Ordo Ab Chao
Chapter IV
Delta Flight Los Angeles #102, in the skies
Zed's eyes were red and her face looked a bit worn from lack of sleep lately. She had been forcing herself to stay awake at all costs and the toll was starting to become visible. Every time she slept she was plagued with the same dream of Constantine dying over and over. It had become too much and since she initially had the dream she had begun taking pills to stay awake whenever she felt sleep coming on.
Chas had advised against it but she hadn't listened and he couldn't or wouldn't force her to stop. He looked over at her now and could see the red in her eyes and the strain on her face. "Just go to sleep for a moment," he whispered.
"No!" she half-shouted half-whispered in reply. "I won't watch him die again!"
"Okay, okay." Chas held up his hand in supplication. "But at least think about it."
Zed ignored him and returned to her thoughts but after a few minutes alone in her own head she decided a quick freshen up in the bathroom was due. She slid past Chas and started to walk towards the restroom. A man was walking towards her. Zed eyed him for a moment and found nothing especially special about him. He was cute to be sure but perhaps she was so tired she couldn't find herself aroused by the tall, milky skinned man that was now smiling at her. "Hello," he said to her as they passed by each other.
Their shoulders brushed and Zed's eyes went white.
When Zed opened her eyes again she was in a penthouse or a hotel room of some kind, she couldn't be sure. She looked around and the room was mostly dark but the windows were open and she could see that she was high up in the air. The lights of numerous buildings could be seen like stars in a bright sky and she could hear the sounds of music playing softly in the background. Zed didn't recognize this place at all and for the life of her couldn't understand what she was seeing.
She walked towards the large, open windows and looked out. As she did this she saw a man step up behind her. She jumped and turned around. It was the man from the airplane that had spoken to her. He stared ahead, unable to see her, with eyes white as snow and near-dead looking expression on his face. That was when Zed noticed the ghostly figure behind the man. The ghost was an older man in his fifties or sixties with a look of rage and pleasure blended upon his face.
Without warning he tossed a large chair through the window and then leapt out of it.
Zed screamed and then woke up back on the airplane looking around frantically. The man was still standing over her and she pulled away from him and slid away a little. Chas came up behind the man. "What happened? Are you alright?" he knelt down with her.
"I-I had another vision," she whispered to him. "Of him." She motioned with her chin to the man now staring in confusion. "A ghost makes him commit suicide when he gets to Los Angeles."
Chas nodded and after helping Zed to his feet he looked at the man extending his hand. "Thanks for your concern. My names Chas and this is Zed."
"No problem. Name's Mason. Mason Jungers."
10:00AM
Downtown Los Angeles, California
"…worse mass suicide in Downtown history…"
"…seemingly no connection between them…"
"…authorities are baffled…"
"…third time this month multiple suicide victims have…."
"…sign of the end times? More at eleven..." Constantine scoffed and turned off the television. He had been smoking and channel surfing all morning.
The news was abuzz with the latest batch of fear propaganda that the United States media pumped out daily. Today was the suicide of twelve people all of whom were seemingly unrelated and chose to end their lives by jumping from the tops of buildings. Not that strange in a place like Los Angeles really but they had all chosen to jump at the exact same time. None of them had cell phones and none of them had any contact with the other or even the same friends. They each hit the ground at the same time and that should be impossible.
Constantine knew otherwise. At the moment he was in a hotel room recuperating from the ridiculous amount of sex he had had with a certain succubus the night before. He hadn't lost anything precious to him but the creatures stamina was superhuman and her lust insatiable. She may as well have drained him for how he felt at the moment. He hoped that screwing an otherworldly creature wouldn't come back to haunt him in the future.
The pillow talk afterward had proven valuable and made the sexual fling more profitable. Susana had told him that only lower level entities were able to make it through the damaged veil as the protections were still too strong for one of the mighty demon lords. He found out where Papa Midnite was along with the locations of a few other brothels like hers in the city. Constantine knew she had shared that information to see them destroyed like her own. Vindictive thing, she was.
