Deadly Passion, an Epiphany (7 page)

The door opened and a nurse entered. She wasn’t wearing protective white gear, a mask or gloves but had on a colored nursing uniform. She was quite young and very pretty, with honey colored skin and dark eyes.

“Hi, my name is Suzanna and I’m your nurse on this shift. Are you hungry?”

“When did I get here? What time is it?”

“You arrived about an hour ago. It’s close to lights out, so I can only bring you a snack and a drink. Tea? Juice?”

“Tea sounds nice. I’m not really hungry, though.”

“A cup of tea coming up. I’ll be back shortly. You need a good night’s rest because you’re starting therapy first thing in the morning.”

Suzanna left the room.

“After sleeping all day? Rest?” She didn’t feel the least bit tired. Of course there was no phone in the room. She sighed, feeling like crying but it seemed her tears had dried up. She’d never felt so alone in her life. Not even that first month in New York had she felt this lonely. It was as if her family, Mark, her friends, had completely abandoned her. But she knew they hadn’t. They were probably told they weren’t allowed to visit and that she wasn’t allowed a telephone. It was ridiculous, really. Surely they could have stood before the window of her hospital room? At least she would have seen the faces she loved. Were they hurt? She knew Mark was. How long had it taken him to recover? Or was he still in recovery as well, like her? Had they even survived? Was that why the nurses and doctors kept evading her questions?

Suzanna returned carrying a tray. On it, a steaming mug of tea, milk and sugar and a plate with some crackers and cheese. “Here are your pills, Megan.”

That was a first. Up till that morning she’d been given everything via IV and later via injection. “What are they for?”

“A multi vitamin, antibiotics and a sleeping pill. You’ve slept all day. We need you to be rested in the morning.”

Megan took the pills and the glass of water from Suzanna and quickly swallowed them. Suzanna sat on a chair and waited while Megan drank her tea and nibbled on a few crackers and cheese. She soon started to feel drowsy. The sedative was taking effect.

“Good morning, sunshine. Breakfast is here,” a cheery voice said, waking Megan from a wonderful dream about Mark. She resented the intrusion. Strangely enough, she felt hungry. The steaming scrambled eggs and biscuits looked eatable and the coffee didn’t smell half bad.

“My name’s Julie, and I’m your day nurse.”

“Hi, Julie. I need to use the—“

“Oh, of course. Here, let me help you.”

With Julie’s help, Megan slowly walked to the bathroom. She was pleased to see a bath and a separate shower cubicle. “I’ll be so glad when I can shower normally again,” she told the nurse, avoiding the big mirror above the sink and after closing the door, closing her eyes to the mirror on the back of it while she sat on the toilet.

“I bet. It won’t be long. I promise.”

After she finished her breakfast, Julie helped her into a floral hospital gown.

“Wait here while I fetch a wheelchair.” She returned fast wheeling a wheelchair into the room. “Your taxi, Madame,” she joked.

Megan sat in the chair and Julie wheeled her out of the room. Megan took a deep breath—it was her first trip into the outside world since the accident. They passed quite a few other rooms. All the doors were closed, so Megan didn’t know if there were patients in them. At the end of a very long hallway was a set of double doors. Julie punched in a code on the panel next to them and they opened slowly.

They entered another hallway, but different from before. This one had a few turns before they arrived at yet another set of double doors. Again, Julie punched in a code. When the doors opened and Julie wheeled her inside, Megan gasped. It was a huge room. Ferns, flowers, tropical plants and trees unlike any she’d ever seen before or even seen pictures of surrounded a steaming pool. Fountains spouted from graceful statues.

“I’ll help you into the pool,” Julie said.

“What about all the bandages?”

“They’ll soak off. Don’t worry about them. Just relax in the water.”

Megan threw a sidelong glance at her bandaged left shoulder, only a shoulder with no arm attached to it. She swallowed hard to get rid of the lump in her throat. Carefully, she stood and with Julie holding her right arm and assisting her, waded into the pool.

