Empathica

by Ruth Watson

  He was so angry with her and with himself.

  Gaia suddenly appeared and the dream changed.

  “The truth is Niam, she loved you through many lives, she wanted you enough to follow you on, only it was a little too late. If you had met before, your lives would have been different, but morally she would never let you cause chaos for your children. Laryssa’s world back then was very different, she walked from her privileged family, and they didn’t treat each other very well. Her childhood was tainted with death and many other things that made her distrust anyone who tried to get too close.” Gaia said.

  “I was a jackass!” Niam said, feeling a little sad.

  “This may be true, but she loved you enough to tolerate your strange behaviour. You were a different man with a different life, she understood that!”

  “Is this a flashback?” Niam asked.

  “No, but your dream before was. Her love for you has always been the same and it will always remain that way. Understand that these flashes of your past come at the end of your life here; be warned that your life span is very short.” Gaia said.

  Niam smiled, he knew that moving on would at least take the grief away from this life. He couldn’t help thinking that he would need to find a new home for his dogs; Dawn would jump at the chance of having them both back.

  Gaia smiled at him “Good thinking, she is a good and caring woman. The dogs will both be fine with her.”

  The good thing about being an Empath is no fear of dying; you know your path continues, so to them there is nothing to fear.

  THE DREAM BROKE!

  The dogs were both up on their feet barking loudly at the front door of the apartment, then as Rebel (the wolfhound) got to the letterbox the end of a rifle found its way through and a shot was fired!

  There was a yelp and Rebel dropped to the floor.

  Niam jumped to his feet pulling his German Shepherd away, then dragging the injured dog away from the door, blood smeared as he pulled him along. it was too late. Rebel had already died.

  “Oh boy, I’m so sorry.” Niam whispered sadly.

  Leesi wined, as tears filled Niam’s eyes, another part of Laryssa was gone.

  Niam pressed the apartment panic button, it was connected to the Manchester police station, this was the station he was closest to, in turn, the police from Manchester contacted DI Carlyle and DS Murray.

  Murray phoned Niam to say they were on their way. This was going to take hours, London to Manchester, so they reassured him that police from the main city station were already blue lighting their way to him as they spoke on the phone.

  He pulled his small handgun from his drawer in the hallway, and then he headed back to the front door. He opened it carefully; the German Shepherd was trying to scrape past him so he had to hold her back.

  He came face to face with a gun.

  “Jay!” Niam said, coldly.

  “Nee, felt it was time to pay you a quick visit, I’d hate for you to forget about me.” Jaydan laughed, holding his finger on the trigger.

  The German Shepherd got out, she sprang up at Jaydan’s arm, a shot rang out! It embedded deeply into the wall.

  The dog bit hard into Jaydan’s arm, she ragged it and the gun dropped to the floor.

  Jaydan punched and kicked out at her, but she didn’t let him go.

  Niam ran past and opened the door to the stairs and whistled Leesi, she let go and sprang after her master! Jaydan fired at them again nearly hitting Leesi, luckily close but no biscuit, he missed.

  Only minutes went by before Niam could hear shots ringing out behind them both, the dog hightailed it out of the building. The two ran to the car, she jumped into the back at her master’s request, he started the engine just as the figure of his enemy bounded through the doorway at the bottom of the building, he went to fire, but a sudden sound of sirens rang out. A look of panic hit Jaydan’s face.

  Jaydan fired missing with the only shot he had the chance to fire before the flash of blue lights neared, Barker sprinted away, he hid himself in a dark alleyway..

  Niam had survived again, but his luck would run out sooner rather than later, Barker saw Niam as the only surviving witness, and he was a grass…

  He needed to get Leesi to Dawn as quickly as possible, but without being chased otherwise it would cause one hell of a lot of trouble for his sister and then he was back on the run. But first, there were a couple of detectives he needed to talk to.

  He wasn’t going to run forever, but the police would not take too kindly to Barker being killed by Niam, it was after all still against the law to shoot someone.

  He would rather risk dying than keep running.

  He needed to get something in place so Barker would show himself, he would use himself as bait, even if he died, it would be worth it. He needed to catch this murderer before someone else died at his hands.

  After all, Niam knew of others already.

  He could of tortured and killed so many others in that strange lab of his.

  Niam asked himself How Jaydan got the eye of his girlfriend? He claimed it was all donations to science, yet she didn’t seem ill, she was perfectly healthy.

  It dawned on him, Jaydan must have killed her as well.

  Nineteen

  Driving back to London Niam had a lot to think about. Firstly he would take Leesi to a safe haven, back home to his sister. Leesi had already lost her friend, so the least he could do to repay her loyalty would be to let her live out a life in peace with Dawn.

  Dawn was only too pleased to look after his dog; she had bonded well with both of them. Niam called his sister and explained, giving the news that Rebel was gone, she was a little sad to hear that his wolfhound had gone.

  She had been living in his apartment as a new tenant for over twelve months, so she had already got used to who came and went. After Barker’s last escape the police kept a pretty close eye on this apartment they placed an undercover officer at the door.

