Chapter 20

William walked out the front door of his house to await his visitor. His daytime bodyguard, Colt, walked behind him wondering why they had come outside. For all he knew, they had left the house just to stand around all day in the sunshine. His eyes automatically checked the surroundings for any threats.

The two men headed over to the driveway with William leading the way. A minute later, a rental car pulled up in the driveway. Colt glared at it as if it were a direct threat. He relaxed when a green robed Druid stepped out. Looking over at William out of the corner of his eye, Colt asked, "You were expecting a Druid?"

"Yes."

The Druid asked, "Are you William?"

"I am," answered William raising his right hand to shoulder height with his first finger extended. It was the same gesture used by students everywhere when answering roll call in school.

"I'm Cole," said the Druid looking over the young man with undisguised curiosity. He didn't see the family resemblance with the Reverend. The Reverend was black and this kid appeared to be Native American. "Your grandfather told me that you have a problem here that could use my assistance."

"What problem?" William asked wondering what kind of details his grandfather had provided the Druid about his neighbors.

"You have a neighbor with an emotional disorder," answered the Druid.

"I guess you could say that," said William. He looked up at the sky and watched a small bug fly past. It was hard to say if Teenage Wasting Disease was really an emotional problem or a problem with seeing reality.

"I'm a healer."

"Ah." Looking over at the Druid, he felt there was something else unusual about him. Making a wild guess, he asked, "Are you a student at the Druid College?"

"Yes, I am. I'm a third year," said Cole.

On mention of the fact that he was a third year student, William was reminded of another third year student. He asked, "How's Oscar Meyers?"

Colt stared at William wondering why he was asking about a lunch meat company. The little song about wanting to be a hotdog flitted through his mind. The question didn't make sense unless it was some sort of inside joke from the college concerning the food there. He was further confused by Cole's answer, "He's fine. He's studying the Bible with your grandfather."

It was old news that his grandfather was teaching at the Druid College, but it explained how Cole knew the man. Looking at the Druid, he asked, "How is my Grandfather doing?"

"He's fine," answered Cole. "He sends his regards."

"I'll have to call him later," said William wondering why his grandfather hadn't told him about sending out a Druid to help Jennifer with her problem. He flashed on a vision of Oscar, the Reverend, a Rabbi, and another man gathered in a street in Jerusalem. All of them were servants of their Gods.

Cole saw that William had an expression as though he were watching something happen far away, but chose not to disturb him. When William appeared to return to the here and now, Cole asked, "So what's the problem with the neighbor?"

"She suffers from Teenage Wasting Disease. If she isn't cured soon, she's going to die," answered William while he knelt down and looked off towards the horizon. He could see her death as clear as the trees that lined the front of his house. He glanced at Cole and hoped that the young Druid would be able to save her.

Cole nodded his understanding while Colt looked at William confused by the name of the disease. He'd never heard of it and wondered if it was contagious. He was about to ask, but then realized that they were talking about an emotional problem and you didn't catch emotional problems.

"What's her name?"

"Jennifer," answered William. He thought about mentioning the mother and how she blamed him for the daughter's problems.

"Can you tell me anything about what triggered it?"

"She came over here once. We talked, but she was basically a young teenage girl in high school. I guess she decided that we would be an item, but there was no way that was going to happen. She decided to starve herself to death to look prettier for me," said William. Shrugging, he said, "I suggested to the mother that they get help, but she didn't want to listen. There was nothing more that I could do."

"You're right. There's nothing you can do," said Cole with regret. His hand went to the medallion around his neck and caressed it. Reassured by its warmth, he said, "Perhaps I can do something. Take me to them."

William shook his head as if refusing the request. His face had an expression on it as if he had just discovered half of a worm in his apple. William said, "It's the house next door."

Gesturing towards the street, Cole said, "Lead the way."

"This is not what I want to be doing," said William as he rose from his kneeling position. He'd been dreading this moment since Cole had shown up in a vision the previous evening.

"But you're going to do it anyway."

Colt had finally figured out what Teenage Wasting Disease was. He wondered why William was so reluctant to go next door. He asked, "So what's the big deal?"

"The mother blames me for the fact that her daughter refuses to eat," answered William shaking his head. He frowned as he flashed on the future. Disgusted at what he had seen, he said, "You will have to restrain her after she answers the door."

Colt lifted an eyebrow at the statement. He wasn't sure that he believed what William had said, but he wasn't going to take a chance. If the young man suspected danger, he'd be ready for it. Clearing his throat, he said, "If she moves towards you, back away. I'll step in and hold her."

"I thought you said it was the girl with the problem."

"The mother thinks I'm the reason the girl has the problem. I really think that you should go over there without me," William said.

Hearing that it was a mother protecting her child, made Colt reconsider allowing William to go over there. Nothing was more dangerous than an excited mother. He said, "I'd rather not have you go over there if there is a good chance she'll attack you."

