War of the Worlds, Chapter 11
By Lucky_Ladybug
"Hi, Alex!" Amanda chirped.
The young medical student looked up from the textbook he was reading. "Oh, hi, Dr. Bentley . . . Dr. Sloan. . . . What's up?"
"Well, Alex, we were wondering if you could help us identify a couple of medical students who brought a supposedly dead body to Amanda," Mark replied.
"Oh yeah, I heard about that," Alex said. "The guy that wasn't really dead and took off running through the hospital?"
"Uh . . . Something like that," Amanda said. She was starting to wonder, though, if maybe there was something to Jack's zombie stuff . . . But no, that was ridiculous! she told herself.
"Well, I'll help if I can," Alex said.
Mark smiled. "Thanks, Alex. I knew we could count on you. Amanda, will you describe them?"
"Well, the one had long, sandy hair and hazel eyes," Amanda began. "He actually looked older than the average medical student." She looked like she was about to say more, but decided against it. "And the other had dark brown hair and blue eyes. He looked remarkably like Mr. Smith, actually," she added, "but I knew it couldn't be him, since he isn't a medical student."
Alex paused, thinking. Finally he said, "You know, I've never seen them around."
Mark looked serious. "This doesn't sound good," he said. "What exactly did they say, Amanda?"
"They just brought Mr. Montel in and announced that they were medical students here at the hospital, and on their lunch break, they had discovered Mr. Montel behind a shack a mile or so from here," Amanda replied. "As I said, I tried to get their names, but they left Mr. Montel and rushed out of the lab."
"This Mr. Smith," Alex broke in. "How well do you guys know him? Could it have been him?"
Amanda gave him a funny look. "No!"
"He would've been at the front desk at the time," Mark added. He paused. "Now about that other guy. . . . He sounds a little like one of the lab assistants . . . Andrew." He glanced at a nearby clock. "Oh, we'd better go, Alex. It's almost time for class."
Alex jumped up. "Yeah, you're right." He began to gather up his textbooks. "Well, let me know if I can help in any way," he said.
Mark smiled. "We will." He glanced back at Amanda. He wanted to talk to her more about those two "medical students" later.
******
Amanda hadn't wanted to say it in front of Alex, but now that she thought of it, the man with the sandy hair and hazel eyes reminded her of the hooded figure she and Jack had seen at Dr. Winfield's "enchanted" manor---too much. She was anxious to go back to the strange manor and find out what was really happening there. Morphing buildings, scenery changes, hooded figures, and portal-like mirrors. Amanda had never seen anything like it, not in the 8-plus years she had been investigating with Mark, Jack and the others. They had hardly ever encountered the supernatural or paranormal on their cases, and the few times they had, it always wound up with a logical explanation. Except for . . .
She couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to the Moriah Thomas story that Mark and Jack weren't telling her, or anyone. They had announced that Moriah had been the killer, acting on orders of her boss, but when Mark had said it, he'd had this gleam in his eye, like he wanted to say more, but hadn't. Could Moriah really be . . .? No, that was ridiculous. There were no vampyres!
Amanda shook her head. That had been almost six years ago now. Surely it didn't have any relation to their current case. Get back on track, Bentley, she said to herself. Right now, they had to find some way to catch that madman running all over CG. She wondered if Norman's FBI friends were any closer to figuring out what was happening in the hospital.
******
Mr. Smith was at the reception desk when suddenly the area grew quiet. "Hey, what's going on?" he said aloud.
Suddenly a cloud of blue smoke rose up. Mr. Smith coughed, waving the smoke away. He found himself staring at . . . himself. He did a double take, standing up and staring at this new arrival.
"Hello, Mr. Smith," he said in low tones.
"Who are you?" Mr. Smith asked, though he already knew. He didn't need a name to know that this guy was a fallen angel.
"You can call me . . . Isaac," he said smoothly.
"What do you want?" Mr. Smith demanded.
Isaac smirked. "Well, you see, Mr. Smith, I'm here to make sure you guys don't win here."
"You're helping the aliens?"
"Oh no. *They're* helping *me,*" Isaac replied. "And the rest of us." He gestured, and Mr. Smith saw a whole horde of fallen angels.
"Why are you doing this?" Mr. Smith asked.
Isaac continued to look smug. "You know, Mr. Smith, we're going to win. More people are joining us every day."
"Evil and hate will never win," Mr. Smith replied.
