Shadows of the Past: A Supernatural Suspense Mystery (Shadow Slayers Stories Book 1)

by Nellie H. Steele

  She made a few quick stops, picking up some various household items that she needed and a few food items from the store now that they would be entertaining and eating for three. She dropped everything off at home. Checking the time, she saw that it was only 10 a.m. She didn’t have much on her work schedule for the day, but she figured she would get a start on them and clear them off her plate.

  Upon sitting down at her desk, she found herself distracted. She pushed through a few items but found it difficult to focus. She checked her window often, which overlooked the front of the house, making sure no strangers were lurking around. After about thirty more minutes of work she found herself too distracted to continue. Despite her words this morning, she really was unnerved being in the house alone. Her mind lingered on the strange package that was delivered and on the person who had delivered it.

  Not being able to focus, she gave up on work. She settled on getting out of the house and doing some shopping. Whenever she was stressed, she found that shopping was a great way to relieve her mind. With her mind made up, she grabbed her keys and headed out the door.

  Josie eased her car into a parking space at the mall, parking outside one of her favorite department stores. She hoped the distraction would help ease her mind. She made her way through the store, stopping every so often to browse at a few clothing items or accessories. Finally, her mind began to relax at the expense of a new dress and a pair of shoes. Considering this a success, Josie decided to eat before continuing her retail therapy. She dropped her purchases off at her car and headed to the food court.

  When entering the food court, she felt off. She chalked it up to waiting too long before eating lunch. As she considered what food appealed to her most, she began to feel worse. A stabbing pain above her right eye made concentrating difficult. She rubbed her head in the hopes this would relieve it until she sat down to eat.

  She settled on pizza and made her way to the counter to order, practically running into a man along the way. She apologized to him, unable to take her eyes off him even after he began to walk away. He turned back, staring at her. Something about him seemed familiar to her, but she couldn’t place it. Suddenly, the pain in her head became ten times worse, nearly blinding her with its stabbing sensation. Instinctively, she put her hand to her head; her mind was a jumble of thoughts. Her nightmare was pushed to the front of her mind, she remembered her hands on a cold wet stone, her labored breathing. She closed her eyes, trying to shut it all out. When she opened them she noticed the man she had almost run into still staring at her. She stared back for a moment before her vision narrowed to a pinpoint, blood rushed into her ears. Her limbs became heavy, and she sensed herself slipping away. Her eyes rolled back, and she slumped to the floor.

  Chapter 4

  The dark-haired man saw her go limp. Josie, as she now called herself, had almost run into him moments before. Had she recognized him? There was an instant where it appeared as though she remembered then a confused look prior to her grabbing her head, as though in pain. She had shut her eyes and when she opened them she had focused on him before fainting. He ran to her, catching her just before her head hit the hard floor. He eased her onto the floor. “Celine,” he said, trying to call her back to consciousness. “Celine!” He remembered she no longer used this name. “Josie… Josie, wake up, Josie.” The woman moved, a moan escaping her lips. She was coming to, would she remember now?

  Josie’s eyes fluttered open. Her brain felt scrambled. She gazed at the man hovering over her. He was asking her something but she couldn’t respond. She realized she was lying on the floor. A small group of bystanders had gathered around her. She recognized the man as the one she had almost run into moments ago. He asked her if she was okay. She tried to sit up, but he stopped her. “Yes,” she said, confused. “I think so.”

  “Don’t get up, we’ve got paramedics on the way, ma’am,” a uniformed woman told her.

  “Paramedics?” Josie said, starting to return to normal. “No, no, I’m fine. I think I waited a bit too long to eat. I’m fine.” She again tried to push herself up to sitting, feeling ridiculous lying on the floor.

  “Ma’am, please, stay where you are. The paramedics are on their way; we need to check that you are okay.”

