rapping on the door. Bang, bang, bang. That must be Aiden. Bang, bang, bang. The rapping is constant. I get up and walk towards the door. Bang, bang, bang. The bedroom light comes on from down the hall. 

 “What is going on?!” Chelsea calls out from the bedroom. 

 Bang, bang, bang. I see it’s Aiden through the peep hole. The baby starts crying. What is he doing? Fucking shit. I let him inside and he swiftly closes the door behind him. He looks outside through the window blinds. Something is clearly wrong. He is clearly spooked. 

 “What happened, Aiden, are you all right?” 

“It really happened, Stephen! The end of days! It’s the fucking apocalypse!”  

I have no idea what to say to that. What the hell did he do with Sam last night?  

“Fuck dude!” He insists, opening the blinds gesturing outside. “It’s standing on your porch.”  

“Keep your voice down and try to calm down. What is out there? Aiden.”   

He looks me in the eye. “A zombie, one is behind you right now.”  

I look around and see nothing.  

“Look on your porch.” 

 I see nothing out there either. I try my best to keep myself calm, continuing to look outside.  

I hear Chelsea walking into the living room behind me. “Yeah, I don’t see anything.” 

“One of them got Chelsea!” Aiden shouts. 

I turn around to see Aiden dashing towards her, taking her to the ground. He abruptly starts pulling her hair trying to pull it out.  

 Chelsea begins screaming. “Stop it! Get off me!” 

Aiden reaches for his pocket, revealing a pocketknife. “Don’t worry, just hold still.”   

I tackle him and put him in the tightest bear hug I can muster. Not stopping until he submits. I pull him away as Chelsea runs to our bedroom, door slams, and the doorknob clicks. I escort Aiden outside. I sit him in the rocking chair on the front porch.  

“Now you stay here, OK? Now what the hell is wrong with you?”  

He looks towards the yard. “You are not seeing this?” 

 “No, I’m not seeing anything.” I breathe in and out slowly. My veins pulsing with adrenaline. “What did Sam give you?” He must have taken some strong shit.  

“Oh, just some weed.” His gaze unbroken at whatever it was he saw. “He could have put something extra in it.” 

I know it has been a while, but I don’t think Sam would have done that. I walk back and forth. I breathe in deeply; I feel my heart pounding. What do I do? Aiden reacts to something he sees and falls out of the rocking chair. “I think you need to go to the hospital, right now.”   

Aiden stops trying to convince me and gets into the car with me. No radio for this trip. I say nothing as Aiden constantly mutters to himself about being cursed. He quiets down walking into the emergency room. I keep him close while I check him in.  

  I report to the nurse. “He is seeing things, and he tried to attack my wife. That’s not like him, I think he could of accidentally took something, I’m not sure.” 

 She hands me a clipboard and pen. “Fill these papers out and we’ll get him in.”  

I fill out the forms for Aiden. He sits with his eyes closed.  

“I can’t see them if I keep my eyes closed.” He explains. 

 Whatever it takes to keep him calm. I finish the forms and give them to the nurse. Aiden sits quietly with his eyes closed until they call for him. I watch the TV in the lobby playing the Golden Girls. Chelsea loves that show. I honestly don’t mind watching it with her. It is way better than that other show she makes me watch, Friends. Several hours of a Golden Girls marathon later. The Doctor comes out finally. He was an older gentleman with graying brown hair. He had no detectable expression on his face.  

“Other than alcohol and marijuana, he has nothing in his system that would cause these hallucinations.” The doctor said. This is all too much to handle at five in the morning. “We have decided to admit him.”  

He could be admitted to either Landing Shore or the Island. I hope it’s not Landing Shore. I have heard bad things about that place. There is no way Chelsea is letting him back in the house after this. I may be inclined to agree with her, considering. How do I know what he might do the next time around? Aiden is unpredictable. I have responsibilities. Aiden, either just over did it with drugs or he might have a mental issue inherited from his side of the family. I will find out where they end up taking him and help him however I can. He is my brother, that will never change, but I must draw the line somewhere.  

Saturday January 23rd, 1999 

Aiden. 

My headache is not letting me stay asleep. I had too much to drink last night. I open my eyes to see the zombie that’s been following me, sitting on top of the guy in the bed next to mine. It showed up when I visited the grave of my aunt Becca. I ignore the other zombie stroking himself in front of the mirror. I leave the room and head to the hallway. I feel my head tighten up with pain pausing in the doorway. I find my way to the one communal room there is. The TV mounted in the corner is on some morning show with the volume off. Below the television sit two ladies drinking coffee. They’re not paying attention to the TV, preferring to focus on coloring instead. I scan the room and see the coffee station to the left. I turn the corner of the L shaped room to get my own coffee. The ladies are chatting with each other.  One is elderly and the other one is young, maybe 19 years old. Her blonde hair pinned up tight. The pale skin on her arms looks tight to the bone. I found her attractive, in a girl next door kind of way. 

Sadly, there is no sugar to be found. Moving to a table, I burn my lip taking a sip. I look around giving the coffee time to cool. My zombie has followed me and is pacing in and out of the room. The wall opposite the entrance was filled with windows from floor to ceiling. I can barely make out a foggy courtyard. Nothing much was visible out there. A man sits in a chair next to the entrance. I hear him muttering to himself. He might be talking to his zombie in front of him for all I know. His zombie exposes broken fangs to my zombie walking by. Chained together by their wrists and ankles. The links seem to extend as needed to allow movement. Glad I’m not connected to my zombie like that. The zombies of the ladies sit in the two other seats at the table. Their tongues start twitching out like a snake. The ladies are in a relatively good mood. How can they keep things so light? The elderly woman wears a ponytail lined with tiny pink bows.  They both touch and examine her hair. I wonder what got them admitted, especially a nice old lady like that.  

A zombie enters the room with several strings of skin protruding out of the top of its head. Walking further into the room, the strings of skin begin to have gray hairs as they stretch towards whatever person there attached to. Gradually the gray hairs start changing color into light brown hair. I feel my heart sink as the weight of that regrettable moment hits me, remembering the zombie that was attached to Chelsea.  

The nurse walks in pushing a cart of cafeteria trays. “Breakfast is served!” 

Another nurse gathers up the other sleeping patients. “Line up in the hallway for breakfast.” 

 I am not sure what I am supposed to do. I walk over to the nurse standing next to the food cart.  

“Are you Aiden?” She asks, picking up a tray. Cynthia is printed on her nametag.  

“Yes, mam.” She hands me a tray of food. I guess the new guys don’t get to go to the cafeteria. 

 Nurse Cynthia picks up another tray. “Eric.” The mumbling man jumps up and grabs the tray. His chained zombie focused on the tray of food rushing to get close. He sits at a table chowing down.  

I am Still hungover from last night, can’t seem to find an appetite. If I eat now, I am certain to upchuck. The first night outside of prison in two years and I end up here. Maybe this is all a dream, and I am still asleep passed out drunk next to my aunts’ headstone. What happened to me last night? It started at the bar with my brother Stephen and my old buddy Sam. I am still upset about missing my Aunt Becca’s funeral. That’s why I had Sam drop me off at the cemetery.  What hurt the most about this whole situation was that she died before I was proven innocent. She believed Kendra’s story. I never talked to her again after that. She called me a monster. That was the last thing she said to me. Kendra waited too long before she decided to come clean about the truth of that night. She must’ve felt guilty. I heard her abusive boyfriend was stabbed to death over some drug deal. Good thing, I would have stabbed him myself.  

A couple more zombies enter the day room followed by some very drowsy looking patients. They appear to be fighting their drug induced sleepiness. Man, it would be nice if I could stay asleep. I may have slept for two hours when I was taken here this morning. Thinking back through last night I remember most of the zombies are not attached to a person, so it is hard to tell who they belong to. There was one at the ER carrying a wooden axe the only zombie with a weapon I have seen so far. It belonged to a male nurse who drew my blood. He had a tattoo of a dove holding an olive branch. I thought it could be a sign from God. 

Eric walks over to me and sits at the table. Staring at my untouched tray of food. My zombie jumps on top of the table followed by his. They get in each other’s face and reveal their sharp teeth. He has brown roots extending into long, unusually, dark black hair. I think he likes that color. His fingernails have faded black nail polish on them. Both wrists have bandage wrapping stained with blood. 

His eyes locked on my tray. “Are you going to eat that?” 

 I look at my tray of food. “Nah, you can have it.” I knew he wanted to eat more. He takes the closest seat and proceeds to eat my unwanted food.  

The two ladies return from the cafeteria along with a few other patients. This old bald dude seems infatuated with the young lady.  

 “I made sixty grand last year.” The bald man brags. “Mental illness effects all kinds of people.” 

This guy is a real dick. They all continue laughing and talking with each other in the day room. She lifts her shirt to show the guy a tattoo of an old timey pirate ship. It stretches from below her naval and nearly up to the top of her breasts. Her stomach is much paler than her arms and her ribs stick out. The nurse waves at them saying something I can’t hear. She lowers her shirt and catches me looking. We smile at each other when my view is blocked by my zombie standing on the table. I wince my eyes closed, head pounding with pain. I could use an aspirin. I take some paper and grab a box of crayons from the shelf and sit back down. I draw patterns, changing colors as I go. Looking back, I see her zombie is badly scarred. The left eye missing scarred through a partially missing earlobe. Was it attacked? By another zombie? I have no clue.  

My zombie blocks my view again, this time with its rotten looking penis. I think mine knows I can see him. I must be careful not to react. He will try hard to maintain my attention if I am not careful. He could tell the others I can see them; I suppose. Not sure they can communicate. Maybe I should name him something. I look away, sneering myself. No way these visions are going to last that long. What am I supposed to do? Maybe I lost my mind. Could be as simple as a curse or is it zombies?  I hope that I am crazy right now, just seeing things, they have drugs for that, right? In any case, I can’t trust anything I see anymore. 

A nurse in black scrubs walks in. “It is time for status checks. Listen for your name.” She announced. “April” The skinny blonde stands up. So that’s her name. She walks slowly by glancing at my drawing continuing pass my table.  

 “Aiden! Check in time.” I walk into the hallway where the nurse is standing. I am delighted to see her figure. Jessica is printed on her nametag. She begins to check my blood pressure.  

The nurse grabs my arm to put on the sleeve. “Do you feel like harming yourself or anyone else?”  

 “No.” She has green eyes. A natural beauty with very little makeup. Tight black scrubs showing the figure of her large breasts. I like the black uniforms better. The color flows nicely with her black hair. 

 It was nice to feel her hands touching my arm as she took off the arm sleeve. “A doctor will see you shortly.” 

  Quickly back to the day room sitting at a table. I was isolated far too long in that box with no women in sight. I start to draw again hoping to distract myself from my throbbing erection. My head pulses with pain, damn it, I forgot to ask for an aspirin. How long do they plan on keeping me here? I should be fine for a while. It’s way better than prison due to the presence of the women here. That rightfully makes this place more tolerable. The bald guy with April is infatuated with her. I am a bit jealous. Why? She isn’t even my type. I must be desperate. My stomach turns as his zombie takes out a large rotten cock. I can’t watch anymore, I had enough. I put the crayons and papers back on the shelf. I walk down the hall, turn around and head back to the day room. I must get out of here. I keep moving, pacing the hallway back and forth. Zombies going in and out of the hall. Trying my best to ignore them, walking right through some of them.  

“Aiden. The doctor will see you now.” Nurse Cynthia said. 

I walk into the small office to see a brown skin man possibly from India. “Have a seat, Aiden, how are you?” His zombie is melded to him, that’s differant. A short sword is inserted into the top of his zombie’s head protruding out of the man’s chin.  

The doctor looks down at my paperwork. “I am Doctor Caines. Tell me about the events that led you here?”  

“Last night I started seeing a zombie and I ran to find my cousin, Stephen, to warn him. I thought it was the end of the world or something. I scared his wife when I tried to get a zombie detached from her. Then I found out that I was the only one who was seeing them. Stephen took me to the ER.” My voice shaky from having to say this to someone. I don’t really care what people think about me, but I hate to make myself look week. He continues to look at his notes. His zombie, however, has not stopped looking at me. Dr. Caines’ zombie lip syncs every word he says. 

 “Do you have any family history of mental illness?”  

I heard about an uncle who stock piled cereal and shut himself in for several years. He hallucinated seeing bugs everywhere. The family was fine with it because no one could stand him. My father and mother probably were mentally ill, Dad committed suicide after Mom overdosed. Life with my parents before I moved in with my Aunt Becca is filled with vague memories that feel like someone else’s. 

  “Could be, but nothing that I know of.” I tell him. He looks up from his notes for the first time.  

“Are you still seeing these visions?” The zombies stare at me in anticipation. 

“Yeah, I am.” 

  “Interesting, this could all be circumstantial, but I can’t be certain of your condition until I get the blood work back tomorrow. Schizophrenia, most likely. I am going to get you on some medications starting tonight and unless the blood work tells me different, it will stay the same.” 

“Can I get an aspirin? My head is killing me.”  

“Not a problem. Go to the nurse station and they will take care of you. Can you send Shawn in, please?” Who is Shawn? I walk a few doors down to the main nurse station. 

 “Dr. Caines said I could get something for my headache.” Nurse Cynthia takes a clipboard. Her hair flowing out of the room, through a wall where her zombie is. 

“Let me check your i.d. bracelet.” I hold out my wrist and let her look at the tag. She opens a cabinet, gets a bottle, and hands me two pills with a tiny cup of water. I gulp them down quick. 

 “Thank you. The doctor said Shawn is next.”  

  “Shawn, the doctor will see you now.” She announced.  

The bald dude that was crushing hard on April walks pass me. I head back to the dayroom and pick out one of the puzzle boxes. Five hundred pieces is not that much really. No way every piece is still here. I must have something to do, anything to focus on besides the zombies. April and her companion are chatting. The room is filling up with more zombies. They can never just sit still, constantly moving about, coming in and out of solid walls or crawling on the ceiling. I return my focus to the puzzle. 

“Can we help?” April said.  

“Sure.”  

“I’m April and this is Doris. What’s your name?” They both sit down at my table. 

“Aiden.” I keep working on the puzzle. Not really wanting to talk.  

“Are you good at drawing? I saw you drawing earlier, it looked good.” April said. 

“Nah, I was just doodling.”  

“I want a unique drawing for my next tattoo. Something I can add to this.” April lifts her shirt revealing the pirate ship with a skull and bones flag tattooed on her stomach. 

“I could try to come up with something.” The pirate ship is poorly drawn with thin, sloppy lines onto her skeletal frame. “Maybe an island with a palm tree or something.” I am not going to draw anything for her. 

She doesn’t seem interested in that idea as she focuses more on the puzzle. We manage to find most of the pieces for the border. Lunch arrives, halfway through sorting to find the last two edge pieces and they leave. I keep searching on my own with no luck. I begin sorting by color, blues for the ocean and the sky with a subtle lighter tone for the sky. Shades of green and brown for the landscape. An elderly overweight man walks in the dayroom, his zombie armed with a sword, hilted to a leather belt. Clothed in a leather laced kilt and vest. Once he secures himself a cup of coffee, he sits down next to me. 

“Still can’t find the rest of the border pieces?”  

“Not in this box. Sorting for color now.” 

He sorts through looking for the missing edge pieces anyway. “Don’t I know you?”  

“No sir, I don’t think so. My name is Aiden.”  

“Aiden, that’s right I remember.”  

I smile and return to the puzzle. He thinks we have already met, I guess. He doesn’t really help with the puzzle that much. I try to ignore what he is doing and focus on my little section of the puzzle. I make some progress on the lighthouse. Eric sits and starts helping me. I am getting tired of sitting here. I leave to go take a shower. I change into the scrubs they put in my cubby. I see the patients are lining up for dinner in the hall. I eat my dinner sitting alone at a table in the day room. Done with the puzzle, for today at least. I figure all the other patients who helped may keep working on it. I didn’t want anyone to help me, so it’s their puzzle to finish now. I walk down to the end of the hallway and back to the other end. I keep pacing through the hall and the dayroom. I walk for a long time observing all the zombies and people. Judging them and guessing which zombies belong to who, as I go. Nurse Jessica pushes her cart into the hall. 

“Nighttime meds.” She announces. 

The zombies begin to scurry about, seemingly feeding off the anticipation building in everyone. People came out of their rooms whom I haven’t seen before. They must sleep all day. I continue to pace as I wait to hear my name called. I see people with pen and paper writing down things to ask the nurse.  

“Please, I need it.” I hear Eric tell the nurse as I walk by. The nurse wasn’t having it, and he walked back to his room. I think some of the patients want more drugs than they’re willing to give. 

“Aiden.” I hear my name called finally.  

“How are your bowels today? Do you need a laxative again tonight?”  

Odd question. “I am fine.” 

 She checks my wristband for identification. “Oh, you’re not Shawn. No wonder you were looking at me funny.” She laughs as she grabs a cup of pills and some water. 

I swallow the three pills. She hands me a paper describing what they are. I put the paper away in the shelf next to my bed and return to pacing the floor.  I walk the same path not paying attention to my surroundings. My body walks on autopilot. 

 I go to my room to see the man in the bed next to mine. I’m not certain he even moved all day. I lay down in my bed looking around to see my zombie and the man’s both standing over me. I can’t keep my eyes open all night, watching them. They can’t touch me anyway I don’t think, so I close my eyes for the night. 

 Sunday January 24th, 1999 

  I am awakened by the warmth of the sunlight coming through the barred window. For a moment I don’t see any zombies. I look through the window. Nothing to see beyond the window but another wall of windows. They looked the same as this window, another wing of rooms, I suppose. My zombie walks in front of me grinning with its dead lips. All the hope I might have had for the end of my nightmare suddenly fell away. He blocks the light; how can he block the sun from my eyes? What would someone else see? Looking around, I see the room is empty. The bathroom door is closed with the light coming through the cracks. Whoever is in there might not be the best person to ask right now.  

I rest my head back on the pillow and close my eyes. ‘Move your ass thirteen’ I recall the voice of Reagan, the dipshit prison guard on my unit. Still feels like I am there with him.  Everyone hated him, even the other guards. His face looked as if he was in pain all the time. Never bothered to learn any of our names. Calling us by the last two digits of our inmate number. ‘My name is Aiden, you fucking asshole.’ I told him once. Pissed him off so much he put me on unofficial solitary in my cell for two days. 

 I open my eyes to see my zombie in the doorway. That’s a good name for you. Even if the thing could talk, he would not likely tell me his name. “Thirteen it is. You ugly bitch.” I say out loud before noticing my roommate back in his bed. He doesn’t seem to care just rolling over in his bed.  

“Line up for breakfast!” I finally hear. The smell of cleaning chemicals hit my face as I walk to the dayroom. Looks like the place was deep cleaned overnight. Tables and chairs all put back in order. The puzzle, I never finished, was gone put back on the bookshelf. Coffee hot and ready. No sugar, instead they put out those pink sweetener packets. No thanks, they have a bad after taste. Food trays haven’t arrived yet. I take a seat at a table facing the windows. The sun was shining in the courtyard filled with fog. The sword carrying zombie walks in followed by the elderly fat man. He fills up a cup of coffee and sits next to me.  

“What’s your name again?” He asks, stirring his coffee. 

 “Aiden.”   

“Oh yeah, that’s right I remember now.” He said smiling. “What do you do for work? Young Man.”  

“I worked as a cook here and there.”  

  We ate breakfast and made small talk about everything and nothing. Our zombies were doing something similar. The man’s zombie took his sword and stabbed it through my head. 13 pulled down his pants and starts slapping his dick. It wasn’t long before I got uncomfortable with how comfortable other people were around me. Constantly distracted by their zombies who purposely would provoke me. To do what exactly? Who knew but there is nothing I can do. Pacing the floor seemed to be a good way to avoid people and their zombie companions. Kept pacing thinking about getting out of this place until it was time to see the doctor. 

“How are you feeling?” The doctor asked. 

 “I don’t see the zombies anymore.” I lie. 

 “That is a good sign. The blood work came back fine. I will continue to keep you on the anti-psychotic and anti-anxiety pills.” It is strange to watch his zombie's lips moving in sync with his. Maybe I can get out of here sooner if they think I am getting better. 

 “Your brain may have a chemical imbalance, and the medication will help regulate and get you functioning properly. I would recommend staying away from alcohol and drugs. I have upgraded you to level two which means you can go to the cafeteria for meals now.”  

 It was a nice day out, so they allowed us to go outside into the fenced courtyard that had a basketball court and some benches. I plan to stay outside until they make me come back inside. A man with a well-trained collie dog came around to everyone letting the dog meet everyone. The dog had a vest that said it was a therapy animal. Man, I would love to have my own dog one day if I can ever get my shit together. I scratched behind the dog's ears for just a second or two. Everyone wanted to see the dog and talk to the nice man who brought him in to see us. I stepped back to allow others to see the dog. It made me smile just to see how happy it made everyone to interact with the animal. I focused on that and ignored the zombies trying to steal my focus away.  