The water felt heavenly, soothing, and she lowered her body into it completely. Strange sensations flitted across her arms, her body, her legs, almost as if a million little spiders were at work eating at her scars. Shivering, she wiped her legs carefully, her belly, saw the bandages float away in the water. There was no pain, no discomfort at all, so she closed her eyes and just enjoyed the peace and calmness of the moment, and the weird comfort the water afforded the scarred and oozing tissues. It was almost as if the water was a healing balm instead of ordinary water.

Soft music started, almost acting like a lullaby. Half dozing, she dreamed about Mark, his hotter than hell body, his handsome face. For the first time in ages, she felt completely at peace, felt a longing enter her body, a heat between her legs. She imagined his hands on her body, spreading her legs. Oblivious of anything else, her hand crept to her pussy, its baldness escaping her for the moment. She rubbed her clit, slid her fingers between the wet folds, then entered a finger into her pulsing vagina. With her thumb on her clit, rubbing it, she swiftly moved her finger inside her wet vagina, not from the water, but from her cream now running freely. A soft gasp escaped her lips as she came. Realizing where she was suddenly, she yanked her hand away and opened her eyes. To her relief, she was alone. The nurse had left. She lowered herself into the water and dunked her head a few times, then swam a few strokes using her right arm and her legs and not experiencing any pain or pulling of her scar tissue. Strange, movement was so much easier now.

Standing up, she waded to the far end of the pool where a sparkling waterfall cascaded down a rockery. Without thinking, she reached out to the silvery streams and suddenly noticed she had two arms, two hands. Wonderingly, she inspected her left arm, the missing arm, but it looked normal, flawless, as did her right arm. In awe she ran her hands over her face, her breasts, her belly. The bandages were all gone. Her scars, sores, and puckered skin were once again perfect. What manner of magic was this? A healing pool? Something like The Healing Waters of Lourdes? The only thing that was missing was body hair. Apart from that, she was back to normal. She wished for a mirror now because it was too unbelievable. Maybe she was dreaming and none of it was real. She’d soon wake up still scarred and with oozing sores all over and resembling a mummy.

Julie came in and walked to the edge of the pool. Towels and what looked like a robe were draped over her arm. “Your two hours are over, Megan. How do you feel?”

“I think I’m dreaming. All my scar tissue is gone and so are the sores. And suddenly I have an arm where there wasn’t one.”

“It’s not a dream. This is the healing room. The water in that pool is very special.”

“How come I’ve never heard of this place? People would give anything for this kind of healing. It’s magical.”

“Only a select few are chosen for this type of therapy.”

“It must cost a fortune. My parents aren’t rich. They’re just ordinary farmers, and—“

“Everything is paid for by the benefactor. Don’t worry your pretty head, and I must say it’s a very pretty face that emerged from beneath the bandages.”

“So now that I’m healed, I can leave?”

“Oh, no. After you’re dressed, you’ll start your first group session.”

“Group session? What for?”

“You’ve been through a lot. The body is healed, but the mind still needs attending to.”

“My mind is fine.”

Julie smiled while she rubbed Megan’s body with the warm towels. She handed her the robe. “Here, put this on. You can walk back to your room now.”

“What? No taxi?” Megan managed a giggle.

“Your wounds are healed, but your muscles have been far too inactive. This afternoon you’ll start in the exercise room with the assistance of your own personal trainer.”

“A personal trainer? You’re kidding me. What I’d really like is a telephone.”

“There are no phones in Midhaven. We’re too far away for any connection to be possible.”

“Surely there is contact with the outside world? How do you get your supplies?”

“Midhaven Level Five is self-sufficient. There are large farms located just outside the walls of this facility.”

“What about medical supplies?”

“As I said, we’re self-sufficient.”

“What about the drugs? Vitamins? Surely you don’t manufacture those?”

“Actually, we do. We don’t use drugs as you know them. Everything we have and use is developed from natural resources.”

They’d arrived at her room. Julie opened the door and Megan walked in to find a small pile of clothing on the chair.

“I’ll wait for you while you get dressed,” Julie said and sat on the side of the bed.

