Dangerous Liaisons - 7. Chapter 7

The darkness was shot with sparkling flashes of red. At first Daniel found it interesting and watched it with dispassionately. That was until the darkness began to recede and the flashes turned into stabs of pain, shooting through his head with almost rhythmic regularity. Eventually they shattered the darkness and he sat up with a groan.

It was a bad move and he only just made it to the toilet in the corner before vomiting violently into the bowl. Given that he had eaten nothing for almost 24 hours the experience was painful and brief. When it was over he remained on his knees on the floor resting his head against the cold china, trying to will the pounding to stop, the shooting pains to cease.

Great, this wasn’t part of the plan. It was okay when he was sleeping through most of it but sickness and pain was not a welcome development.

After a time the pain subsided to a dull ache and he crawled back to the bed. He felt hot and prickly all over and wanted nothing more than to sleep. Of course sleep evaded him and he tossed on the bed, unable to withdraw his mind from his tortured body. Hunger gnawed at him, fighting with nausea and the throbbing in his head prevented any prospect of clear thought.

The sound of the slide being drawn back in the door startled him and that annoyed him. This was no time to be getting jumpy. This time they did not throw the tray through. When he made no move to get it they opened the door and brought it in. He kept his eyes closed and they didn’t touch him, merely laid the tray on the floor and left.

He could smell bacon and, despite himself his mouth watered. He realised that the food was probably drugged but he had to eat and, despite the nausea his stomach was growling and demanding to be filled. In the end he couldn’t stand it and he slid onto the floor next to the tray. It was a full cooked breakfast with all the works and a bottle of apple juice. Although the temptation was to wolf it down as fast as he could stuff it in his mouth he was still cogent enough to realise that if he did that it would be coming straight back up again and so he chewed slowly and thoughtfully, savouring the taste and thankful for the fact that, after the first few mouthfuls his stomach settled and the nausea began to subside.

When he had finished he felt a whole lot better. He sat back resting his head against the mattress and closed his eyes. He didn’t know if it was just the fact that he was full and satisfied or if it was yet another drug drawing him down but he almost immediately began to feel sleepy and he didn’t bother to get back up on the bed. He let his body and mind relax and barely felt himself slide down onto the floor before he slipped back into the darkness.

****************************
When he woke he was in the treatment room, securely strapped down. The two men who had been there before were speaking in low voices. He had no interest in what they were saying.

“Daniel? Daniel, are you awake? I know you can hear me. Open your eyes.”

This surprised Daniel as he hadn’t realised his eyes were closed. He opened them and the bright light stabbed into his head making him wince.

“Good morning Daniel.” He gave them a look that quite clearly showed that he had no intention of answering. The priest actually looked regretful. “Still resisting Daniel? I was hoping that by now you would have been a little more co operative.”

“Sorry to disappoint you.” His voice was slurred and dusty but there was no mistaking the sarcasm.

“Do you not feel any benefit from the treatments so far? Do you not recognise any change in you at all?”

“Thankfully, no.... the only thing you are succeeding in is making me sick.”

“We are not making you sick, Daniel. We are making you better.”

“I don’t want to be better. I am fine as I am. Leave me alone. Let me go.”

********************************
The Reverend Shaw was impressed. The boy had spirit there was no disputing that. His eyes were blazing with, what in other circumstances, could have been termed righteous anger. He sighed. This was a tough nut to crack and, much as he hated to resort to drastic measures he did not have the luxury of breaking him down slowly.

That had always been his favourite method, chipping away slowly, watching them struggle like butterflies on a pin, watching the anger fade, the defiance turn to hopelessness and eventually to acceptance. It excited him, like breaking a horse, watching the spirit break, the demons slink away leaving an empty shell, scoured clean, a blank page for him to write on as he wished, to create a new soldier for the army of God.... clean, fresh, wholesome.

But this time he did not have the luxury of time. The police were sniffing around. He should never have accepted this boy in... he should have known that Daniel would cause problems, that his disappearance would not go unnoticed, but the extent of the stir it had caused surprised him.

The local police were good Christians, they knew about the clinic and they shielded it. He often had children brought to him who did not appreciate the depths to which they had fallen, who fought and raged against him. Mostly they had been placed with him by their parents who gratefully accepted what was handed back at the end.... whatever it was it was better than the monster who had been there before. And mostly what they got back was an approximation of what they had handed over, more docile, more accepting but essentially the same.