He knew in his bones there was more to this suicide thing then any of the local authorities were likely to uncover and made a note to maybe have a look into it later on if he found the time. His hands were currently filled what with the whole magical veil breaking away and all. Whoever was syphoning the mystical energies of all that is was a mad man to be sure. To do such a thing was to invite calamity and horror upon oneself if even the smallest of things was done wrong. Not to mention the repercussions of being caught by an omnipotent being or a guardian.
Constantine showered quickly and then got dressed, the day was passing him by and the longer it took him to solve this mystery the more wacky things would get. He didn't know how right he was until he stepped outside of the hotel.
Normally there were always things going on that most people couldn't see. While an average person would only see a bright day and a busy intersection, someone who was magically attuned would be seeing a sky filled with otherworldly creatures flying. Or demonic leeches attached to people's heads, gorging themselves on the spiritual energies on the unknowing victims. Usually most of the things were harmless and didn't warrant any attention or banishment but today Constantine was greeted by creatures he shouldn't be seeing.
Beasts of seven feet and taller were standing over people with fangs dripping saliva and eyes filled with hunger. They weren't fully in this realm but the barrier between them was so thin the demons could now see into the human world and they were amassing in large numbers. If the barrier broke it would be a slaughter.
"Not on my watch, mate." Constantine fired up a cigarette and walked down the street with purpose.
11:30AM
Downtown Los Angeles, California
The walk to where Papa Midnite was holed up in turned out to be rather uneventful and boring. The people of Downtown Los Angeles were like mindless zombies as they trudged through the daily affairs. They barely ever looked up from their cellphones or tablets as they walked through the streets unable to acknowledge another human being. He had spoken to a few women of the prettier sort but got only grunts and weird looks in response to his attempt at normal human kindness. This only served to amplify Constantine's belief that nobody in this city was worth saving or even aware of the grander scope of things.
As it turned out he did find someone that was not only worth saving but also knew the truth.
Constantine had been walking down 7th street when he smelled the strong stench of piss and shit assault his nostrils. He was greeted by the site of a large homeless man curled up in a doorway scribbling away on a wall. At first glance, nobody would even bother to take a second look at the man but Constantine noticed the markings the man was scribbling and stopped to look.
The homeless man had been mumbling incoherently but when Constantine knelt down to get a better look at the markings he understood what was going on.
The homeless man was under attack from some kind of spirit and he was attempting to create a safe area in this doorway by setting up wards and protection spells.
"Nice try, mate but I think you've got a few of 'em a bit wrong." Constantine said to the homeless man as he stood up again.
The homeless man stopped mumbling and looked up at him, "You…you know what I'm trying to do?"
"Yeah. Clear as day it is. Something otherworldly is after ya' and your tryna set up a bit of protection to get some peace and quiet, am I right?"
The homeless man nodded, "You don't think I'm crazy?"
"Crazy? Ha!" Constantine lit up a cigarette. "This is very low on the John Constantine crazy scale. I just saw a couple of succubi spit-roasting a bloke yesterday and that's way crazier than this."
The homeless man was silent, "John Constantine…" he whispered the name as if he knew it."…I've heard your name before in whispers when the ghost comes to me."
Constantine's eyebrow raised, "What have you heard about my name?"
The homeless man's eyes locked with his and he felt a powerful connection between them as the man spoke. His eyes clouded over and his voice gained an echo, "Your name has been thrown around a lot in Hell recently, Constantine. You're gonna be making a trip there soon they say."
"Not likely but go on."
The homeless man laughed and his fat shook on his body, "Yours is said to be the only soul The First of the Fallen will come collect himself."
"I'm that special then? Well I guess I'll just have to make sure I'm alive for many years to come." Constantine exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"These humans build their skyscrapers and monuments to their supposed power and majesty but they don't know what is really going on do they?" Constantine was now sure that this was some sort of creature possessing the homeless man. "Downtown is a haven for lowly depressed souls to congregate. All the roaches pretending to be something greater than they are or chasing dreams they can never accomplish. All of it ends in sadness. Cold, lonely, delicious….sadness..."