  It wasn’t too hot out today, but I started sweating before we went back in. Lunch should be soon I get to go with the others to the cafeteria this time. I took a shower after getting a new pair of scrubs from the nurse. She had dark black hair and a curvy figure, looking so good all I want to do is go spank one out. I couldn’t do that could I. What would thirteen do if I started doing that? April should be going to the cafeteria for lunch today. I didn’t see her much today after her older friend got discharged. She is sad, or at least I feel sad for her. 

 Anytime I get any unprovoked attention from the opposite sex I become like a hungry wolf ready to pounce. That’s how I would go with it in normal circumstances. I would take any attention I could all the way to sex repeated as often as I could. I only slept with three or four girls before prison. I viewed them as objects, except one girl, but I didn’t have sex with her. Her name was Elizabeth, strict church chick, we dated for one summer in high school.  

 My dick needs to go back to sleep like it had to in prison. I had to do it in there at some point the wet dreams I had were getting a bit disturbing. I had to jerk it every so often to avoid weird and unsettling wet dreams. I thought about what it would be like to beat and rape a girl. The reason I was in prison. My dreams would bring that to life, and I did not like how I felt. In that vivid dream where I felt the feelings of violent power mixed with sexual arousal. Reminded me of my father he would be very aggressive with my mom at times. Sometimes I forget that I was only eight years old, there was nothing I could have done.  

The cafeteria was great I got more choices. Level 3 was double portions of food which I wasn’t interested in. I couldn’t eat much with so much on my mind. The elderly man sat next to me again 

 “Do I know you.”  

 “Yes, I am Aiden. We met before. What was your name again?” 

 “It’s Ronnie. We go way back, don’t we?”  

 “Sure.” Not sure if this guy is even here. We talk about all the great times we had back when we served the volunteer fire department. I just played along not really needing to do anything but agree with the poor old man. The entire time I watch April from across the room being polite to Eric the same way I was being polite to Ronnie, by listening to their stories. 

 “I forgot to say the blessing.” Ronnie realizes. 

“It is time to go back.” The nurse announces and we all head to the door. Except Ronnie who is still sat, head bowed eyes closed. The man’s zombie drew his sword and began to swing it about wildly through the tables, walls and people. The others fled his path. My face went blank trying to understand what the hell is going on. 

 “OK. Ronnie. Time to go back now. Are you awake Ronnie?” She walked over and picked up his tray and put it away for him. Ronnie smiled. 

 “Amen.” He finished then stood up and headed out the door. 

 Once we got back Ronnie went to his room as his zombie stood sentry at the door with its sword put away now. A new patient is sitting in the day room.  He looks older than me. Thinning light brown hair on top. Dark circles around his eyes that pointed right at his zombie. I started to watch his eye line, as I would pace back and forth. His eye line was aimed at some of the zombies. It seemed clear he could see them, especially his own. His was like mine unattached and unarmed. I must know for sure, so I go sit next to him. 

 “Hey, so you a pot head like me?” He asked me before I sat down. 

“Sure man, I love the ganja.” I admit. 

 “Thought so, Mary Jane lets you see the truth. They can’t hide from her.” He explains. 

 “You can see them too? What are they?” I ask. He tilts his head looking at me. 

 “I thought you would have figured that out by now. Some people would call them demons but that is an ancient way of looking at it. The truth is that they are aliens from another world. They have been coming and going on Earth for thousands of years.”  

 “What do they want with us?”  

 “The enslavement of the entire human race.” He stops and looks around the room. “You got any cigarettes?”  

 “I don’t sorry.” I tell him suddenly craving one myself. 

“Read the book of Ezekiel.” He adds and goes back to his room.  

I go back to pacing the halls. I keep thinking about what he was saying, and I go find a copy of a Gideon King James Bible from the bookshelf in the day room. I find Ezekiel and the first chapter describes strange beings and even maybe a spaceship. Weird that aliens might be a better explanation for all this or perhaps this guy Ezekiel had schizophrenia. In the old days they didn’t have such a thing as schizophrenia or mental illness. Aliens seems possible, but I am not sure if that can be true. 

 I continue to pace, occasionally stopping to remind the old man who I was and have a chat like we were lifelong friends. I pass by April and smile at her. We go to dinner at 5pm, which is too damn early for normal people. I saw the man who could see them come out to the day room. 

 “I read the book of Ezekiel.” I tell him. His eyes widen then sharpen abruptly.  

“Not here.”  

“We are going to start our group therapy session now. If you don’t want to participate, your free to go to back to your rooms.” Nurse Cynthia announces. “Would anyone like to share.”  

 “I just really need to quit cigarettes because it is preventing my ability to read people’s minds.” This guy may be too far gone, not sure I should be listening to him. 

“Thank you. Brian. Anyone else?” Cynthia moves things along. 

 Shortly after the meeting Brian slips me a note. It said, ‘we must be careful they are listening.’ 

 “Who is listening?” I ask.  

He shushes me and grabs the note then writes down ‘Them’. I just nod my head yes and go back to pacing the floor. I really don’t know what that guy is thinking he is all over the place in his mind, worse than me if that’s even possible. I go to my room and read the Bible, how about some Revelations. My eyes widen as I read. Each word made my belief in aliens become stronger. Until I come to these words that caught me off guard. If you do not close this book right now and never open it again your bloodshed will be required. I pause to swallow, my heart stops. What the hell! How can that be in there? Could I be hallucinating that too. I close it, not wanting to tempt fate. I feel so alone. Where could I possibly find answers? How can I know the truth, even if I heard it, would I know it?  

I close my eyes to see an image of the cross. I take the Bible back to the day room and put it back on the shelf. Back to pacing the floor. Trying my best to ignore my current reality. Imagining myself living in a future where I have figured this all out and everything is fine now. I notice one of the side rooms in the hallway has a sign reading Chapel with a cross on it. It was the same image of the cross I saw earlier in my mind. I must have seen it before but never connected it. I check the door handle, and it opens. 

The Chapel is a small version of a Church with a very small podium sitting on a slightly raised stage area with just a couple half size pews. A zombie sits at the front of the stage. It wore a dark cloak. Skin like tentacles protruding from the top of its head leading to the top of a man’s head who sat on the front pew. Unlike the tentacles of the female nurse, his head is devoid of any hair and looks infected from the tentacles. My zombie walks up and sits next to his. 

 “Come sit down. I am here to listen if you want to talk.”  The man says. 

I go sit behind him. He must be a preacher or priest. “Are you going to pray for me or something.” Prayer has proven useless, as far as I can tell. I am more interested to see what his theory of these visions might be. No way he would think they are aliens. 

 “I pray for all the patients that come here.” He turns around to face me. “Would you like me to pray for you?”  

 If he wants to, I guess he can. I shrug my shoulders and remain silent. I can really see the diseased looking tentacles this close. I can’t help staring at his scalp. A pained look washes over his face. He closes his eyes sharply and faces forward. 

  “Pay no mind to my ugly head. I have a rare skin disorder on my scalp.” He carefully places a traditional Jewish hat on his head. “It causes random spasms of intense pain.” I didn’t expect that. I only see the tentacles protruding out like some ancient dreadlocks. For all I knew, he was bald. He got the gross part right though. He moves to the stage. “My name is Jonah.”  

 “I am Aiden.” Our zombies go sit on the stage with him. 

 “We all have our own cross to bear, Aiden. Would you like to share yours?” He tries to get me to open up. 

 “I had a mental breakdown. I’m seeing things man; I hurt my sister-in-law.” I admit. 

 “This is rough. You’re in the right place to get help now. Is your eye all right? it looks very red.” He notices. 

“Which one?”  

“Your left eye is blood red.” I close my left eye and looking with my right eye only and I realize I don’t see them.  

“They are not there, only with the left eye.” I share.  

“Interesting, you should mention that to your doctor. Oh, and you don’t have to answer but are you taking the medicine they are prescribing you?” 

 “Yes sir, I am.” I figure if the medicine can make them disappear than maybe I just had a hallucination, due to many years of drugs and drinking. He looks at me like I’m a puzzle he wants to solve. 

 “If your brain is imbalanced in some way, the medicine will only go so far. I believe you will need spiritual and divine intervention.” Here we go with the prayer followed by the abrupt shove out the door. “What did you see?” How can I put this?  

“I thought they were zombies. Could be aliens who knows.” I explain. 

 “Are you still seeing them?” He asks. 

 “Yes sir.” 

  “You see them right now?” I nod yes again. He looks away for a moment.  

“Every person seems to have one following them all the time.” I tell him. 

  “What do they look like?”  

 “Mine has no shirt on, skinny to the bone. Pale gray, dead looking skin. Sharp looking teeth and fingernails, all white eyes. He’s wearing a pair of green army pants and brown boots.”  

 “How can you tell it’s a male?”  

“Well, it has pulled its dick out several times already.” I tell him. 

“What does mine look like.” He asks. 

 “Yours is wearing a black cloak. Same dead skin tone with all white eyes. It has tentacles coming out of its head and they connect to your head.” I explained. 

 “When did you check in here?”  

 “Today was my second day.” 

 “Are you being honest with your doctor about this?”  

 “No, I told him that I stopped seeing them. I am trying to get out of this place.” I admit. 

 “Well, if you expect the medicine to help, you should be honest with your doctor.” Jonah’s got a point there; I will give him that.  “The standard stay here at the Island is five days. After that, it is either release or transfer.”  

 “Transfer where?” I wonder.  

“Usually Landing Shore. Do not worry, you will be fine. Just behave. I will be back in a few days. I have some sketches of these creatures like the ones you have just described to me. Interesting to see what . . .” He is cut short by a nurse attendee opening the door. 

 “There you are Aiden. It’s curfew, you must be in your room.” 

 “I will see you Tuesday. Read Psalms. My Church will pray for you.” Jonah says as I walk to the door. I follow the nurse to my room for the night. I must have been the last one.   

Monday January 25th, 1999 

I ate breakfast with Ronnie the old friend. I chewed very slowly and kept eating so I would not have to talk to him. I watch April from across the cafeteria. Her hair is wet and she looks nice if only I had met her at a bar. I would wink while trying to keep my left eye closed. It is so much better not seeing them when I close that eye. 

“Good morning ,Aiden, how are you feeling this morning?” Dr. Caines said. 

“Sleep is not very good and I feel like I am losing my mind here. I must tell you, I still see the hallucinations. Just from my left eye. It is red for some reason now and if I keep it closed I can't see them at all.” 

He stands up and leans close to look at my left eye. “That is strange, and you say it was not red before? Looks like some rare form of ocular albinism. I am going to add another mood stabilizer and increase the other two dosages. I can get you an eye patch to put on so it is easier if you would like.” 

“Thank you very much, I appreciate it.” Accepting his offer.  

April wasn't at lunch, did she leave?  I think the only reason I like her is because she gives me attention. She reminds me of Elizabeth from high school although April is a trashier version. I adjust the string on my eye patch, it feels strange on my face. I know everyone notices it but no one says anything about it. Walking back from lunch I see April. She is standing outside her room with her stuff packed in a brown paper bag.  

“I missed you at lunch.” I tell her. 

“ I know. Finally getting out of here. I am getting McDonalds later.” She explains. 

 “Wow, that sounds great, bring me some back will you?” I say jokingly.  

She laughs and I go on to the day room. Brian walks up to Nurse Cynthia. 

“May I challenge you to a game of chess? If you win I will grant you three wishes.” He asks her. 

“I am sorry but I can't play chess with you Brian.” She brushes him off. 

Brian walks over to Eric and issues the same challenge. Eric remains unresponsive so he walks over to Ronnie who pushes out a chair. “I will play with you, sure. You were always so smart, uh, what was your name?” 

“I go by many names but you can call me Lucifer. Care to make a wager?” Brian asks.  

“Aiden! You have a visitor.” Nurse Cynthia tells me. 

Damn, I won’t get to see that odd encounter. I walk down the hall with a nurse escort. I recognize Stephen’s zombie wearing a leather apron and standing in the doorway of the cafeteria. Thirteen stops in front of him. I just walk through them both and sit opposite of Stephen at the table he is sitting at.  

“How are you feeling, Aiden.” He asked me. 

“I am better now and please forgive me for how I acted the other night. I don’t know what I was thinking.” I pause to take a deep breath. “Did you bring my stuff?” I ask him trying to keep the subject off my apparent meltdown.  

“Yeah I left it with the nurse office. What is with the eye patch?” He asks.  

“Can’t see them with this eye.” I explain. 

“Oh, well that’s good I guess. How are you doing in here?” He looks at me like he doesn’t know me anymore. 

“I will manage, not so bad compared to prison. How’s the family?” I ask as he avoids eye contact. 

 “The kids are fine. Chelsea was scared you know? That is why I think it is a good idea that you don’t stay with us. I can give you a few hundred bucks and my bicycle to get you going. I know there is a few ‘by the week’ hotel rooms you can get for cheap. Come by Bruce’s sometime and I can get you a job, probably dishwasher.” I can’t process this rejection right now so I stand up to leave. 

 “Tell Chelsea, I am sorry, really. I get out in a couple days. I guess I will come by to get the bike after that.” I tell him. I walk away feeling so betrayed. I couldn’t stay there any longer. Maybe Sam could help, let me crash on his couch. I should try to call Ethan too.   

 “I know I am not really Jesus anymore, OK.” I overheard another patient say to his visitors before I left the cafeteria. He had a beard but was balding. This is nuts I am locked in here with Lucifer and Jesus. I have to call Ethan. It’s been a few days since I got out of prison. Who knows what Stephen might have told him, if they even talk anymore. 

Shawn is sitting next to the Nurse desk talking on the phone. I will have to wait to call Ethan. I go sit in view of the TV and phone and wait. Shawn seems agitated his voice gets louder. 

“That’s why I am here to get better honey. You wanted me to try to get better and your leaving me?” He stands up and sits in the nice office chair meant for the nurse behind the desk. I pull off the eye patch curious to see what the zombies are doing. Thirteen was right in my face blocking my view of his friends. I lean over pass thirteen but he leans with me and continues to block my view with unbreakable eye contact. I put my eye patch back on and keep my good eye on what's going on with the phone. 

 “Don’t you touch it!” He yells. Nurse Cynthia walks in.  

“Hang up the phone and get out of my chair. Right now!” Shawn pushes himself away from her and the desk. 

 “Don’t you fucking touch it!” Nurse Cynthia walks into the hall.  

“We got a code red here!” A young male attendee jogs in. 

 “Sir, you are not allowed to sit in that chair, it is for the nurse.” Shawn throws the phone across the room, it crashes into the wall and falls to the ground.  

“I don’t give a shit! I am sitting here now.”  

I make eye contact with Shawn for a moment. I avert my attention to the TV not really watching but listening to the escalating wrestling match ensue as four nurses take hold of him and escort him away. I almost forgot about needing to use the phone. I think he broke it anyway, damn. What the fuck am I doing here? Nurse Cynthia asks everyone to go to their rooms until dinner which was in about forty five minutes.  

 Once things settle down again, I ask Nurse Becky if the phone was still usable. Turned out it was not but she found me another phone to use at the meds station. Maybe I get lucky and he answers the phone. I was going to hang up after the eighth ring when a machine picked up and it was just a basic leave a message after the beep thing. 

“Hey Ethan this is Aiden, I meant to call you sooner but things have been strange since I got out. I will give you a call in a few days and leave you a number where you can reach me.” I hang up and go back to pacing the halls again trying to think about what to do after I leave here. I got some numbers to call for half way houses and other connections for free or cheap places to live short and long terms. Unfortunately, it is too late to start making calls, so I plan about who to call and what to say. I pace and I think and hope I can find a place to live.  

The bearded man from I saw from visitation was transferred to our wing of the hospital. He was sitting alone at a table with a cup of coffee. Brian started challenging players to chess again and oddly enough the bearded fellow accepted. I had to sit nearby and watch the whole thing. Brian might really think he is the devil, makes sense for him I guess since he can see what I can see. 

“What's your name?” Brian asks him. 

“Matt, and you?” He responds. Oh no, here we go. 

 “I go by many names but you can call me Lucifer. Care to make a wager?” Brian tells him. 

“No thanks.” He declines. 

“Fine, just a friendly game.” Brian relents.  

“Before I came here I thought I was Jesus.” Matt admitted to him. 

“Well before I got here I lived in the nicest place until my roommate kicked me out. He didn’t like that I was bisexual.” Brian shared.  

“Aiden!” Nurse Jessica calls my name for blood pressure check. She is nice to look at even though I feel like I am nowhere on her radar. Still makes me want to go rub one out later but I just can’t think about that in a place like this. I sit down next to her while she checks my vitals. I watch the Andy Griffith show on mute distracting myself from her touching my arm. 

I  return to watch Brian and Matt as they play, both losing pieces.  I pictured them as Satan and God sitting down to a game of chess. I manage to sneak a look at Matt’s zombie companion. He wore dark robes similar to the ones that Jonah’s was wearing but Matt was not attached to his, at least not that I could see. They both lose pieces until there is nothing but the kings left on the board. They continue to play until they realize it is hopeless to continue.  

“We will call it a draw.” Brian stands up holding his hand out for a handshake. Matt shakes his hand. Brian gathers up the game and puts it back on the shelf and leaves the dayroom. Matt goes for a coffee refill. 

 I feel like I just watched the devil and god play chess and it ended in a draw. What does it mean? It must be important. Is it like a truce between two rival alien races? Could that mean the devil will always be and it is all an eternal race between good and evil? Never ending struggles. No pain no gain. How do we know good without the bad? My mind was beginning to hurt from thinking too much. Can I just stop thinking, is that even possible, I wonder? 

I go to bed for the night after I take my meds and I just realize the man I shared a room with was gone all day. I think he left in the morning before I woke up or did I imagine he was even here? People come and go here at all hours of the day. Matt came in the room at lights out. He was in the bed close to the door. We don’t speak but give each other a head nod. He brought a bible with him reading it in bed by the dim lights. I lay down and close my eyes. Today I watched the devil play chess with God and it ended in a draw. Somehow, I find comfort in that. 

Tuesday January 26th, 1999 

Sleep was nearly impossible due to Matt’s snoring. The medicine helped me get some shut eye but not much.  I went to the day room as soon as the hall lights came on. First one up today, shortly followed by a new patient I haven’t seen yet. A very tired looking middle aged woman.  

She went right for the coffee, smiling at me. “Good morning.”  

“Come to the nurse station for a minute Aiden.” Nurse Cynthia said. I walk in to the nurse station and I see my backpack sitting on the counter. “You can’t take the backpack with you but you can get some things out of it if you want.” 

Thank god I have clean underwear now. I grab those and my journal. I hope Stephen didn’t read any of that. I wrote so much bullshit just for whoever might want to read it when I was in prison. I took some jeans and a shirt. I immediately take a shower after I leave the nurse station. I leave off the eye patch and go to the day room. Ronnie had changed into his street clothes as well. He sat near the door with a bag of his things waiting to leave. His zombie was in combat, sword out, jabbing and blocking into the invisible air.  

Thirteen and the others are running around crawling up the walls and jumping all over the room. I head back to my room to get the eye patch I never should have left. I walk pass Matt’s zombie holding a small blade rushing to the dayroom. When I get into my room I look around for a moment with both eyes but I do not see a single zombie. Thirteen did not follow me into the room. I waited there holding my eye patch. The call for breakfast came before I saw another one. I had to take another look. Whatever caused that commotion was over by the time they caught up with us at the cafeteria. 

Later on in the dayroom I hear my name called for the doctor. 

“I still see them.” I tell the doctor. 

“Give it time.” He instructs me.  “Is the eye patch helping? Sleeping OK.” 

“I might be able to sleep if it wasn’t for my roommate's snoring so damn loud.” I tell him.  

Dr. Caines laughs. “We can get you some earplugs for that. I will see you one more time tomorrow and if everything holds up then I will sign for your release. Best of luck, sir.” I stand to shake his hand and leave.  

I grab the papers for my housing search and go ask the nurse if I could use the phone. I make about six or seven calls. Usually they put me on a waiting list. I give up on that for now and hold onto the papers just in case. I dial Sam’s number. 

“Hello.” Sam answers.  

“Hey Sam, it’s Aiden.”  

“What’s up.” 

“Any chance you got room for me to crash at your place?” 

“Hell yeah! Man. I will make room for you, Come on over. I will be here.” Sam exclaims.  

“Thanks bro, I promise I won’t stay long.” I have no intention of staying in that small place with Sam any longer than I must. “Hate to ask for more but can you pick me up tomorrow?” 

“I would but I ran out of gas. No money until Friday.” Sam tells me.  

“I will figure something out. Anyway, I will see you later.” I say not sure I will.  

I hand the phone back to Nurse Cynthia. “I guess I am walking.” I tell her.  

“We can provide transportation anywhere you need to go, no worries.” She informs me with a smile.   

Well that is good news I will have them take me to Stephens to get whatever he is going to give me. I resume my pacing through the halls. I am curious to see the sketches Jonah told me about. I continue walking until dinner. Walking in line down the hall we pass by a group of children, young teens by the look of them. By the grace of God if it wasn’t for my Aunt Becca I could have been admitted when I was that age. Now she is gone and I have to face this life alone. I see Pastor Jonah walking with the children. 

“Hello, Aiden could I join you for dinner? I will meet you in the cafeteria.”  