  It dawned on Josie that the security officer viewed her like a lawsuit waiting to happen. She stayed put, realizing that they were only following their protocol. The paramedics arrived within minutes, pushing aside both the security officer and the concerned man who still hovered over her. They descended on her with all manner of medical devices, measuring her oxygen intake, blood pressure, heart rate and more. “Ma’am, can you tell us your name?”

  “Josie, Josephine, Josephine Benson.” Josie stammered, feeling ridiculous. They probably thought she didn’t remember her own name given her response.

  “Do you know where you are?”

  “The food court at the mall.”

  “Can you tell us what happened, ma’am?” one paramedic asked her.

  “I had a pain in my head, a stabbing pain and then I fainted. I think I waited too long to eat,” she responded sheepishly.

  “Did you hit your head?”

  “Uh, I don’t know…” Josie began to answer when the man who was hovering chimed in.

  “No, she didn’t. I spotted her falling and caught her before she did.”

  “Thank you, sir.” The paramedics proceeded to fire the standard barrage of questions at her. Josie refrained from rolling her eyes as she answered them all.

  “Vitals look good,” one paramedic said to his partner. He turned to Josie. “Okay, we’re going to move you onto the stretcher here. We’re going to have you sit up slowly and shimmy onto it.”

  “Stretcher? No, I’m fine. I just need some food and some rest,” Josie said, sitting up and waving her hand at them.

  “Ma’am, Josie, we need to take you to the hospital to run a few standard tests.”

  “Tests? I don’t need any tests. I’m fine! I just…”

  “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but we have a protocol, we need to take you.”

  Josie sighed. Of course they needed to take her; they had to follow the procedure to clear her of any medical problems or identify them right away in the event of a lawsuit. “Okay, okay,” she answered, beginning to shimmy herself onto the stretcher with their help.

  “Besides, you get to ride in the ambulance! We’ll even use the siren for you,” one paramedic said, winking at her.

  “What fun,” Josie said, her words thick with sarcasm.

  Within minutes Josie was strapped down onto the stretcher and they were wheeling her to the ambulance that sat waiting outside. She felt ridiculous but at least she’d soon be out of sight from most of the people gawking at her. Once she was in the ambulance and they were on the way to the hospital, sirens blaring as promised, Josie asked for her phone. Her purse was out of her reach and she wanted to text Damien.

  “Here you go, hun,” the paramedic said, handing her the purse.

  “Thanks.” Josie dug for her phone, retrieved it and unlocked it, navigating to her text messaging app. She sent Damien a text: I’m fine, but headed to the hospital. Fainted at the mall… they’re making me go to be sure I’m ok.

  Within moments, Damien, always connected, texted back: WHAT??? ARE YOU OKAY? On way to hospital, meet you there.

  Josie texted back: I’m okay. See you at the hospital. She sent a second text: Be careful… don’t speed. I’m fine

  Damien text her back: K, will be safe :)

  Josie put her phone back in her purse and waited to arrive at the hospital. Once they arrived, another massive amount of medical professionals descended on her, rechecking vitals, asking questions about what happened, drawing blood samples, and ordering tests. It wasn’t long before she was sitting on her own, the masses who had greeted her upon her arrival disappearing to deal with their respective details. A knock interrupted the momentary lull. “Hey, Jos, how you doing?”

  “D!” Josi
e reached out to draw him in for a hug. “Thank you for coming. I’m fine though. I’m fine. I think I just didn’t eat soon enough.”

  “So, what happened?” Damien asked her, pulling up a chair, still holding her hand.

  “I don’t know. I was in the food court, felt strange and then I fainted.”

  “Did you hit your head?”

  “No, thankfully, some nice bystander caught me before I hit the floor.”

  “Good thing.” He rubbed her head.

  Another knock announced the arrival of a woman in scrubs. “Ms. Benson? I’m here to take you for your CT scan.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  “We’ll have her back as soon as we can,” she said to Damien as she wheeled Josie from the room.

  The CT scan did not take long and Josie was returned to her ER cube to wait for results within forty-five minutes. As she was being wheeled back into the room, Josie smiled as soon as she caught sight of Damien. He gave her an awkward smile back, the reason for which she discovered as soon as the whole room was in her view. Standing opposite Damien was Michael. No one spoke until the attendant repositioned her bed and left the room.