"You know, it's really more fun on our side," Isaac went on. Mr. Smith only glared at him. Issac paused. "You'd better watch out, Mr. Smith," he hissed. "You'll be seeing a lot more of me." Then, with another burst of blue smoke, he was gone.
Mr. Smith slowly sat back in his chair, shaking. He hated to think what Isaac was up to. He remembered how he had rummaged through Ruby Henry's things, pretending to be Mr. Smith. "Ohhhh man," he said softly. "This can't be good."
******
Amanda was heading back to her lab when she passed by Norman's office. Usually she heard the rustling of paper or Norman agitatedly talking on the phone when she passed by, but today she heard nothing. That's odd, she thought. She knocked on the door, which was partially open. "Mr. Briggs?" she called. "Norman?" Getting no answer, she decided just to peek in, to make sure Norman was okay.
She looked in. "Norman, are you here?"
An eerie quiet filled the office. Amanda opened the door more and walked in. As soon as she did, she noticed someone lying face down on the floor. Quickly she rushed over and, dropping to her knees next to him, gently turned him to face her. "Jack!" she gasped. "Oh, Jack, what happened to you? What were you doing here in Norman's office?" Receiving no answer, she searched for a pulse, then breathed a sigh of relief. Jack was still alive, and his pulse was steady. She ran a hand through his fluffy dark hair and discovered a bump on his head. Someone had knocked him unconscious . . . but why? And who? Mr. Montel?
Jack stirred. "Jack?" Amanda said softly.
Jack slowly opened his eyes. He stared at Amanda blankly, then seemed to focus.
"Oh, Jack, thank goodness you're awake," Amanda exclaimed. "You had me worried!"
"I feel like someone dropped a ton of bricks on me," Jack replied ruefully.
"What were you doing here in Norman's office?" Amanda asked.
Jack shakily sat up, rubbing his head. "The door was open and everything was quiet. So I came in." He paused. "And it was really cold."
"Cold?" Amanda repeated. "It's not cold in here now."
"I know. But it was when I came in," Jack said. "And then there was this bluish-white light that came at me and then disappeared." He froze.
"Jack, what is it?" Amanda asked.
"Amanda, you're not going to believe this," Jack said slowly.
"What?" Amanda demanded.
"I think I was knocked out by a poltergeist!" Jack exclaimed.
By Lucky_Ladybug
"Hi, Alex!" Amanda chirped.
The young medical student looked up from the textbook he was reading. "Oh, hi, Dr. Bentley . . . Dr. Sloan. . . . What's up?"
"Well, Alex, we were wondering if you could help us identify a couple of medical students who brought a supposedly dead body to Amanda," Mark replied.
"Oh yeah, I heard about that," Alex said. "The guy that wasn't really dead and took off running through the hospital?"
"Uh . . . Something like that," Amanda said. She was starting to wonder, though, if maybe there was something to Jack's zombie stuff . . . But no, that was ridiculous! she told herself.
"Well, I'll help if I can," Alex said.
Mark smiled. "Thanks, Alex. I knew we could count on you. Amanda, will you describe them?"
"Well, the one had long, sandy hair and hazel eyes," Amanda began. "He actually looked older than the average medical student." She looked like she was about to say more, but decided against it. "And the other had dark brown hair and blue eyes. He looked remarkably like Mr. Smith, actually," she added, "but I knew it couldn't be him, since he isn't a medical student."
Alex paused, thinking. Finally he said, "You know, I've never seen them around."
Mark looked serious. "This doesn't sound good," he said. "What exactly did they say, Amanda?"
"They just brought Mr. Montel in and announced that they were medical students here at the hospital, and on their lunch break, they had discovered Mr. Montel behind a shack a mile or so from here," Amanda replied. "As I said, I tried to get their names, but they left Mr. Montel and rushed out of the lab."
"This Mr. Smith," Alex broke in. "How well do you guys know him? Could it have been him?"
Amanda gave him a funny look. "No!"
"He would've been at the front desk at the time," Mark added. He paused. "Now about that other guy. . . . He sounds a little like one of the lab assistants . . . Andrew." He glanced at a nearby clock. "Oh, we'd better go, Alex. It's almost time for class."
Alex jumped up. "Yeah, you're right." He began to gather up his textbooks. "Well, let me know if I can help in any way," he said.
Mark smiled. "We will." He glanced back at Amanda. He wanted to talk to her more about those two "medical students" later.