I get my sloppy joe and sit with Jonah. I notice he doesn’t have any food. “Don’t like sloppy joes?”  

“I love them, but I just ate with the children. Does the eye patch help?”  

“You know what, it does help.”  

“You will be getting out soon. How are you feeling?” 

“Honestly? I would rather stay, the food here is delicious.” Jonah didn’t detect my sarcasm. 

“What is your plans?” 

“I need to go to my cousins house in Seymour he’s supposed to give me a bike and a little money.”  

“Are you staying with him?”  

“No, but my friend Sam said I could stay with him.” 

“I might be able to help you out if that does not work out, I have an extra bedroom in the parsonage home. Your welcome to stay with me as long as you need.” 

I admit that is a great offer. Jonah may not be cool with my lifestyle though, bet he doesn’t even drink. He may be my only choice. I should check with Sam first. 

 “Thanks for the offer. I will keep that in my mind for sure.” 

Jonah and I walk through the halls to the Chapel. I can’t help having a bad feeling about Jonah. His zombie is also connected to his head. Does that make Jonah a puppet of that thing? Who knows man I shouldn’t let a hallucination spook me out. It is hard enough to trust anyone without those things crawling around. We sit in the front bench where Jonah’s bag was. He pulls out a folder and hands it to me. Three sketches with a normal person alongside their zombie. They look very similar to what I see. I recognize Jonah in one of them. His demon cloaked in black tentacles attached to Jonah’s diseased scalp.  

“They look just like what I am seeing. What does that mean?” Jonah shakes his head and rubs his forehead. Starting to wonder if it is all a hallucination between, now, two other people I know of that sees what I see. “Tell me about the person who drew these.”  

“His name is Caleb. He is thirteen years old. His grandparents are members of my Church. He is on multiple medications like you are now. He draws these, but doesn’t talk about them. His behavior is unpredictable and dangerous at times.” He pauses and puts the pictures away. “Think about meeting him? Maybe you could get him to open up more.” 

I knew his offer would have strings attached. I am no therapist and I don’t care for kids. I ignore his plea. What if we are all just in a prison of zombie aliens. I only have the ability to see the prison guards. Still just as helpless to escape as anyone else.  

“I have been researching demonology ever since I met Caleb. Not saying they are actual demons, but it is worth looking into.” He takes a breath. “Since I have met you, however, I have another reason to be less skeptical of that possibility.”  

I notice the hall lights go dim.  “My time is up, I have to go.” I stand up to walk to my room. Jonah stands and shakes my hand. 

“I will see you tomorrow.”  

“I will be gone by the time you get here.”  

“I will be your ride. I do all sorts of things for the hospital.”  

“OK, well, see you then and thank you.” 

I see Matt heading to the room ahead of me. I recall his loud snoring and remember I forgot to get earplugs. I walk to the nurse station.  

“Excuse me, could I get some ear plugs. I got a snoring roomie”  

“Yes, one moment I will bring them to you.”  

I had hoped to go back to life as usual after getting out of prison. That may be impossible at this point. Not sure what to do now, either live a miserable existence with whatever these visions are or go along with this overzealous do gooder. I am not so ready to embrace these visions as actual demonic spirits of some kind as Jonah seems to be. The meds are kicking in. I fit the ear plugs snuggly into my ear and close my eyes. 

Wednesday January 27th, 1999 

Most of the patients that were here when I arrived have left already. I didn't care to learn the names of the ones coming in. I get dressed in my jeans and shirt, ready to get out of here. I spend my time waiting for Jonah pacing the halls. My name is called to see Dr. Caines.  

“Ready to go home?” He asks.  

I don’t have a home currently but I am not going to correct him on that. “Yeah I am.”  

“All right, everything is in order here. The nurse will give you a prescription for your medications and make you an appointment at one of our outpatient facilities.”  

I am not so sure about these damn meds. I can’t really afford to buy them. I don’t have any insurance, who knows how much they could cost. I eat lunch alone and pace the halls again. Jonah arrives finally at around two. His truck is very old maybe an early eighties model. It has rusted paint spots and dents and scratches all over.  

Having regained my freedom once again, I look to the sky. Gray clouds overcast the sun, another gloomy day just like the day I left prison.  

“Where can I drive you?” Jonah asks.  

“A couple places, if you don’t mind. My cousin has a bicycle for me, he lives in Seymour. Then to South Knoxville, my buddy Sam is letting me stay with him there.”  

We both get in the truck and buckle up. “No problem, hope you like gospel.”  

“Its fine.” I lie. 

“You are still welcome to stay with me if you need to.” He offers. 

I do mind gospel but I am not going to complain about that. He is helping me out after all. Jonah pushes a cassette into the player as he drives out of the parking lot. Music plays a slow soft piano melody.  

“Take the world but give me Jesus.” Jonah sings. 

 I did not expect he would be the one singing. I try my best to zone him out along the ride. This guy does it all. He is a pastor, singer, and works with the mental hospital. We approach Stephen’s place, no car in the driveway, he’s not home. I walk up the stairs to his deck feeling so empty inside to have to face Chelsea again. I pull off the note they taped to the glass door. It reads, I put a bag of your clothes and my old bike in the shed for you. P.S. Come by Bruce’s and I can get you an application, Stephen. Jonah sees me coming back with the bike and gets out to open the back hatch. We put the bike in the back and continue on the road without saying anything to each other. I look through the garbage bag on the way to Sam’s. Mostly shirts, socks and underwear with one pair of jeans. I thought I had more than this. I am not dealing with him anymore than I have to. I will have to rebuild my life or make a new one. Sam lived in a one bedroom efficiency apartment above the garage of his landlord.  

“Wait a second, let me find out where I can put my bike.” I walk up the stairs to Sam’s door. I knock and a woman in only a large t-shirt opens the door. A foul odor escaped the room and hits my face. “Is Sam here?” She looks over and walks away as Sam walks up. 

“Aiden, Welcome. Come on in, Me casa su casa.” 

I walk in and take a look at the most disgusting mess of neglect and just plain laziness. Dirty clothes, garbage, smoke ash trays filled up way too much. The place was basically a bedroom and a kitchen/living room with one small bathroom. I don’t think I can stay here, it’d be worse than prison. I didn’t know he had a girl here either.  

“I wanted to come by and see you and let you know in person that I found another place to stay.” I improvised. 

“Hey that’s cool bro. We are about to load up the bong if you would like to partake.” He invites me. Taking a hit off the bong does sound great right about now. 

 “I can’t, I got someone waiting out here for me.”  

“All right. What happened to your eye man? You ok?”  

“It’s a long story.” I say, backing out of the doorway. “Let’s go out for beers again and I will tell you all about it.” I close the door and  slowly walk back to Jonah in the truck.  

“I might need that room after all.” I say. 

“Not a problem, get in.” I get back in. “My home is owned by the Church. It sits on the same property. I don’t have a family or wife so I don’t use the third bedroom at all. I set it up to be a guest bedroom. That will be yours.” 

“I can pay you back, when I start working again.”  

“You can pay me back by joining me on my Tuesday night visitations.”  

I would rather give him money. Jonah seems to think he can use my visions to help people somehow. I will help him with this even though it could all be a waste of time. If it works somehow and he does make some progress with this I may have to join his Church and his whole crusade. 

“Have you asked Jesus into your heart.” 

“Never have, at least not in any genuine way.” 

“What do you think happens when you die?” 

“I don’t know and I don’t think you or anyone else does either.”  

“Fair enough.” 

Maybe I have died already and this is what happens after you die. I would like him to be real and I want to believe so bad but I won’t be dishonest with myself.  Most people who say they know Jesus and think they are going to heaven might just be good at pretending, some may even fool themselves into believing it.  

“Have you read much of the New Testament?” 

“Not really.” 

“Give it a chance. The teachings of Jesus Christ is something everyone should know.”  

“I will try.” I really meant it. 

  We arrive at his church. A tall steal sign with blue background on the sign that said simply Community Christian Church. Stone bricks bordered a colorful flower garden. I saw as we wrapped the building. Jonah’s home is down the street, just behind the church. A basic rancher style with three bedrooms and two baths. The unfinished basement was used for a church storage room. He pulled up in the driveway next to a black Lexus sedan. I assumed it was his primary vehicle. The Lord’s work does pay well. Jonah walks to the door  and unlocks it. 

 “Your room is the last room on the left.” Everything appears in order and clean. “Service starts at ten a.m. in the morning if you would like to attend.” 

“Sure.” 

I notice a photo of a Hispanic woman hanging in his dining room.  Couldn’t be a relative of Jonah, he is Jewish I thought. I walk to my temporary room. I walk in to see a fully made up bed and a night stand with lamp and a Bible. Some extra pillows and blankets in the closet. I put my backpack on the floor and sit on the bed. What am I supposed to do now. I take off the eye patch and see thirteen in the corner jerking off. I put it back on maybe if I keep it on forever I can forget they are even there.  

I get the best sleep I have had in years. It’s been so long since I slept in a normal bed and my own private room. Jonah left me some dress clothes to wear to service this morning. He is already there I leave his clothes untouched. I walk in the sanctuary wearing my own jeans and black shirt. The church is a good size sanctuary with three columns of pews. Stained glass windows with flowers sitting below each one. There is a small wooden podium on a large stage with room for a full band and choir. Your basic church model that I am used to, just a bit larger. A choir of seniors leads the music for a few songs. Feels like the same church as when I was a kid. A gray haired balding man in a suit walks to the podium.  

“Before Jonah gives us the message let’s go to the Lord in prayer. Are there any special request?” The man leads. 

“My, Aunt starts treatments on Monday.” A woman calls out. 

“Our sister church, Family Church of God, needs financial support for the forty day drug and alcohol rehab program. Any donations will be helpful, they need more support in order to keep the program running for the next session.” Jonah informs everyone. 

“I have an unspoken request.” A man adds. 

I always hated unspoken request in church. It completely defeats the point, maybe to them it’s like a birthday wish that won’t come true if you tell anyone.  

“Dear heavenly father, we come to you today with a humble heart . . .” The man began speaking as the more dedicated of the members started praying out loud as well. It was all just noise at that point. Jonah walks up to the podium as the people quiet down and the man sits back down.  

“Open your bibles to Colossians. We will begin reading in chapter one verse fifteen. The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible….” He looked right at me as he read. I stop listening and tuned him out. 

I can’t help remembering the multiple youth pastors I had growing up. Each one wanted to lead me to the lord and have me somehow give them credit for it. The first one had nothing to do with it I just went to the front to talk to the pastor about getting saved because my cousin Stephen did, so I followed him. The next ones I met at the same church would tell me that I wasn’t really saved the last time and then lead me to the lord again so they would get the credit. Who knows maybe God gave extra points for doing that or something.  

I glance around the sanctuary there is over one hundred people in this room right now. That’s a lot of zombies in one area, or should I call them demons now? It really doesn’t matter. I remove the eye patch for a moment to rub my eye and look around. One has a pistol, a few with swords some with sharpened sticks even. They were all actively using them sparring against mid-air. Many like mine were unarmed and not connected to any human but they were unique in their clothing and various scars and bumps. None of the demons wore civilian clothing every outfit was somehow associated with a uniformed position of all types of professions during any time period. I might be making false connections but I noticed that Jonah’s focus towards the audience would adjust to and from looking at some flurry of demon thrusting a weapon or firing the gun which flashed so brightly I had to put the eye patch back on. I’m afraid if I keep looking at these demons all the time I will lose my mind much faster. I could analyze them into insanity, the patch stays on. 

“We will be having a special service tonight dedicated to our missionaries from India. . ..” Jonah began to close the service. Thank the Lord for that. I can’t kick it with this guy, I want to get shitfaced sometime soon. Maybe I could crash with Nate. I will have to see if Sam knows what he is up to these days. 

Sunday night a missionary couple native to India shared some incredible stories that I frankly found hard to believe.  The man named Krish spoke of angelic interventions and miraculous deliverance from very credible threats from opposing forces. He spoke perfect English with a feminine sounding accent; his wife did not speak English as well. They ran an orphanage and school as well as a Church in India. They dealt with violent opposing Hindus and Muslims in the region. 

I had to take off the eye patch to see what demons these missionaries had. One had a handheld machine gun holstered to its waist, looked like a soldier. One dressed like a Blacksmith and had a kind of sword I never saw before. Every demon in the place was frantic coming in and out of the room through the walls. That checks out if they really are demons, they would be going crazy in a church, I guess.   

It feels strange living with Jonah. He isn’t there most of the day, but I still respect his home like it is part of the church building. I try to stay out as much as possible, looking for a job. I leave the number to Jonah’s house on Ethan’s answering machine. I never take the eye patch off for a few days. I ride my bike around the area filling out applications at a few places. The University was not far from here. I saw many of the students around town. I could have easily been one of them. Jonah went out doing who knows what. 

Tuesday February 2nd, 1999 

 I sit at the dining room table to eat. I look at the photo of the Hispanic woman’s photo hanging on the wall. Jonah walks in the door. I point at the photo.  

“Who is that?” I ask. 

“That would be me my late wife, Izabella.” Jonah explains. 

“Oh, I am sorry for your loss. She was beautiful.” Sorry I asked.  

“Thank you. Will you be joining me for visitations this evening?” He asks. 

“Yes sir, I will.” I agreed. “Not to pry too much but what is with the Yamika? Are you Jewish?” I had to ask. Jonah removes it from his diseased scalp.  

“This is a zucchetto and no, I am not a Jew.” He leaves to his room. What the hell is a zucchetto? I hope he isn’t upset. Maybe I should not have asked him about that. I clean up and get dressed in the brown slacks with a blue button up that Jonah gave me. We walk out to his Lexus. He was not wearing a tie today which is the most casual I have seen him yet. We get in to his Lexus and Jonah drives on to the road. 

 “Nice outfit, it would be a good church outfit too.” He comments.  

“I want to help you out however I can with this, so if dressing decent helps, I will do that. I would rather skip the services if you don’t mind, too many people.” I hate crowds, always have. “Sorry, If I upset you earlier asking too many personal questions.”  

“I see honesty is one of your virtues.” Jonah laughs. “Seriously though, I am glad to talk to you about my life story. I am almost fifty years old so the story is a long one.”   

“I figure I should get to know you better. Living in your house and all.” I explain.  

“I am going on the local gospel music station in a few weeks to share my personal testimony. You could come along or at least listen in.” He informs me.    

“Yeah, that would be cool.” I say passively. Jonah pulls into the parking lot of a nursing home.  

“Don’t worry, there isn’t very many people here. The plan is for you to observe everything you see. Then, tell me what you saw after.” I put the eye patch in my shirt pocket and open the car door. One hour later we return to the car. Jonah turns on his voice recorder device.  

“Nursing Home demonic observation report.” Jonah speaks into the recorder and hands me the device.  

“Umm, The first demon I saw was yours..” I begin when he turns off the recorder.  

“Don’t mention our demons. Focus on everyone else that was there.” He turns it back on and holds it near my face. 

 “Ok, First one I saw dressed like a coal miner. He was at the entrance hitting the walls with a pickaxe. The next four was in the main room where the meeting was. One was strapped close to the body of one of the residents. She was the youngest among the group. Another was dressed as a prison guard from maybe the forties era. He stood at the piano and watched everyone. The third had some strange outfit from an Asian country. He was connected by chains to the woman that played the piano. The fourth had on a black mask and ran around the room through walls and back waving an axe around.” 

“Go on, I know there was more than that.” Jonah said. 

“Could have been more but that was all I saw except for ours.” I tell him. 

There was a message waiting for me on Jonahs answering machine when we got home. I got a job offer for a cleaning service. My schedule is 6pm to 2am. Monday through Friday. Not the ideal shift but at least I get to work alone, I always have thirteen to keep me company. Jonah told me to be very careful with his truck as I was not on the insurance yet. A man named Larry trained me on my first day.  

“Don’t forget to scrub the underside of the toilets.” He sounds slow in the head or something. I take my eye patch off for a moment to look at his demon, it is dressed as a navy man. The sound of a group of motorcycles goes by on the city streets outside.  

“Motorcycles, you don’t drive those do you?” He asks. I put my eye patch back on.  

“No sir I never have. Looks fun to try.” I answer. 

“Let me tell you right now, I wouldn’t, if I was you. If you do ride, make sure to wear a helmet.” He warns me. 

Larry made me promise him. Apparently, he was in a motorcycle accident when he was younger and was not wearing a helmet. He hit his head bad and was never the same since. He is very thorough in his work and takes pride in a job well done. The job is simple, clean up office buildings. Wash the desks, windows, vacuum the floors, mop the floors and clean the bathrooms. Not difficult, but the pay is shit.  

A week later I got my first paycheck on Friday. I could not stop thinking that it’s high time I for me to get laid. There are so many college chicks around here, I got to hit up the clubs. My check is just over two hundred dollars. Better stick to the bars. I use the phone at the last office building of the night to call Sam.  

“Payday! Let’s go out.” I declare. 

“Yeah, for sure, Gillie’s?” Sam suggests.   

“Give me an hour and I will be there.” I tell him.   

I hang up and begin to clean the place. It is eleven now. I can rush through this and dodge out early. Not going to get shit faced but I want to get a buzz going. Getting messed up is great but not as great as fucking. I am supposed to return to the main office to return my cleaning caddy, but I keep it with me. I need it on Monday anyway. I have $188 left after filling up the truck. Well after midnight by the time I walked into the bar. Sam sits waiting for me at the counter.  

“One drink and I have to go.” Sam tells me.  

 “What’s up?” I sit down. 

“Remember the girl you met at my place, Kenzie?” I nod yes. “She is waiting for me at home. Aiden, we are dropping acid together.”   

“It has been a long time since I did that. Damn, well I guess I will stay here, meet some people.”  

“I didn’t think you would want to join us, since, well, what happened to you and all.” Sam tells me. What happened to me? What does he know? 

 “You talked to Stephen? He told you what happened.” I assumed. Sam puts a hand on my shoulder.  

“Yeah man, I am sorry. That sounds rough.” He finishes his glass and stands up. 

“You are leaving already?” I ask.  

“Yeah, I gotta run.” He declares. 

“Damn it bro, what's up with Nate. You got his number?” I ask, hoping. He grabs a pen and napkin from the bar writes a number down and hands it to me. 

“He lives with his grandma now.” He gives me the napkin and leaves. 

That may rule out my hope of crashing with Nate. He was living in an RV on the lake last I knew. Must have hit some hard times. He probably telling people he is helping his grammy. I look around, wondering if I should just leave when an older short dark-haired woman takes Sam's now empty seat.  

“Did you serve in the military?” She asks seeing my eye patch.  

“Yes, my squad was on assignment in Iraq, and I caught shrapnel in the eye. Can I buy you a drink?” I play along, why not? Most women have an alternate narrative in their heads and if I can play the role, they want me to have well then, I could get laid easily. 

I spent way more money than I should have. I bought that old bitch a few drinks, she would not give me her number. She wanted mine and was suspicious when I couldn’t give her one. If I want to get on my own, at some point, I won’t be able to do this kind of shit. I need to focus on making enough money to get my own place. I turn on the radio driving back to Jonah’s house. 

 ‘I sit alone, I feel just like somebody else man I ain’t changed but I know I ain’t the same.’ What a fucking nightmare my life has become I think as the song continues. ‘Me and Cinderella put it all together we can drive it home, one headlight….” 

When I wasn’t out Jonah would involve me in his crusade for God or whatever attending his Church and sometimes, I would accompany him on visitations with various members of his Church. Mostly the elderly and others who couldn’t always make it out to attend services. I never really did much of anything besides make small talk. Jonah said that sometimes that means the world to people. 

Tuesday April 13th, 1999 

 “We are going to meet Caleb today.” Jonah told me. “He lives with his grandparents. The mother is dead and they never who the father was.”   

 Caleb is the boy who made those drawings. We pulled into a large trailer park. This is a very crowded area of trailers packed so close together. Each one had a two-car driveway and about as much space as the driveway for a yard between them. There are many demons I could see here but I keep the eye patch on. Jonah knocks on the door; an elderly balding man answers.  

“Hello Frank, this is brother Aiden. He has been accompanying me today.” Jonah introduces me. 

“Nice to meet you Aiden come on in.” He shook my hand. 

 “How is Caleb today” Jonah asked. 

“He is improving on the new medicine the doctor prescribed him two months ago, seems to have a positive impact.” Cathy gestured for us to sit in the living room. 

 A young boy walked in, maybe about ten years old. He sat down with no detectable expression on his face.  

“How is school going? Caleb. What have you been learning about?” Jonah asked.  

The boy didn’t say anything, looked at his parents and then at me and kept looking at me. He stared right into my good eye.  

“We have moved on to pre-algebra.” Cathy broke the silence. 

 That is advanced for a ten-year-old.  

"Who is that?” He said still staring at me. I nervously smiled glancing around wondering if I should answer. 

“This is brother Aiden; he is my friend.” Jonah said. 

“What’s with the eye patch? You a pirate or something.” Caleb asked me. 

“Ah, no, just a stupid accident.” I tell him with a laugh. 

“Would you draw a picture for Aiden?” Jonah asked. He jumps and runs to his room. 

