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HE COULD TASTE HIS blood and the dirt from the floor that his face was being mashed into. Right now, all Josh Comeaux could do was concentrate on breathing.
He grimaced in pain as the goon stepped on his face harder with his heavy boot. He tried not to swallow any of the saliva gathering in his swollen and cut mouth. Instead, he let it trickle out. It left a wet patch on the floor and gathered under his cheek.
He heard the man talking to someone, but Josh couldn’t see any other faces. From what it sounded like, it must be a woman. He could also hear the screams coming from his friend. The two of them should have known better than to skip school, but Andy Sinclair convinced Josh he had something cool planned for the day. Josh and Andy had been best friends since Andy moved to Louisiana. His dad was in the Coast Guard, and they transferred here last year. Andy was still upset that he didn’t get to stay behind in California and finish high school, so he retaliated as much as possible.
Josh should have known they were headed for trouble when Andy took out the gun he had tucked in the back of his waistband. Josh wished he could start this day over. Just from the look in Andy’s eyes, he could tell Andy was up to no good. Josh refused to go into the store when Andy told him that he planned to rob it.
This was New Orleans and the shop owners around here usually kept guns in their store. Neither boy expected to see someone already there collecting money, and that person didn’t like when someone else tried to move in on their turf.
At first, Josh thought the gorilla of a man would just scare them, but with the terrifying screams emitting from his friend’s mouth, hope died quickly. Josh’s dad mentioned before that there were mob connections here in New Orleans. Since Josh watched several mob shows with his dad over the years he knew what they were about to experience would not be pleasant. With each guttural scream, a loud thwack followed.
As Andy’s wails weakened, Josh feared that it would soon be his turn. These guys believed in an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, which could only mean they were cutting off Andy’s hands since he stole from them, if not worse. Josh shuddered at the idea and feared what they may do to him. Josh should have run as soon as Andy entered the small convenience store, but he stayed behind in case his friend needed him. If only he had gone to school today, none of this would be happening now.
Josh felt himself being lifted up and placed in a chair. The large man just glared down at him and sneered, “Your friend should have known better than to rob one of the businesses we protect. You boosters should know that is against the law here. You, you may get off luckier than your friend.” He turned Josh’s head towards his friend’s dead body. Josh held back the tears threatening to break free and flow down his face.
The man let go of Josh’s face and informed him, “The shop owner your friend tried to rob pays for our protection. Y’all picked the wrong time to try your little stunt. These people pay good dough to keep shit like this from happening. Now, what kind of protectors would we be if we can’t keep two scrawny kids like you from interfering in our business?”
Before Josh could plead for his life, he saw a woman walking toward him. The way she was dressed had him frozen in fear. Worse, she had a large ass snake dangling from her neck. He was deathly afraid of snakes and almost passed out as she came near him with it.
***
JOSH COMEAUX’S PARENTS paced the living room floor and constantly checked their watches. Bill Comeaux called Andy Sinclair’s parents every half hour to see if the boys were there. No one knew where they were, nor had anyone heard from either of them.
The school called Janice Comeaux this morning to let her know that Josh had not shown up for school. She left work immediately to see if he was at home or playing hooky with Andy Sinclair at his house. Neither boy was found at either house.
Ever since Andy came into Josh’s life, they had had nothing but problems and now this. She lit a cigarette as she walked around the house with nervous energy. She had a gut feeling that something awful had happened. They called the police, but since Josh was a teenager, they informed her he had to be missing twenty-four hours before they could help. It didn’t help that Josh had a record, again thanks to Andy Sinclair.
She doubted the cops would help much due to his recent run-in with the law. They tried calling his cell phone with no luck They even tried tracking it with the cellphone company, but the last location he could be traced to was near Bourbon Street. Then his phone was turned off. She thought about the trouble those two could get into there. What were they thinking of going into that area by themselves?
***
OFFICERS MARK LEVINE and Joe Mathis were making their nightly patrols when they saw a teenage boy walking down the interstate.
Mathis looked over at his partner, “What do you think this kid is up to?”
As he turned on the lights and sirens, he said, “The kid is probably high as a kite.”
They expected the kid to bolt when he heard the sirens, but instead, he kept the same pace, just dragging along. The night was full of motier foux, crazies, but this one took the cake.
As they stepped out of the car, the young man turned around. His appearance stopped them dead in their tracks. Officer Levine yelled out, “Fils de putain! Son of a bitch, Joe what do you think is wrong with this boy?”
He shook his head, “I don’t know, but it ain’t good; that’s for sure.”
Mathis looked at the boy, “Quoi ça dit, bougre?”
The young man looked at them and let out an unearthly moan that sent chills down their bodies. They both looked at each other in disbelief and reached for their guns. Levine looked at his partner, “‘Etes-vous prêt?”
“Mais oui. Let’s go on the count of three.”
They rushed the boy at the count of three and took him down with little resistance. This night was one for the record books. Mathis gasped, “I know who this is. I saw the missing person’s report on him this morning. His parents reported him missing almost a week ago now. It looks as if he has been on a bender during that time.”
Levine looked at his partner, “Mais non, I don’t know what is wrong with this boy, but I don’t think it has anything to do with drugs. Look at his eyes; they look as if they are lifeless. If I didn't know better, I would say someone stole his soul.”
Mathis let out a half disbelieving laugh, “You have been living in this city far too long, mon ami. There is no such thing as voodoo and zombies.”
“Mais non? Then how do you explain this. I’m telling you when we get him to the hospital, they will say he’s dead.”
“Now how are they going to say he’s dead when he is walking around? Mais, you have been hanging around these motier foux too long.”