Sometimes things went wrong, the demons had too much of a hold. They had never lost a patient, no one had died but the mind is a fragile thing and sometimes, when drastic measures were called for to expel the demons, their passing broke it. Sometimes what left the clinic was nothing more than a shell... clean and free from evil but broken. He genuinely regretted each and every time this happened. Regretted that he had failed in his task, that he had not achieved his goal but never... never had he regretted the life lost, the potential unfulfilled, the pain, the suffering, the loss.

Occasionally the people placed with him had been taken away from their families by concerned church leaders, taken from homes where the true depravity of their nature had not been appreciated. In those cases the local police had shielded him, bought him the time he needed to do his work.

But this time, this boy seemed to have powerful friends, friends who put pressure on the local constabulary that they were simply not prepared for. As righteous s they may be they were not willing to put their own necks on the block for him.

He peered thoughtfully at Daniel, his hand moving without conscious thought to touch the bright hair. He should have known that someone like this filled up space, made an impression on the world around him. He should have known his disappearance would have created ripples that would sweep over him even here.

The police had been getting too close already. Not the local bobbies who wouldn’t know a clue if it bit them on the nose, who couldn’t recognise a lie if it was waving a banner. No these were terse men in business suits who had asked searching questions and made him feel uneasy.

The first time they came he had denied everything and had shown them round the facility, at least the parts of it he had wanted them to see. He had denied all knowledge of anyone like Daniel and they had gone away eventually leaving him with the distinct impression that they would be back.

And they had come back, earlier that morning they had come back and asked even more searching questions. They had spoken to the Stearns who had, damn them, admitted that he had told them he had brought Daniel here. He had refused to allow them to look around without a warrant but had been forced to admit, eventually, that Daniel was in his hands. He had told them that he was here willingly, that he had accepted that he needed help and chosen to remain and address his problems.

They had demanded to see him and he had refused, told them to come back with that warrant and only then would he breach the privacy of his patients. He knew they would come back, and soon which was why he had to make sure that by the time they did come back Daniel was saying what he wanted him to say.

He let his hand trail down over Daniel’s cheek and he jerked his head away. The Reverend Shaw smiled. So much spirit. Almost a shame to break it but even the most beautiful Arab stallion has to be broken before it can be productive. His hand continued downwards until it rested over his belly, the site of the demon. He could almost imagine that he could feel it writhing under his hand and he was going to make Daniel feel it to, make him feel it and then tear it from his body by force if he had to.

*************************************
The priest’s touch repulsed him, almost burned him. He shuddered, his stomach twitching as though it was trying unconsciously, to shy away from the touch.

“I want you to listen carefully to me Daniel, this is very important. You are going to accept that you are sick, that you have a demon within you that is making you say and do things that are evil, that are abominable in the sight of God. I will drive this demon from you whether it is with your co operation and blessing ... or not. You will be healed Daniel Owen. You will be remade, fresh, new, a soldier of the Lord.”

Daniel laughed at that, he couldn’t help it. “A soldier of the Lord? Is that what you want me to be? Forget it. I’m too vain, too lazy and above all far too principled to be a soldier. Besides which I don’t believe in your ‘Lord’. It’s about time you realised that your God is dead... he died a long time ago.

The priests fingers spasmed into a claw, digging into his flesh and, despite himself he grunted, tensing.

“You speak in ignorance. The demon has possession of your lips and so I will forgive. As the Good Lord said himself.... forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

“I know exactly what I’m doing thank you. Don’t bother to ask for forgiveness for me. The state of my immortal soul is in my hands and mine alone. If I fall I fall on my own. If I fly I fly alone. Leave me be. Who the hell gave you the right to force your beliefs on me, to try and force me to change just because that is what you believe I should be?”

“The Lord gives me the right Daniel... the Lord.”

“Bullshit.”

“Resorting to profanities Daniel? You disappoint me.”

“Yeah well, I am not feeling at my best right now.” In fact what he was feeling was a rising tide of nausea that had been niggling at him from the moment he had woken here. It was washing over him in waves making his head pound.

“No, I don’t expect you do. I expect you are feeling lost and confused, you are feeling alone and afraid.”