“Why are you encouraging him? I thought you said. .” Cathy started to say. 

“Aiden may hold some insight that could help.” Jonah said cutting off her concerns. 

“It’s all right honey. Let them try.” Frank assures Cathy. She exhales sharply then stands and walks down the hall to their bedroom closing the door. “Don’t mind her. The drawings are too upsetting for her to see again, I think.” 

“Are you sure, I mean, we don’t have to do this.” Jonah said. 

“He has not stopped drawing pictures this whole time. She just hasn’t seen them. He loves doing them and we can’t stop him.” Frank said. 

Caleb returns with a pillow padded lap desk and some paper and number two pencils. He Sharpens a pencil and stares at the paper for a minute before he moves his right hand to make the first mark on the paper.  

“So, how is work going?” Jonah tries to make small talk for a long awkward twenty minutes or so. 

He holds up the drawing and shows us all then hands it to me. The accuracy to what my demon looks like is almost accurate except for the leg chains. 

“Can I keep this?” I ask. 

“Sure.” Caleb answered. 

The chains being there are concerning, could it be that the chains appeared since the last time I looked? I noticed the numbers 0113 in the top corner. The name I gave it, thirteen, strange for him to know that. I wait until we left before, I take my eye patch off. I must make sure there aren’t chains and thank goodness there wasn’t any that I could see. Could this be the future he sees? I look around to see the boy’s demon. He is connected to it by metal wrist and ankle bracelets with what looks like electrical power cords. The cords led to the middle of the demon's chest. Jonah said his goodbyes as I was observing all this. 

“What does this all mean? Why did you take me here?” I asked Jonah. 

“To show you that you are not alone.” He smiles as we drive away. 

I avoid Jonah and his church as much as possible after that. I really don’t want to be a part of his Church at all. Meeting that boy Caleb stuck in my mind. My views shifting stronger towards the possibility that Jonah is right about them. Hell, he could be right about everything. One thing for sure is they aren’t just in my own head. My meds ran out a week ago now. I didn’t want them anymore, so I missed my appointment. I feel more alert without them. I keep my eye patch on or keep that eye closed as much as possible. When I do look, thirteen is still always there, still no chains. It is odd how my view of being alone has changed now that I am never alone. I want nothing more. 

I receive my first full paycheck, and I give Jonahs's church ten percent, out of respect to him. I stop by Nate’s and get some green and white. I can tell he was high on something stronger than weed or coke. I got out of there fast. I go out every night I can. I buy one drink and hang out for a while. Talk to everyone, see if I can get lucky. Tonight, could be the night. I take a seat at the bar, order a beer and chill. I see a woman there I had seen a few times before always leaving by the time I got there. She seems settled in with a couple friends, I guess. They are cute too, and younger.  

I order a shot and another beer; I want to at least get a buzz going. Down the hatch goes the shot and I am off. I hit it off early with her. I tried with the other girls too, but she was my best bet. I didn’t even buy her any drinks. She is hot for a thirty-nine-year-old. She really turned me on when she told me she would have a three way with me. If I can find another woman willing to join us. Most of the night was spent trying to find the impossible partner for this crazy night. The possibility of a three way was too good to pass up. I got drinks for a few other women and even did some bumps with them, still no luck. 

The time came and we went to her place unable to find a third member. It was never up for discussion where we would be going, of course, it was her place. I strip down to nothing but my eye patch and wait for her. She walks in from the bathroom topless and insists I take my eye patch off. I did not want to, but I had to do what I had to do. Her demon was connected to her like a naked Siamese twin. I keep that eye shut as much as I can, but I was able to get a hard on. I knew that I would never be able to finish so I faked an orgasm after I thought she had an orgasm. I don’t wait long to get up and get dressed. 

“You can’t leave now, your too drunk to drive.” She says sitting up in bed. 

“I wasn’t too drunk to drive here.” I point out. I thought it was funny myself. She however did not like it at all. Her face changed dramatically. 

“You asshole, you tricked me. Took advantage. . .” Her words stammering. “I drank too much. . . this was a rape!” Screaming now. “Get out!” She yells and runs to the bathroom. “Rape!” 

I dodge out as soon as I can. My heart sinks as I turn the ignition in the truck. How can she say that? Why did she say that? Did she really believe that I, uh, that. . . I wasted too much time already chasing women like this. It is not the way for me to live is it. I must get on my own at some point. I need to focus on making enough money to get my own fucking car. I turned on music on the way back. ‘I don’t know your fucking name so what let’s fuck.’ What a fucking night that was damn I might have to go to church tomorrow what a nightmare my life has become. ‘All day I dream about sex and all day I dream about sex yes.’  

No more of that. I think before I fall asleep. I awake to the sound of Jonah pounding on my door yelling to wake up. I feel like warm trash my head hurts I need more sleep.  

“Go away!” I yell. Jonah opens the door. 

“What is wrong with you?” 

“I am hungover brother, go on without me. You don’t want me at Church like this.” 

“We are having a fellowship lunch today following the service. Try to make it to that. Be good for you to get some food.” Jonah tells me before leaving. 

I pass on the invite. I do the coke left from last night and drive to the public library. Did not realize they were closed so I head to the pub. Not to drink but to avoid Jonah. When I don’t work, I go to the public library to study whatever I can. I must find some answer to what is happening with my red eye, seeing demons or who knows what. I am considering all explanations. I look for books in the medical field, religions and a few on aliens as well. I stayed there until I had to go to work, or they closed. I am barely sleeping anymore I read as much as I can. I start sneaking liquor everywhere doing bumps along the way. Every time I wake up in my truck or in Jonahs's house, I feel I have missed some epiphany I must have had just before I passed out. 

I listen to music while I work. I clean two or three office buildings per night mostly the same ones each night. I develop my own system for how to approach each one. I save the bathrooms for last. I love music or honestly anything that can fill the voids of uncomfortable silence. Larry gave me a portable radio. I play it in the offices as I clean up. I listen to whatever I can pick up on the signal which is either country music or the top hits station. I tune it to the top hits station and take a swig from my makeshift flask. A song plays ‘I used to think I could not go on and life was nothing but an awful song.’ I flushed the urinal and placed a new scent cake under the splash guard. ‘I believe I can fly; I believe I can touch the sky.’ 

Six weeks doing this job, and they fired me. Apparently, some of the office workers did not like that I was sleeping in my truck parked in their parking lot. I think that was only one morning like two weeks ago. Friday after next is my last paycheck and I am already broke. The next one won’t even be a full check. The following few days I continue to just stay out when I would have been working. I sleep most of the time feeling withdrawals. I was going hard for a while. Time to sober up and get serious about shit, I have no choice. I can’t get on my own drinking the whole time. 

“There is a message for you on my machine.” Jonah informs me after waking me up Wednesday morning. I walk to the kitchen and press play on the machine. 

“Hello, this is Ethan calling for Aiden. Sorry I couldn’t come up to see you yet. It will still be a while before I can come see you, but I love you. . ... and call me bro.” 

“So, anything new? Anything you want to tell me?” Jonah looked at me from the kitchen table. I head back to my room.  

“Nope.” I turn my back on him walking away. 

“I am worried about you, Aiden. I heard you missed your upkeep appointment, and I know you been drinking.” Jonah says before I close my bedroom door.  

“I’m fine!” I yell out. For a second there, I thought he knew I was fired.  

I go to the library to research medical books and maybe something about alcohol or cocaine. I notice a swimsuit edition magazine. I take it, sneak to the restroom, and rub one out, instead. I can’t stick around after that. I go back and crash in my room until it was time to pick up my last paycheck. It is Friday, I can’t look for a job until Monday. I pick up a twelve pack and park next to the mall and drink. I picked a spot close to an outside garbage ben. I don’t even play the radio. I just sit, drink, and think. I think a lot about not having the visions and if they stopped now and forever. Could I go on and forget this ever happened. Walk away from Jonah and move on from the cursed path he is on. 

I wake up in a strange place on a cold tile floor with a bright light above me. I look up and see a toilet next to my head. I wipe something wet off my face. Blood is on my hands. My red eye has blood coming from it. I get up and look in the mirror I can’t remember what happened. I look at myself in the mirror. I can see the blood coming from a cut just at the base of the eye lid. I open that eye slowly and see my reflection become thirteen. He comes at me fast with a knife. I scream, gulp then throw up into the sink for a good five minutes at least.  

“Are you ok in there.” I can barely hear from outside the door. Who is that? I find my reflection again looking very pale with a nasty cut that won’t stop bleeding. I grab a towel and stop the bleeding. Where am I? I find some band aids and put it on my eye lid. I don’t see thirteen anywhere in the bathroom. I find and put the eye patch back on.  

I remember drinking at the mall and then, oh shit. I must have drove to Nate’s place or his grandma’s place. I had to get coke but that wasn’t coke was it. I wouldn’t have passed out. It doesn’t feel like me, but I think I tried to cut my eye out. I just wanted to end the visions. I cleaned myself up and opened the door. Jonah was sitting on the bed. Oh, fuck I was in Jonahs's bathroom. 

“Oh my God Jonah I am so sorry. Please. . . I. .” 

“Save it. We will talk in the morning.” Jonah stands up to close the door behind me.  

Saturday June 12th, 1999 

“Wake up now!” Jonah woke me up yelling. “Go take a look at your fine parking job.”  

I walk out to see that I drove right into Jonah’s Lexus last night. The truck just had bumper damage, but the Lexus was totaled by the looks of it. Damn I am fucked now. Jonah walks out behind me. 

“I am going to pay you back for this as soon as I get back to work.” I said hoping that he wouldn’t go crazy on me.  

“Yes, you will pay, but not until you have finished rehab.”  

“What? Why? It has just been rough for me lately.” I really don’t want to go to rehab. 

“I insist. Aiden, brother. If you don’t agree,” He pauses. “Well, perhaps, I may have to decide to press charges against you.” He says calmly. Can he do that?  

“You got me, brother. When does it start?” I force an uncomfortable yet optimistic smile. I should stop drinking and shit. I really wanted to quit when I was fired. Man, I thought I had no choice then, now I really don’t have a choice. 

“Glad you asked, this Monday Morning. You can move into the dorms Sunday night.” Jonah walks to the truck opens the driver side door reaches in and pulls out the keys I had left in the ignition. “These are going back to me now.” He says as he walks back inside the house. 

Intake for the rehab program started in a church fellowship hall. They want a list of illegal drugs I am addicted to or had ever done. I wrote down all of them, even ones I never did before. I am still young, still time to try more drugs. This is an odd position for me. I really have no issue giving up drinking, no problem. I never felt I was addicted to any of it. I have to do this or who knows what Jonah will do. We all pile into the church bus and Jonah drives us on a short trip. None of the men look like they are excited to go. It is a nice neighborhood with big yards and ours has a nice tall fence around it. We all walk up the steps to the large porch when a gray bearded gentleman walks out. 

“Hello! Welcome to the house of hope. My name is David.” He gestured towards the mantle above the door with the words hope on it in colorful letters. How inspiring, I can’t wait to get started.  

“You all be good to brother David, you hear.” Jonah waves goodbye to everyone and stops me as they go inside. 

“I fast tracked you an appointment for next Tuesday to get you back on your meds.” I nod and try to go inside. 

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. No one can force you into it. That has to be your decision.” He says. I believe I should try again. I gave up on them too early I think. “I will take you if you want to go. It is ten a.m.” Jonah stares and waits for me to say something.  

“I will go.” Why not? I might want to get away from the hope house by then any way. David shows me to my room where I stay with four other inmates or whatever they call us.  

“You want the top bunk?” One of the men asks me.  

“Sure I’ll take it.” 

“Good, I am afraid of heights.” He chuckles and holds out a hand.  

“My name is Roger.” I shake his hand. 

“Aiden. Good to meet you.”  

Our exchange sparks up introductions of the other two men in the room, Steve and Jason.  We get situated and meet with David and everyone else in the main living room. David was not a big guy but you could tell he could handle himself against any of us. Looked solid like he been lifting for years. This guy could be like in his fifties.  

“Welcome to the Hope House guys, first off I will go over the schedule and what is expected of you while you are here. . . . .” He continues the boring speech. Basically we got morning and night meetings breakfast lunch and dinner. Wednesday nights we have the meeting at the Church with the Grace house, that’s the women's house. Not to mention the basic speal about proper hygiene and general housekeeping. We go around the room and tell our names.  

“Now that we got that out of the way. It is time for our first meeting. I will be sharing tonight. I have been sober for twelve years this August. I wanted to live in the moment and have a good time so I drank. It got so bad, I started to enjoy the time I spent chucking in the toilet after a night of binge drinking. I could not understand why until recently. I liked it because, during that time, my thoughts were completely focused on the present moment. No time for thinking of the pains and losses of the past ruminating on how those losses make the future look grim and hopeless. I came to see that I started drinking to live in the moment and feel more alive. I have found a healthier way. One of the many practices that I have now adopted, meditation. Just as important as prayer. Meditation helps me on a daily basis to ground me to the present moment. I hope to instill in all of you the practice and eventual habit of meditation.” David pauses to take a drink of water and pick up a bible.  

“It is almost lights out guys before you go I want you all to consider your higher power for step two. Think of Jesus and when you think of him where is he? In the clouds on a golden throne? Still hanging on the cross? Inside the books of the Bible? Let me ask you something what does it mean to be saved by Jesus? Someone says to have a relationship with Jesus. Yes, I say and how do we do that? You must ask him in your heart. When you think of Jesus, think of him in your heart. Look inwards to find your higher power. I think this is true for everyone. I personally find it easier to trust my heart when I know Jesus is there all along.” I took a peek before we went to bed. David’s demon was dressed as an emergency medical tech.  

Sundays we go to morning services and sit in the front row. We are each assigned chores for the house. David will have some sort of activity planned for exercise during our free time which we can choose to be a part of or not. I keep my eye patch on most of the time. I tell people I can’t see out of it very well and I injured my eye during a drunken high moment which is not completely false. Tuesday came and Jonah arrived in his brand new BMW to pick me up to see the doctor.  

“Would you care to hear my radio spot I taped?” He asks me. I give a half nod, not sure I have a choice. He pressed play on the radio. 

‘Welcome back to praise talk here with our guest pastor Jonah. Now you weren’t always pro-life is that right?, 

 ‘I wouldn’t say that exactly, it’s a bit of a long story.’  

‘We have time go ahead.’  

‘I met the love of my life while on a mission trip to Honduras. One year into our marriage she became pregnant and was facing complications. The doctors advised her to terminate the pregnancy to prevent further harm to her. She was scared and wanted to follow their advice but I assured her that God had a plan and would protect her and our baby but ultimately I supported her choice to decide. She prayed about it and decided to move forward with the pregnancy. She died during child birth and our son died a week later. I do not believe having an abortion would have changed the outcome either way. She had some hereditary condition that was the main cause. She was unable to have children but we found out too late. Her faith and love for God has been an inspiration to me to this day.’ Jonah stops the tape. 

“He put me on the spot with that question but I think it went well.”  I get out of the car without responding, how could I. I wait alone in an office with a big desk. A young balding man walks in. 

“I am Dr. Cameron, good to meet you.” He said reaching for a hand shake. “I missed you last month.” 

“Yeah, you know I didn’t really give the meds a chance. I didn’t want them.” I tell him honestly. 

“These things take time, give it three months to let the drugs get into your system and if things do not improve we can make adjustments.”  

We go through the whole list of questions. He checks my pulse and my pupils. I can’t see his demon but I do see that he is roped by his feet and hands. Jonah takes me to the pharmacy and pays for my prescription. I have three pills I take every day now. The label specifically discourages the use of alcohol while on them. I see Jonah at our first Wednesday night AA meeting. The women from the grace house are here too. One of them decided to be the first to share with the group. I didn’t notice her until she stood up, doesn’t look nearly as worn out as the rest of us seem to be. 

“Started out drinking when I would hang out with friends. Alcohol seemed to help loosen me up make me talk more. I started to like drinking. I didn’t get to drink with anyone I would drink anyway and try to find a friend later. I ended up drinking alone, that’s when I started cutting. My wrist the first time but then I moved to my legs so I wouldn’t have to cover my wrist. It always would be the end of a night alone drinking. I began to feel really alone an unwanted by anyone including myself. I even felt that I was being tormented and when I shed my blood the tormenting thoughts constantly in my head would relax.” Poor girl started choking up not able to continue.  

“Would you like to share Aiden?” Jonah asks me. Wait no way. I am not even fully committed here. I shake my head no.  

“Please, feel free to speak there is no judgement here.” He persist. I sit up straight in my chair. 

“I’m good.” I tell him. 

Every day I heard stories from people and the rest of the time they taught us the Lord's prayer and the twelve steps to recovery. David suggested for us to put the prayer in our own words, the old English from the King James Bible feels wonky coming out. I decided to follow that advice and I put the twelve steps in my own words too. So I did. 

My invisible father, may you always have a good reputation. You need to get down here and run this shit and make it good like it is in heaven. If you could don’t let me, go hungry more than a day. Erase my debts, loans and the money I owe my drug dealer. Please don’t send me to hell. At the end of the day all this is your fault amen. I may be a bit cynical, but it works for me. 

Step one. I am powerless over these demon aliens. I think I will manage on my own. 

Step two. Come to believe in a greater power. That being pills. A more acceptable drug in our society. Anti-anxiety, anti-psychotic, and mood stabilizers twice a day. 

Step three. Submit my will to God? I don’t understand God at all. If God is real, my soul or whatever belongs to him anyway.  

Step four. Check my morals. When I am sober that is all, I think about. I do that too much in fact, but I bet I won’t stop questioning myself constantly.  

Step five. Confess my wrongs to myself that I had too much fun in the past, whatever. 

Step six. I am ready for God or the meds to remove all these demon visions. 

Step seven. Humbly ask for my shortcomings to be removed as if I want that. 

Step eight. List people I hurt and ask forgiveness. It is a short list compared to the list of people who hurt me, and I am not ever getting forgiveness from them will I? 

Step nine. Making amends with Jonah by going to this stupid shit or else I could go to jail. 

Step ten. I avoid being wrong by never thinking I am right about anything. Ignorance is bliss and I don’t know a damn thing anymore about this life. 

Step eleven. I do not understand God. If he is real, I would like to know what his will is for my life. The idea that God can speak to me through meditation was appealing enough to take it seriously. I never got anything I don’t usually get just thinking the usual thoughts as always, no profound insights just randomness ranging from memories of the dead to wondering what we would eat for lunch. 

Step twelve. I am supposed to have some sort of awakening, but I doubt I can in this cult like environment. 

  Substance abuse is not healthy. I know that, but this behavior is motivated by the numerous relationships I have had in my life. When I drink or smoke, I try to enhance those friendships. It is the end of the program, and I decide to share in the small group in the hope house.  

“Hello, my name is Aiden.” I skip the ‘I am an alcoholic’ part, no one pushes it on me.  

“My mom was an addict. My dad loved money and status and to him my mom was a trophy wife. He did take care of her and kept her habit going. That is until he lost his cushy job. She wasn’t going to start working and he started to drink and drink a lot. She went off looking for her fix elsewhere. Without dad and his money no one was there to take care of her, and she ended up overdosing. I had already moved in with my aunt when I heard about mom and then my dad killed himself shortly after. I was eight years old” I say all this not feeling connected to it, like it’s someone else’s life I am talking about. 

Monday July 26th, 1999 

“So, are you still hallucinating?” Dr. Cameron asks me. I look at him for a moment without the eye patch. I thought he had ropes attached to his demon, but they are missing now. 

“Yeah, starting to get used to it now.” I tell him. 

“I am going to refill your prescription for you. It was nice to meet you, but this will be our last appointment together. I am taking an indefinite leave of absence. I met up with a past patient of mine. He had a variety of mental issues including hallucinations. I was never able to help him much, just tried to help him stay calm through it. He went on a journey to meet a healer in India. Once he met with him his entire life was changed for the better, no more hallucinations. I am telling all my patients before my trip to India. I must see him for myself.” He hands me a copy of an article about the healer from some foreign newspaper. “You can keep that.” 

I read the article it was about an elderly monk who took a vow of silence years ago. The monk's son had been helping organize his visitations. He went around telling stories of miracles after people would give his silent father a visit. It was a skeptic review of the guy and seemed to be harmless to me. Just a bit of false hope mixed with a placebo effect. That was unusual, no way that shit would work on me. Maybe I should try gouging my eye out again, ignorance is bliss. 

I must find another job before Jonah started to insist, I help him with his ministry work. I am getting sick of the whole god thing. I really think it is all just bullshit. Jesus is just Santa Clause for grownups. The whole hallucinations of zombie demons are a chemical imbalance hereditary or could be my extensive drug use over the years. When I became part of my aunt's family I had to go to church. My Sunday school teacher once had a talk with me about not revealing that Santa was not real and I played along.  

One day she handed out sandwiches to the class. She said it was a secret recipe. I took one bite, and I recognized the taste immediately it was the same as my aunt would make sometimes. Peanut butter mixed with maple syrup, sometimes a touch of honey. I loudly proclaimed that this was no secret recipe my mom made this all the time I said as a proud twelve-year-old. She winked at me the same way she did when I was trying to reveal the truth about Santa Claus.  