  Niam had discovered that George had recovered well from his ordeal and through witness protection the police relocated him, he has a lucky guy, he had been put in a nice apartment block in Solihull, Birmingham.

  After leaving his dog he felt the loneliness creep in like he had never felt before. Not because he knew he was about to die, but the thought of being alone seemed quite sad. It was stupid really, he’d lived alone before. Niam could feel the tears fill his eyes. Something inside him, told him he would never see Leesi again or his sister, yet through his empathic teachings, everybody was destined to meet throughout all lives.

  His memories of his time with Laryssa began to take over his mind. He was remembering not so long ago, one of his sessions in the white room. He had got comfortable meditating and he remembered the last conversation he had with Laryssa.

  “In 2001, I had to bear a loss like no other, I wore your scar in the shape of a red heart as close to my heart as I would let any stranger with a tattoo needle get. In spite of our parting my love remained, because you are a part of my soul, as I am yours. I was left broken, in that life, the loss I suffered was so great, I have never felt anything like that before.” Laryssa told him.

  “Near and yet so far.” Niam said.

  As they spoke, Niam remembered the ache he had felt, they were so different back then. It was amazing that he could pick up thoughts and feelings from a life he had experienced many years before.

  Laryssa had smiled at him and held his hand.

  “We are two sides of the same coin, you and I. As a part of your soul belongs to me, a part of my soul will always be with you. The tragedy was going through that life remembering that someone else was with you, she was loving you instead of me.”

  Niam felt guilt.

  He tried to shake it off; he needed to concentrate on the job at hand. He headed for London; the police station in Whitfield Street, the same building had been in this vicinity for hundreds of years.

  He had travelled a long way in such a short time; he had forgotten what
a break was, fatigue was beginning to set in, so he quickly fell back into his daydream.

  “It seemed that because I didn’t give you what you wanted, you began to throw your rattle out of the pram, the words you used, slowly but surely, broke me. Taking me apart little by little, you became spiteful every time I walked away. I couldn’t take anymore, what you had built in me, my confidence, my self-esteem, you took away again. The last words you said to me as my friend were about how fat you thought I was. I couldn’t stand anymore, so knew I had to walk away before you destroyed me completely.”

  Niam apologised.

  This made Laryssa laugh.

  “What’s so funny?” He asked.

  “You are. You’re apologising for another man, whose life isn’t yours, because you feel responsible for… What?” She said.

  “Well, He was a jerk! It’s taken us a few more lives but, hey what’s a few hundred years give or take? Just a few lifetimes, here we are!” Niam said, trying to lighten the mood.

  “Well we all know how slow you are on the uptake. Hey, meet a girl fall in love and then get with her five hundred years later. You call me laid back!”

  He took her hand and kissed her softly.

  “So worth the wait!” he whispered.

  Niam woke up from his daydream with a start, as a bullet ricocheted from the front wing of his car.

  “Jaydan!” he said to himself.

  Niam put his foot down as he raced for his life towards Whitfield Street he needed to get to Carlyle and Murray while he could still breathe.

  Niam was, as always - unarmed.

  He looked across at the back seat, he was so glad he’d dropped Leesi off, because, where she had been lying were two bullet holes. Niam knew that he would have been staring at a bloodstain instead, if she had stayed with him.

  At least when he got to the station all the shots would cease… (He hoped).

  His car tires screeched as he went around the corner at great speed. He was wrong; it was like Barker was going to go all out to stop his friend from living. Shots continued to fire, people began to run in all directions and police officers crawled to their vehicles calling for assistance.

  The car screeched to a halt!

  Niam jumped out and a large spray of bullets headed his way, he dropped to the floor.

  Carlyle was already outside; he was warned in advance as Niam headed closer to the station. He had his gun out and was firing at the wheels of the car as it continued its assault on the station.

  “What is wrong with this lunatic?” he asked Niam as he picked him up and pulled him next to him, the two of them headed behind the station’s doorway.

  “He’s a nutcase!” Niam said.

  “You’ve been hit?” Carlyle asked.

  Looking at his hand Niam noticed blood, but it wasn’t his hand that had been hit, he tried to find where the blood had come from, as he moved he felt searing pain in his stomach, as he put his hand round to the right-hand side of his back, there it was. A tiny hole the size of a small bullet.

  Yes, he’d been shot!

  “Any suggestions at this time, even from a dying man would be helpful.” Carlyle said sarcastically.

  Niam smiled, and took out a hanky from his left side pocket.

  “Yeah, put this up against my back where it is bleeding and find me a weapon/”

  “Ridiculous, we have gun laws in this country, you know that. I can’t just hand you…” Carlyle was stopped as Niam snatched the gun out of his hand and headed quickly back outside.

  “If I am going to die today, better I do it ridding the world of a scumbag!” he said.

  Carlyle tried to stop him, but Niam had taken to sprinting off the premises and out into the open before anymore could be said.

  Murray had just got to the chief as Niam had torn off.

  “Christ! What the Fuck is happening here?” she asked.

