THE MEETING
Present day.
Anna and Terry walked on the side of a dirt road that curved around the backside of the hospital. Their conversation was lighthearted and filled with long moments of silence. The meeting turned businesslike when they arrived at a small, brick structure without windows. A weather-beaten Authorized Personnel Only sign posted to the left of the entrance drew Anna’s attention, and Terry pulled open a heavy steel door.
“Watch your step,” Terry said.
A flight of cement steps gave way to a dimly lit passageway. Noisy compressors, the smell of oil and the trapped heat attacked her senses.
“I can understand why you said no one would bother us here.”
Anna carefully maneuvered around spider webs, low hanging pipes and dipping electrical wires.
Terry looked over his shoulder. “I’ve used this area as my office for as long as I can remember.”
The wide corridor had raw cinderblock walls and a dirt floor, which seemed to stretch on forever.
“Where does this go to?”
Terry stopped, looked to Anna and with a grin said, “The tunnel? It goes to every building in the compound.”
A makeshift wall constructed of fiberboard joined together with duct tape concealed a filthy wooden desk and two chairs.
“Please sit.”
“Thank you.”
Anna eased herself into a lawn chair with frayed straps. Terry settled into a wooden chair that creaked underneath his weight.
“So.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the tabletop. His lazy eye seemed to spy on the corridor while his other eye remained sharply focused on Anna.
“So,” Anna said, careful not to touch the table. She placed a notepad on her lap and grabbed a pen.
“I was hoping this conversation would be off the record,” Terry said.
“And I had hoped you wouldn’t tell anyone about our meeting. If you did, I have a feeling that our conversation would be influenced.”
“I didn’t. I have too much vested here and would like to protect that.”
“Good. Then we agree to keep this between us.”
She put her notepad and pen away.
“Most people here would rather see you die at the hands of the curse rather than see you disturb the order that is in place.”
Anna smiled. “I’m glad to know you’re looking to dive right into this, and I’m not sure I know how to respond to that.”
“Not all things people say actually require a response. I’m merely telling you how people feel about your being here.”
Terry pushed his chair away from the table and bent down out of sight. He shuffled through something unseen.
“What about you?” Anna said.
Terry emerged with two sodas.
“What about me?”
“How do you feel about my being here?”
He popped the top on one of the cans and a cool vapor oozed from the hole. “The drink is cold, but it won’t be for too long if you let it sit. Drink up.”
Anna took a small sip. “Thank you.”
Terry opened the other can and raised it before he took a generous gulp. “No offense, but I feel the same as the others.”
“I’m sure that wasn’t easy for you to say. I appreciate your honesty.”
“Though I myself find it a bit curious because you should be dead. Yet here you are.”
“Exercise.”
Terry sat up straight. “I don’t think jokes are appropriate, especially when such a sensitive matter is being discussed.”
Anna stiffened. “I’m sorry. I didn’t—”
“No big deal.” He tried to disguise a burp behind the shield of his hand. “And I suppose I’m a bit puzzled by your skepticism. I’m sure you were given all the facts about Alister, and yet you still came. Me, I didn’t hear about his arrival until after he had been here for several hours. There was this big rush to let everyone know he was here, but I suppose my being in maintenance excluded me from having very much interaction with the patients. When I had to enter their rooms to fix something, I would do so while they were outside.”
Terry took another drink and put his feet on the desk. Powdery dirt fell off his shoes, and he leaned back in the chair, pushing it on its back legs.
“Regardless of the timing, I quickly learned the importance of knowing everything I could about him,” he said, and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “And if I would have known you were coming yesterday, I would have shared that knowledge with you in hopes of getting you to reconsider.”
He drank some more.
“But I really think you should consider the things you’ve learned about Alister and reconsider your stance.”
“Have you been successful in getting others to reconsider?” Anna said.
“I don’t want to get anyone into trouble, but yes, I have many times. One thing I’m sure of is that whatever surrounds Alister is extremely dangerous, and everyone that intends to visit him needs to know that.”
Anna paused and traced her chin with her pointer finger while she considered Terry’s words. “What you believe surrounds Alister? Does it have a name?”
Terry crossed his arms. “That is a silly question, doctor. It’s a curse, and it’s not like I sat down and had a conversation with it. And I think that just because you don’t believe in it doesn’t mean it’s not real and the fact that you’ve been fortunate enough not to have experienced it like many of us here have doesn’t make those that have suffered from it crazy or liars.”
Anna compressed her lips into a tight slit. “I believe the difficulty I’m having is grasping the idea that such a thing could be real.”
Terry swung his feet off the desk, leaned forward and sneered.
“You need to understand that the answer you seek won’t change no matter how many different ways you phrase your questions or how many people you try to interrogate. There is a curse that surrounds that man, and it’s very real.”
Terry stood and pressed his palms on the tabletop.
“And this thing you are so brazenly seeking may not have a name, but it most certainly has a purpose. It kills and does so without prejudice or delay.”
Anna watched Terry sit. He was wide-eyed, and sweat soaked his forehead.
“If this conversation bothers you—”
He shook his head. “I’m completely amazed by your doubt and equally baffled as to why you’re still alive.”
Anna suddenly felt isolated and alone; the long dark tunnel before her and the maze of pipes behind her made her feel vulnerable.
“Before Director Conroy came here, Director Lofton ran this facility,” Terry said. He wiped his brow. “The first day Alister arrived, Director Lofton had me summoned to his office. I can remember that conversation like it happened yesterday.”
The past.
Director Lofton sat behind his steel desk and clicked his pen. He breathed heavily out his crooked nose, and his mouth hung open. His tongue pushed his cheek out and his thoughts were far away.
“You wanted to see me?” Terry said.
