Delirious

by Daniel Palmer

  As the chemical surged through Charlie’s body, a smile broke out across his face. Somehow, someway, Eddie Prescott had found him. Before this descent into madness, ghosts and phantoms had held no sway with him. But Charlie was certain of one thing. Eddie Prescott’s ghostly voice was as real as their days together. Eddie spoke as clearly as if he were sitting on the bed next to him. Except that nobody else could hear the conversation. It was meant for Charlie alone. How Eddie Prescott had broken through the other side was of little consequence now. Charlie preferred getting answers over questioning the impossible. Eddie’s words were a call to action. Charlie couldn’t wait any longer to act.

  Chapter 40

  The drugs had worn off. Charlie awoke with a splitting headache, his mouth parched and sticky with sleep and his stomach roiling with sickness. Flashes of the night before sent waves of confusion through him. Charlie wasn’t the type to believe in spirits or in the afterlife. If something didn’t have a logical explanation, Charlie assumed it to be some sort of hoax or misunderstanding.

  Now his foundation was shaken to the core. The dead had contacted him.

  As he lay on the bed, his mind raced to come up with a logical explanation. Perhaps it was the hypnosis. Something Rachel did opened up a part of my mind, he thought. Hypnosis was the only thing that made sense, but he struggled to accept that Eddie’s voice was merely a figment of his imagination. He had heard Eddie Prescott speak, and each word had ripped away his belief in logic and rational thought.

  “Wake up, Charlie. It’s a big day today. It’s leaving day,” Eddie hissed in his ear.

  “Shut up!” Charlie shouted skyward. “Leave me alone.”

  “Get your bags packed …,” Eddie hissed again. “Your life depends on it….”

  Charlie’s roommate had been relocated during the night. Charlie was alone in his quarters, but that didn’t matter. Even if Maxim had been in the room, he wouldn’t be able to hear Eddie Prescott’s voice. That privilege was Charlie’s alone. Why Eddie was trying to help him, Charlie didn’t know. What he did know was that Eddie was a wake-up call. For too long now, Charlie had played the part of a victim. Charlie wasn’t accustomed to playing by other people’s rules. He was the one who made the rules. Now all of that was about to change—thanks in large part to his dead partner’s prodding.

  Dressing quickly, Charlie left his room. His legs ached from the narcotic and carried him with the sure-footedness of a seasick mariner. The common area was mostly deserted. Breakfast was still in progress.

  Good, he thought. That makes finding him easier.

  Charlie headed toward the stairwell, where he would be greeted, then escorted, by a duty nurse down to the basement-level cafeteria. There he was certain he’d find George Ferris eating his morning eggs. And with George’s help, freedom would be mere hours away.

  Charlie entered the cafeteria and took no more than a few seconds to spot George seated alone at a corner table. He was careful to avoid being seen by any of the on-duty psychiatrists—not wanting to answer for last night’s incident. They would come and find him soon enough, he reasoned.

  George hadn’t shaved or combed his hair. In fact, he hadn’t made any noticeable attempts to civilize his appearance, despite claims that his medication changes had substantially improved his reasoning. Charlie surmised it was part of a mad professor mystique that George was cultivating.

  Taking an empty seat at George’s table, Charlie watched as the man scooped up a mouthful of egg onto his plastic fork and then shoveled it indiscriminately into his mouth. The utensils provided by Walderman were rounded and dull. Everything accessible to patients was plastic and carefully manufactured to ensure they couldn’t use them against the staff, or themselves.

  “You look spry and refreshed,” George said after he finished chewing.

  “I’m guessing you’re being a bit sarcastic,” Charlie said.

  “Just a bit.”

  “Well, you’re not much of a sight for sore eyes yourself, George,” Charlie said.

  George laughed. “I may be wild-looking, but at least I’m happy. You, on the other hand, seem troubled this morning. I can see it in your eyes.”