“If you say so.” Daniel was surprised by how weak his voice sounded, how difficult it was to speak at all.

“Still fighting Daniel? Don’t fight it, just relax, let the drug take you, there is nothing you can do to stop it.

Oh so that was it. He hadn’t felt the needle this time, maybe it was before he woke. But there was something different. This time he didn’t feel as if he was drifting off to sleep, in fact, although it was difficult to focus on any particular thing, thoughts and ideas sliding away from him, slippery as eels, his mind was clear, awake.

“You have a demon inside you Daniel, a demon that is destroying you from the inside. It has to come out. It has to be defeated.”

“There’s no demon.”

“Oh but there is Daniel, there is. Can’t you feel it? Can’t you feel it gnawing at you even now? It’s there, writhing in your belly, eating away at your soul. Can't you feel it?”

And he could feel something. The priest’s hand was still resting on his belly and it felt as though there was something there, something under the skin, writhing under the touch.

“No. It's you... it’s you making me... making me ... feel...”

“I’m not doing anything Daniel. I’m barely even touching you. See, I am not touching you at all now.”

The priest held up his hands but Daniel could still feel the pressure on his abdomen. Was it pressure on the outside or from the inside? His mind was confused but he held on to the belief that this was all in his mind... all just his imagination enhanced by the drug and the words of the priest.

Daniel gasped as the priest took hold of the waistband of his trousers and tugged them down over his hips.

“What....? What...?”

“Sssh, rest Daniel, relax. It’s better if you relax. There is nothing you can do about it, nothing you can do to stop it so relax, let it happen.” Someone, not the priest, was stroking his hair, soothing him, comforting him but he could not allow himself to be comforted. What was happening? What were they going to do to him?

“The demon has to come out Daniel. It is poisoning you, your soul, your mind and you will never be well, never be whole until it is gone.” Something cold touched him and he jumped, tried to raise his head but it was held, pressed back. The hand still stroked him, with gentle fingers but they were made of steel and he could not fight against them.

“I am going to help you Daniel. I am going to remove the demon. I had hoped that you would be able to dispel it yourself but its hold is too strong for you. You are not even prepared to acknowledge it is there so how can you fight it? So I have to fight it for you. I will tear it from your body and you will never be bothered by it again.”

“No... no there... there is no demon.. there is... argh.”

As he spoke there was a sense of pressure on his abdomen a sharp pain as though something had pierced the skin... from the inside.

“It is there Daniel. Are you feeling it? It knows that I am here, that I am coming for it. It is afraid and it is fighting. Can you feel it fighting? Can you feel its claws tearing at you?”

Daniel gritted his teeth as the writhing, tearing pain began to chew at his guts. He knew that it wasn’t real. He knew that it was all coming from his own mind but it hurt... oh god it hurt and the pain made it even more difficult to think, to hold on to the truth.

Desperately Daniel tried to withdraw his mind, to calm his racing heart, to escape from the pain. It was hard, too hard.

“Daniel, I am going to cut out the demon now. If I don’t it will tear you to shreds. You can feel that can't you? You can feel its claws tearing you inside. If I don’t help you, you will die. You want me to help you don’t you? You want me to save you?”

“No! Get away from me. You are doing this... YOU. Leave me alone, Leave me alone!!”

“If that is what you want I will, but soon it will be too late, you will be too badly torn. The demon will burst from you and then there will be nothing I can do. Tell me you want me to help you and I will... I want to help you Daniel but you have to want to be helped.”

“NO! I don’t need your help. This is not.... real. This... is...not... real. There... there is... is no demon.”

By now Daniel was sobbing. The pain was indescribable. It burned him, hot like liquid fire, filling his belly, dissolving his guts into acid. He was on fire from the waist down. Without conscious will his body writhed and twisted, trying to escape the agony.

“There is a demon Daniel. It is destroying you. Already it has torn you with its claws. There is so much blood. You are slipping away Daniel and if you don’t accept my help soon you will be doomed. You are losing blood fast and your body is going into shock. Let me help you Daniel. Please let me help you before it is too late.”

“I don’t believe you... I don’t... I don’t.... It’s not... not true... Noooooo. Noooo.”

The hands at his head slid beneath his hair and raised him so he could see, he could look down at himself.

“Look Daniel. Look at yourself. Can’t you see the blood, can’t you see it?”

