2Promises

by Phil Armstrong

  Nurse Jones looked deep in thought. “Yeah, yeah, I will thanks.” Nurse Jones moved slowly to the bed in a concerned manner. She bent over and studied Beth’s face.

  Nurse Edwards had made it to the door and was about to leave. She turned and waved. “Ta ta Annie, see you tomorrow?”

  The goodbye suddenly registered with Nurse Jones. She wheeled around quickly and faced the door. “Karen, do you know if she’s got parents, or family, visiting tonight?”

  Nurse Edwards paused before answering, “Don’t know. Check with the Duty Nurse. Sandra’s working tonight, she’ll know the dirt. I have to boogie, see you love.” Nurse Edwards left to complete her hectic evening routine.

  Nurse Jones read the drip instructions, and she reread them to ensure she understood it. She watched Beth’s motionless body, and she listened to the sound of her heart pulsing through the monitors. Beth was in a coma. Nurse Jones had seen healthy looking bodies waste away to nothing. She had also seen people who looked dead suddenly sit up and recover. There was no set formula for this state. Curious, Nurse Jones placed her hand on Beth’s forehead. It was warm but not alarming. She did it to make a connection. It was not meant to be a temperature test or any established procedure. At that moment she caught a glimpse of something and looked down at Beth’s right wrist. She noticed a tattoo of a small fox.

  “Poor lass,” she thought as she headed for the door and the short walk down the hall to the Duty desk. Nurse Rhodes was working the Duty desk tonight. Airedale hospital was a busy place, but the witching hour was usually close to pub closing time. Tonight had been unusually light. The storm and the foul weather had kept people indoors. The halls seemed quiet, and the hospital was settling down for a peaceful nights rest. Nurse Jones walked slowly down the hall. She rounded the corner and leaned against the Duty desk. Behind the desk illuminated by a soft-targeted reading light was Nurse Sandra Rhodes. Sandra was the senior Nurse. She was liked by all of the Nurses. She knew her job and she was fair. Nurse Rhodes looked up from the papers she was reading sensing a hovering presence.

  “A nice quiet night so far Annie love.”

  Nurse Jones nodded, “Foxy lady, does she have any visitors scheduled tonight?”

  “No. From what I can gather Dr. Ablett is the on call physician. He’s told me that she’s an orphan and has no registered next of kin.” Nurse Rhodes lowered her voice to a whisper. “Saw the tattoo did you?”

  Lowering her voice Nurse Jones asked, “What about girlfriends or roommates?”

  “Nope, I think she’s on her own poor love.” Nurse Rhodes shuffled some papers and looked up. “I think her drip will run out in about a couple of hours. Check the sheet, it’s a bit non standard.”

  “Yes done it, I know the deal. Okay, I’ll go now and do what I get paid to do. See you later.”

  “Bye love, give me a shout if anything exciting happens.” Nurse Rhodes returned to her reading.

  Above the sound of the equipment you could hear the howling Yorkshire wind. The rain rattled the windowpane in Beth’s room. Beth lay motionless; she was lying in the dark. A faint green glow from the equipment monitors provided poor illumination. Her eyes were closed, and the neatly pressed sheets were covering her lifeless body. Subra could sense a strand of Indigo in his dark world. He needed to attach himself to the Indigo light and follow the energy stream. Subra struggled to move. He finally connected with the energy within Beth’s body. He could now tap into Beth’s feelings. She was hanging on but she felt weak and polluted. There was a pollution happening within her body. External contaminants were flowing into her. Subra could sense a consciousness, but it was not connected with her body. He needed to get her to reconnect. Subra managed to catch a wave of Indigo colored energy. He tried to communicate with Beth.

  “Can you hear me? I need you to focus all of your attention upon my voice. Can you hear me? Come on try. Try harder.” Subra could sense a small swell of energy. “There it is. Speak to me.”

  “Am I dead? I’m afraid I’m dead and I’m not in heaven,” thought Beth.

  “No, you’re not dead yet. Dying is a dull, dreary affair, and my advice to you is to have nothing to do with it.”

  “Great, I’m knocking on death’s door and chatting with the grim reaper!” thought Beth.

  “Never knock on death’s door: ring the bell and run away! Death really hates that!” Subra could sense a smile even if it wasn’t physical. “You’re not dead, and you’re not going to die if I can help it. I’m not the grim reaper, but I do need to explain who I am.”

  “Well, if I’m not dead it sure feels like it. I’m talking but I know I’m only thinking. I’m thinking and I know I’m not moving. I’m lying here motionless,” thought Beth.

  Subra responded, “On the plus side, death is one of the few things that can be done just as easily as lying down. There are worse things than death, have you ever spent an evening with an insurance sales man?”

  “I’m dying and I get to chat with a comedian.”

  Nurse Jones stopped at Beth’s door and peered in to examine her patient. All was calm and Beth lay motionless. The crisp hospital sheets were undisturbed. Beth looked sweet, innocent, with her hair falling around her face onto the pillows. Nurse Jones made a face. She scrunched her mouth to acknowledge what a shame such a beautiful girl was struck down in her prime. She had a feeling this was not going to end well. One final look at Beth, and Nurse Jones turned and walked away. She needed to check with her next patient. She was unaware of the conversation occurring in Beth’s mind.