  Charlie took a deep breath. Shame passed through him over how he had first judged George. Now the person he had once reviled proved more insightful than himself and might be the one to help set him free. If what Eddie Prescott had said was true and Charlie’s life was in danger, it would be fitting that George be the one to help save him.

  Charlie wasted no time. “I need your help, George,” Charlie said, leaning in close, nearly whispering the words.

  “My help? With what?”

  “I need to get out of here.”

  George laughed. A few patients eating nearby turned and took notice. Charlie shook his head and held his finger up to his lips.

  “No need for secrecy, my friend. Why don’t you just leave?” George asked. “Your time here is up.”

  “It’s not that simple anymore,” Charlie said. “Apparently they found a note in my handwriting, threatening to kill my former bosses. I demanded a court ruling on my commitment, but the judge is unavailable. I’m involuntarily committed until I can get that hearing.”

  “Well, that’s not a problem,” George said, talking while chewing, offering Charlie an unpleasantly unobstructed view of the contents of his mouth. “You should get a hearing in the next day or two. It’s pretty uncommon to keep someone locked up who hasn’t committed a crime.”

  “I don’t have a day or two,” Charlie said.

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know,” Charlie replied. “I just know that somebody contacted me and told me that I needed to get out of here. Today. He said that everything would be explained once I did, and that my life was in danger if I stayed.”

  George twirled the long hair of his beard. “And who told you this?” he asked.

  “You’d think I’m crazy if I told you,” Charlie said.

  George laughed and covered his mouth to keep food from spilling out. “Well now, that’s a new one,” he said.

  “Are you mocking me?” Charlie asked.

  “No. I’m merely highlighting the irony of your situation,” George said. “Fear of being judged crazy by a crazy person in a mental hospital. It’s really precious, if you think about it. So tell me, who gave you this warning?”

  Charlie’s mind churned through his options. If anyone would understand and believe him, it would be George.

  “My dead business partner. Okay?” Charlie tried, unconvincingly, to mask the absurdity of the statement. “He started talking to me last night. I’d just finished hypnotherapy. The session was related to Eddie. Perhaps something about the hypnosis made it possible for him to contact me.”

  “From the grave?” George asked.

  Charlie stared into George’s eyes, searching them for any sign of doubt and condemnation. “I guess. I don’t know. He’s the one who gave me the warning. And yes, he died years ago.”

  George didn’t even flinch at the audacity of the story. “And let me guess,” he said. “You’re the only one who heard him.”

  “That’s right,” Charlie said.

  “And what do you make of this, Charlie?” George asked.

  “It sounds crazy, I know. But trust me, George, this is different.”

  “Why?” George asked, his eyes suggesting that he already knew the answer. “Because it happened to you?”

  “No,” Charlie said. “Because it happened. I heard it. Eddie told me that I’m not crazy. There is an explanation for everything that’s been happening, and he wants to help me figure it out.”

  “And what about other people who hear voices?” George asked. “Are they equally sane?”

  “It’s different. I can’t explain it. It was as real as this conversation is now. He’s trying to help me.”

  “You don’t think that a deep hypnosis could have unlocked something you’ve been suppressing for years? As a result, to combat the guilt
or shame, or whatever you suppressed, you’ve manifested the voice of Eddie yourself.”

  “It wasn’t like a voice in my head, George,” Charlie said. “It was no different than you and I talking now. I didn’t make it up.”

  George rested his elbows on the table, clasping his hands together and using his thumbs to support the weight of his chin.

  “Have you ever read Joseph Heller?” George asked.

  Charlie laughed a bit, having likened the book to his situation on several occasions already. “Sure. Back in high school. Catch-Twenty-two.”

  “Think about it. A crazy person locked in a mental hospital hears voices. If the voices are real, then he’s not crazy. It’s miraculous even. If he says that he hears voices nobody else can hear, then he belongs in the mental hospital. Now tell me, Charlie, what’s a person to do with that?” George took his elbows off the table and went back to eating.