"Alright that's enough of that." Constantine held up his hand and forced whatever was inside the homeless man out.
The man shook and color returned to his eyes. "Wh-what did you do?"
"Helped ya' out a bit mate. Can't stand to see a good bloke tortured by the unknown and all that." Constantine reached out for the pen the homeless man had been using to write with. "If ya' don't mind." He said with a smile. The homeless man gave him the pen and Constantine drew out a few symbols on paper with some words underneath them. "Draw these where you're going to be and say these words. It'll keep the little beastie from coming back and messing with your head again."
"Th-thank you, Constantine. Thank you so much."
That moment had made him feel good again after losing both of the Parish brothers to the demon before killing it. The cryptic talk from whatever evil was in him weighed heavily on his mind as well as what he had said about his name coming up in Hell lately and the words of the First of the Fallen. Those were definitely not good signs but right now, Constantine didn't have time for any of that.
After twenty minutes of walking he finally arrived at the address he was given for Papa Midnight. The building was rundown and looked abandoned but Constantine could smell the scent of incense and souls that was so familiar around wherever Midnite was. He approached the entrance but got a ping from his protection spell just as he almost walked into a trap.
Constantine hesitated for a moment then closed his eyes and enchanted the necessary magic to allow him through whatever was keeping people out of this building. After a moment he reached for the door handle and his hand passed through an invisible wall that shimmered and then failed allowing him entry. He happily opened the door and was greeted by several goons pointing large shotguns at him.
"John Constantine…" he knew the voice well. Papa Midnite walked from the shadows behind his armed stooges applauding softly to mock him. "…you're the last person I expected to see on this little trip."
"Could say the same for you, Midnite." Constantine said in a smug tone. "There I was banishing a brothel of succubi when the leader starts yammering off about how the great Papa Midnite is in Los Angeles. Imagine my surprise to hear that."
"Indeed." Midnite did not tell his men to lower their weapons. "Duty calls and I answer."
"I hear ya," Constantine was tired of the guns pointed at him so he invoked dominance, "You lot lower your weapons and go take a nap until I'm done with your boss here." The goons quickly did as they were told, some strange and powerful magic compelling them to obey this man's orders.
Papa Midnite just looked on silently, "You've grown more powerful since I last saw you in New York."
"So have you, mate. That spell outside will keep out everything short of a nuke."
"I don't have the time to deal with interruptions, Constantine."
"Seems like you do to me."
Papa Midnite eyed him dangerously and Constantine immediately realized that something serious was going on. "Alright mate, spill it. What's going on?"
Midnite hesitated for but a moment before motioning for Constantine to follow him. Suddenly candles all around the room they were in began lighting themselves filling the room with eerie light. Now Constantine could see what was going on and quickly lit up another cigarette. The room was full of dead animals, blood and esoteric markings for spells and summoning's.
"What the hell, Papa?"
"I'm sure you're aware that something or someone is tampering with the delicate balance of magic." When Constantine said nothing Midnite continued, "It isn't just changing things for the demons or the angels. It's affecting even us humans down to those with even the weakest of connections to magic. At times I found myself more powerful than I ever was and then I would be unable to control even the most basic of spells."
"Losing your touch?"
Papa Midnite did not find this funny and continued as if Constantine hadn't spoken at all, "As a service I allow people to commune with the spirits of their loved ones for a nominal fee..." at this Constantine showed disapproval but remained silent. "...simple and something I've done hundreds of times. However this time the spirit I summoned to speak was filled with rage and anger. Something had happened to it and with the flux in magic the spirit broke free of my control. I followed it here to Los Angeles where it has been killing people."
"That's your spirit that's making everybody hop off bloody rooftops?!" Constantine demanded while pointing towards the outside.
"I just said that."
Constantine lowered his hand, "Right. Well let's be about getting rid of the thing, I've got work to do. Apocalypses to stop and all that."
Papa Midnite looked at Constantine in a way one would look at a small child. "How you have survived this long racks my brain every day, Constantine."