It was in that moment I came to the realization that the whole Jesus thing was all bullshit just a racket. How anyone could go from believing all the lies about the various fairy tales like Santa and the tooth fairy but continue to believe in Jesus is beyond me. I kept my objections to myself don’t hate the player hate the game. There seemed to be many people in the religious world that meant well and genuinely want to help people.  

“You missed breakfast, get dressed we are going on visitations today.” Jonah woke me up. Fuck me, really? I need to get a new job as fast as I can. 

“You know I really should be looking for a new job.”  

“Don’t worry about that today. I got you an interview for night clerk at the Super eight motel on Wednesday.” Jonah tells me. 

“Thanks.” I say dryly. I am not sure I want a job through his connections. I would feel better if I could find my own job.  

“So where to first?” I ask. 

“The nursing homes.” 

 Oh great, how fun this will be for me. I readjusted my eye patch and rubbed my eyes. Jonah and the few volunteers led some old hymnals for the six or seven elderly folks who showed up. This is more dreadful than an actual Church service. An elderly woman sat next to me. She stared at me but keeps silent. This place is terribly like the mental hospital except the people here are never leaving.  

I walked down the hall and suddenly felt out of place, maybe I should return. I look back in the windows of the room I left. I remove the eye patch curious to see the types of demons that could be with these people. I see two of the residents' demons attached with chains or ropes. I see the familiar demons of Jonah and his choir team. I counted eleven people in that room and only six demons to be seen. I look around in the hallway and I see thirteen staring at me smiling. a few down the hall a way belonging to other patients here. Where could the others be? Jonah walks out an hour later. I am starting to feel hungry. 

“Time for lunch.?” I ask Jonah.  

“One more visit with a nice elderly couple then we go to the soup kitchen and help serve the homeless. Once they have all been served then we may eat with them.” 

Well, damn it seems to me this guy is trying to earn his way into heaven, who does this? I must admire him for it though he surely has a big heart. We arrive at an old house right off a busy main road. 

“Miss Davenport this is brother Aiden.” Jonah introduces me to the elderly woman who answered the door. She shook my hand and welcomed me without question. Church types all love to use brother or sister for the inclusive in group click. No idea who I am but stick a brother in front of my name and I’m in. 

“Would you like some tea?” She asks us both. 

“That sounds wonderful, you all have a seat I will make us some.” Jonah says. 

“Oh, please allow me.” Miss Davenport insists.  

“I am happy to serve please relax. I know my way around your kitchen. Just minute I will be right back.” Jonah tells her. She sits down as Jonah leaves to the kitchen out of sight. I decide to follow him. 

“I am going to help him out.” I tell her as I leave. I see Jonah in front of a cabinet opened revealing a diverse collection of medications. I see him put one hand into his inside suit jacket and then close a bottle and put it back into the cabinet. 

“What are you doing?” I ask him.  

“Looking for the honey.” Finding it in front of him already on the countertop. I make direct eye contact and squint my eyes suspiciously at him. He just shakes his head no, as if to say not now. I roll my eyes and walk back in the living room too angry to participate much in the conversation. I do learn that her husband is bedridden and isn’t feeling well enough for visitor’s today. Those pills were his, I assume. I thought about what I was going to say once we were in the car again. 

“Be honest with me and I promise what you say stays between us. Did you take pills from those people?” I ask slowly and carefully. Jonah closes his eyes and bows his head as if to pray.  

“I did, you caught me, and I am sorry.” He says a little too easily. He motions to his head. “Look this condition I have is no joke. I need more to help with the pain.” 

“That’s fucked up.” I say flatly.  

“You got no room to talk, brother.” He bites back. 

“Oh yeah?” I ask. Looking him in the eye. Surprised by this attitude I never seen in him before. 

“I think you are going to keep your mouth shut like you promised.” He responds breaking eye contact with me to start the car. “Not to mention the fact you wrecked my car. I know you were doing coke.” This feels like a threat to me somehow. Either way, I think it's time we part ways. A clean break is what I need. We just go our separate ways but not just yet. 

“Are we good?” Jonah asks. I don’t respond. He looks at me at the next stop. “Are we good!?” He asks aggressively.  

“We’re good.” I say, but we are not good. Not good at all. I feel the skin on the back of my neck getting warmer. My fight or flight instincts kicking in. I got to get away from this guy. I don’t say much the rest of the day. I just watch him be all nice and giving to all these poor people he supposedly is helping. All the while he could be steeling from any one of them.  

Saturday August 15th, 1999 

I should call my cousin Ethan. He might be able to help me out. I wait until Jonah leaves the next morning and I pack up my shit and walk to the first payphone I can find. The machine picks up after the fifth ring.  

“Say your piece.” Ethan’s recorded voice spoke.  

“Hey its Aiden. I been out of prison for a while now and things are getting tough here man. I could use any help you can give me. I hate to be calling now. It's just been a rough time, and either way it would be good to talk. I am at a payphone now and I will wait here for you to call me back for as long as I can.” I give him the number of the pay phone and hang up.  

I sit down on the bench next to the phonebooth and wait. When I left this morning, I had no intentions of coming back. One way or the other I am not going back there.  

I don’t know what I can do if he doesn’t call soon, I can’t stay here all night. I guess I can just get a bus ticket and head his way. Maybe I should call him again, let him know I am coming. I open my backpack and look at my medications. Anti-psychotic, anti-anxiety, anti-bullshit pills that don’t do anything but make me tired and keep my dick soft. I toss them in the trash next to the phone booth when it rings. I pick it up. 

“Hello?” I say into the payphone. 

“Yo, Aiden?” He asks. 

“Yes, Thank God, you got my message?” 

“Yeah man. Get down here, I got you bro. Anything you need.” 

“Thanks man, I don’t have much. I am going to take a bus to get to you.” I tell him relieved that he even called back. 

“That won’t do. I got an old p.o.s. car you can have. Needs a little work, I will get it ready for you.” He offers. 

“I will totally pay you back for it. I really appreciate it man. I will see you tomorrow then. Could you meet me at the bus stop in Jacksonville?” 

“I will be there, brother no worries.” 

I walk into the station and buy a bus ticket. It will be nice seeing Ethan again. His father owned a restaurant in Florida and years ago. He had offered us all a job if we wanted. Ethan went to live down there after his mom died. Stephen stayed because he was too involved with Chelsea. 

I sleep most of the bus ride there. As soon as we arrive in Jacksonville, I call Ethan to let him know I’m here. Two hours go by before he shows up in a sweet ride with dark tinted windows, nice rims and a spoiler to boot. Must be doing well for himself here. Well, enough that he has another car he is just going to give me. I walk up and get into his car. 

“So, Stephen tells me you totally lost your shit the first night you got out and he hasn’t heard from you since.” Ethan asks me as soon as I get in his car.  

“I don’t know what happened that night, whether it was the weed or maybe I do have a mental illness. I began seeing what look like zombies, just out of this eye.” I tell him as I remove the eye patch and show him. I see his demon sitting atop his shoulders grasping on his ears. He looks at me as his demon smiles at me. 

“No shit?” 

 I just nod yes.  

“Well, fuck me.” He says looking back to the road. “What took you so long to call me?” He asks. 

“Oh man, a few things, I guess. I went to the mental hospital, and I was also in rehab for forty days. Once Stephen took me to the hospital, he didn’t want anything to do with me. I felt like no one would understand or want anything to do with me, man. I felt like I was on my own.” I confess. His eyebrows lower and he exhales slowly. 

 “You should just stay here with me. I can help you find a job.” Ethan tells me. 

“Really? Never considered that but why not, right? could be good.” I tell him but I don’t know about that. We listen to the radio until we get to his house. It looks like some old, haunted house from the eighteen hundreds. Ethan grabs a twelve pack from the fridge and adds it to a cooler already containing ice sitting on the front porch. He takes one and hands me another. 

“How are you doing with these visions or whatever do you still see them?” He asks.  

“Yeah, unfortunately, I still. . .” I stop, interrupted by a car pulling up the driveway. Ethan stands up to greet the new guests.  

“This is Toby and Heather, my good friends. I told them all about you.” Ethan tells me. 

“Good to meet you.” Heather says hugging me. I can smell the liquor on her breath.  

“You still seeing shit?” Toby asks me wide eyed with excitement.  

“Good to meet you guys and uh, yeah, I guess I am still seeing shit.” Toby is a heavyset guy with a scruffy beard. Heather looks like she is young but has been through some hard shit that makes her look older. 

“Is he down for the reading?” Toby asks Ethan. 

“Haven’t asked him yet.” Ethan answers. 

“Ask me what?” I ask. Clearly my reputation precedes me.  

“Ever hear of tarot cards?” Toby asks me. 

“Somewhat, I don’t know much about them really.” I tell him. 

“Perfect! The reading works best when the subject doesn’t take it too seriously.” Toby tells me as he walks into the house. 

We all walk in and sit at the kitchen table. Toby meets us there with his box. He opens it and pulls out a deck of cards. His girl lights some candles and turns off the lights. 

“Shuffle these as well as you can.” Toby tells me handing me the cards. He reaches for another item. 

“Please burn this sage around the room for us.” He says to Heather handing her a lighter with the sage. She begins to burn it and wave the smoke around the room as I continue to shuffle the cards.  

“Ok, perfect. Now deal yourself three cards face down.” He tells me. Ethan just sitting there drinking another beer amused by all this. I do what he asks me.  

“Listen closely my dear traveler because the next few moments may have a profound impact on your life.” Toby says with a more dramatic tone of voice. 

“Divine spirit shed light on this weary soul and illuminate a path forward that expels all hesitation.” Heather adds as she continues spreading the smoke of the sage. Ethan takes another drink of beer, and I do the same. Toby then reveals the first card. 

“The high priestess is a warning that things around you are not always what they seem. Shrouded in mystery you may need to seek out time to retreat and reflect.” Toby says wide eyed and as serious as anyone could be. He then reveals the second card. 

“The four of cups, embodies your charitable desires. Pay attention to what you seek because it may be right in front of you.” Toby tells me. He then reveals the third and final card. 

“Finally, the chariot, when combined with the cups and the high priestess this chariot represents the vehicle that will take you to a more promising future.” Toby finishes. 

“Could be the vehicle I am giving you.” Ethan says smiling. 

 “You want to take a look at it?” He asks giving me an escape from this nonsense. We head outside leaving Toby and Heather behind. We both grab new beers, and I follow him to his backyard. He shows me an old dull gold Nissan Sentra. 

 “It’s yours.” He says handing me the keys. 

“Thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much this means to me brother.” I hug him. 

“Don’t be too grateful.” Ethan says grinning. “You have to keep the heater running constantly or it will crap out on you.” He tells me. 

“All right let's go sit on the porch. We need to catch up.”  

Heather and Toby are sitting on the porch having a smoke. I light up a cig for myself. Toby puts out his cigarette. 

“I hope that reading will help you, my friend.” Toby tells me. He makes out with Heather and goes inside. Heather moves to sit on Ethans lap whispering in his ear. They make out while he grabs her breast under her shirt. She comes over to me and sticks her tongue down my throat. She abruptly goes back inside. Ethan starts laughing. 

“What the hell was that?” I ask. 

“Ahh, she's drunk, chill man.” Ethan explains. “So, if you take off that eye patch you can see what exactly?” 

“At first, I thought they were zombies. Then I met a preacher, and he nearly convinced me they are demons. I must admit, I can’t help but agree with him. Honestly, I hope the psych doctors are right and it’s all just in my head.” Ethan just looks at me, I continue. “I tried once to take my eye out but couldn’t follow through with it.” I admit. 

“So just the one eye? That is so bizarre.” Ethan says looking into my good eye. 

“It was too difficult for me to take my own eye out. Plus, I don’t remember even doing it I was so fucked up. Maybe you would. Hey, you wouldn’t help me, would you? Take my eye out.” I ask Ethan feeling instant regret seeing the look in his face. 

“Dude, your drunk. Calm the fuck down. You will figure this out, ok. Besides you got the eye patch right.” Ethan grabs my beer and tosses it. 

 “That’s enough for you.” 

“Fair enough. I just do not know what to do man, I am sorry.”  

“You may be thankful for these visions one day man you never know.” Ethan assures me. “I’m going to bed. You can crash on the couch.” He says as we walk back inside. 

Sunday August 16th, 1999 

I awoke the next morning to the sounds of arguing upstairs. I couldn’t hear what they were saying. I walk to the kitchen and look for some coffee. I will have to get my own place if I am going to stay in Florida. Unable to find coffee I pour myself some juice. Finally, Ethan comes downstairs. 

“What’s going on? Everything ok up there?” I ask. 

“Them two are having issues with each other. Toby needs a ride to run an errand if you wouldn’t mind taking him. He needs to get away from Heather for a while anyway.” He says getting himself some juice as well. 

“Sure, no problem.” I agreed.  Shortly, we both head to my new old Nissan. Toby gets into the passenger side and puts a handgun in the glove box. I start the car and put the heat on, and I decide it is best not to ask about the gun. Toby directs me for miles down back roads for what feels like hours.  

“Listen, Aiden, I need you to back me up on this. This guy I am going to see recently sold my girl some dope and I can’t have that. Last year she nearly died of an overdose. I need to send this guy a clear message to never do that again.” Toby tells me. That’s what all that yelling was about this morning. 

“What do you want me to do? I am not going to hurt anyone. This is not my fight. If I, were you, I would just call the police on his ass.” I tell him while instinctively slowing down. 

“Ok, your right. When we get there just wait in the car for me. All right? You can do that much.” He says desperately. I nod yes. I am really wishing I never agreed to do this. I speed up again down an empty two-lane road in the middle of nothing. We come to an old farmhouse in the distance with a very long dirt driveway. Toby instructs me to pull down that driveway. The closer I get to it I see that it should be a condemned home. Sheets are in place of windows and the wood side panels look rotten.  

I drive close enough when Toby grabs that gun from the glove box and heads inside. I keep the car running with the heat going like Ethan told me to. I am burning up. I want to get out, but I don’t think it would be a promising idea. I just wait and look in the rear-view mirror. My heart is pounding can’t believe I am doing this. A few minutes later I hear two pops from his handgun followed by a blast from what sounded like a shotgun. I need to leave right now. I keep my eyes on the house when I see some shirtless tattooed man run out with a shotgun coming towards the car. I don’t think twice I just reverse it out of there as I the crazy man blast a shot into the air. 

I duck down and just keep driving back the way we came. I keep driving towards the interstate and stop at a gas station. I can’t just run away. I make a call to the police to tell them there was a shooting and gave them my best description of the address anonymously. I fill up on gas and decide to start the long and tense drive back to Tennessee. Not sure what I am going to do but I know I can’t stay in Florida. I hope Toby is ok, but it didn’t look good. I thought I should call Ethan, but I don’t want the cops to come looking for me. They might be able to trace the call, and I wouldn't want to get Ethan in trouble either. 

I keep focus on the road the entire trip back. No radio and staying under the speed limit. I found a couple hundred dollars in the glove box Toby may have put there. That will help but it’s not going to last. What am I am going to do when I get back in town? I hope Ethan is not mad at me for leaving but he shouldn’t have sent me with Toby. Can’t be sure what they were into. I can’t risk jail time again I don’t want to go back there. No, I must stop thinking about it, what happened can’t change now. I guess I can crash with Sam until I find my own place.   

I stop at the rest stop pass the Tennessee state line and give Sam a call, no answer and no machine. I take a leek and get back on the road, I'll go to his place anyway. It is late so I know he will be up and home. I see a couple cars in his driveway must be hanging out with friends. I walk up and knock. Sam opens and looks so happy to see me he gives me a hug. 

“Aiden so good to see you. Come in.” Sam says. I walk in to see a dude chilling on his couch. “This is my old friend Aiden. We need to catch up, it’s been a while.” He tells the man. 

“My bad dude, I stayed too long anyway man I should go.” He says before walking out the door. 

“Dude wouldn’t shut the fuck up.” Sam says. 

“Who was that?” I ask. 

“Some fag I work with, I sold em some bud and he just wouldn’t leave.” He explains. “It has been a while what is up.” Sam takes a seat on the couch and starts rolling a joint. 

“Long story short I need a new place to stay. Hoping I can stay here until I can find my own spot.” I tell him. 

“Of course, anything you need.” He says lighting up the joint and handing it to me. “My landlord may have a place for you.” He said while still inhaling.  

His landlord had an old singlewide for real cheap. Upon first inspection I see holes in the bathroom floor where mice can get in. At least it’s mine for only two hundred a month. It’s off Chapman Highway closer to Sevierville than Knoxville. I found a desk clerk job at a hotel on graveyard shift. I keep my eye patch on, and most people don’t mention it. If someone does ask, I tell them it’s temporary, hopeful thinking on my part. I buy weed from Sam every payday. We hang out on my days off and drink all night. I stay high all the time even at work. I know that I am only trying to forget what happened in Florida. I don’t want to think about it anymore.  

I begin to think about the future more after a month of avoiding reality as much as I could. Hanging out with Sam getting drunk all the time is getting old. I want to find a girlfriend. I haven’t met many single women out at the bars. I might find a different job just to meet some chicks. Working third shift alone is not gonna help me find me a woman. Unfortunately, I am distracted every time I take my eye patch off. I see thirteen and sometimes others like him. Cursed demons always around make it hard to stay focused on my life and I only want to be numb to whatever this reality is.   

Back to searching for answers. I check out a few books on demons and the occult from the library. I read them at work. I don’t know what I am hoping to learn from them. They don’t have a book that tells you what to do if you start to see demons. One night while reading at work I see head lights pulling in. I look up to see Ethan walking up. 

“Can you take a break for a minute, come outside and talk?” Ethan says immediately after he entered the lobby. The room suddenly felt cold, and my body weakened. 

“Uh yeah, sure. Just a second.” I say nervously. I lock the lobby doors and put a ‘back in a few’ sign up. What is he going to say to me. I feel like I did the right thing by not contacting him. I follow him to his car. Someone was in the back seat behind the passenger seat. Ethan got in the front seat. 

“Get in.” He told me. I get in and glance at the man in the back seat. 

“Eyes forward.” The man said. I didn't recognize him.  

“My friend here has a question for you. Please, be honest with him.” Ethan says looking at me as seriously as I ever saw him. There was a pause waiting for this question. 

“Listen, we know you were at the house during the shooting and ran away. Understandable response, I need to know if it was you that called the police?” The man said with a measured bite to his tone. My instinct was to lie but no way I am gonna lie to this guy. This could be some type of test. I saw the Godfather he could have a gun to my head right now. 

“Look, sir. I didn’t know what to do so I left as soon as I heard gunshots. I am sorry. Is Toby, ok? Oh God please, I didn’t have a gun. I couldn’t go up against whoever . . .” I was interrupted by the man. 

“Did you call the police or not?” He demanded. 

“I did yes. I am sorry again. I felt it was the right thing to do.” I admit. Closing my eyes, I wait for a response hoping it wasn’t a bullet to my head. I felt the barrel press firmly to the back of my head. Now its certain that he has a gun. 

“Is that the truth.” He said sharply. 

“I swear to God it is.” I say wincing. The barrel is removed, and the man gets out of the car.  

“Thank you for being honest.” He says closing the door. A tear falls down my face and I look to Ethan. 

“That was Toby’s brother. If you didn’t call the police Toby might have died that day.” Ethan says. I look down my heart is racing I try breathing deliberately slower. 

“Unfortunately, there was a witness who most likely saw you drive off in the Nissan, so we are gonna need to take the car back. We will dispose of it and as for you, well, I wouldn’t worry. If the police do take you in for questioning you can tell them what happened.” Ethan continued. “Sorry about that guy. He is a very serious person to say the least.” He could tell I was shocked by all this. “You want a ciggarette?” He asks. I take one and light up. 

“Take your time go head and get anything out of the car that you need out. When you're ready give the keys to my friend he has some cash for you, maybe enough to buy another car with. You going to be ok man?” He asks me. 

“I almost pissed myself man, honest to God, I thought I was dead.” I say feeling steadier. 

“We got in over our heads. I can’t go into the details with you, Toby killed someone at that house defending himself. He barely made it out alive.” Ethan tells me shaking me back up again. What the hell has he gotten me into? “Look, Aiden we don’t know who the witness is. Could be with them and if we found you, they might be able to as well. Just be careful and I am sorry this happened.” 

I drive to Sam’s place after work. I am too scared to go to my own place and I am not going back to that job. Sam was too hungover to talk to, but he let me in. All I had on me was my lunch bag from work, so I put the envelope of money in there and put it in Sam’s Fridge. I set his alarm clock for 3pm. I lay down on his couch and thought about how I could disappear. 

Wednesday September 29th, 1999 

I awake alone. Sam must have already left. I go to the fridge and look inside to see my lunch bag was missing. Sam, you piece of shit if you stole my money for real, I swear. I don’t have time to deal with Sam right now. I walk out and leave his door wide open. It is a long walk to my place, plenty of time to think. I really am on my own now. I could try to hitchhike, but it might be good to walk. I can approach my place slowly and see if anyone has been there yet.  