  “I told you. You’re not dying. You’ll live to be one hundred and you’ve got it made. Very few people die past that age. Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome. Trust me I should know. Seriously, I’m just trying to lighten the mood but you must not die. I’ll help you get back to normal, and then you must help me. Do we have a deal?”

  “This is like some cheesy movie where I make a deal with the Devil, and will live to regret it for the rest of my life. I don’t know who you are. For all I know I could be talking with myself. It’s probably the drugs,” thought Beth.

  “Half of the modern drugs could well be thrown out of the window, except the birds would eat them. No, you’re not feeling the effects of the drugs yet, but you need to get off them quickly. I’m in here with you but I’m not you,” explained Subra.

  “Who invited you here? I sure as hell didn’t.”

  “Agreed, fish and visitors smell in three days. Let me first introduce myself. I’m known as Subra. I’m not your conscious or your intuition; I’m not your alter ego or another personality. I’m a soul. I’m a different person who needs to share your body for a while. I desperately need your help. You can trust me.” Subra continued, “I need to help you. Right now the drugs that are being drawn into your body are killing you. They’re not making you stronger. I’ll take the time to offer you a full explanation of both our circumstances, but I can sense that the drugs are making you weak. You need energy to function, and the drugs are blocking your energy flow.”

  “I do trust you. What you say sounds right, but I need to know more about you? Why are you here? What type of help do you want? I also want to know how to get rid of you? In the meantime, how do I get these drugs out of me? How do I wake up?”

  Subra had started to map out Beth’s energy patterns. He could tell that Beth’s body was starting to shut down. He needed to get Beth off the fluids being drawn into her. Subra knew that Beth did not have much time. He was killing his host and his chance of finding the portal.

  “My name’s Beth by the way.”

  “Nice to meet you Beth. I’m going to use your body to send a message to the doctors. You have to be removed from the drugs. You don’t need these drugs or the kind of fluids they’re feeding you. Please don’t panic or fight me. I know what I’m doing; this will be the first time that you need to trust me. You’ll feel your body starting to reject the drugs. I’ll trigger this using your en
ergy, but Beth you are still in full control of your own body.”

  “I’m game Subra. Just don’t kill me, I’m not ready to go to heaven yet,” thought Beth.Subra tapped into Beth’s energy and started to gradually raise her temperature.

  The green glow in Beth’s room changed rapidly to a bright red. Loud alarms indicated to Nurse Jones that Beth was in distress. Nurse Jones quickly entered Beth’s room. She turned the light switch on and called for Nurse Rhodes. Nurse Rhodes was entering the room as Beth started to convulse and shake wildly. The drip instructions were followed to the last detail. The drip was removed instantly as Beth’s body seemed to reject the drug treatment. The fluids for nourishment remained active and intact. Nurse Rhodes tried to hold Beth’s shaking body still. The drugs had stopped but the fluids continued. Beth continued to shake violently and her temperature rose steadily. Beads of sweat formed on Beth’s forehead; her hairline was damp and her face flushed with blood. With different pitches the alarms sang like a choir.

  “Quick, call the doctor on staff and get him down here now,” said Nurse Rhodes in a manner not to be questioned.

  Nurse Jones scampered from the room to head for the nearest phone. After what seemed a long time Doctor Ablett and Nurse Jones entered the room. Nurse Rhodes was swabbing Beth’s forehead with a damp towel. Beth continued to spasm on the bed. Dr. Ablett quickly assessed the situation and determined that another course of treatment was required. Beth’s body had rejected the drug being used.

  “Her temperature keeps rising steadily. I haven’t seen anything like this before. She’s getting hotter and hotter,” said Nurse Rhodes in a shaky voice.

  “Get the fluids out of her. I’m going to try something else,” barked the doctor.

  As the doctor prepared the next plan of attack Nurse Rhodes extracted the fluid feed. The doctor was busy working with Nurse Jones. They were organizing the next set of treatments. Once the fluids were stopped the temperature indicator started to fall immediately and Beth’s body stopped shaking. The temperature indicator continued to fall; everyone present watched Beth stabilize. Her temperature soon returned to normal and she was calm.

  “She won’t live long without fluids. Please reapply the fluids. We’ll give her a rest from the drugs,” said the doctor in an efficient manner.

  Nurse Rhodes reapplied the fluid feed. She was greeted with spasms and a rapidly rising temperature. She did not wait for the doctor to instruct her, and perhaps she should have, but she instantly removed the fluid feed. Beth responded with a calm body and a normal temperature.

  “Let her settle and monitor her closely tonight. I want to see how she’s doing in the morning once her body has had time to adjust to the drugs.” The doctor shook his head and passed through the door. “Call me if she starts to do that again or if you see anything unusual.”

  “Yes, doctor,” the Nurses, replied in stereo.

  As the doctor left the room the Nurses quickly tidied up. Silence fell in the small room. The monitors were chirping, but Beth’s breathing was now strong and regular. Both Nurses felt calm, and a sense of relief washed over them.