"Me too, mate. Me too." Constantine went for a cigarette. "So how we track this thing?"
"I suspect the spirit was murdered or cheated in some way during its life. The people it is killing are not random." Papa Midnite handed Constantine some paperwork. "My men have been working since arrival and they came up with this."
"The victims all were on a board together before." Constantine noticed.
"A board that oversaw pensions numerous corporate interests."
Constantine continued to dig through the information. The numbers the board had reported were off and large amounts of money had gone missing and was unaccounted for in the books. "Those blokes were putting away a hefty sum of cash into private accounts." Constantine handed the paperwork back to Papa Midnite. "Your men work fast."
"Or they die," was Papa's cold reply. He turned and walked into a room, motioning for Constantine to follow him. "The woman who came to me about her husband said they were victims of this theft. He went on a trip to Los Angeles and died. I suspect he tried to extort the board members in exchange for silence resulting in his death."
Constantine nodded in agreement. "Sounds about right. So how do we track the spirit so I can banish the fucker back to hell and get on with my job?"
Papa Midnite looked as if he wanted to say something but then changed his mind. "You are a dimwit," he said randomly. "You just read the papers yourself but did not notice?"
"Notice what?"
"The board had thirteen members. Only twelve people were killed."
Constantine snatched the papers off Papa Midnite's desk and looked over them again. "C'mon then! Which one of these unlucky sods is still alive so we can go save 'em from their own karma?"
"Mason Jungers. Returns from a trip to visit family in Germany this afternoon." Papa Midnite looked at his watch. "His flight lands in two hours."
"So call up some of your minions and send 'em off to pick him up and bring him to us." Constantine shook his hand like he was ringing a bell for servants.
"Not that easy. We have to wait until nightfall when he returns to his home. The spirit attacked the others at night so I assume he will be no different."
"Strange assumption, Papa but I'll follow your lead. It's your mess anyway, right?" Constantine finished off his cigarette.
Papa Midnite walked back out into the hallway where his goons were sleeping soundly on the floor. "If you'd be so kind."
"Forgot about them." Constantine chuckled. "Wake up and do your jobs as normal." The men instantly awoke and stood up ready to obey orders.
"Thank you," Papa Midnite told Constantine but his voice was void of gratitude and much emotion. He turned to one of the tallest men. "Take three and go to the airport. Track Mason Jungers and report all information." The man nodded once and then left.
"That easy, huh?" Constantine grinned. "Seems we've got a bit of a wait on our hands then mate. What's say we grab a drink or two?"
2:00PM
Los Angeles International Airport, Terminal 5
Chas squinted his eyes and put his hand over his forehead to block out some of the bright, California sunshine. The terminal exit was busy as hundreds of people scurried about on their way to do god knew what. Zed and Mason walked up on both his left and right, Zed covering her eyes in a fashion similar to Chas and Mason produced sunglasses then grinned.
"I come here a lot. If you're not from a bright and sunny place it can seem a little extreme. Don't worry though. You'll adjust." Mason told them cheerfully.
"Thanks man," Chas replied. Mason said goodbye and left. "So now what?" Chas asked Zed.
"We follow him of course." Zed thought about it. "We'll call John on the way." Mason had flagged down a taxi and was loading his luggage in so Zed rushed to the edge of the curb and did the same.
"Where to?" the driver asked in a gruff voice.
"Follow that cab." Chas pointed to the yellow and black Toyota Prius that Mason had gotten into. Their cab pulled off just in time to follow his.
If the driver had any problem with following a car he said nothing as they drove for what seemed like an hour or more. They had driven on the street for a while after leaving the airport and then found themselves on a series of freeways, the last of which they were now exiting. All around them they could see skyscrapers reaching for the sky and casting shadows down at them. Buildings hundreds of feet tall all lined with hundreds of tinted glass windows and elevators.
"Don't you guys have earthquakes out here?" Chas asked the driver.
"Haven't had one in a while but yeah we do."