“Have a seat,” Lofton said. His mouth clamped shut, and his eyes danced around the room. His pale face showed worry, and he continued to breathe heavily.
“What’s wrong?”
The director dropped the pen on the desktop and yanked the top drawer open, making it squeal. He withdrew a folded piece of paper and tossed it at Terry. “Read it.”
Terry sat and watched the director with tightened brows. “This isn’t like you. You OK?”
The director wiped sweat from his brow and looked away. “I need you to read it.”
Terry took the paper, unfolded it and read it. He tried to make sense of it, but he couldn’t. “Why are you showing me this?”
“Because you need to know what it says and that every word of it is true.”
Terry laughed. “You can’t be serious.”
“Every word of it, Terry. I mean it.”
“What do I have to do with the ramblings of one of your patients?”
“That letter isn’t ramblings.”
“This is insane.”
“It was written by a man who is cursed.”
“Cursed because some of his friends and family died?”
“No,” Lofton said, slapping the desktop. He sat back and ran stiff fingers through his gray hair. “It’s because anyone that talks to him dies.”
Terry shifted in the seat.
“I spoke to him, and my time is near,” Lofton said.
Terry searched the director’s face for something that might tell him this was all a joke. He couldn’t find anything. “I don’t understand. What’s going on?”
“The police officer the letter mentioned died, and so have a dozen others along the way. He is here.”
Terry’s body warmed and he stood.
“I’m the only one left alive that has said anything to him.”
Terry searched the empty desktop for the solution. “There’s got to be some way to stop it.”
The director shook his head.
“But there’s got to be.”
“Not that will help me.”
“But–”
“Make sure no one says a word to him ever again.”
Terry sunk into his chair. “This is beyond comprehension.”
“You have no idea,” the director said. He leaned his elbows on the desktop. “I’ve implemented a plan that will keep anyone from having to speak with him, and the details are written down. Make sure you pass them on to the next director and he understands them.”
“How long?”
The director shrugged. “Minutes, maybe a few hours. I don’t know.”
Present day.
Anna took a drink from the warmed soda and fanned herself with her free hand. “I suppose I don’t need to ask whether or not the director died that day.”
Terry shook his head and lowered his voice. “And the memories I’d just shared with you aren’t pleasant ones.”
“I’m sure.”
Terry spoke up. “Are you…”
“Wait,” she said. “If I said something—”
“Are you capable of seeing what your coming here is doing?”
Anna remained unresponsive. The continued feeling of vulnerability and isolation kept her cautious.
“People are scared.”
“I don’t want to upset you, but I find their fears to be unreasonable. I came here to help a man that suffers, and I am doing just that.”
“That man deserves no one’s sympathy.” Terry’s face reddened.
“It’s not sympathy; it’s my job.”
“What he suffers from is his own doing. There are a lot of people that hold him responsible for the death of at least a dozen people that worked here, many of whom were personal friends of mine.”
Anna discretely removed her cell phone from her pocket and flipped it open. “Your finger-pointing suggests he doesn’t deserve rehabilitation,” she said. “I respectfully disagree.” The phone had no service. The basement was like a dungeon.
Terry’s stare hardened. “I find your defensive nature both misplaced and offensive. He’s responsible for bringing whatever has followed him here, and it has infected all of our lives.”
She put her phone away. “I won’t even attempt to defend something incidental, and I don’t think it’s necessary for you to raise your voice at me to try and get your point across.”
Terry shook his head. “I was probably expecting too much from you in hoping you’d understand Alister doesn’t suffer from anything curable.”
Anna closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. “Your rhetoric sounds strangely similar to Director Conroy’s.”
“Alister is a plague without a cure.”
“I appreciate your talking with me, Terry.”
“Less than an hour after I left the first director’s office, he was found dead,” Terry said.
“I don’t need to hear any more.”
“You need to know he was slumped over his desk, his face contorted with fear. Those last moments must have been terrible for him. A few days later, I discovered what he died from.”
Anna started to gather her belongings. “He drowned.”
Terry postured. “How could you know that?”
“Know what?”
“The way the director died,” Terry said. “How could you possibly know that?”
Anna hesitated. “I didn’t; it was merely a guess.” She turned toward the exit.
“No,” Terry said. He jumped to his feet and kicked his chair over. “I know it wasn’t a guess. No one could guess such a strange death. Besides, you said it as if you were certain.”
“The way I said what?”
“It was like you knew for sure. I’d like to know how that’s possible when his cause of death was never released.”
“I don’t know what you’re getting so excited about. What I said was a simple guess. And you’re acting as though I was the one responsible for your friend’s death.”
“You dare!” Terry rounded the table, his eyes trained on Anna.
“That certainly seems to be a possibility.”
“This has become pointless,” Anna said as she started to walk away.
Terry latched onto her arm and pulled her close.
“You need to stay away from him before someone else gets killed.”
“You’re hurting me,” Anna said. She tried to free herself from Terry’s grasp.
“It can get worse.”
“Let go of me,” Anna said. Her voice echoed down the tunnel. She yanked her arm away and rubbed the sting left where he had grabbed her. “I refuse to give up on him like everyone else has because they were bullied into believing in this curse.”
Terry reached for Anna again, but she pulled away.
“Keep your damn hands off of me!”
Terry smiled.
“You’re crazy, you know that? You and everyone else that has mistreated that man because of some mad idea about a curse.”
“How dare you!”
Terry clenched his fists and kicked the table, breaking it apart with a loud crash. He stepped forward, but the doctor was already running up the stairs. He plopped himself into the lawn chair and the straps gave a little more under his weight.
“Stupid bitch. What is it going to take to get you to understand?”
The sound of the compressors were the only thing that answered him. He rubbed his eye and let out a nervous laugh.
“What will it take?”