  “Enough excitement for one night. I’m going back to the desk. Check in with her frequently and give me a shout the minute you see any change,” said Nurse Rhodes as she headed down the hall. Nurse Jones looked at Beth; she was peaceful and seemed happier with no feeds. She seemed to be sound asleep. Nurse Jones smiled and watched Beth for about ten minutes before heading off to complete her other duties. Throughout the night Nurse Jones would check in on Beth. Occasionally Nurse Jones and Nurse Rhodes would speak. They would conclude the best course of action was to leave Beth as she was. They monitored Beth through the night and did not call the doctor again that evening.

  “Beth, you’ve gone quiet on me. Are you all right?” inquired Subra.

  “I’m here, but that was scary and weird. Subra, thanks. I feel stronger and my energy is starting to build. It’s like a battery charging. My thoughts are clearer. Subra, I can feel you inside of me. I can feel what you’re feeling. My body feels dead, and I’m trapped in my own mind with you.”

  “Beth, it’s time to tell you who I am and why I’m here. It’s time to tell you the truth. I think you’re starting to trust me now. Remember that the truth is more important than the facts,” said Subra, opening up to Beth.

  “You’ve helped me, but I have to admit, you still have to gain my trust and my friendship.”

  “That’s fair; misfortune shows those who are not friends. The shifts of fortune test the reliability of friends,” whispered Subra softly.

  “Wait! That’s Cicero. You’re quoting Cicero! I remember that from school. I had to do a paper on Cicero. Subra, who are you?”

  Subra paused and started to explain to Beth. Subra talked about his studies with Master Xu. He told of his selection process and his Gieging teachings. He described to Beth the domain he came from, and how hard it was to separate from the collective universe. He told of how difficult it was to leave his world. He talked at length about the mental process he used to project himself into the physical domain. Beth was silent; she was listening to the story with interest. She related the story to the messages delivered in the lecture. She could understand the difference between the physical and spiritual domains.

  “Are you still there? It’s all gone quiet,” inquired Subra.

  “I’m here. Carry on. I’m sure there’s more?”

  There was indeed more. Subra continued to communicate with Beth. He told her about the rush of feelings he had felt during separation. He told of his fear and anxiety. Subra described his wonderment at being an individual and having energy to use. He described his excitement at having his own thoughts. Subra continued detailing his journey from the spiritual domain to the physical domain. He described his sights and the sensations of harnessing energy. He described the experience of feeding on energy. He described the beautiful orb that houses the physical world and how it looked from afar. Subra then described the cosmic net. He told Beth of his mission and his cargo.

  Beth interjected after what seemed an age of silence. “A cosmic net that stores all of our most important quotes. You have millions of quotes and right now they’re all in my head. This is a little hard to believe. I think you’re stretching the truth.”

  “Stretching the truth. Truth is generally the best vindication against slander: Abraham Lincoln. There are few nudity's so objectionable as the naked truth: Agnes Repplier. Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it: Andre Gide. Chase after truth like hell and you’ll free yourself, even thou you never touch its coat tails: Clarence Darrow. As scarce as the truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand: Josh Billings. Do I need to go on or have I proven my point?”

  “So you have a massive store of the world’s quotes. What the hell were you going to do with them?” thought Beth.

  Subra continued with his explanation. He described his mission in more detail. He detailed how he was to retrieve his cargo, and transport it back to the spiritual domain where this collective wisdom would be shared with the connected universe. Subra explained how he collected the quotes and began to tow them. He described the shaft of hot white light bursting from the orb towards him. He detailed his fall, and the procedures that Master Xu had taught him in case of emergency. Subra described the energy source that he was instructed to find. He detailed his frantic search for a purple light source and how he continued to fall. Subra could sense his descriptions speeding up as if he were falling at great speed. Beth remained silent and listened intently. Subra could feel Beth getting tense. Subra described the falling process as he passed through the wispy atmosphere. He explained his relief as he saw an energy source emitting the right signature; an Indigo colored light. It was the aura of an Indigo Child. It was a physical being receptive to his type of energy.

  “Subra, what’s an Indigo Child? I haven’t heard that term before, and that’s how you describe me. I don’t know if I like
that,” thought Beth.

  “I can only tell you what Master Xu has passed down to me through his teachings. An Indigo Child is a special physical being. The Indigo Child is connected to the spiritual world with a special type of Indigo energy. Some physical beings can see this purple glow and call it an aura. An Indigo Child is usually different and misunderstood. They have difficulty concentrating yet can do things that others can’t,” Subra paused. Subra wondered how Beth would react to this information but he had to continue. “They tend to be able to hear voices with connections into the mind. They have ESP and other types of talents. They tend to be loners and they don’t easily fit in. Beth, you have a strong Indigo aura and have open energy channels. That’s why I was able to locate you and seek refuge. The cargo I carry is in you at the moment. Our collective energies have shocked your physical body, but I know I can work with you to restore you back to your original state. You just have to trust me. I can only communicate with you when you sleep. Your thoughts need to be still and quiet. Do you understand?”