Chapter Two – Hallucination or Apparition?
As she stood outside his locked door, Maggie braced herself. Taking a deep breath, she fumbled around for the keys to his door, while trying not to accidentally tip the tray. Locating the right key, she placed it in the lock, and opened it.
The room was dark. He had no windows, only miles of padded surface. Joe was sitting in a shadowy corner, brooding. Quickly, Maggie shut the door behind her and locked it. Her new superior, Doctor Urran, had warned her against that, but she knew that Joe wouldn't hurt her – couldn't hurt her – could he? A faint smile on her face, she approached her ex and said, "I brought your breakfast, Joe." No response. "Joe?" Maggie asked tentatively.
His head tilted slightly. "It won't work."
Her brow furrowed. "What won't work?"
A maniacal laugh escaped him. "You – you're trying to trick me. You want me to think you're Maggie. But I know you're not. You're Angelique." Joe stood quickly, backing up against the wall. "I don't want you to come any closer. In fact, I don't want you at all. I want Maggie." He started roaming aimlessly around the room. "Maggie? Maggie!"
"Joe, I'm Maggie!" she said, coming over to him. "And I'm here, and I'm going to take care of you, Joe." She laid a single hand on his arm. His head turned to look at her. "You're going to get well, Joe, because I'm not gonna let you down. I will be here every day, making sure you get what you need." When Joe didn't say anything in opposition, Maggie added, "I brought you breakfast. Please eat it."
Joe nodded, and went over to the tray. Maggie was supposed to leave him alone, but since she knew she had no other duties, she decided to sit next to him and keep him company. Joe looked up from his plate. "Why are you staring at me?" he demanded.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize," Maggie said, trying to look off in another direction.
As he turned back to his plate, he quickly explained. "I can't eat with people staring at me."
Joe finished his meal in silence, and handed the tray back to Maggie before he returned to his corner. Maggie knew it would be useless to talk to him, so she returned to the aide's kitchen to wash of the plates. Sighing, she knew it would take a lot of effort to revert that angry, hollow man into her loving boyfriend again.
His lunch was the same – at first, he freaked out about Maggie's sudden appearance, but then he settled down and ate his meal. This time, however, she did not stay with him through lunch.
His next meal was much easier; Joe had become used to Maggie's visits, and immediately grabbed the tray from her. As she turned to leave, she heard a small, lost voice say, "Please, Maggie. Stay with me, huh?"
Slowly Maggie turned around and looked at Joe, who had the most pitiable look in his eyes, like a little boy who had been punished. Maggie smiled, nodded, and said, "Okay."
She sat with him in silence as Joe ate. When he finished, she went to grab the tray from him, but he pulled it away. "Maggie," he whispered, "Don't go yet."
"Why?" Maggie asked.
Darting his eyes around, he said, "Nobody believes me. If you stay, you'll see him, too."
"Who?"
"Tom."
Maggie stared at him disbelievingly. Tom had been dead for almost as long as they'd been broken up. "Joe, Tom is dead. The dead can't come back."
"But he does, Maggie!" Joe said loudly, as if the volume of his voice would change her belief. "He comes right into this room, and he points at me. He points at me and says, 'You're responsible! You killed me!'"
Joe was fairly shaking with pent-up fear of his own hallucinations. Maggie placed a steadying hand on his shoulder, and said, "If you see him, and I don't, will that convince you that he's dead?" Joe nodded. "Then I'll stay."
In silence, they waited. Maggie knew that Doctor Urran would be very disappointed in her – perhaps even fire her – but she had to prove to Joe, at least, that he was hallucinating these haunting visions. An hour passed, and not a single sound had been produced. Exasperated, she said, "Nothing's coming."
"Wait," Joe said, "I can hear him."
For another few minutes, the two of them were huddled together, Joe in fear, Maggie in cautious uncertainty. Suddenly, a bright light lit up the room. Maggie gasped as the form of a man took shape. For a moment, he was unrecognizable, but then Maggie realized that Tom Jennings, dead since 1968, was in this room. He seemed to be floating, as if on a cloud, and every step he took toward them, Maggie could feel her body temperature drop ten degrees. As he inched toward them, he opened his mouth wide, and long, white fangs were all she could see. She buried her face in Joe's shoulder, screaming, "No! It can't be!"
Joe tapped her on the shoulder, and said, "He's gone." Maggie looked up, her face damp with frightened tears. The room was dark again, and the air started to warm. "See?" Joe said, "I told you so."