Megan picked up the clothes and went to the bathroom. After closing the door, she dropped the robe on the floor and turned to look at the full-length mirror on the door. She gasped. Her skin was flawless again, her face her own and not the grotesque mask she’d expected to see. Lifting both arms, she spun, inspecting every inch of her body. Except for her missing hair, eyebrows, lashes, and pubic hair, she was every inch Megan again. She wondered if her hair would grow back, but right now she hardly cared. Bald didn’t look half bad on her and she could always wear eye makeup and false lashes. The pubic hair didn’t matter. No more bikini waxing needed.

The clothes consisted of a pair of blue jeans, sandals and a blue t-shirt. It all fit her as if made for her. How had they known her size? She’d lost weight during her lengthy convalescence. After hanging the robe on a hook on the wall she joined Julie. “I feel almost human again.”

Eagerly, she drank the glass of juice waiting for her and devoured the sandwich while Julie waited patiently. When she was done, Julie escorted her to the group session.

“Everyone, here’s our newest member. Group, this is Megan. She’s new. Please make her feel at home,” a male voice spoke. “Hello, Megan. I’m Doctor Snow, your shrink, so to speak. Take a seat and after everyone has introduced themselves to you, tell us about yourself.”

Megan sat on the only vacant chair in the circle. She glanced at the other people present and counted twelve, including herself. There were five men, and six women. Megan smiled as each person told her his or her name. For now she’d have a hard time remembering them all. She was just glad to see other people rather than just nurses and doctors. Their ages varied from young to elderly.

“Your turn, Megan. How did you end up here? Tell us your story,” Doctor Snow said.

“It’s not a long story.” Megan talked about her birthday, their evening at the nightclub, Mark’s proposal and the explosion. She told them a little bit about her lengthy hospital stay.

“Megan, we want to know everything, from what you first remember as a child.”

“Why?”

“Because there is a reason you’re in this group. The reason is not the accident or what you went through afterward. Something has been eating at you for many years. We’re going to help you deal with it, help you forgive whatever or whoever caused you this pain,” Doctor Snow told her.

“How do you—“ She stopped. None of this was believable, so why question him. “All I want is to get in contact with my parents, with Mark. I don’t need any of this.”

“Mark and your parents are just fine. All in good time. Marie, why don’t you start off today’s session?”

Megan listened to the woman talk. Apparently she’d been in an abusive relationship and had never told her present husband about her alcohol and drug abuse and what her former husband had put her through. She’d kept secrets. Secrets. So this was what all this was about. But how the hell could the doctor know?
Damn, now that I’m better I just want to go home, to Mark, to see Mom and Dad…

Megan’s father
…

Harry slugged away at the fire he had to keep going. It had to remain a certain temperature to melt the gold ore the miners brought in. Sweat poured off his sooty face. He swiped at it. How long had he been here now? He’d lost all track of time. It seemed like forever. And how had he ended up here? He didn’t have a clue. All he remembered was the explosion and then waking up in this hellhole where no one had an answer for him. His coworkers were all ignorant sons of bitches. He steered well clear of them. He had no sense of hours or minutes. He’d lost his watch when the explosion happened, and there was no clock in this pit. He didn’t know if it was night or day. The only thing he could go by was the siren that rang to announce the end of a shift. Food consisted of slop dished up out of a huge vat. Sleeping quarters, if you could even call them that, were in another tunnel. He was lucky to have found an empty spot and a bunch of rags to use for blankets. It was cold and damp in the tunnels. The nights, if that’s what they were, seemed long. He’d lie awake for hours thinking about his wife and daughter. What had happened to Georgia and Megan? Had they survived the explosion? And why was he condemned to this place? He hadn’t even stood trial. It was an instant switch, from the madhouse in the nightclub, to wake up here. Had he blanked out what happened in between? If he’d been sentenced to this place, what was it he was accused of?

From listening to some of the men talking, he was surrounded by murderers, coldblooded killers, rapists and terrorists. He’d scrutinized them all carefully to see if he recognized anyone, maybe spot the person who’d blown up the club. He or she could be a foreigner. The nightclub had been packed with all manner of people, many different races. When he wasn’t dancing with Georgia, he’d sat and watched all the people, wondering who they all were, where they all came from.

Several new workers had arrived. He glanced at them but didn’t recognize any faces. Some of the workers were even women, rough, tough, and ready to sell their bodies and souls for extra bonuses.