  Barker had followed the bait, Niam watched him as he found his car, he jumped into the driver’s side and turned the key just in time to see the approaching motorbike. The two vehicles sped off, Barker chasing Niam, the police gave chase with an armed unit, more officers had been called out and the police were in hot pursuit.

  “We gotta help the guy!” Carlyle said.

  “Was that…?” Murray asked, as she spotted Barker speeding off on a red motorbike.

  “Talk about leaving yourself open!” Carlyle said sarcastically. “Get another gun, let’s get in the car. Before that lad kills himself!”

  “Damn him; he just has got to keep getting himself into these scrapes. What is up with him?” Murray said.

  “He has had a death wish, ever since Laryssa died, he has wanted to die ever since. Poor kid, let’s hope we aren’t too late.” They both got into the car and sped off.

  The chase was big as the blue flashing lights lit up the dark skies.

  Niam saw another flashback (he understood he wasn’t going to make it through this fight, so he knew he better win) it was his death from the other life he could remember very well now.

  He felt his emotions change; he was a much older man now, older than he had seen himself before. He was having difficulty breathing, he knew that this life his death ebbed closer.

  His eyes filled with tears as the old man watched Laryssa step into the hospital room.

  She sat on the edge of his bed and began stroking his face gently, her eyes were also tearful.

  “Forgive me.” He said.

  “You were forgiven many years ago; you will always be my one true love…”

  Everything faded, Niam saw how his other life ended, it was peaceful, Niam had been lucky, he died in her arms.

  Twenty

  The car and the motorbike raced one another.

  The motorbike was one of Barker’s super bikes so caught up with the car quickly. Niam drove into the side of the bike trying to knock him off it and onto the road; they both picked up more speed. The police in hot pursuit of Jaydan who now from somewhere had an automatic gun, he had probably hidden it in the box of the motorbike. Jaydan wasn’t so hot at sticking around, so had taken a shot at Niam’s windscreen shattered as they raced off up the high street.

  Niam hit the curb for the first time, his car spun sideways and then hitting the curb for the second time it rolled over. Staying on its roof it came to a complete stop.

  Amazingly he had survived that with very little injury, he could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins; he could feel the palpitations in his neck, he could taste his own blood in his mouth.

  He was short of breath, his vision had become blurred, he held onto his side and crawled up out of the car as it rocked on its roof.

  Shots began to fire again.

  “Just kill me you bastard!” Niam shouted at Barker. “Come on! You murdering son of a bitch!”

  Barker didn’t show himself and the threatening sound of sirens not too far in the distance made him nervous. He would never get away with this now, the whole of London had caught who he was, he had let his madness run away with itself, he knew he had gone way too far.

  There was a large line of shops either side of the street, lots of glass windows each side, Niam caught Barker’s reflection in a few of them, he could see him moving about.

  “I know where you are, you bloody coward!” Niam shouted. He felt a little drunk; he wasn’t sure what he was aiming at, the blood began to run from the side of his mouth.

  Niam aimed and shot his gun anyway.

  Jaydan laughed as the window that had caught his reflection shattered.

  “No old pal, it isn’t me.!” He called.

  Niam dropped on one knee “Oh fuck!” he said slurring.

  He staggered back up and then the two started to walk closer until they were in a face off.

  The police surrounded them, guns aimed; Murray and Carlyle were still racing towards the area.

  “STOP OR I’LL SHOOT!” Came a voice over the police loud speaker.

  A single shot fired out.


  Neither Niam nor Barker moved at first, the police officers waited. Although they had pursued them, they had no idea which one of them had been the victim or the criminal. Both looked similar, both were covered in blood. So, they waited.

  Niam clutched at his chest.

  Many years seemed to have gone by, his last flashback was again of Laryssa, it was going to be over soon, his search for her killer, his life after she had gone had been taken over by the need to get revenge.

  He remembered her appearance at his hospital bed in his life before, her gentle stroking of his hair, her tears as she watched him fade, she didn’t tell him about his powers because she wasn’t around him enough to help him see.

  EARTH 2018

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  Niam watched the man he was before as she spoke gently to him. They both spoke of love, he realised something about his deathbed. He suddenly saw with clarity what he was. His powers, the reason he found dying so easy, he knew she would be somewhere in the next world and the one after that…

  He could hear her fade in and out, could see the love in her eyes for him, even though he was an old man.

  GAIA APPEARED

  “Come child, it is your time to leave this place!”

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  As Niam stood back in front of Jaydan, he could see the smoke coming from the barrel of the gun.

  The guns of the surrounding police clicked as Niam saw the officer in charge shout out his orders “FIRE!”

  Niam heard nothing, just the blast from the gun, the bullets were fired from the police officers guns, none aimed at him all were heading for his enemy.

  But Niam felt no satisfaction as the bullets moved Barker’s body with every hit.

  The monster who had murdered Laryssa dropped his gun, blood flowed in the shape of small round bullet holes at first and then Jaydan’s shirt became awash with his blood, his face had already been soaked with it, it may not of even been his.

  Niam struggled but forced a smile at his enemy.

  “Caught and killed,” it was all he could say to Barker’s face, justice at last.