I should just run. Yeah, that’s what I will do, run. Choosing to be homeless is better than being forced. I have a good overnight camping pack. I love hiking and I always wanted to hike the Appalachian trail. I heard of people hiking on that for like six months at a time or more. It is also a place where it is expected that you would be sleeping outdoors. It is a very big place I think I can live in those conditions. I see my trailer now. Nothing seems out of place I circle around back and go inside through the backdoor. I pack up a few essentials, extra clothes and as much food as I can bring, which is not much.   

Keep moving, stay unpredictable, exercise my demons. Keep Thirteen guessing keep him moving. It all made so much sense now, leaving to stay lost. I should have done this a long time ago. I love hiking. I used to make my own trails near the house when I was a kid. I think I prefer solitude. If anyone was looking for me right now, they may be looking for a guy in an eye patch. I take it off and put it in my back pocket.  Thirteen is ahead of me acting more manic than usual. I see many demons around as I walk through town. Thirteen would switch between trying to get attention of other demons to full on distracting me. If he blocked my view walking forward, I just closed my left eye for a few minutes.  

I experimented not closing that eye and focusing on seeing through him. The right eye didn’t see thirteen so when both eyes open, he becomes almost translucent when I stare pass him. I became an expert at ignoring him by the time I got to the trail head. It was night at this point my eyes had adjusted to the dark of night. It is bright enough from the stars and moon above; it is a clear night. The woods will be darker from the cover of leaves. I have my flashlight ready, but I don’t want to hike all night. I will have to find a spot to camp at some point. I want to put some distance between me and the main road first. I will just keep going until I get too tired or find a good camping spot.  

I may never know why I see the things I do or what it all means. I must accept that now. I hope that ignorance truly is bliss. The more I seek to understand the less I seem to know. I feel like a prisoner in my own mind. Suddenly I feel the webbing of a spiderweb grasp my face. I wipe it off with my hand to reveal thirteen trying to lick my face. “Fuck off!” I yell. It is difficult to pay attention to the ground and look up for spider webs. If I take my eyes off the trail floor, I could easily trip on a rock or root.  

Thirteen dashes ahead of me and I almost step on a snake passing in front of me that must have been five feet long. I look up to see thirteen contorting himself to lick his own cock. He looks up at me and we make eye contact. “Ahhh!” I yell and try to move past him. I drop my hiking stick tighten up my backpack and start running up the trail. Thirteen jumps in front of me with his tongue hanging out dripping spit. He pointed a finger at his head twirling it in circles, his eyes twitching while closing and opening. 

 I run through him. I will not let him stop me. I close my right eye and continue the hike. The strain of closing one eye is too much to do very long. I could grab my eye patch and put it on. No, I must train myself to ignore him. I can walk through him and ignore him completely. He is just ahead of me mime emptying a bottle in his mouth then cutting his wrist falling over as I continue to walk through him. He stops in front of me forms his hand into a gun and mime shoots himself in the mouth. I quickly change directions as he is falling over. Going off trail and trying to be more unpredictable. It is about time to find a camping spot. 

 Thirteen walks to my side getting closer attempting to bite my face. I find an open area with less trees to block the sky. I turn off the flashlight and take off my backpack. I sit down and take a rest letting my eyes adjust to the cloudless night sky. Thirteen stands in front of me mouthing words? I’m not a lip reader and even if I was, he technically does not have lips. God damn you thirteen, I stand up.  

“God damn you to hell.” He seems to mouth the words back at me, mocking me. I am running out of patience. My heart is pounding faster with anger. 

“What are you!? What the fuck are you!” I roared “I’d like too just. . ..” I growled, pacing back and forth. Looking at thirteen standing there mocking me. I can’t believe this is my life. Fuck God or the universe or whatever it is that’s treating me like an ant under a magnifying glass. I unintentionally start a staring contest with him. He is standing right in front of me. I take a good look at his face. It must be dead decaying gray flesh barely hanging on to the bone. His teeth did look threateningly sharp each one had a sharp point to it. The nose was halfway gone sunken away. 

“You are one ugly son of a bitch.” I said laughing. Thirteen lunges forward and shows his fanged teeth. I instinctively react by making a fist to put in his mouth. He reacts to block my punch. Somehow some way, it makes contact. 

I look him in his eyes. Time seems to freeze. Holy shit, what is happening? It’s all real? I see his face change from surprise to focused and intent on hurting me. No time to question what is happening. I take a step back and tackle him to the ground punching him in his face. I easily pin his arms under my knees. He is about as strong as I would expect a one-hundred-year-old man to be. The skin very thin and the bones brittle. I punch his mouth repeatedly so hard his teeth start to break away. I look at my fist and see scratches and blood. He lets out a wail of pain and a smell of decaying flesh with it. I broke every tooth he had. He goes limp and I get up feeling the most powerful I’ve ever felt in my entire life. I scream out a primal growl at him with the most guttural aggressive sound I can summon. Thirteen rolls over and crawls away on his belly. Once he is out of sight I stop screaming. 

I walk towards the trail to head back to town. The tables have turned. If thirteen is as week and pathetic as the rest of them, I could beat them all. I start to jog back towards town. I am satisfied with breaking his teeth, but I want more. My backpack is still back there, oh well. I can’t stop now I am too pumped. I feel as if I did a bump of the best coke. I wonder if thirteen will try to follow me again. How could he now after what just happened. This could be the end of my nightmare. I start running hoping to see more of them. 

I come to the road and head towards the park welcome center. Still dark outside but I see a few vehicles in the parking lot. I must find another demon creature or whatever they are. I see one of them at the entrance door to the main building. I must find out whatever I can right now. I wonder if I can get one to talk, tell me what it is. I remember seeing some of them carrying weapons. I don’t see anything on this one. He was wearing overalls so I can’t be sure he doesn’t have something smaller in a pocket. I will take him by surprise and hit him as hard as I can on the first strike.  

I run towards him at full speed. He casually glances at me totally clueless. I jump up and swing my fist hitting him in his ear with all the weight of my body behind it. It felt like it caved in its brittle skull. I land awkwardly and bump against the doors. In the distance behind me I see thirteen is here along with another demon wearing a gold chain and track pants. I stand and grab him by the neck and squeeze.  

“What are you! Tell me, God damn it.” I yell. 

It seems to be in shock just holding the side of his face and looking at me in utter confusion. Thirteen and the other demon run towards me pushing me away. Thirteen goes to the demon in overalls and the other one tries to strangle me with its gold chain. He is not any stronger than thirteen, so I push him down and I kick him repeatedly as I scream at thirteen who is walking away with the overalled demon. They move around the corner of the building. I try to follow but I get grabbed by the ankles from this demon. Are you kidding me. I look down at this pathetic creature and begin to crush its head with my boot.  

“Oh my, are you ok?” Some park employee yells as he walks up to the doorway. That was probably his demon, who knows. 

“Don’t worry. He can’t hurt you.” I assure the man. I run around the corner after thirteen. 

“Who can’t hurt me?” I hear the puzzled man's response as I turn the corner to reveal another parking area.  

Thirteen stood there alongside five other demons. He smiled at me with his broken teeth. I pause a moment to consider my next move. I see a baseball bat in the hands of one demon dressed as a baseball player. I see a meet clever carried by one wearing an apron. This is more of a challenge, I guess but I have no doubt that I can take them all on. Foolishly they all run towards me, I run to meet them. The meet clever comes flying past me. I dodge behind a car as the baseball bat hits the hood. The demon jumps on top of the hood with the bat and growls at me. I run behind another car. This is getting a bit tricky.  

“Stop right now! Put your hands up!” I look behind me to see a park ranger and a few other people walking towards me a distance away. They will have to wait I have bigger problems. I look back to see the baseball bat swinging towards my head. I feel blood leave my ear. It darkens and goes cold. I blackout a moment then I see myself put into an ambulance only to blackout again. 

My eyes open to a tiled ceiling and bright fluorescent lighting. I feel a calm nervousness as I look around recognizing I am in a hospital. Relieved that it’s not jail but nervous because I can't move. I have been tied to the bed by my wrists and ankles. Thirteen stands at the foot of the bed, face still swollen and bruised from our fight. He moves closer to my side and snarls his broken teeth at me. I smile showing my non-threatening rounded teeth. Not much I can do to defend myself. This is his chance for revenge.  I wince as he jumps up landing on my chest. Nothing, I don't feel anything anymore. I stare into his eyes surprised as much as he is. He moves to the corner of the room and sits down. Suddenly a strong pressure starts building in my bladder.  

“Hello, anyone there? Um, I need to pee.” I wait a minute or two with no response. I might have to piss myself here. A nurse comes over and removes my hand restraints. She gives me a bed pan and closes the privacy curtain.  

“Can I please go to the bathroom?” I ask as calmly as I can. 

“I am sorry I cannot let you do that, currently.” She responds coldly.  

I maneuver myself so I can pee into the pan. Everything feels bruised and sore. I miss the mark slightly because of this awkward laying down position.  

“I am finished.” I tell the nurse as I hold the pan with my piss in it with some wet drops on the bed sheets. “Did I hurt anyone?” I ask hoping I didn’t. 

“Just yourself.” She tells me.  

I check myself as much as I can as she leaves without putting my hands back in restraints. I have no idea what time it is now. I close my eyes and try to relax, unable to go back to sleep. I listen to the sounds of the hospital. People are coming and going as they pass my room. Indistinct conversations and hospital beds and equipment being wheeled through the halls. A potent cleaning agent smell fills the air. Footsteps enter my room. I open my eyes to see a new nurse. 

“Hello, I am Jody I will be your attending nurse for the day shift. How are you feeling?” She asks. Thirteen crawls on her back and licks her face.  

“I guess I am ok, just a little disoriented and confused.” I tell her. I see that she was once chained to her demon by chains that have been broken somehow.  

“Do you feel like hurting yourself or anyone else?” She asks. 

“No.” I answer. What happened to me last night? Did I experience some kind of waking nightmare. Did any of it happen the way I thought it did. These illusions are getting worse. 

“Was your eye already like that before last night?” she asks, holding up a small hand mirror to my face.  

“Yes, it was.” I say not bothering to look. 

“Can I get you something to drink?” She asks. 

“Water is fine thanks, am I going to be arrested soon?” I ask. 

“Currently we are waiting for an officer to come escort you to the Island, it is a psychiatric hos. . . . .” 

“I know what it is.” I interrupted her. She smiles and leaves the room.  

I accept that I will be staying at the Island again for at least five days. Not looking forward to running into Jonah, I will try to avoid him if I can. Hours pass before the officer finally arrives.  He put handcuffs on me and put me into the back of his police car. His demon's upper half went above the car ceiling hanging above him on two wooden spikes. Thirteen stayed on top of the police cruiser hanging with the cop's demon. He drove like he couldn’t stand to be with me any longer than he had to be. I held on to what I could with my hands banded together as he took sharp turns without slowing down. He parked at some side entrance of the Island and waited for two nurses to come take me inside.  

Here we go again. I give them all my clothes, everything I have and change them into scrubs and socks. Nurse Jessica takes my blood pressure and takes my vitals. She asks if she has seen me here before. I do remember her, couldn’t forget, she was and still is beautiful. I say nothing and she says nothing. I don’t know. Maybe I feel shame, or maybe nothing seemed right to say. I am shown to my room by Mike, a night shift nurse. All I can do is lay down and try to sleep.  

I am wakened by a tugging feeling on my left ankle. I open my eyes to see Thirteen crouching on top of me. I can feel the full weight of his body. I try not to react so I wouldn’t reveal that we are now able to interact physically as before. He had placed something on my left ankle. I watch him attach the other end of a hefty chain to his own left ankle. He sulks away grinning, finding a place in the corner. I feel the weight and tug of the chain around my ankle. I am chained to my demon now, fuck me, I might have said that out loud. The nurse attending must have heard me. I closed my eyes waiting for him to leave. Minutes later I open my eyes to see nurse Mike standing next to my bed looking down on me. 

“Would you like a sleeping aid?” he asks, already holding a small cup of water and a smaller paper cup with a pill in it. I reach for the water. 

“Sure, what time is it?” I ask.  

“Close to four.” He tells me. 

The sleeping pill did not help the erratic movement of the chain pulling on my leg. I couldn’t sleep. Could I remove the chain. I hope I won’t have to really try until I get out of this hospital. Hours passed before I couldn’t feel the chain anymore, the hall lights came on and I smelled coffee brewing.  

Monday October 5th, 1999 

I walk to the day room and wait for breakfast. I keep to myself, careful to avoid making eye contact with anyone or anything. It's my first day so I eat my breakfast here in the day room. One of the other patients' demons' lunges at me, trying to attack. I look around to see every demon checking me out. The nurse attendee looks over at my sudden movements. I go back to eating my eggs.   

I maintain my focus. It seems clear that Thirteen has been telling the other demons about me. I hope it never happens again but if it does while I am here, I am in for some trouble. I must figure out how to get this chain off. If they try to attack me while I am in this chain, I am vulnerable. I know I could never get anything sharp enough to cut this chain but maybe I could take something from one of them. I noticed one of the night crews' demons possessed a sharp axe. If it happens again, I will try to take the axe. Last night it lasted at least from four am to seven. They called me to see the doctor. Same doctor as before but he didn’t seem to remember me. I, however, could not forget him and his demon who mimed his every word.  

“Any drug or alcohol use in the past three months?” Dr. Caines and his demon asked.   

“Yes, both.” I feel like I am talking to his demon. 

“May I know why you do them?” He asks. 

“Never thought much about it. I do what feels right at the time.”  I was looking at his demon. 

“How long have you been off your meds?” Asking. Could he somehow know I wasn’t still taking any.  

“I never took them for long.” I admitted. 

“Stop looking at your hallucinations and look at me. If you want it all to stop, you must take control of your mental health and quit the drugs and alcohol and start taking your meds. Do talk therapy, anything it takes. You can make it, if you decide to take control.”  He told me as I looked in his eyes. This is him talking. He sounds genuine and in a weird way, I hope he is right. 

I am in control I say to myself as I look around the day room. I don’t feel very in control here. I really believe having more control would help me feel better about my life. The demons have stopped lunging at me. They all watch me closely, though, waiting? The eye patch was how I could control it before. Things are different now. There are physical interactions happening. I kind of want to keep my eye on them now. Jonah tried to convince me I was blessed he had it all wrong. No way is this any kind of blessing. They are not just visions anymore and they want to control me. I’m afraid he could still be right about what they are.  

It is only eight, but I will go to bed anyway. May need the rest before I wake up from this chain when it changes at night. Seems like I only closed my eyes to rest when I felt it. The chain suddenly tugging on my ankle. Remaining still I look around to see thirteen through the doorway standing next to nurse Mikes’ demon. I had seen before that his demon was carrying an axe. This is my chance. I could end up in a padded cell, but I don’t have a better choice. I can’t give up control to the demons. I subdued thirteen first by pulling him in my room by the chain and beating his head. The other follows welding the axe in hand ready to strike me down. He swings and hits my upper leg, too shocked to feel the pain but seeing blood spill from my leg. I use the chain to wrap around his arm. I grab the axe and cut the demon's arm clean off.  

I hide the axe in the back of my pants. Nurse Mike and another nurse responded quickly held my arms and escorted me away. They sat me at an exam table and treated my cut on my leg and patched it up. Then I am taken to a padded cell as I expected. I must have been going crazy by the looks of it. I still have the axe; it is a heavy metal with a strong wooden handle and some animal tooth accents. I got the chain cut with two good swings.  I put the axe on my backside and tried to rest. I didn’t see thirteen after that, but he must have taken the axe back. It was gone when I woke up. They let me back in my normal room again after I told them I was not suicidal.  

They told me I will see the medical doctor today to check out my leg. I go to my room to get cleaned up and change into new scrubs. I walk out into the hallway to see Jonah with that same confusing Catholic Jew outfit he always wears.  

“Hello, Aiden. Good to see you brother.” He says smiling. 

“Can’t say the same.” I say continuing to walk to the day room.  

“I will offer any help I can to you brother. If you need to talk, I will be in the Chapel tonight. If you need a vehicle, the truck is still available for you.” He tells me turning to leave. 

“I’m not going to live with you again.” I say to his back as he leaves the day room. 

“Of course not.” He tells me.  

I pour myself a cup of coffee. Decaf only at this time of night. I could use the caffeine. I’m not sure I am thinking clearly. I am considering talking to Jonah. The truck would really help me out. The nurse calls for a smoke break and I tag along even though I don’t have any cigs to smoke. Once outside in a secluded courtyard the nurse hands out cigarettes. I walked up to see if I could get one maybe. 

“Sorry I only have menthols.” The nurse tells me.  

“That’s perfect for me.” I answer. 

I badly want to move on and never think about Jonah or my family again in my life. Unfortunately, Jonah’s explanation of what I am experiencing is the best one I can believe. May as well take whatever Jonah is offering. He has no real answers, but he does genuinely seem to want to help. I could use the truck. Once the smoke break ended, I walk to the chapel to see Jonah.  

“Was that a serious offer?” I ask. He pulls a set of keys from his pocket to show me. 

“I only ask for one thing from you.” He says gripping the keys with his fist. Oh boy, here we go.  

“Don’t give me that look. I would do anything to help you. All I want is for you to keep me in the know about your, uh, situation shall we call it?” He says with a nervous smile.  

“You would really give me a truck just to know why I was admitted here?” I asked. I know that’s what he wanted to know.  

“That and say a weekly update perhaps when you come to a church service. As much detail as you can give me about what you see.” He asked. 

“I would rather not.” I answered. 

“Fine, I won’t expect you to stay but meet me in the pastor office before one of my services of the week. I will listen to your updates and offer any insight or advice. You don’t have to take my advice. In exchange I will help you any other way I can. Truck, rent, groceries, you name it.”  

“Is this charity or a bribe?” I ask. Can’t believe his interest in my life. He must truly believe they are demons or am I just a source of entertainment for him.  

“I’d prefer to think of it as a fair trade. I do believe there is an invisible spiritual realm, Aiden. After I met Caleb and you, I began to believe that this spiritual realm is not completely invisible. It is worth it to me to learn anything from your visions that could help anyone including you, Aiden. I want to try to help everyone I can.” 

“How comforting to hear.” I snide. Jonah is the most selfish, selfless man I ever met. I can't believe I am trusting him again.  

“It seemed to me that you had learned to live with your visions. I am interested to hear what changed to bring you back here.” Jonah asks. 

 I take a moment before I answer. Looking him and his demon in the eyes. The demons are physically week but if they were to outnumber me. I don’t know what they could do to me. Unfortunately, I have no one, I do need help in life right now and I may want to hear his advice after all. I take a breath. 

“Somehow, I was able to physically interact with Thirteen and I fought him and other demons as well. The change has continued to happen the past three nights. Thirteen somehow had put chains on me. I think he is trying to protect himself from me. I managed to get them off me last night. I was able to steal a demon weapon from one of them. I used that to cut the chains off my ankle.” I manically told him finding my own words and experience hard to believe. 

“This is an amazing development. I wonder if you . .” He cuts himself off pausing to think. “I will talk with the doctor here, they wanted to extend your stay due to your behavior, but I will make sure you get out on time.” Jonah smiles. I can tell he loves to show off his influence and power whenever he has the chance. 

“I look forward to hearing if this continues.” He says, handing me the keys to the truck. “I hope to see you soon Aiden. The enemy never rests, we must be ever vigilant. God bless you.” He gives me a quick embrace and leaves. 

I woke up the next morning to find Thirteen had put the chains back on my ankle. I will be able to deal with this easier once I am out of here. I stay in bed most of the day trying to adjust my sleep pattern, so I am up for the time it changes with the demons. If this is how it is now, then I must stay awake to deal with them. It was too difficult to stay awake in the hospital. Nothing changed when I woke up. Sometime after breakfast they told me I was ready to be discharged much earlier than last time.  

I drive the truck back to my old shit box home. Tonight, I need to find out exactly what time frame the interactions start and end. I don’t have a way to take the chains off. Going after another demon tool or weapon is risky. Looking at the chains I see a hole for a key. I wonder if that bastard thirteen has a key on him for the locks. I make coffee and play some music. I wait at the kitchen table until I feel the change, paying attention to the time. I listen to the radio playing.  

‘Everything’s so blurry and everyone’s so fake and everybody’s empty and everything is so messed up.’  

Thirteen engages in a staring contest with me. Anticipation of whatever is about to happen building up in the darkness of night. I stay seated drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes while listening to the radio. Sometimes he would get up and pace the floor, always looking at me. I close my eyes and listen to the radio.  

‘Can you take it all away? Well, you shoved it in my face. This pain you gave to me. Can you take it all away.’ 

It is no longer possible for me to view this as some figment of my imagination. Cutting my eye out is not a good idea now, if it ever was. I don’t want to admit to myself, but I fear what the truth could be. They are demons and my only choice is to trust Jonah and take his help. I can’t trust him fully. I open my eyes to see thirteen crouched on top of the kitchen table. Then I felt it, a sudden pull on my ankle from the chains. I glance at the stove clock 3:33 a.m. I take the untouched coffee I had just made myself and toss it at him giving me a chance to get a good grip on the chain. I stand on it with both feet so I can use both my hands to wrap him up with it.  