  “I am out of options, George. This is the first opportunity since everything bad started happening to me that I can actually do something about. If I don’t listen to what I heard, if I don’t act on it, I may be passing up the only chance I have to save myself. I’m not ready to go down without a fight. So what’s it going to be? Will you help me or not?”

  George sat upright. He set his fork down on his half-eaten plate of food and looked into Charlie’s eyes.

  “Well?” Charlie asked again.

  “Of course I’ll help,” George said. “After all, that’s what friends are for.”

  Chapter 41

  The common area was the usual buzz of activity. Patients played board games. Some watched the televisions mounted high on the walls, while others paced up and down the halls. Some talked to themselves, and several sat in chairs, waiting for visitors. Charlie kept his usual low profile, even though today would be anything but usual. He hadn’t heard from Eddie since leaving his room, but that didn’t much matter. He knew what had to be done, and with George’s help it would happen.

  The last person Charlie wanted or expected to see that morning was Rachel. She tapped him on the shoulder. Charlie spun around, startling her.

  “Hey!” she said. “A little jumpy today?”

  Charlie could hear his blood pounding in his ears. He needed to be alone. Rachel had the capacity to ruin everything.

  “I’m sorry,” Charlie said. “Perhaps a little, after the other night, I mean.”

  Rachel’s eyes sparkled with concern. “Yes. I know. I heard about that. Dr. Shapiro mentioned the incident in our morning staff meeting. I’m so sorry, Charlie.”

  For a moment Charlie let himself become lost in Rachel’s interest. Then, quick as he’d succumbed, he iced up. He needed to get her out of the way.

  “What do you want, Rachel?” Charlie’s eyes narrowed. He allowed himself to become aggressive, hostile even.

  Rachel took a step backward. “I just wanted to update you on the situation with the judge,” she said. “I think we can get you a hearing the day after tomorrow. But I have to say, last night’s incident didn’t help your cause much.”

  Charlie nodded. “I’m sure the staff is even warier of me now,” he said. “It must have been a dream. Perhaps it was something triggered by the hypnosis.” Offering a logical explanation and accepting responsibility for the incident might be enough to get her to move along and leave him alone.

  “You have counseling scheduled for today?” Rachel asked.

  “Yes. In the afternoon, I think. But I’m done with group.”

  “I do hope that will change,” Rachel said.

  Charlie was aware of her style now, though her compassion seemed boundless. The worse his situation deteriorated, the more determined Rachel seemed to help. Perhaps, Charlie thought, the same could be said of his attraction to her. The more unbalanced his life became, the more appealing she seemed. He brushed those thoughts aside.

  “Listen, Charlie,” Rachel said. “It’s not common practice, but I’d be happy to talk to you as a friend if you need. Sometimes that can be the best therapy of all.”

  “Thanks, Rachel,” Charlie said. “I’ll think about it. Now, if you’ll excuse me …”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Charlie kept careful watch over George. Without the benefit of clocks to synchronize their plan, the two had agreed to use hand signals to communicate. Per the plan, George was engaged in a game of checkers against Maliek. When the game was over and George gave Charlie the sign, everything would start to happen. Fast.

  “Charlie, there is something else I want to talk to you about,” Rachel said. “Something about Joe.”

  “I don’t care about Joe right now, Rachel. And I don’t care much about you, either. I want you to go away from me and leave me alone.”

  “But, Charlie …,” Rachel said.

  “What part of ‘go away’ don’t you get?” Charlie asked. “Leave me alone, now.” He kept his voice low.

  The harshness took Rachel by surprise. She stepped back. “Please, Charlie,” Rachel said. “Don’t be like that.”

  Charlie couldn’t let up now. “Don’t you get it, Rachel?” he asked. “I don’t want you to talk to me. I don’t want you to be near me, and I don’t want a friend. I want you to go away.”

  The hurt in Rachel’s eyes stung Charlie more than he had expected. She backed away but did not avert her gaze.

  “You need help, Charlie,” she said. “You need to trust us.”