And he could. He stared in horror, blinking, trying to banish the sight of it... but he couldn’t he couldn’t get away from the sight of his own body, torn as if raked by giant claws, blood pumping from gashes in his abdomen, pouring over his legs, soaking the table. The priest’s hands were red with it.

“No. This isn’t happening. It can’t be happening. I won’t... I won’t... I can’t.....”

His body was shaking, the breath ragged, coming in sobs. He fought desperately to clear his mind, his vision, to see with true sight but there was nothing he could do to escape the pain, the blood, the horror.

As he watched the priest reached down and plunged his hand into the open wound and Daniel felt his fingers close inside him. The shaking increased and his vision turned red.

“I have it Daniel. I have the demon and all you have to do is tell me you want me to help you, that you want me to heal you, that you accept the demon is real. All you have to do is give in to me and I will tear it out of you. I will help you. I will heal you.”

Daniel was shaking too much to be able to speak even if he had wanted to. His wide eyes were seeing nothing but the torn flesh the pumping blood, the face of the priest hanging over him, his hands clenched into fists inside his body.

The hands that held his head released him and it fell back with a thud. His body convulsed and arched against his bonds as a scream was torn from his lips... and once one had escaped there were more, many more waiting behind. He screamed over and over and over, gasping for burning hot breaths between, writhing against the pain, against the heat, against the hated touch.

He did not hear the hammering at the door. He did not feel the priest quickly pull up his trousers or the raised voices that followed. All he heard was his own voice screaming, all he saw was a red mist, all he smelled was the charnel house scent of fresh blood, all he tasted was metal, all he felt was pain. And then it stopped.

******************************************

It was past midday when we got the call from the police. Well, it was actually Mr Owen who took it on his mobile. He was on his feet before the call was half done and all I heard was. “Which hospital? We’ll be right there.”

“What is it? What’s happened?”

“It’s Daniel. The police have found him. They’ve taken him to the hospital.”

“Hospital? Why? Is he alright?”

“They couldn’t, or wouldn’t say.”

“I have to go. I have to go now.” I was halfway to the door when Mr Own stopped me.

“Steady on Josh. You’re in no state to drive anywhere. Besides, you don’t know where to go. Calm down and go get some things together. We don’t know the situation so get some overnight things for yourself and get some of Daniel’s stuff too in case he needs it. Then you can come with us.”

“You won’t go without me?”

“Josh, we know how you feel about Daniel. We would never be so cruel.”

“Alright.”

I grabbed things frantically and pretty much at random and stuffed them into a bag. I was back downstairs in just over five minutes.

“Are you ready Josh? Good, come on, let’s get this done.”

We drove in complete silence, lost in our own thoughts and it didn’t take much to guess where those thoughts lay. It took almost three hours to get to the hospital and by the time we got there we were all half crazy and wound up to the hilt.

When we arrived Mr Owen spoke to the woman at the desk who directed us to wait. Very shortly a young doctor arrived and, smiling led us to an office, deep within the building.

“I am very grateful to you for getting here so quickly. This must have come as a great shock to you.”

“Yes, it did. Please... tell us... Daniel.. our son.. Is he... Is he... alright?”

“Yes. Daniel’s fine. He was brought here because he was.... The paramedics who attended him at the scene were concerned because it was clear he had been given some kind of drug and they were not able to ascertain what it was. The staff at the clinic were not helpful. We’ve conducted some tests but we haven’t found anything to cause us any real concern.”

“He’s okay? He’s really okay? Can we take him home?”

“I would prefer if he stays here for tonight. Just so that we can keep an eye on him. When he came in he was in some pain. We have not been able to find anything physically to explain it and so can only conclude that it is not physical pain.”

“Not physical? What do you mean?”

“We’ve done blood tests which show that Daniel was given a number of psychoactive drugs. We can only assume that the pain is as a result of some kind of conditioned response resulting from the influence of the drugs. It was... severe at first, but he seems to have settled down now. Even so I want to keep him under observation for a few hours.

“If all goes well, and I am not expecting anything else, he can go home in the morning. After what he’s been through, that’s the best place for him now.”

“Has he told you? Has he said what happened to him?”

“No. He hasn’t wanted to talk about it and I haven’t pressed him. It will come out in his own time no doubt. The police have spoken to him but only briefly and they will probably want to see him again before he goes home.”