"Wouldn't want to be down here when that happens." Chas sat back in his seat and eyed Mason's cab. It was pulling over and stopping outside of a large apartment complex.
Zed seemed to zone out for a moment as she looked up at the apartment. "Yeah this is the place." She confirmed so both of them opened the doors and got out of the taxi. Chas paid the driver and he popped the trunk so they could get their bags out. Zed watched as Mason was down the road doing the same thing. There were so many people moving along the sidewalks and doing exactly what they were that Mason wasn't likely to notice them.
Chas tossed the last bag down onto the sidewalk and Zed took her eyes off Mason for a second to say, "Make sure you got everything!" When she looked back two large black men were grabbing Mason by the arms. "Chas! Chas! Somebody is attacking him!" and then Zed sped off.
"Shit." Chas chased after her. "Zed! Wait!"
The shouts alerted the large men and they saw Zed and Chas running towards them. "Handle them," one said and mumbled something at Mason that made him go limp. The large man easily lifted Mason up onto his shoulder and walked into the street where an SUV waited with a door open.
"He's getting away!" Zed shouted.
Chas tried to change direction and run towards the car but was intercepted by the second man who stood towering over him with a grim but eager look on his face. "Alright then." Chas swung at the man's stomach and was repelled by a magical force that knocked him unconscious and flung him backwards.
"Chas!" Zed's eyes were wide and the man grinned as he reached for her whispering something that she couldn't understand. Zed felt all the energy in her body leave in one powerful wave and then there was black.
2:30PM
Downtown Los Angeles
"You know Constantine you are a roach and a boil on the ass of society..." Papa Midnite laughed. "...but at times you are not so bad."
Constantine took the final swig from the bottle and slammed it down nearly breaking it. "Could say the same to you." They both shared a laugh after that. It had taken two bottles and some very entertaining stories about Constantine's flings with otherworldly females and creatures but Papa Midnite had eventually broken down and relaxed.
Constantine wasn't seeking to get over on Papa Midnite or anything but just to have him comfortable with him and around him in case things got hectic later. Constantine thought about David and his brother and found himself looking at the empty bottle hoping for more. Few people knew the dark depths Constantine walked for his victories, if one could even call them that. Who knows? Constantine might have to sacrifice Papa Midnite to properly banish this ghost. Could he do it? He looked at Papa Midnight?
Yes. Without hesitation.
"I had thought for a minute that you might've had some hand in this weird business with magic." Constantine admitted to Papa Midnite.
"And I you." They laughed again but Papa Midnite abruptly stopped and got serious, "I was kidding. This is way above your pay grade. Above even mine. There are an only a few people in this world with the power to do something like this. You want to find the source? Narrow down your list of names and begin crossing them off."
Constantine nodded with approval as this was sound advice. He finished his cigarette and went for another one but began to cough. At first it seemed nothing but then he clutched the table and Papa Midnite saw a trickle of blood spill down Constantine's wrist.
He handed him a napkin. "Are you alright?"
Constantine wiped his mouth. "Yeah. Yeah. Something I've been meaning to get checked out."
Papa Midnite was about to reply when the doors opened and in walked the goons he had sent out earlier to retrieve their ghosts next victim. They had a man on their shoulders who was squirming and making useless threats. Curious though was that they also had two other people with sacks over their heads as well. These two weren't squirming at all.
They tossed Mason on the ground in front of Papa Midnite who immediately shouted, "Remove his mask and bindings! He is no prisoner! We are trying to save him!"
Constantine chuckled a bit while the goons rushed to do his bidding. 'Papa's good,' he thought cheerfully. He was wondering about those other bodies though. Wondering who they were and why they weren't moving.
Mason immediately stood up and put some space between himself and the two groups surrounding him. "What the hell is going on here?!" he demanded angrily. "You people have no idea who you're fucking with!"
"Mason Jungers, 30 years old, University of Southern California graduate. Major in business with a few other degrees under your belt. Father's name is Tomas Jungers and mother is-"
"Enough! Who the hell are you people?!" Mason looked frantic.
