A Man of Evil by James Scholes

Author:James Scholes [Scholes, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2014-06-07T23:00:00+00:00

VI

Kelly had spent more than his fair share of time in hospitals— watching after the dying, mourning with families, offering solace and guidance— but being familiar with a place and liking it were two very different things. He hated hospitals; they reminded him of the worst times in life.

Jack and Mary were both asleep. Mary was in the hospital bed, Jack was lying above the sheets. Kelly had spent half an hour watching them both but they had not stirred and the nurse that had come to check Mary's bandages had smiled sweetly and said that Jack could stay like that for as long as he needed.

The doctor had come around and they had talked. Kelly had pressed about the cut's on Mary's face, but the doctor had said they were only skin deep and that she was so young that they would heal fine.

“The head carries a lot of blood so they look much worse than they are,” he had assured him. “It must have given you quite a fright.”

“You don't know the half of it,” Kelly agreed, trying not to let his mind dwell on what he had seen— his vision of Jack, deformed and terrifying.

“Do you know how she got them?” the doctor asked. “What cut her face?”

“A cat,” Kelly lied, not willing to put Jack under any scrutiny. “Must have climbed in through the window. Bloody things, should be locked up at night.”

“Yes,” the doctor agreed. “Well, we'll keep the young girl until tomorrow just to make sure there's no sign of infection— when animals are involved, you have to be extra careful with these things— but you should be able to take her home in the morning.”

“Thank you doctor. What about the bandages?”

“Oh, they're just to help the blood clot. We'll take them off in the morning and she should be fine. She might look a sight so I'd keep her away from any mirrors; girls her age can be quite impressionable. Maybe keep her home from school for the week, just until the worst of the scabs fall off.”

“Okay. Thank you doctor.”

“You can go and sit by her bed, if you like,” the doctor offered.

“No, they're asleep, I don't want to disturb them. I'll wait out here.”

“As you wish. If you need anything, the night-nurse will help you.”

“Thank you.” Kelly said but the doctor was already gone, off to talk to another patient. Kelly poured himself some water and settled into one of the hard plastic chairs. He'd collect Jack in a few minutes, take him home. He wasn't going to spend all night sitting in the hospital; Mary would be okay without them.

Kelly closed his eyes and regretted it. All he could see was the shape of a deformed little boy, spiky hair covering his naked back, warts and growths and dirt covering his skin. No, that wasn't Jack— that was just his imagination running overdrive; an old man still afraid of the dark. He was allowing himself to be spooked over nothing, letting the kids' nightmares get the better of him.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.