Chapter 42: Hell to Pay

March 1999

The infirmary had changed shifts, and another nurse who was not dressed like a gothic princess came in to check on both of us. I realized that for the moment, Julie and I were the only two patients in the ward. Some of the names the familiars were given were extreme ... almost to the point of ridiculous. This nurse’s name was Dementia. She was dressed up in all white, just like any other nurse. In fact, I did not really notice anything strange about her at all. She smelled nice, and there was no bad breath. I did see that she had a couple of bite marks on her arm, as she apparently was “giving for the cause.” She was quiet and spoke only to give information when needed. She checked my dressing and asked if I was in pain.

I said, “Only when I move about”, and the next thing I knew, I was nodding off.

I awoke later, only to notice the faces looking at me, were in a cluster, like a catch of fish on a stringer. Some of the bloody faces had open eyes glazed over and their cheeks were touching each other’s. A bloody hand, which bore a familiar royal signet, held their hair!