"If you wanted to creep him out I think you did that well enough with this whole get up and how ya' brought him here, mate." Constantine whispered to Papa Midnite.
"Silence, fool." He snapped back and Constantine leaned and stood up straight as if nothing happened.
"Listen to me, Mason. One of the souls of the men you robbed has returned from the afterlife and is killing off those that wronged him. You're the last one left." Papa Midnite told Mason grimly.
"Wait. What?" Mason looked at everyone laughing for a minute and then it sunk in that this might be serious. "But how? How is this possible?"
"That isn't important." Constantine told him. "All your friends that embezzled with you are dead and you're the last one left, see? Mr. Ghosty is coming after you and we're gonna protect you from it and send the prick on to hell."
Mason looked at Constantine and then Papa Midnight and then back and forth for a while. "Get me the fuck out of here." He said softly at first. "Get me the fuck out of here!" he started to shout repeatedly. "These people are crazy! Help! I've been kidnapped!"
"Can anybody hear him?" Constantine asked Papa Midnite who shook his head in reply. "Good, because that one's got a good set of lungs." The bodies on the ground started to squirm and muffled shouts could be heard. "What's the deal with those two?"
Papa Midnite had ignored the bodies until now, "Who are they?" he demanded.
"A man and woman attacked us when we were bringing him here. They were protected by some strange magic so it took a bit stronger spells to knock them out."
Constantine walked over to the bodies and pulled off the sacks, "Zed?! Chas!?" he turned angrily to Papa Midnite's goons, "You knocked out me best mates!"
"Constantine wait they..." Papa Midnite started to say but was too late.
"Sleep. Now." All the goons fell asleep again. "Lucky they didn't actually do them any harm Papa or things would have been a lot worse."
Papa Midnite fumed, "Don't make idle threats to me, John Constantine." He walked close to Constantine and eyed him. "I am not the one for such things."
"Nor am I the one to forget a slight like this, mate." Constantine hiked his thumb to Chas and Zed who were squirming and mumbling on the ground. Constantine bent down and freed them. "You guys alright?"
"We're fine." Chas told them. "But Mason got away while you two were arguing. We were trying to tell you but our mouths were kind of tied.
Papa Midnite and Constantine turned around to see the front door open and the room empty except for them. "You knocked out my guards and he got away you idiot!" he shouted at Constantine.
"Shout later. You remember where he stays?" Constantine turned hopefully to his friends who immediately let him down. "Dammit." He turned to the sleeping guards. "Wake up." They all awoke and stood to their feet, looking at Constantine angry that he had done that to them again.
"Take us to Mason's home. Now!" Papa Midnite shouted.
3:45PM
Downtown Los Angeles, California
"Mom I don't know what the hell they were talking about! No I'm not on drugs! I don't know mom I fucking ran okay! I'm packing up my shit and I've already booked my flight! They knew about the Bespin job mom! Everybody is dead! Everybody, mom! I don't fucking know okay please stop asking me what's going on!"
Mason was frantically running around his apartment building tossing items into a suitcase and shouting into his phone. He didn't know who else to call with what he was currently going through so he called his mom and it was proving no help at all. He threw one last shirt in the suitcase then closed it and hoisted it off the bed. He went through the door and into the living room and stopped dead in his tracks. He dropped his phone and suitcase.
"Lane?"
The ghost flew directly inside him and Mason began to shake violently. The phone on the ground next to him was still on and his mother was calling to him, "Mason? Mason are you there? It sounds like you're choking dear?"
His door flew off the hinges and Papa Midnite stalked into the room followed by Constantine, Chas, Zed and two of his men. They quickly noticed Mason and Constantine fell to his knee and lifted Mason's shaking body in his arms.
He closed his eyes and began to whisper in a vaguely echoed voice into Mason's forehead. "Hello? Mason? What is that noise? I'm calling the police!" the phone call finally ended.
Constantine continued to whisper and then leaned away and touched Mason's forehead with his palm. His body stopped shaking and when Constantine pulled his hand away the ghost shrieked as it was dragged from its body.