Levine shook his head, “Just wait. I’m telling you they will have a hard time finding a heartbeat.”
As they walked into the emergency room, Mathis saw Ruth, the night receptionist, “Comment ca va, Ruth?”
She smiled at him, “My night was going fairly well, but if you two are coming in looking all chagrin, then I know my night is going to turn really quick.”
Levine chimed in, “We got a live one for you tonight, Ruth.”
“Well, bring him on back to room three. We have had a rather quiet hour and I have an open exam room available.”
She gasped at the sight of him before asking, “Douce Marie Mère de Dieu. Do either of you know what happened to this poor sha babe?”
Levine scratched his head, “We were kind of hoping the doctor could tell us what was wrong with him. We found him wandering along the interstate just like this.”
Ruth took out her stethoscope to listen to the poor boy’s heartbeat, but first she looked at Officer Levine and asked, “Mais, you are sure that he is restrained and not going to get me, oui?”
He nodded, “He ain’t going to get you Ruth, I promise.”
As she went to check his pulse, the young boy let out an unearthly moan. She jumped back, startled, “Mais, they don’t pay me enough to deal with this. I will get the doctor.”
As she walked out, the two officers looked at each other. Mathis looked down at the boy, “You better behave; you hear me?”
As usual, the boy stared out into space. He hoped the boy’s parents arrived soon so they could help deal with him. Maybe they knew what was wrong with him.
Doctor Andrew Thompson walked into the exam room and Mathis let out an inward moan. This doctor would be the one on duty. He was a complete pompous ass, “So officers, what seems to be the problem tonight?”
Mathis explained once again, “We found this boy wandering down the interstate. With you being a doctor and all, we were hoping you could tell us what is wrong with him.”
The doctor looked at him with contempt in his eyes. He pulled out his stethoscope and told the young patient, “Son, I need you to take in a deep breath.”
As he went to place the stethoscope on the young boy’s chest, he lunged at him. Dr. Thompson quickly placed a firm hand on his shoulder and ignored the guttural moans coming from the boy, “Now, I am not in the mood to deal with an uncooperative patient, you hear me? Unlike these two officers here, I have actual work to handle.”
The two officers ignored the doctor’s snide remarks. They had dealt with him long enough to know to ignore him. As much as they despised his pompous personality, they both knew this doctor may be able to give them some answers as to what was going on with this boy.
They watched as the doctor listened to the teenager’s heartbeat. Dr. Thompson looked at the teenager and then his stethoscope. He took his stethoscope and tapped it twice to see if it was working. He placed it on the teen’s chest one more time and listened. He looked at the two officers in utter disbelief, “Okay, is this some kind of joke? Did you two gentlemen decide that you had enough of me and wanted to play a sick prank? Let me tell the two of you something; I have patients with serious problems, and I don’t need the two of you jerking my chain!”
They both looked at each other. Mathis stated, “Dr. Thompson, this is no joke. We found this boy like this on the interstate. We were hoping you could give us some answers.”
He looked at them doubtfully, “If you are pulling some kind of prank, I will have your badges.”
Before they could say anything else, the teen’s parents barged into the exam room. His mom fainted at the sight. His dad angrily asked, “What the hell is wrong with him?”
Levine responded, “Dr. Thompson is trying to figure that out.” He looked over at Dr. Thompson and informed him, “These are the young man’s parents. Would you like to explain to the parents what you were just telling us?”
Dr. Thompson glared at the two officers as he bent down to tend to the distraught mother. He reached over to the medicine cabinet and found some smelling salts. It took her a while to come to, “I am sorry for the shock. The nurse should have asked y’all to stay in the waiting room until we were ready for you.”
The father explained, “She tried to keep us out there, but we needed to make sure that he is alive. What is wrong with him doctor? Did he overdose or something?”
Dr. Thompson asked the parents, “Does your son have a history of abusing drugs?”
The mother shakily informed him, “No. He swore to us that he didn’t do drugs. He said he didn’t like the way they made him feel.”
“Well, he got a hold of something that is making his body respond abnormally. I will run a tox screen on him to find out what is in his system.”
The dad nodded in agreement, “Of course. Do whatever you believe is necessary.” The father looked over at the officers, “Why is my son under arrest?”
Mathis replied, “He was found walking down the interstate. When we tried to question him, he lunged at us. Then when the nurse and doctor attempted to treat him, he lunged at them as well. For now, we need to keep him restrained so that he doesn’t hurt himself or others.”
The mother tried desperately to control her tears, “He has never been a problem child until making friends with that boy. Did you find Adam Sinclair?”
Levine shook his head, “No, ma’am. The only one on the interstate tonight was your son.”
She lowered her head, “At least he is alive. Thank God for that. When can he come home?”
Dr. Thompson shook his head, “Not tonight. We need to find out what your son has in his system and why his body is shutting down.”
Both parents grabbed for each other, “Is he dying?”
Dr. Thompson looked at them both, “Right now, I don’t have any answers for you. I won’t know anything more until I complete the exam and the lab has the results. I plan on having everything run stat. Please be patient with us.”
Dr. Thompson called Nurse Sinclair over, “Will you see that these two parents get a cup of coffee and find them some place to wait while we finish the exam on their son. Also, I need you to come and draw blood and run it to the lab. We need to get the results back ASAP.”
As she showed the parents out the door, she replied, “Right away, Doctor.”
***
DR. THOMPSON LOOKED at his new patient one more time before beginning his exam. This might be one for the medical journal. The boy was staring off into space, but his vitals were non-existent. While he waited for the tox screen results, he planned to do some research to see if any similar cases were noted.