  “What I need is for you to disappear, Rachel.” Charlie spat out the words through clenched teeth. “You did this to me. You’re the reason I’m here. I never want to see you again. Is that clear enough for you? Get away from me!”

  Charlie couldn’t believe the harshness of his own words. Still, they rang true. If he had never contacted Rachel in the first place, he might never have been locked up in this hellhole.

  Rachel covered her mouth. Charlie thought he saw tears well up in her eyes. Without another word, she turned and raced down the hallway. He watched as she exited through the floor’s security doors and then disappeared down the stairwell.

  The timing couldn’t have been better, even though he felt sick about what he had said. The moment she was gone, George finished the game of checkers. He locked his fingers together, stretching his arms and his interlocked hands high above his head.

  This was the signal Charlie was waiting for. The show was about to begin. Charlie took the cue and moved closer to the security doors that sealed off the floor’s only entrance and exit.

  With his hands still locked together above his head, George screamed, “You’re a cheater! A cheater!”

  With that, George thrust his balled hands downward, smashing them hard onto the gaming table. Checker pieces clattered onto the floor, sent in every direction by the force of the impact. Maliek stood up and retreated.

  From his vantage point, Charlie could still see the action unfolding, but he stayed close enough to the doors to ensure that the plan worked as designed. Charlie couldn’t believe how well George was playing it up. It was an Oscar-worthy performance, only lacking a film crew to capture the beauty of it.

  “I didn’t cheat!” Maliek said. “I won the game fair and square.”

  “You’re a cheater!” George yelled again. Following their choreography to perfection, George flipped over the gaming table, which sounded a deafening crash as it eventually settled to a stop on the floor.

  Nurses rushed to the unfolding drama but kept their distance. George picked up a chair and pushed it threateningly at them, in the way a lion tamer would to keep a predator at bay. They hadn’t discussed that particular move during their planning, but the improvisation added a level of authenticity to George’s outburst.

  Following protocol, Charlie watched the day nurse in charge pick up the phone at the nurses’ station, presumably to dial security. Charlie kept his position against the wall. He was standing to the right of the security doors. Once they opened, he’d have only seconds to react.

  “George, put the chair down,”
one of the nurses said. “Listen to me, George. You need to put it down.”

  “Get away from me! Get away!” George shouted.

  Orderlies and several nurses had formed a semicircle around George and closed in. Charlie’s heart raced. Although his eyes were fixated on George, his ears were attuned to the doors. He was waiting for the buzzer, a sound that would allow security to enter and him to leave.

  A nurse had come over to the doors with her card key in hand. She kept peering out the small window of one of the thick ward floor doors, ready to press the buzzer the moment security arrived. She pressed the open button at the same instant security rang the bell. The doors buzzed loudly in Charlie’s ears and then were thrust open. Two sizable armed men burst into the room and darted off in George’s direction.

  The nurse took no notice of Charlie. Her focus, as with every staffer on the floor, was on George. The doors started to close. They were on a hinge and closed slowly enough for Charlie to use his foot as a doorstop.

  Propping one of the doors open, Charlie wasted no time in making his exit. If the doors didn’t close within a certain amount of time, a buzzer would sound an alarm. Removing his foot from underneath the door, Charlie slipped his body through the shrinking crack between the door and the doorjamb. At last, he was outside the floor walls without an escort. Charlie’s footsteps echoed loudly in the stairwell as he bounded down the concrete steps, two at a time.

  At the bottom landing, he pushed open the unlocked fire exit door. He emerged into the sunlight and breathed the fresh air for the first time in days. With adrenaline still coursing through him, Charlie somehow managed to keep his pace unhurried. He kept his eyes focused forward, careful to not look around and perhaps rouse suspicions. Charlie breathed in the coolness of the fall day. His skin prickled with excitement.

  Never looking back, Charlie headed east, away from the main campus, down a grassy knoll toward busy Belmont Street. He walked with calm, unhurried steps. It was just like a free man would walk.