  “What are you doing here, Michael?” Josie blurted out as soon as the opportunity presented itself. “How did you even find out?”

  “What happened?” was his response.

  “I just fainted, that’s all. I’m fine.”

  “We’ll see,” he said curtly. “But I’m not leaving until they tell me you are okay.”

  Not wanting to argue while in her hospital bed, they all sat in awkward silence for a few minutes. Damien broke the silence, trying to make some light conversation as they waited. After what seemed like an eternity, the doctor entered the room.

  “Good afternoon, Ms. Benson. How are you doing, feeling okay?” He paused, waiting for her response.

  “Yes, I’m okay. I feel fine.”

  “Great. I have your results here. Blood work all came back normal, CT scan looked great. Nothing’s showing up that suggests anything is wrong. Anything causing stress at home or work?”

  “No, nothing. I think I waited too long to eat. So can I go?” Josie asked him.

  “Well, the nightmares,” Michael said, before the doctor could respond. Josie seethed internally, reminded in an instant of why they had broken up. Michael had a bad habit of playing parent rather than a partner.

  “Nightmares?” the doctor asked, pausing.

  “It’s nothing. I’ve had an occasional nightmare here and there, it’s nothing outside of what all normal people have.”

  Sighing, Michael again chimed in, “She wakes up heart pounding, in a cold sweat, labored breathing from the same dream over and over and over.” Josie was ready to spring from the bed and punch him.

  “A recurring dream? That’s usually a sign of stress, which could cause this type of reaction, particularly if you’re having trouble sleeping. I’m going to recommend that you follow up with a therapist. We’ll include a few names and phone numbers. I’ll have the nurse get you some lunch. Other than that, physically, you are fine, so we’re going to send you home. Take it easy, not too much on your feet for the rest of the day, we don’t want any repeat performances where you may get physically hurt.”

  “Okay, thanks, yep, sure thing, I will rest, no problem!” Josie promised.

  “Okay, we’ll get you processed with discharge instructions, someone will be in to go over those with you shortly. Take care.”

  “Thank you.” When the doctor left, Josie turned to Damien and said, “I told you I was fine.”

  “Yeah, I’m glad you’re okay. I was kind of worried.”

  “Ah, I am so glad to go home, not what I expected when I started the day. I only wanted to shop and relax.”

  “Awww, so didn’t you get any retail therapy?” Damien asked.

  “Well, I bought a dress and one pair of shoes but nowhere near the amount of retail therapy I was longing for.” Josie grinned at him.

  “I think you should consider seeing the therapist about those dreams even if you are physically fine,” Michael said.

  “Well, thanks so much, buzzkill,” Josie said, rolling her eyes.

  “Josie, I’m just concerned, that’s all. You told me you were having those dreams months ago before we broke up and you’re still having that same dream? Something is going on.”

  “I just want to get home. I’ll see how I feel in a few days. This experience exhausted me more than the dreams.”

  “Well, yeah, let’s get you home and relaxed,” Michael said, rubbing her shoulder.

  As annoyed as Josie was with Michael, she agreed, she couldn’t wait until she got home. She didn’t even care if he was with her at this point; she wanted to decompress. She felt like she had run two marathons and was spent.

  Thankfully, within a few minutes, a nurse joined them with a small lunch, went over several items of paperwork and told Josie she was free to dress and leave. Within about an hour, they retrieved Josie’s car from the mall and had Josie home on the couch, feet up, relaxing as promised. She watched the boys buzzing around her like busy bees trying to be as attentive as possible after her “emergency” earlier. Once they got her as settled as they could, they joined her to watch movies, allowing her to have her choice. While she wasn’t physically sick, she didn’t complain about having free rein on viewing choices and took full advantage. They ordered in for dinner and kept their movie marathon going until Josie yawned and stretched, telling them she was ready to go to bed.