“Can we see him now?”

“Of course. I’ll take you. Given what’s happened, you are welcome to stay with him tonight, although we don’t usually allow it. I’m afraid it won’t be very comfortable. We’ve put him in a private room but they are small and there isn’t room for much comfort.”

“The only comfort I need is to know that Daniel is okay.”

“Then you had better come with me.” They followed the doctor through a rabbit warren of corridors and they paused outside a door. “Be aware that he is still very disoriented from the effects of the drugs they gave him. Also, when he first came in he was quite distressed as well as being in pain and so he was lightly sedated. He’s pretty much shaken it off now but he is still very sleepy and probably quite confused. Don’t be worried about that. He’ll be absolutely fine after a good night sleep.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem. I’ll leave you to it. If you need anything or are worried about it then please give me a shout. I’ll be around somewhere. I’ll call in and see Daniel before I leave tonight.”

I hadn’t paid attention to any of the conversation. I wasn’t interested. All I was interested in was the fact that Daniel was on the other side of the door, so close, so close.... Before they had finished speaking the temptation grew too much for me and I slipped inside.

Daniel was asleep. He was so pale but despite that, perhaps because of that he was beautiful, his hair remarkably smooth, spread out around him, like a rainbow of two colours on the stiff white pillows. He was wearing a hideous hospital gown but it only made him look even more beautiful in comparison to its shapeless ugliness. My heart turned a complete somersault in my chest. I had been so afraid, so very afraid and I was too frightened to stop being afraid even though I was here, and he was here.

I moved to the side of the bed. There was no flicker of movement and for a moment it panicked me. He was so still. I reached out my hand, almost afraid to touch him, and stroked his arm, curling my fingers around his. He sighed and his hand twitched.

Slowly, ponderously, he opened his eyes and blinked up at me. The smile that broke over his face when he saw me broke my heart at the same time as it sent it soaring. He was so...

“Josh.” His voice was distant but full of joy.

“I’m sorry Daniel. I’m so, so sorry.”

“Sorry? Why?”

“This was because of me. It was all because of me. I...”

“No.” He reached up and touched my lips with his finger. “None of this was because of you. You saved me. I knew you would.”

“No... I... I didn’t. I didn’t do anything.”

“You told them. You made them come. You saved me.”

“But it was my parents who did this to you.”

“It wasn’t you.”

“But...”

“Stop. You’re giving me a headache.”

“I’m sorry. Are you not feeling well?”

“Hardly... but that doesn’t matter. Come here. Make me feel better.” It felt so good to let myself sink into his arms, to feel his lips against mine, to smell his smell, taste his breath. I sank my hands into his hair and clung to him in desperation.

This is how we were when Mr & Mrs Owen came in and their reaction to seeing us in each other’s arms was so much different to my parents’.

“Would you like some time on your own?”

“No. It’s alright. I... “ He blinked heavy eyes and licked his lips. “I don’t think I’m up to much physical exertion tonight.”

“How are you feeling darling?”

“I’ve been better. “

“You look tired.”

“Tired? I’m drugged to the eyeballs Mam. I can barely see straight.”

“Then you should sleep sweetheart. We’re here now, you’re safe.”

“Never doubted it. I want to go home.”

“The doctor says that if you behave yourself you can come home tomorrow. If you get a good night sleep you will be a lot better by then.”

“Yeah.”

I could tell that he was struggling. His eyes were completely dazed, the eyelids falling of their own accord and he was finding it harder and harder to force them up again.

“Go to sleep Daniel. I’ll stay with you, I swear.”

“You better. Never gonna let you go again.”

“They haven’t ‘cured’ you then? Of wanting me?”

He smiled, a bright, brittle, distant smile. “God no. You’re part of me Josh. They would have had to tear out my heart.”

“That’s good.”

Despite the fact that Mr & Mrs Owen were still hovering anxiously Daniel pulled my face down and kissed me. It was sweet, so sweet.

“I think that maybe we will go and get a coffee. It’s been a long day and, now we’ve seen you and know you’re okay we can relax a little.”

Daniel was asleep before they left. I slipped out from under his arm and sat down, watching him. He had a smile on his face and it made me feel warm inside. It was alright, he was alright, everything was alright.