Stay Centered (Part 3 of 3)
(This is Part 3 of the story, if you haven’t read Part 1 then please click here)
Prince Zack stumbled up the stone stairs, trying to make it to the main hall, as he heard the monster catching up to him.
The monster did not touch the ground; instead its long claws buried in the walls and propelled it forward. Before Prince Zack managed to open the heavy doors the monster ran its claws through them and kept them shut. It roared at the Prince, sending him on yet another wild run, this time to the top floor of the castle.
The monster followed and even though it could catch up to the Prince any time it wished to, it toyed with him by holding back just a few inches, snapping its jaw and scratching the walls with its claws.
When the Prince arrived at the upper floor he was out of breath and the monster had trapped him at the end of a corridor. Behind the Prince was a large stained glass window that let out to a lower level roof.
“Wait, wait, listen, I don’t know what Vera told you but I never…”
The monster hit the Prince with its thick tail, sending him flying through the window and out onto the roof.The monster followed and moved over the Prince. It buried its front claws into the Prince’s hands and pinned him down. It then brought its tail from the side and with the sting on its tail it carefully cut the skin from just below Prince Zack’s neck to his belly. Then the monster moved so the part of it that carried Jake was above the Prince. A cracking sound echoed and the monster’s belly split open down the middle.
Jake appeared through the opening but he never separated from the monster. Only his upper body leaned out and down, until his arms reached the Prince. With his right hand, Jake grabbed the Prince by the neck. He shoved his left hand into the Prince’s stomach. From there Jake pushed upwards beneath the rib-cage searching for Prince Zack’s heart. The Prince opened his mouth to scream but made no sound. The intense pain and horror he felt was captured on his facial expression as Jake pulled out his heart. Jake squeezed it before Prince Zack’s eyes. He kept squeezing, trying to tear through the heart with his fingernails, until the Prince’s head rolled to the side dead.
The monster lifted its front claws to the night sky and roared. Jake, still trapped within the monster’s stomach, screamed along with it and lifted the Prince’s torn heart high into the air like a trophy.
When the monster landed back on all six claws it started convulsing. A ripple effect began simultaneously at the head and the tail, quickly making its way to the middle where Jake and the monster were attached. It happened again and again. With every violent spasmodic shake Jake slipped out of the monster a little further until eventually, for the first time, monster and human separated.
Jake was dead before he touched the ground. The monster stumbled a few short steps before it too collapsed dead.
Jake found himself standing over his body in the form of a ghost. As he looked to the monster, he saw that it too had become a phantom like him. The monster’s eyes locked with Jake’s and it charged forward. Jake closed his eyes and stood his ground, preparing for the impact. The monster went right through Jake and fell off the roof. Jake turned around to see the monster falling when he felt a mysterious force dragging him down as well. They hit the ground fast and hard but were unharmed.
Both Jake and the monster stood up and quickly realized their positions had reversed. The monster was now leading the way and Jake was attached to him by an invisible string, forced to follow.
Jake fell to his knees, desperately and repeatedly tapping his sternum, whispering his little chant in a futile attempt to regain control.
“Stay centered. Stay centered. Stay centered,” he sobbed.
The monster ran off into the night and Jake was dragged behind him.
****
By the time Captain Peterson had reached the end of her story they had arrived at the hospital. Detective Jason Marks had his wound checked and the bandage replaced with a new one.
Valery Moore was sleeping peacefully, unaware of the two detectives and the police Captain standing in the hospital room next to her. Jason stared at the woman lying in bed. She looked nothing like the wild animal that had attacked him a few hours ago.
“And so according to the legend,” Captain Peterson said to Jason, “the monster is roaming free to this day. It searches for victims of abuse and takes over. Granting them its powers in the process and allowing them to exact horrendous revenge upon their abuser. However, that person becomes violent and attacks everyone around them, not just their abuser.”
“Are you telling me this…myth, is supposed to be real? You believe Valery was possessed by this monster? And that’s why she attacked me?” Jason asked with a clear tone of disbelief.
“No, of course not,” Captain Peterson replied, “but there is something the story wants to teach us, Jason.”