  “Want me to bunk with you again?” Damien asked as she prepared to head upstairs.

  “Yeah, if you don’t mind the air mattress again.” Josie winced.

  “Nope, don’t mind at all.”

  Michael listened to the exchange, seeming to want to join in but deciding it might be best not to. “I’ll be in the guest room if you need anything. I hope you sleep, Josie.”

  “Thanks,” Josie said.

  They all headed up the stairs, parting ways outside of the guest room door with Josie and Damien continuing to her room. Within a few minutes they were both settled and Josie turned out the lights after exchanging good nights with Damien.

  The man watched the lights go out at the house one by one, plunging the surrounding area into darkness. She had seemed so close to remembering earlier today; before she fainted, he thought there had been a glimmer of recognition in her eyes. He did not know what her medical condition was after they wheeled her away on the stretcher, but he couldn’t imagine anything being gravely wrong with her. Not Celine. Instead, he had come back here and waited, spying two men returning with her earlier this afternoon. Since then the house had been quiet. Another day was coming to a close. It might be time to enact phase two of his plan. Tomorrow was a new day. He’d hold on to the hope that the faintest glimmer of recognition had crossed her face and that she’d soon be the Celine that he knew. Hope, it was all he had.

  Chapter 5

  Josie sat on the edge of the bed, still shaking. She sniffled, wiping tears from her face. The latest version of the nightmare seemed more real, bringing her to tears. The commotion had awoken Damien; he sat next to her, rubbing her back. “I’m okay,” she said, still sniffling. “But it was way more intense this time.”

  Damien remained quiet, offering silent support while she continued to recover. After a few moments, Josie grabbed his hand. “Thanks,” she whispered. “Guess we better try to go back to sleep.”

  “Do you think you can sleep?” Damien asked her.

  “Probably not. I don’t sleep well even when I’m not having nightmares. But, at least I’ll try.”

  “Want me to stay here ‘til you fall asleep?”

  She nodded, still ill at ease. She laid back on the pillow; he held her hand, remaining on the edge of the bed. After a few moments, she said, “Okay, I’m okay now, you can go back to sleep. Thanks, D.”

  “You sure? I can stay here ‘til you’re out.”

  She smiled and squeezed his
hand. “I’m sure, yep.” She was much calmer, although no closer to sleep. Damien squeezed her hand back and headed back to the air mattress. Josie lay awake for another hour before dozing off. Within the first hour of sleep, though, she was startled awake again, the nightmare making its second appearance that night. Although not as rattled as the first time she experienced it, she still startled awake, bolting upright in bed. This time she was quiet enough not to wake Damien, who was snoring quietly at the foot of the bed.

  She checked her clock; it was 3:28 a.m. With a 4 a.m. alarm looming she would never sleep now. She got up and tiptoed around, grabbing her jogging clothes and sneaking out of the room so as not to disturb Damien’s sleep. A few minutes after four, she hit the road. Feeling a little sleepy, she was hoping the jog would clear her mind. Josie was too stubborn to miss it.

  She returned home to find two concerned faces sipping coffee in the kitchen. “Do you think that was wise? Jogging alone in the middle of the night?” Michael chided.

  “I wanted to clear my mind, I couldn’t sleep anymore.”

  “Why didn’t you wake me? You said you were okay to go back to sleep,” Damien said.

  “I was, I did, but I had the dream a second time. It takes me a while to go back to sleep after it and it was already three thirty, so I got up. It wasn’t that early.”

  “You could have woken me up. I would have gone jogging with you at least,” Michael chimed in.

  “I’m fine, guys, honest.”

  “You had the dream a second time you said?” Damien asked.

  Josie started a kettle of water heating on the stove to make some tea. “Yeah, twice last night, lucky me.” Michael and Damien shared a glance, one that didn’t escape Josie. “What?” Neither answered. “Oh, come on, what was that look?”

  Damien shrugged. “Nothing, just… well…” He stammered.