I grab his boots and remove them one by one. A bug crawled out of the second boot and bit my hand. Somehow, I ignore the pain. It’s not real, keep going.  I look inside the pockets of the pants nothing but pieces of scabs maybe? I didn’t want to take off his pants, but I still haven’t found anything that could help. I removed the prong of his belt buckle. I see the end of it is shaped like a key. I take the belt off to try it on my ankle chains. This could be it. I held my breath as I put the prong key into the lock. Thank God it works. I threw the chain off letting him go. I put the belt on my waist. Now I stay on guard the rest of the night every night until it's over or I die. 

It stopped at 6:41 a.m. just as the sun came up. My instinct leads me to believe the sunrise made it stop. I took a shower and got dressed to go back to work. No eye patch anymore. I need to study them now. It would be good to know what I am dealing with. My boss is upset at first but then I tell him I was in the hospital and he accepted the excuse no issues getting back on schedule. 

 I go to see Jonah after one of his services. I wait in the back as he closes the service. His demon perched on his shoulders soaking up all the attention of the audience. We talked in his office I told him what happened with the belt. I told him some things I’ve noticed over time.  

“Demons that are attached to their host are rare. I have a feeling if I were to fight with one of those types I would hurt the person as well. The most rare are the demons with weapons visibly being carried and holstered. The most common are a variety of clothed demons who honestly may or may not have a hidden weapon.” I told him. He seems preoccupied in his mind not listening to what I said. 

“Aiden, I have been deeply troubled to learn that I may have a demon that is attached to me like in young Caleb’s drawings and your ongoing visions. Visions that have become something more real and your ability is more powerful than ever. I try to remain humble before God and offer myself as a servant as Jesus would have us be, but the enemy has a hold on me still it seems.” Jonah shares with me. Thinking of this curse as an ability instead is hard to accept. 

“Listen, we don’t know what any of this really means yet.” I try to tell him. 

“You were able to prevent your demon from putting chains on you, perhaps it is something you could do for me and others as well?” He asked. 

“We may be wasting our time if they just go back the next day. I must stay on guard every night to make sure thirteen does not try anything again. I couldn’t possibly stay on guard for anyone else for very long.” I explain. 

“Even so I want you to try. Think of how you could help people in a way never done before. I feel that you are a man of conviction who is good at heart and would help people if you are able to. Together we could really make a difference in people's spiritual lives.” He pleads. 

“All right, fine.” I look around the office for the demons who are currently out of sight. I lower my voice to a whisper.   

“I will need a very sharp demon weapon, preferably serrated to cut those things off. I have not seen any weapon like that in a while. Even if I manage to get something there are no guarantees it will do the job. Also, I can only get a knife in a short window late before the sun rises.” I told him.  

“The Men's ministry has a Saturday breakfast that starts at 5 a.m. every week.” Jonah suggests. 

Saturday October 16th, 1999 

Jonah and I arrive at the fellowship hall early to prepare breakfast and serve it. The plan is once I spot a weapon that is suitable for the job, I corner the demon in the hall and push it into the bathroom. Then take the tool and attempt to get Jonah’s demon fast as possible. Jonah will have to distract from the ensuing chaos. As everyone comes in, I observe their demon companions. I spot a demon with a jagged metal knife improvised out of scrap metal. This isn’t going to be easy. The demons know me everywhere I go now, thirteen may be warning them. The knife is sheathed to its left hip. The best move here is to prevent him from getting to the knife before I do. They may know what I am capable of, but they can’t know what I am after.  

I move to my position in the hall Jonah finishes serving the remaining men. Two demons followed me to the hallway, the one with the knife and another one. Both dressed like soldiers from the late eighteen hundreds. I went to the end of the hall across from the bathroom. They both stood just outside the fellowship hall door looking at me. They are not afraid of me like the others. Maybe because they both have weapons. The one with the knife waves me over, are they challenging me? The other one removes a revolver from a hidden holster behind his shirt. I leap into a Sunday school room closing the door behind me as if that will stop them. 

They might be able to hurt me for real I have no idea what a demon gun can do to me. Looking through the tiny door window I see an elderly man walk into the bathroom. Jonah's demon walks through the walls and I see Jonah about to open the bathroom door. I open the door and wave to him in the Sunday school room.  

“What is going on?” Jonah asks. 

“I saw one with a knife. Unfortunately, we have another demon here with a gun.” I told him. 

“They can have guns too? I don’t know about this, maybe we should get the demon isolated at a different time. Do you know the human companion of the demon with the knife?” Jonah said.  

“No, not yet.” I admit. 

“It may not be safe for you to stay here. We will think of something else.” Jonah said, opening the door to return to breakfast.  

Jonahs's demon exits through the walls. I must get out of here. I walk out to see the two demons still in the hall. One raises the gun to aim at me. I ran for the building exit in the opposite direction. I reach the door when I hear the bathroom door open immediately followed by a gunshot. I turn around to see an elderly man on the ground not moving.  

“Help! Somebody Help!” I ran back to see if he was ok.  

Jonah’s demon, Thirteen and all the demons in the area pounce on the one who just made the shot. Touching him, grabbing anywhere on its body. Suddenly the demon bursts into flames and vanishes. The flames linger on the other demons. The one with the knife decides to charge at me. I respond by tackling him and taking him into the bathroom. I keep his hands from unsheathing that knife. I wrestled him to the ground and pinned his arms behind his back. I rest its head on the side of the toilet. I let go, stand up and quickly crush its head with my boot repeatedly until the toilet breaks. The demon went limp, so I managed to take the sheath off with the knife and attach it to my hip.  

Jonah stands at the doorway as the floor fills with water. The toilet is spewing water fast. I close the handle on the back to stop the water flow. Jonah is already explaining this to the other men outside attending to the man on the floor.  

“He must have broken the toilet.” He tells the men. “What are you doing?!” Jonah demands. 

“I got it.” I told him. He returns to the hall. 

“Call an ambulance!” He yells. 

The doctors told us he died of an aneurism from a blood clot in his brain. Hours later at my place I sat staring at Thirteen thinking about what happened. Did the bullet cause that? I must be more careful because other people can be harmed.  Why did the demon explode away? Was that man his host, maybe they die when the host dies? Too bad the gun went with the demon but now I know they can die or disappear. It is clear what I must do now. Tonight, I will attempt to murder Thirteen. If it is even possible, I will use this knife to cut his fucking head off. No way he comes back from that. I set my alarm for three in the morning and try to get some rest.  

Sunday October 17th, 1999 

I sit in a bloody puddle looking at Thirteens head separated from his body on my living room floor. Not good enough, I must be sure, so I cut his arms and legs off. Now he is now in six pieces. I can’t trust this will work. I am waiting for it to disappear in a ball of flames like the other one did. The smell is unbearable, I grab a shirt from my room and tie it over my nose and mouth. I got two trash bags and put the pieces in them. I take the bags outside to the can and dump him. Good luck humpty dumpty, I laugh. I head inside to take a shower and clean up. I see the can has indeed caught fire after my shower. I walk outside to watch the fire. Go to hell you son of a bitch.  

I meet with Jonah after Church service to discuss our next move. Why cut the strings when I can kill the demon? Once the demons see me at the Church, they go frantic looking for Thirteen. One sees the blood-stained blade on my hip and flees my sight. The others soon follow suit none can risk me connecting them with their host so I could track them down. I told Jonah what I did and my plan to do the same to his demon. 

“You have no idea what the consequences of this will be. We should wait; besides I have a funeral to prepare for.” Jonah said. He pulls out a business card from his chest pocket and hands it to me. It read: Martial Arts Training and Sparring, Sensei Scott Drew.  

“You want me to learn karate?” I asked him. 

“It could be helpful for you.” He winks. “Scott is very good. I talked to him about you. He can help with self-defense combat against multiple armed assailants. In the meantime, you should be careful. Stay isolated, you know, during the appointed time.” Jonah told me and I know he is right. 

“I will be going to India for a few weeks in a month. I want to you to join me.” Jonah asks.  

“Why not. What are we doing there?” I ask. 

“Our Church sponsors an Orphanage, School, and Church in a poverty-stricken part of India. We send money and supplies as much as we can. Your safety is important to me, that is why I want you to learn to defend yourself against these demons before we go. Scott is expecting you tomorrow morning.” Jonah said. 

The dojo was a warehouse in the middle of nowhere. A musty smell was in the air. Scott’s demon was hanging on his back looking at me. Soft mats on the floor, some mirrors on walls and extra equipment in a corner. He walked up to me and reached out for a handshake. 

“I am Aiden. Good to meet you, Scott, I assume.” I introduced myself. 

“Yes sir, likewise. I am sensei Drew.” He bows. “From here on out you will address me as such with a bow. Let’s get started shall we. Not much time to prepare you.” He hands me some pads and gloves to put on. 

“Prepare for what?” I ask. 

“Jonah thinks you are a decent bodyguard, but he feels you underestimate the dangers those damn dot heads could pose.” He spoke aggressively. “Let me get you ready for India! This is going to be fun. Try to pin me to the ground, I want to see where your ability is at today.” 

So, I am Jonahs bodyguard now. I slowly put on the pads and gloves as he puts on his own. What has Jonah got me into here. He is much stronger than any demon could be, and he knows what he is doing. We spar off and on for an hour. He pinned me over and over until after giving me some advice each time eventually I think he let me pin him.  

“You have potential young man. I recommend a diet of fatty meats and vegetables. You can build your strength with weightlifting and running to increase endurance. I can give you knowledge to defend yourself but if your temple is weak than it can only help so much.” He looks me in the eyes with a concerned look on his face. Not sure if he thinks I am pathetic or is it the red eye.  

“Thank you for doing this for me. I really want to be a better fighter.” I told him. 

“I owe Jonah, but I am happy to help a fellow brother in Christ. The end will soon be upon us, we must be prepared. Y2K is the beginning of the end. Jonah is letting me stockpile some supplies at his house. We will be ready for whatever happens.” He spoke with conviction. “Be here Wednesday morning then Friday morning. We will train three days a week until you leave.” He walks me to the exit. “Remember to do your part Aiden, God bless.”  

I decide to quit my job, no need if I am leaving the country soon. I leave a message on Jonahs answering machine asking for some grocery money and rent for the next month. I go for a run down my road. Feeling hopeful and in control for a change. I should help Caleb by killing his demon. May as well kill his grandparents’ demons while I am at it. I smile seeing demons moving out of my sight hiding as I run down the road.  

“I am going to kill every last one of you.” I whisper to myself smiling. 
 

Tuesday October 26th, 1999 

Caleb lives in a trailer park. This will not be easy. I leave in the middle of the night and head there. I approach covertly like a spy. Dressed in dark clothes I park at a gas station about a half mile from the park and I go on foot from there. If I am spotted by other demons, they could impede my goal. I go off the road and walk through a wooded area and on the other side I see the trailer park. I walk by four trailers before I get to Caleb’s. I must deviate from the most direct path as there are demons in the area. Hiding between cars and dodging behind bushes eventually I see his demon.  

He is sitting atop their small metal shed outside his bedroom window. The wires from his chest leading inside the window. There were two demons moving about the area that could spot me if I approached. They do not appear to be armed but I cannot know for sure. I wait and observe hoping he decides to come down off the shed roof. I look at my watch twenty till five, time is running out. I decided to run at him without a second thought. I grabbed the wires and pulled him down. He falls and quickly jumps to his feet. I barely noticed the two demons running away in fear.  

I waste no time grappling with it. I go to work using the demonic knife cutting its head off. Blood spitting all over me, the smell was rancid. I pick up its head and as I look up to throw it, I see three new demons. Two with long spears and one with a long rifle. That will have to do I throw the head towards them, and I run away from them back to the truck. I see a spear hit the ground next to me followed by the sound of the rifle going off. I intensify my speed as I make it to the wooded area. I am hit and scratched as I run through the brushes of the woods not going to stop. I have no idea how far these demons can stray from their prospective hosts.  

I stop a moment to catch my breath, looking back, I see two of them in the woods walking away. Who knows which trailer home their human host lives. Could be fifty to two hundred yards travel proximity for them who knows. I made it back to my truck and I headed home. I couldn’t verify if I was able to kill the demon but no way it could survive a beheading. When I killed thirteen, I had time to be thorough but that may not have been necessary. I try to get some sleep after I clean up. Hours later I am woken by someone knocking on my front door. I see Jonah’s BMW in my driveway. 

“Come on in.” I invite him inside. He handed me an envelope with cash in it. 

“This should cover you until we leave for India.” Jonah says as he attempts to find a seat. Looking around at my poor state of a home he decides to remain standing.  “So, how did it go with Sensei Drew?”  

“I learned a few things. He is an interesting guy.” I say with a grin. 

“That is putting it nicely. I know he is a bit on the strange side, but he does know self-defense and how to train people.” Jonah removes his cap and rubs his diseased scalp. “How are you doing since you eliminated your demon?” 

“Honestly I have never felt better in my life.” I walk to the kitchen. “Would you like some coffee?” 

“No thank you. I really should be going. I have a funeral to go to.” He walks towards the door, pausing. “I am ready for you to eliminate my demon.” He smiles. His demon charges up to me and shows his jagged sharp teeth and tries to put his rotten tongue on my face.  

“It will be my pleasure. First thing in the morning, I will take care of it for you. I still have the knife from the other day, should be easy.” I told him. His demon sneers and walks away. 

Wednesday October 27th, 1999 

I arrive at Jonah’s home around four in the morning. Jonah is awake waiting for me to arrive holding a wine glass with one sip left. I see a nearly empty bottle of wine on his kitchen table and a bottle of pills. He had been up drinking all night. There are no demons to be seen. I follow the tentacles from his head outside towards the Church fellowship hall. It is around one hundred yards away. His demon must be attempting to hide or find other demons that can help him. I find him in the foyer of the fellowship hall entrance. This is as far as he can roam from Jonah it appears.  

I waste no time lunging with my blade, removing the head and proceeding to cut him up just as I had done with thirteen. I remove the tentacles as well. I gather up the pieces and pile them in the middle of the Church parking lot so as not to start a fire in the building. I walk back to the house to tell Jonah it is done. I feel the heat and see the light from the flames. Jonah comes out to see the fire go out just as quickly as it went up.  

“Is it over?” Jonah asked. 

“It is finished.” I answer. Jonah’s eyes widen.  

“I need to confess to you, Aiden. This feels like a good time, and I know I can trust you. What I am about to tell you I have not shared with anyone.” Jonah stumbles back inside and we sit at his dining table. 

“You don’t have to confess to me.” I told him. He is so drunk he may not even remember this. 

“I need to clear my conscious.” He gets up and grabs the photo of his wife. “I was married to this woman for a few years, but I never had sex with her.” He hands me the photo. “To be honest I am not even attracted to women. I know it is a sin, but I am attracted to men. I really hate that about myself. I distract myself by doing as much good as I can. Our marriage was a facade. I have been lying about what happened to her. I helped her to gain citizenship. She did not die in a failed childbirth. She is still alive in Arizona with her husband and children.” Jonah lowers his head into his hands hiding the tears welling up in his eyes.  

“I. . . . I don’t know what to say.” What could I say.  

“Not a word of this to anyone you understand.” His tone was deeper, wiping his tears.  

“Of course, Jonah. Nothing to worry about from me. We are all trying our best in these dark times.” I try to assure him.  

I wish he never told me that. How could this man become a pastor while deceiving a Church with hundreds of members about who he really is. Despite all this I respect him even more for trusting in me. It is admirable how he helped that woman I suppose. I walk to the door to leave, and he goes for a hug, but I put my hand out for a handshake. We shook hands and he gave me a pat on the back.  

“Aiden, you have been a great blessing to me. Now that we are both free of our demons the mission trip to India should be more impactful. Come to Church tonight and we can go over some of the details of the trip.” Jonah said. I nod in agreement as I walk out the door.  

I drive over to train with Sensei Drew. Four of his students were there to help. He demonstrated with them and talked me through some key points as he went. He showed me how to control my position to avoid the group from circling me. They went through a spar session to show how it is done then it was my turn. Their demons kept interfering and blocking my vision, so I closed my left eye. I threw a kick at one of them and the student grabbed my leg, pulled me to the ground then all tackled me like a quarterback.  

“It is best not to use kicks in this situation for this very reason.” Sensei Drew helps me back up. “You also may want to keep both eyes open.” He suggests.  

We go through the exercise several times until his other students start showing up for their regular class time. I take in as much as I can hoping I will be able to use this training against demons in the future. I go home to rest before I must meet Jonah at Church tonight. Wednesday service is always less crowded than Sunday morning. Once I got home, I lay down to sleep. 

 I begin to dream a vision of Thirteen. I watch him sleeping in my bed. He wakes up and leaves the house getting in my truck and driving to the Church. I can move through walls and float through space as if we switched places. I watch him talk with Jonah in mumbles. I wake up from the nightmare in sweat. I frantically checked each room and outside to make sure Thirteen had not returned. I brew some coffee and try to calm down before I head to the Church.  

I enter the sanctuary to see Jonah at the pulpit. The tentacles that once were connected to his scalp had been replaced with familiar looking electrical wires. I scanned the room to see a new demon attached to him. How can this be I do not believe what is happening. I take a closer look at the new demon, and it is not just any demon. This was Caleb’s demon that I had killed at least I thought I did. The demon began pointing at me and the other demons as well. I could use my eye patch right now. I don’t understand how this can be. What will I say to Jonah. 

“This week has been a particularly trying time for our Church family. Only yesterday did we have the funeral of brother Samuel only to have another loss on the same day. The mission trip to India is coming up soon and the enemy is fighting this Church family hard. I believe and declare that we are about to enter a new phase of providence for the glory of God, Amen! We need to be ever in prayer. At this time, I would like to ask for anyone who wants to come to the altar to pray for the family of young Caleb who is mourning his tragic loss. Everyone else pray where you are.” Jonah finished and moved down to meet the people at the altar. 

I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. Jonah began the prayer shortly followed by everyone at the altar until all twenty or so were praying out loud at the same time. Cold chills moved through my body listening to the crowd pray over each other. How did Caleb die? Why does Jonah have his demon now? We have no idea what we are dealing with here, clearly. I don’t want to do this anymore. Everything I do only makes things worse. I really am insane, I must be. How can I go to India, what would be the point. I probably need to go back to the hospital try some other drugs or something. I go to Jonah’s office to wait for him there. What am I going to tell him now. 

“We leave about two weeks from now on Friday morning. Meet me at my house at five in the morning the flight takes off at seven.” Jonah sits at his desk and looks at me, noticing the spooked expression on my face. “Are you ok?” He asks. 

“No, to be honest.” I pause a moment and stand up from my chair. “Somehow Caleb’s demon has attached himself to you now.” I told him.  

“What? How can this happen!?” He exclaims. 

“I have no idea.” I told him. He does not need to know what I did. 

“His demon may have influenced Caleb to do what he did that lead him to his death. Caleb committed suicide.” Jonah said.  

“Holy shit!” I exclaim.   

“Do not fear, Aiden. I will pray about this and perhaps we should not attempt to make any big moves against the demons again. At least until we understand what is going on.” Jonah tells me.  

I found the eye patch when I got back home. I am going to keep it with me from now on. I have no choice but to be on guard in the early hours. Who knows when another demon might show up to replace Thirteen. Learning self-defense from Sensei Drew will still be helpful. I should train with him every chance he gives me. I keep the money Jonah gave me for rent. I will figure something out not sure I want to go to India.  

I called up Sam to get some weed I need to take the edge off. He answers right away and tells me to come on over. I don’t mention the money that went missing from his place. I don’t care, I just want the weed. I drive while listening to the radio. A song plays, ‘Strange where were you when we started this gig, I wish the real world would just stop hassling me.’  

I park behind a couple of other cars in the driveway. I put on the eye patch before I walk up. Sam hands me a beer and passes me a blunt as soon as I get in the door. He had a couple friends hanging out, playing video games. I took a few hits off the blunt before I pass it. I gulp down and empty that can of beer. I really am trying to numb myself, so I don’t have to think about everything.  

“Grab another beer in the fridge, make yourself at home.” Sam smiles at me as he returns to his seat. “I got next turn when you die.” He tells the guy currently playing the game. I grab another beer and pull up a chair to watch them play. 

“What game y'all playing?” I ask. 

“Body Harvest.” Sam answers me while rolling up another blunt from a large pile of weed on the coffee table. The guy playing hits the blunt still in rotation and dies in the game.  

“Fuck! Here you can finish this off.” He hands me the blunt. I hit it four times until I can’t hold on to it any longer. I threw it in an ash tray crowded with cigarette butts. 

“Start a new game, I am almost done.” Sam says as he finishes rolling the blunt. 

 I watch as the game starts up. Words start rolling across the screen. ‘Station Omega. Earth Orbit: 2016. The Earth lies in ruins.’ I do not know why but I got a dark feeling that this was going to be the actual future. ‘Over the past 100 years a vast alien invasion has harvested mankind to the brink of extinction.’ Sam licks the blunt and wraps it up. He lights it up taking a small hit before handing it to me.  