Cole looked at William for a moment trying to decide how to handle this situation. He didn't want to go over there without an introduction and William was the only one who could do it. He said, "We'll go over there and, if she attacks you, then your guy can restrain her."

"I hope that I don't have to hurt her," Colt said shaking his head. He didn't like the idea of going over there. Frowning, he said, "Maybe I ought to wake up Rock."

Shaking his head, William knew that Colt would be able to handle the mother. He said, "Let Rock sleep."

The Druid looked at the bodyguard and said, "I'll have to get background information from the mother before I try to treat the daughter. Don't harm her."

"I don't like this," said the body guard. He grumbled to himself as he followed the Druid to the house next door.

From a tree next to the house, a raven croaked. William looked up at the bird and nodded his head acknowledging the warning the bird was giving him. Neither of the two other men noticed the exchange between man and bird. Even if they had, neither of them would have believed it as a true exchange of information.

The trio reached the front door. After a pause, it was William who rang the doorbell. He took a step back and waited for Marjory Mitchell to answer. It seemed like forever, but was probably only thirty seconds before the door opened. William said, "Hello, Mrs. Mitchell."

Spotting William, Marjory felt her blood boil. She stepped forward and, with her hands clenched in fists, shouted, "You little bastard! Have you come over here to make sure she dies?"

"I'm here to save her life," said William holding up his hands in a non-threatening manner. He stepped back as the angry woman leapt towards him with arms outstretched and hands reaching towards his throat to strangle him. All rationality appeared to have fled the woman. She was practically foaming at the mouth.

Because of William's warning, Colt was prepared to move in and subdue the woman even though he hadn't been prepared for the insanity she displayed. He reached her before she could touch William. It took him half a minute to get handcuffs on the struggling mad woman. She practically ignored Colt despite the fact that he was holding her back. Even after she was cuffed, she tried to kick William. A stream of profanities emerged from her mouth.

"You weren't kidding, were you?" Cole said looking at the furious woman. Realizing that he was going to have two patients instead of one, Cole let out a sigh. Turning to the body guard, he held out his hand for the key to the handcuffs.

Colt handed the key over without stepping away or releasing the woman. He knew that if he let go of the woman, she'd be all over William in a second despite the fact that her hands were cuffed behind her back. He looked over at William, expecting to see anything except pity on the young man's face. William was looking at the woman in pity.

The Druid looked at the woman and saw that he would have his work cut out for him. In a calming voice, he said, "Marjory, I am here to help you save the life of your daughter."

In an effort to calm the situation, William retreated out of her direct line of sight. Cole moved over and took charge of the woman. The woman crumpled against the Druid, sobbing wildly. Barely intelligible, she said, "He's killing my daughter."

Colt stepped away from the Druid while staring at the woman. When he reached William's side, he whispered, "I'm not sure this is legal."

"I don't think so, either," said William in a soft voice. He gestured towards Cole and said, "Doing it this way was his idea."

"I don't care whose idea it was, those are my cuffs on her."

After a few minutes of conversation, Cole went into the house with Marjory. Hoping that all would turn out for the best, William said, "Let's return to the house."

Colt walked beside William wondering why Ling had not warned him of the danger living next door. Irritated at William for not having mentioned it in any of the previous briefings, he asked, "Why didn't you tell me that your neighbor hated you that much?"

"I've avoided thinking them as much as possible," answered William. He didn't like the fact that he couldn't help them to get beyond their weakness.

Lucy walked across campus thinking about her schedule. Natalie walked next to her watching the crowd for threats. Natalie moved in a deceptively casual manner. They were passing the dorms when a young woman stepped in front of Lucy and, aggressively pointing a finger at her, said, "You think you're something special, don't you?"

Lucy froze and looked at the woman standing in front of her. It was Missy, her former roommate. Forgetting that she had a body guard, Lucy answered, "Get out of my way."

"Don't act like little miss innocent with me. I bet you're spreading your legs like a two-bit whore for that famous boyfriend of yours," said Missy. The woman had hated Lucy from the day she had moved into the dorm. Her parents, so protective of the young woman, were sickening. The innocent wide-eyed expression that Lucy wore irritated her beyond belief.

"Get out of my way," said Lucy moving to step around Missy. She didn't want to have a scene with the young woman.

Missy was going to stop her, but suddenly found she was facing Natalie. The body guard did not have a pleasant expression on her face. In fact, she looked ready to kill. Without looking away from Missy, Natalie asked, "Lucy, is this woman bothering you?"

"Yes, she is," answered Lucy thankful that Natalie was there.

"Get out of my way bitch. This has nothing to do with you," said Missy in a low growl. She then made the biggest mistake of her life and slapped Natalie.

Natalie reacted and threw the woman to the ground. Rolling her over onto her stomach, Natalie attached a handcuff to the woman's right wrist. She reached down and grabbed Missy's left foot and pulled it back. The other end of the handcuffs went around the ankle. Natalie stood and put her foot in the center of Missy's back pinning her in place.