Chapter 11
True to Dr. Pryce's word, the first few days of rehab for Mok had been very difficult.
He spent the first few days in bed, struggling to fight against his thoughts. 'C'mon! Just one! One won't hurt!' his mind shouted at him.
Then came the hallucinations.
One day, he woke up from a sleepless night and noticed Emmy in the room.
"Emmy?" he said to her, who was staring out the window.
She turned to smile at him, but then, her teeth became long fangs and she charged at him.
Mok shut his eyes and waited for death to come. However, it didn't and he opened his eyes to see that Emmy was not there.
He then began to see demonic creatures. They first showed themselves out in the hallway and then in his room.
Mok gave cries of horror and pressed his hands against his ears. He then slashed at the demons with his fingernails, but in reality, there was nothing.
Dr. Pryce ordered the attendants to strap Mok to his bed. The rock musician, however, saw more demons. He would cry out almost every hour, begging the demons to let him live.
"I don't want to die!" Mok cried out at the invisible creatures.
The nightmarish fantasies were getting worse every day. After three days of the hallucinating episodes, Dr. Pryce could not take it anymore.
She gathered the other rehab inhabitants and asks them, "I want someone to offer some sort of encouragement to Mok. Let him know that he's seeing illusions."
Nicholai Lenzo, who entered rehab after he had plastic surgery done to his face, volunteered.
"I'll do whatever I can," he said to Dr. Pryce.
Nicholai was taken to Mok's room, where the rock star was sweating profusely and staring at something that was not there.
"Mok Swagger?" Nicholai asked and he turned to face the newcomer. "I'm Nicholai Lenzo, I came here to see if you are all right," the man said.
"Get away from me!" Mok shouted and he squatted into a corner.
"It's all right; I know what you're going through. Please, believe me when I say this, I am real," Nicholai said to the rock star.
The first day was not a success as Mok mistook Nicholai for a demon and nearly slashed his throat with his fingernails.
"I will try, again," Nicholai said to Dr. Pryce.
Next morning, Nicholai delivered Mok's breakfast to his room. Mok looked at Nicholai uneasily, mostly because of the bandages on his face.
"What happened to you?" Mok asked as Nicholai placed the food tray on the outdoor table on the porch.
"I had plastic surgery. I didn't like the look of my face," he answered and showed the tray of food.
Mok did not pay attention to that, but he was hungry and he sat down on the rusted steel chair.
He watched Nicholai eat some of the fruit, but Nicholai groaned in pain and massaged one of his cheeks.
"Are you all right? You sound like you're in pain," Mok asked.
"I insisted that they give me no painkillers, addictive little things," Nicholai said to Mok, but the rock star could tell that he was suffering from the agony.
"You're very wise," Mok said to him and he also began to eat.
Mok ate some of the fruit, they were fresh, and they tasted so good. However, he kept looking around for any of the evil monsters.
"It's all right," Nicholai assured him. "Those things you keep seeing are just…." Nicholai had to think of something that would not upset Mok.
"Mirages," Nicholai replied.
"You mean, they are not real?" Mok asked and Nicholai nodded. "So, I am not crazy," the rock star added.
"Nope," Nicholai said and handed Mok a cup of green liquid.
"What is this?" he asked.
"Green tea. Don't worry, it's not a drug, but I am addicted to it. It'll help clean out whatever you have in your body, trust me," Nicholai said to him.
Mok took the cup and brought it to his lips. He sipped some of the tea and it tasted delicious.
"Thank you," he said to Nicholai and they finished their morning meal.
Afterward, Nicholai went to Dr. Pryce and gave her the news.
"Excellent Mr. Lenzo," she said to him. "Would you mind if you do it, again, tomorrow?" she asked him.
"Not at all," Nicholai replied and he went back to his quarters.
In Mok's room, the musician wrote in his journal. 'The demons are not real. I must remember that.'
Then, out of the corner of his eye, a green furred, four-legged beast approached him.
"It's not real," Mok said to himself, but the monster continued to walk towards him.
He took a deep breath and says, again, "It's just a mirage."
Just then, the monster dissolved into nothingness and Mok felt a heavy weight lift from his shoulders.
"I should do something besides staying in here," he said to himself.
He got up from the bed, opened the door and stepped out.