As if practiced, Papa Midnite stepped up and used his power to take hold of the raging soul. "You have abused the gift I gave you and for that you will be punished."
"Papa! No!" Constantine couldn't move.
Papa Midnite opened his mouth and devoured the ghost adding it to his collection. Constantine looked on angrily and Mason suddenly yanked away from him and stood to his feet. His face was white and he was sweating fiercely. His eyes were so wide they threatened to burst from his head and he continued to step backwards. He was muttering gibberish and moving in a frantic manner but continued to back up and point at them all.
"He's had a nervous breakdown." Zed observed.
"Constantine! The ledge!"
The balcony door had been open and they hadn't noticed. Mason backed up and stepped right out of it. A few more steps and he would tumble over the edge. Everyone shouted objections and ran forward except Papa Midnite.
Constantine reached the door first and stepped out on the balcony just as Mason tumbled backwards over the edge.
He stopped dead in his tracks.
They were on the forty fifth floor. No need to look and see what happened. Instead he silently reached into his trench coat and lit up a cigarette. "Can't seem to win one for-" he doubled over as the coughing hit him so hard he vomited up blood and alcohol. Constantine fell to his knees. He could hear Chas and Zed's voices but couldn't make out what they were saying. It sounded like they were shouting but he couldn't be sure.
He could tell his body was moving from the way his head jerked and arms and legs moved but he couldn't feel his limbs nor the pain from the coughing he was sure he was still doing. What the hell was happening? Was he dying? Not like this.
Then the blackness took him.
He was sitting at a bar now, which was strange because he distinctly remembered being in that bloke's apartment building just a moment ago. The bar was empty except for him and the bartender. In front of him was an empty glass and he noticed that the bar only had one drink, a bottle of blood red liquid marked with a sign for poison.
Constantine sat there for a while and found that when he got ready to leave he couldn't get up and when he tried to speak he couldn't speak. A man walked into the bar and sat next to him as if he didn't exist. The man ordered a drink and the bartender poured the man a glass of the blood red poison. The man paid and drank it then fell dead on the floor.
'What the bloody hell is going on?' Constantine thought to himself.
Another man came in and sat at the bar. He too ordered a glass of the poison and then fell dead. This was followed by a third and fourth man until eventually Constantine had watched nearly twenty men walk into the bar and die from drinking the poison. The bartender never showed emotion and the men never seemed to notice the others that were dead even though their bodies were plain to see. The bottle never grew empty and Constantine sat there and watched it all confused and amazed.
The bartender reached for the poison and came to fill Constantine's cup. Up until that moment he had been unable to move but suddenly Constantine could not stop his body from picking up the cup no matter how hard he tried. He fought and screamed and did all that he could but his body lifted the poison and swallowed it then darkness took him again.
"NOOOO!" Constantine woke up screaming with his eyes wide. "No! No! NO!" all he could see was bright lights and he felt several hands on him trying to hold him down. He struggled against them. He wasn't sure what was happening but he remembered that poison and that bar and he felt fear in him unlike anything he had ever felt before. "No! No!"
"Sedate him! Sedate him dammit!"
He felt a sharp sting in his arm and then he slowly lost his ability to move and the lights dimmed and blackness returned.
This time when he woke up his eyes were heavy and his mouth was dry. He tried to move but found himself restrained and then he realized where he was. The hospital. He recognized the constant beeps from the machines that monitored all the bollocks the doctors then wrote down. He began to feel aches and pains in his body and groaned loudly.
"John? John? You up, man?" it was Chas' voice and he was glad to hear it.
"Yeah." Constantine managed to croak out. "Fuck's going on mate? I feel like shit. And what the hell am I doing in a hospital?"
"Yeah. Uh. About that." Chas fell silent and he looked over seeing Zed with eyes puffy from crying and tears still streaming. Before Constantine could say anything else the door opened and a doctor walked in.
"Mr. Constantine are you conscious?" he nodded silently in reply. "Okay. My name's Dr. Kendra Boyd and I'm sorry to have to tell you this but you have stage 4 cancer."