******
Amanda hadn't wanted to say it in front of Alex, but now that she thought of it, the man with the sandy hair and hazel eyes reminded her of the hooded figure she and Jack had seen at Dr. Winfield's "enchanted" manor---too much. She was anxious to go back to the strange manor and find out what was really happening there. Morphing buildings, scenery changes, hooded figures, and portal-like mirrors. Amanda had never seen anything like it, not in the 8-plus years she had been investigating with Mark, Jack and the others. They had hardly ever encountered the supernatural or paranormal on their cases, and the few times they had, it always wound up with a logical explanation. Except for . . .
She couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to the Moriah Thomas story that Mark and Jack weren't telling her, or anyone. They had announced that Moriah had been the killer, acting on orders of her boss, but when Mark had said it, he'd had this gleam in his eye, like he wanted to say more, but hadn't. Could Moriah really be . . .? No, that was ridiculous. There were no vampyres!
Amanda shook her head. That had been almost six years ago now. Surely it didn't have any relation to their current case. Get back on track, Bentley, she said to herself. Right now, they had to find some way to catch that madman running all over CG. She wondered if Norman's FBI friends were any closer to figuring out what was happening in the hospital.
******
Mr. Smith was at the reception desk when suddenly the area grew quiet. "Hey, what's going on?" he said aloud.
Suddenly a cloud of blue smoke rose up. Mr. Smith coughed, waving the smoke away. He found himself staring at . . . himself. He did a double take, standing up and staring at this new arrival.
"Hello, Mr. Smith," he said in low tones.
"Who are you?" Mr. Smith asked, though he already knew. He didn't need a name to know that this guy was a fallen angel.
"You can call me . . . Isaac," he said smoothly.
"What do you want?" Mr. Smith demanded.
Isaac smirked. "Well, you see, Mr. Smith, I'm here to make sure you guys don't win here."
"You're helping the aliens?"
"Oh no. *They're* helping *me,*" Isaac replied. "And the rest of us." He gestured, and Mr. Smith saw a whole horde of fallen angels.
"Why are you doing this?" Mr. Smith asked.
Isaac continued to look smug. "You know, Mr. Smith, we're going to win. More people are joining us every day."
"Evil and hate will never win," Mr. Smith replied.
"You know, it's really more fun on our side," Isaac went on. Mr. Smith only glared at him. Issac paused. "You'd better watch out, Mr. Smith," he hissed. "You'll be seeing a lot more of me." Then, with another burst of blue smoke, he was gone.
Mr. Smith slowly sat back in his chair, shaking. He hated to think what Isaac was up to. He remembered how he had rummaged through Ruby Henry's things, pretending to be Mr. Smith. "Ohhhh man," he said softly. "This can't be good."
******
Amanda was heading back to her lab when she passed by Norman's office. Usually she heard the rustling of paper or Norman agitatedly talking on the phone when she passed by, but today she heard nothing. That's odd, she thought. She knocked on the door, which was partially open. "Mr. Briggs?" she called. "Norman?" Getting no answer, she decided just to peek in, to make sure Norman was okay.
She looked in. "Norman, are you here?"
An eerie quiet filled the office. Amanda opened the door more and walked in. As soon as she did, she noticed someone lying face down on the floor. Quickly she rushed over and, dropping to her knees next to him, gently turned him to face her. "Jack!" she gasped. "Oh, Jack, what happened to you? What were you doing here in Norman's office?" Receiving no answer, she searched for a pulse, then breathed a sigh of relief. Jack was still alive, and his pulse was steady. She ran a hand through his fluffy dark hair and discovered a bump on his head. Someone had knocked him unconscious . . . but why? And who? Mr. Montel?
Jack stirred. "Jack?" Amanda said softly.
Jack slowly opened his eyes. He stared at Amanda blankly, then seemed to focus.
"Oh, Jack, thank goodness you're awake," Amanda exclaimed. "You had me worried!"
"I feel like someone dropped a ton of bricks on me," Jack replied ruefully.
"What were you doing here in Norman's office?" Amanda asked.
Jack shakily sat up, rubbing his head. "The door was open and everything was quiet. So I came in." He paused. "And it was really cold."
"Cold?" Amanda repeated. "It's not cold in here now."
"I know. But it was when I came in," Jack said. "And then there was this bluish-white light that came at me and then disappeared." He froze.
"Jack, what is it?" Amanda asked.
"Amanda, you're not going to believe this," Jack said slowly.
"What?" Amanda demanded.
"I think I was knocked out by a poltergeist!" Jack exclaimed.