She placed a hand on Jason’s shoulder and squeezed, as if she was trying to force the lesson deep within him so he would never forget.
“When a victim of abuse acts out in violence, they are a danger to everyone around them. But if you are strong enough and dare to step closer, to stare deep in that person’s eyes, you will find a different version of themselves. On their knees, scared and crying, tapping their chest and trying to regain control, like Jake at the end of the story. You see, when Valery attacked you she was probably scared to death, and in her distorted view she was trying to defend herself.”
Jason felt an invisible hand pluck him out of the real world and drop him back to the memory of Valery attacking him. It was a moment during which his brain processed so much information that most of it did not register with his conscious mind; the prospect of dying had overpowered all other thoughts.
The scene replayed in slow motion, just as Jason felt when it first happened. Now however, knowing the outcome he was able to focus on Valery’s face. The image froze on Valery and kept growing larger and larger. The image split horizontally in two, just below the eyes, and it all became clear.
While Valery’s mouth showed aggressiveness her eyes showed the true emotion she was drowning in, indescribable fear.
“Excuse me Captain Peterson?” a doctor said as she stepped inside the room.
Jason was yanked back to the real world.
“You wanted the medical report on Mr. Russell Fagan?” the doctor continued.
“Yes doctor, how is he doing?” Captain Peterson asked.
“Surprisingly he’s still alive. But I don’t believe he will last the day,” the doctor replied.
“He’s that bad is he?”
“He received second and third degree burns to more than eighty percent of his body. It’ll be a miracle if he makes it through the night.”
“Can you take us to him?”
“Yes of course, follow me please,” the doctor said and everyone followed her. “I should tell you though,” she said as they arrived outside his room, “You won’t get much out of him. He is under sedation to alleviate the excruciating pain he feels.”
Russell Fagan was kept in a quarantined room. The Captain and the two detectives were only allowed to stand outside and stare at a human figure wrapped in bandages. A team of nurses buzzed around him carefully changing gauzes. The man was struggling to breathe, drifting father into the realm of the dead with each weak and wheezing breath.
“My ride is here,” Captain Peterson said as another police officer arrived at the hospital. “I need to get back to the precinct. I expect to have your detailed reports on my desk by the end of the week.”
“You will Captain,” Ethan replied.
Jason did not reply. He just stood in silence in front of the plexiglass divider, looking at the man lying on the bed.
The Captain motioned goodbye to detective Ethan Hughes with a touch of her hat. The detective replied with a slight nod of his head. He then went and stood next to Jason with his back to the wall.
Jason found himself in a world of anger and hatred.
He wanted to pull out the intravenous sedatives Russell Fagan was given. Let him suffer as he deserves. Jason wished he could pull out his gun and just empty the clip into the son of a bitch. The bastard did not deserve to live out what little time he had left. Jason wanted to kill the man and end it all. Finish what Valery started.
“Stay centered, Jason,” Ethan said as he tapped Jason’s sternum with his index and middle finger.
Jason jerked his head towards Ethan. His violent intentions depicted on his face; a monster ready to attack.
“Stay centered, Jason.” Ethan tapped Jason’s chest again.
Jason caught his reflection in the glass. He saw the ugliness his face had contorted into. He felt cold metal touching his palm and realized his hand was over the grip of his gun. He was ready to act on his thoughts.
“Stay centered, Jason.” Ethan touched Jason’s chest one last time.
Jason released a long cold breath and panic settled in. It replaced all his emotions and overwhelmed him as he realized what was happening to him.
“I believe there is a part of the story the Captain does not realize. A second message hidden in the legend of the Valois family,” Ethan said to Jason, “There is a reason they call it Vera’s story and not Jake’s.
“We should focus on what Vera said to Jake. You see, Vera realized that we all have the potential to turn into monsters. Just like Jake. We should be careful, and every now and then find our center. Otherwise we risk crossing the line that Jake crossed and becoming monsters forever. This is especially true for people like you and me, who daily come in contact with the darker side of humans.
“Go home to your wife and kid, Jason.” Ethan moved towards the exit. “Go home and find your center…” he disappeared from view as he finished his sentence,
“…before it’s too late.”
The End.
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