I take a few hits coughing hard as it hits me, I am now convinced this is all real. The game explains what has been happening to me and what will happen in the future. The demons were aliens the whole time. I watch as Sam plays the game. He runs around killing aliens that look like giant spiders and for some reason he was killing the humans as well.  

“Why are you killing the humans.” I ask, feeling very concerned about the future of humanity.  

“Why not?” Sam looks at me puzzled. 

 This was all too real for me. The weed and the beer must be messing with my mind, it has been a while. Coming here was a mistake. I threw away my half drank beer and got up to leave.  

“I got to go.” I announce.  

“Whatever.” Sam says without looking away from the game. 

 The time has come for me to leave this place. I have not been cursed with another demon showing up to replace Thirteen yet, but I am weary of it. I just need to run away for a while leave the world behind. I start packing up my things when I find the newspaper clipping about the Hindu monk in India that heals people. Perhaps I will go with Jonah to India after all, just to visit this monk. Not sure he will like that idea, but I do not feel like I am a Christian missionary in any way. I will tell him my plan and assure him I will try to be of help as much as I can.  

The Hindu temple was closer to the airport than where we were headed. Jonah was not happy about my plan to visit them, but he knew he could not stop me from going. He wanted to benefit from my visions somehow but at this point that was not a promising outcome. It is just misery and pain for me and everyone around me. If this man can stop this somehow heal my mind and purge these visions, I must try. I learned that he only saw so many people per day and it was the first ones to arrive. We arrived in India in the early hours of the morning while it was still dark out. Me and Jonah went our separate ways. 

“Where to?” The cab driver asked. 

“Samsara Temple.” I told him. 

“You have come to see the Vaidya. Your journey will be rewarded my friend. I was healed by him just last year.” He removes his head covering to reveal his long dark hair. “You see I was once bald but after I saw the Vaidya the hair came back thicker than ever.” He smiled pointing at his cab license photo displayed on the dash showing a younger balding version of himself.  

“That is good to hear.” I say smiling in return. Hope he can do more than that for me.   

I was expecting a beautiful temple in a secluded area in the mountains. This was an average looking building that blended into the rest of the buildings in the city. There are already at least thirty people waiting outside the gates of the temple. I take my place among them. There were all sorts of people there hoping to get some kind of healing. The temple gates do not open until about an hour after sunrise. They let in a few at a time and there were probably over one hundred people lined up down the street at this time. Street vendors showed up shortly after selling all sorts of food and trinkets to the people waiting in line. I bought a drink in a bottle I hoped would be like seven up or something.  

“Would you like a gift for the Vaidya?” The vendor asked.  

“No thanks.” I answer. 

“You do know that a gift is required to see him.” He informed me.  

I nodded yes even though I did not know. This is starting to feel like a racket like the fake faith healers I have seen on television back home. Oh well, if a gift is required then I will offer up my eye patch. If I am healed, then I will no longer need it. When my turn to enter the temple grounds comes, I enter reluctantly feeling I may be wasting my time here. I see several young Hindu monks helping facilitate this event. I am shown to a small waiting room in the temple. The monks come and get us one by one to see the Vaidya. I suspect the people who come genuinely need healing of some kind others like my cab driver just want a better life for themselves.  

“Place your offering in his hands ask him what you will, then wait for him to place your offering in the basket.” A young monk says as he escorts me to an open courtyard garden in the middle of the building. An elderly man sits there in meditation waiting with open hands.  

“That’s it?” I ask. 

“Go!” He says pushing me through the door.  

The man sits perfectly still. No one else is in the courtyard but us. I kneel in front of him on the mat provided and remove my eye patch. I see his demon standing behind him as I place the patch in his hands. He twitches slightly as it touches his hands opening his eyes wide to see me. He grips the patch tightly as his demon raises a samurai blade above his head and plants it through his heart from the back. The man clutches his heart and falls to the ground. The demon removes his blade and glares his sharp teeth at me. I swallow hard realizing what is happening. The demon steps on top of the man and swings the blade at me. I roll away on my feet and run out of the temple past the monks and people waiting.  

I ran past the line of people looking back to see the demon in hot pursuit. Several young monks from the temple had started to come after me as well. They must believe I had something to do with their leaders' death. I just keep running weaving through alleys and streets of people and their demons. I have no idea where I am, but I need to get away from the crowds. I can’t keep this up, perhaps I could hide from it. There is no end to the city, I am surrounded by buildings and streets. I come to the side of a river. I can smell the sewage flowing through it. He will not lose me, what is the point of running. I turn to see the demon appearing through a wall coming towards me. I will accept whatever fate he delivers to me, if I die so be it. Death may be the only escape from this hell.  

“Do you need help, sir?” A young boy's voice spoke with an accent. I look to see a young man clearly not Indian perhaps Japanese walking along the river. 

“There is nothing you can do.” I admit to him.  

“I saw you running away from something very fast. If you need protection I can help.” The boy says with confidence. 

“Oh really?” I look to see the demon standing still across the street. “I am being chased by a demon who is trying to kill me.”  I told him. This could be my last moments alive, no need to be dishonest besides most of the people walking by do not understand a word of English.  

“I will pray for you.” The boy reaches out and places his hand on my shoulder. He closes his eyes and bows his head. “Heavenly father, I ask for this man to be protected from the demon that is chasing him. If the demons chase him then he must be a good man and worthy of your grace my Lord Jesus. May his soul be saved. Amen.” The boy finishes the prayer. “My name is Areli by the way.” He begins to walk back the way he came.  

“Aiden, good to meet you.” I introduced myself and walked with him along the river. I see the demon that must be his, armed with an assault rifle and a dagger dressed in a military uniform. 

“My Angel led me to you and as long as you are with me the demon cannot harm you.” I look back to see the demon has not moved.  

“There you are Areli! Following the Angels again?” A familiar looking Indian man said to Areli.  

“Yes, father Krish I had to help this man.” Areli said pointing at me. 

“Hello sir, I am Aiden. You look familiar. Did I see you at a church in Knoxville Tennessee a few months ago by chance?” I ask. 

“Yes, Me and my wife spoke at prophet Jonah’s church there. Good to meet you I am father Krish. Forgive me I do not recognize you.” He introduces himself to me formerly. 

“I did not meet you then, but I was in the audience.” I tell him.  

“Demons are chasing him.” Areli tells Krish. 

“Have you given your life to Jesus? You look American I know you must have heard the gospel before.” Krish asked. 

“Honestly no, I think it is too late for me. For all I know I am in hell already.” I told him. 

“I can tell you, that is not true. I am not making things up when I tell you an Angel led Areli to you. He sees them all the time and if they are here then you can’t be in hell, Aiden.” He pats me on the back.  

“How do I give myself to Jesus? I want to be saved from the demons but how do I give my life to an invisible God when I never really felt like I owned my life to begin with. Can I give something I am not sure I have?” I opened my heart to this man. He seems wiser than any man I ever met.   

“You are right, of course, you have given your life over to the power of sin. Your life belongs to the devil because of this. God has given you free will to do that but also, he has provided you a way out through his son Jesus and the blood that he shed for all of us. You must reject sin and let go of your life and give it to Jesus. Just cry out to him in prayer. Me and Areli will be here with you.” He explains.  

I trust his words and yet I am afraid to pray to God. I look behind to see the demon following at a distance with sword in hand. His demon has his hand on his holstered sword ready to pull it out at any moment. I have tried just about everything else. I grab his hand and squeeze it then we all kneel. I close my eyes in prayer. 

“Jesus Father God, take me, change me I am yours. Take full control of my life and help me not to fall into the traps of the devil. Help me to live your way I trust you alone. May I live in your power in love forever Lord Jesus. Amen.” I opened my eyes to be hugged by Areli. I saw the demon who was chasing me had sheathed his sword. He might be Thirteens replacement. I hug him back and I thank God that I have some hope now. Moments later we resumed our walk. 

“Are you here with Prophet Jonah.” Krish asked me. 

“Yes, I am supposed to meet him at the Christian orphanage.” I tell him. 

“Is that so? Well, welcome to India Aiden. Are you an assistant pastor or missionary?” He asks. 

“A little of both or none really, it’s complicated. I guess I am like Areli.” I admitted. 

“You are an orphan that can see Angels?” He asked. 

“Orphan yes, but I see demons not Angels.” I told him as I looked at his demon who carried a sickle, like death himself. 

“Demons or fallen angels? There is a difference.” Krish said. 

“I am not sure, to be honest, I did not know there was a difference.”  

“I want to hear every detail about what you have seen. I have some books on the subject, maybe we can find out just what you're dealing with exactly.” Krish said. 

 I told him everything about the creatures I could including what they had been able to do. I got a good feeling from this man. He was a genuine Christian, somehow, I can tell. I was able to find salvation in India after all just not from where I expected it. He told me about Areli and his past. Turned out his parents were still alive in China. He was part of the underground church there. His grandpa used to take him but after he died his upper-class parents could not tolerate the talk of Jesus and Angels so they left him here in hopes the Hindu guru could cure him. Krish himself learned of Jesus and became a Christian at a young age after his parents taught him what they learned from missionaries long ago.  

The building that served as an orphanage for a few children also served as a school and a place of worship for the small population of Christians in the area. Krish warned me about the constant threats from other groups. Usually, the Hindus and the Muslims who are busy harassing each other but sometimes they will join to harass Christians. Upon arrival Krish showed me to the room that I would be sharing with Jonah. It was a small room with two twin beds and a table between them. Jonah was already lying down. I saw some sort of leather pouch open on the table with viles and a syringe. Krish saw it too and quickly put it away in the drawer before Areli could see it.  

“Make yourself at home, bathroom is across the hall and the kitchen is the door at the end of the hall.” Krish said. 

“Would you like to be baptized on Sunday, after me?” Areli asked me from the doorway.  

“Why not.” I said smiling. 

“All right then you will be baptized, and we would love to have you alongside Areli. If you need anything my room is around the corner.” Krish said.  

I approached Jonah in bed to check to see how deep his sleep was. I slapped him in the face and called his name a few times, louder and harder each time. He was in deep, what was in that syringe? I open the drawer to investigate. It wasn’t clear to see what it was exactly as nothing is labeled. I guess it is likely heroine. This is not that surprising, but his addictions are worse than I imagined. Krish seems like a solid man of God. He must look the other way because of the financial help he offers and the fact the building has his name on it. I go to find Krish in his office sitting at his desk. 

“Come in, sit down.” he says. I sat down at his desk with him. 

“I may not know Jonah like you do but I have to ask if it is normal for him to shoot up drugs like that?” I asked him.  

“Unfortunately, it is. His condition is so painful for him. Heroine is his way of finding rest from the pain for a while.” Krish says, defending him. 

“He uses pain pills back home. I guess he feels more comfortable shooting heroine in a foreign country.” I told him. 

“Those pills are no different than heroine, with the same basic chemicals. It has its downsides for sure, but he may not have a better way to deal with his rare condition.” Krish stands and goes to a bookshelf. “So, you have just accepted Jesus in your heart, I assume you have not known Jonah very long.” He finds the book he was looking for and takes it in hand. “Congratulations by the way. A multitude of Angels are rejoicing in heaven this very day.” Krish says smiling. He presents the book to me titled Demonology. “Here, this is for you. Chapter six talks about familiar watchers, which could be the type of demons you're dealing with.” I took the book. I see his demon agitated and frantic trying to distract me and get my new demon to help.  

“Do you have an eye patch I can have or anything I could use as an eye patch?” I asked him. 

“Check the first aid cabinet down the hall.” He tells me. 

I found an eye bandage I can use to keep my left eye covered. I return to my room and turn on the light. No chance of disturbing Jonah in his deep sleep. I sit with the eye bandage on the bedside table and sit to read this book flipping to chapter six first. I read until sleep overtakes me. 

[There are many types of spiritual beings. Demons are just one subset of that class spawning from fallen Angels to the Nephilim to Demons which are further divided by types. Familiar watcher demons are tasked with watching over a family over time moving from one ancestorial descendant to another always in the bloodline they were given at the start. This is the lowest rank and considered the lowest level of existence among the fallen. Among this group are the youngest generations of demons to be born.] 

How do they know this? I ask myself as I examine the book for who the author might be. Nothing to be found. I remember reading somewhere that in the early days of the Catholic church the priest would never sign their names to the words they wrote as to avoid the sin of pride. This may be a reprint of one of those old books, I wonder. I will have to ask Krish about this book when I get the chance. I feel the weight of my eyes trying to close. I mark my page and go to sleep.  

I awake to a loud commotion of voices. My eyes open to see several demons looking at me in my room that I don’t recognize. Someone is pounding on the front door. I hear the door open. 

“Can I help you, officer?” I hear Krish say from down the hall. 

“We have reason to believe there is a murder suspect wanted for questioning here. We are going to search the building.” I hear the officer from outside.  

No time to think. I must get out of here. I open the window and crawl outside. I just need to avoid this situation. I do not want to find out what prison is like in India. I run to the edge of the building when I see to officers turning the corner. I jump inside of the dumpster outside the cafeteria door. I stay quiet as I can waiting for the search to be over. My new demon killed an important man, and I am getting blamed. I try to get comfortable, but the odor gives me hesitation to move around too much. Who knows what I might uncover in here. I close my eyes still tired from the unexpected wake up call. I decide to walk back in through the cafeteria door. I see Krish when I walk in. 

“There he is, don’t worry they are gone now.” Krish says as he begins prep for breakfast. “Do you have something to tell us?” He asks. I pause to gather my thoughts. 

“I went to see the Hindu healer but when I did a demon killed him and became my new demon. I ran away and that is when I met Areli.” I admitted.   

“What happened to your old demon?” Krish asked. 

“I killed him.” I say proudly. Jonah walks in and Krish updates him on this morning's events.  

“God will lift the hedge of protection over people to allow demons to kill them at certain times. This has always been the way of things. When you killed your demon, Aiden. I believe that was God allowing something new as we draw ever closer to the end times. You should lay low until we go back to America.” Jonah said. 

We all ate breakfast, and I did not see Jonah after that until it was dark. What happens in India stays in India I suppose. No wonder he did not bring anyone else here from the Church. The day was full of activity. I helped with all the meals and played games with the kids. The structured day and the constant praying reminded me of my time in Rehab. Areli loved to pray he would volunteer every time Krish asked. He spoke with confidence and compassion. His faith and trust in the goodness of God makes me feel closer to the true God. He is a pure soul not afraid of anything and full of love. 

I went to sleep early along with the children at nine because we all had to get up early for the baptism service. Jonah was still not back yet. The service was going to be at a hotel with a pool. Krish was friends with the owner and allowed him to do baptisms there early in the morning before the pool would be used by the hotel guests. Jonah woke me up near midnight when he finally got back. I watched him shoot up and pass out as I went back to sleep.  

Sunday November 14th, 1999 

We all leave in an old small passenger van except for Jonah who was still unconscious. An additional twenty or thirty people came to attend the hotel pool service. Krish said a few words and led the group in songs. Me and Areli had put on some white robes for us to be baptized in. Krish walks in the shallow end of the pool moving to the middle. 

“Please welcome our friend from America, Aiden. I have only just met him days ago now, but I have got to know him. He has been seeking God for some time and finally has accepted Christ in his heart once he came to India. God has a special purpose for his life. I can see the hand of God working on him.” He says as I walk to his side. 

“In the name of the father the son and the holy ghost I baptize you our brother Aiden, may your name be written in the book of life.” Krish said before he put his hand on my face and dunking me backwards into the pool. 

I expected to be pulled back out just as quickly but I wasn’t. A moment of confusion followed by panic. I grab his wrist, and he only tightens his grip and holds me under. What is this? My instinct is to fight him and get out of this, but I also am aware of the situation I am in. All these people are not going to watch a man get drowned in front of them. I am not capable of holding my breath for very long. The need for air is too overwhelming. I fought back hard thrashing in the water to try to get on my feet so I could pull my head out the water for air. He did not stop trying to hold me down, but I managed to stand up and push him off me.  

“I could have died! What is wrong with you?” I manage to yell out after catching my breath.  

“Our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we shall not serve sin.” Krish says loudly to the crowd. “For he that is dead is freed from sin. Romans Chapter six verse six and seven.” Krish turns to me and holds out his hand, everyone began clapping and shouting amen.  

This must be how they do baptism in India. Krish holds out his hand and I shake his hand. I leave the pool. I see Areli about to go next.  

“You don’t have to do this.” I said, worried how it will go for him. 

“I will be all right, don’t worry Aiden.” Areli says heading into the pool to Krish’s side.  

My fears quickly subsided after Krish held him down for a while, but he came back up without a struggle. This was a normal practice for these people it seems. If only I was warned of it. I think my response was justified but I still feel a bit foolish. Baptism is a symbolic act that represents death and rebirth. Krish and his church seem to make it less symbolic pushing you as near death as close as you can get. I certainly feel grateful to be alive. The service ends and we get back on the Church van. It really is not very far at all, but it takes some time to navigate the chaotic streets of India.  

“I saw your Angel at the baptism earlier.” Areli told me. 

“Is he with us now?” I ask. 

“No, they come and go as God wills it.” He explains.  

“How do you know it was my Angel and not someone else's?” I asked.  

“Guardian Angels share a striking resemblance to the human they guard. Major difference is they are flawlessly angelic with near glowing skin. They wear the most beautiful garments and carry mythical weapons. He looks like you, but taller and more perfect, I guess.” Areli told me.  

The children begin to mumble and gasp. We look ahead to see a large cloud of smoke billowing up from what could only be the orphanage building.  Krish slowed down as we approached the scene. Emergency responders were already there, and the fire was out. We left Jonah there. I hope he is ok. We parked as close as we could. I saw an officer walking towards us, so I hunched down and hid my face. The man talked with Krish for a few minutes in native Indian before he started backing up turning back the way we just came.  

“What is going on, what did he say?” I ask Krish. 

“Someone set fire to the sanctuary, Jonah was taken to the hospital. I am going to take everyone back to the Hotel to stay for a few days at least until we can figure out what we can do next. Once we are settled there, I am going to the Hospital to check on Jonah.” Krish said, surprisingly calm.  

“I am going with you.” I tell him. 

“Me too.” Areli said.  

Once we arrived at the hospital the nurses informed us, he did not make it. He was not burned by the fires, but he suffocated from all the smoke. Me and Krish gave each other a knowing look. He would have survived easily if he wasn’t passed out on that shit he was shooting up into his arm. I could see Areli’s eyes begin to fill with tears.  

“What are we going to do now.” Areli said beginning to sob now. 

“We will think of something don’t worry.” I assure him and we hug, and I pat his back. 

“Wait here and pray, Areli. We will be right back.” Krish tells Areli. 

We go to the room where Jonah’s lifeless body lies. Curious I peek with my red eye to see if his demon was gone, and it was.  

“Jonah had always wanted to adopt Areli ever since he met him last year. I could have made that happen, but I stalled the process. Jonah was an addict, and I did not think he would have made a good father. Areli wanted a family so much and maybe even more he wanted to live in America.” Krish pauses to sit down. “I would like you to consider adopting Areli and taking him with you to America. Feel free to say no. You are under no obligation to do something like this, but I feel it may be the will of God for you two to be together. The orphanage took a major hit today. I am not certain we can survive.” Krish said. 

“It would be an honor sir.” I said not believing my own words as they left my mouth.  

“I will set you up with the proper paperwork before you head back to America. Please promise me that you will take care of him. I pray that your Church will continue to help fund our orphanage.” Krish said. 

Krish called the church back home and broke the news of Jonahs passing and planned for his body to be sent back. He was very worried about the potential loss of support Jonah had given them for many years. Jonah started the Church back home in Knoxville and the school for orphans in India he was their only pastor since it started. I promised him I would do what I could to keep it going for Jonah’s memory and the sake of all these children.  Despite his many flaws Jonah had helped make a positive difference for many people. Areli was so happy to hear that I was adopting him but sad to leave his friends behind.  

“Can I call you Dad?” Areli asked me. 

“Well, I am just ten years older than you maybe brother would make more sense.” I suggested. He frowned in disappointment.  

“All right, you can call me Dad if you want. What’s important, is that we are a family now and I got you no matter what.” I assured him. 

Areli smiled and hugged me tightly. 

Krish warned me not to kill anymore demons before I went back home with Areli. He told me about how he used to perform many exorcisms on people before he met Areli and learned more from his visions of Angels about the nature of the enemy.  

“There is rarely a true need for exorcisms, but it can happen. More often the person who is suffering from demonic oppression is best served by escaping the people and circumstances of their current life and starting a new path. I would suggest that you use your ability to restrain and disarm demons when you are able. If you want to help people start a new chapter of their life you must become a part of their life, at least for a while. Ultimately true change is up to the individual, all you or anyone can do to help is offer friendship and mentorship. You and Areli have unique gifts that could possibly help solidify a person’s resolve to commit to a relationship with the one true God. I hope to see you and Areli again one day.” Krish said giving me and Areli a warm embrace before our flight.  

Me and Areli talked about our lives and what it was like to live in America. I thought a lot about how my life will be different now that I have a relationship with Jesus. I have my worries about the future, but I feel much better when I pray to God and tell him my troubles knowing he hears me and has a plan for me. I may not have a life of comfort and ease, but I will have a life of purpose with God.