Sentinel Event

Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

Dr. St. Cross's Passer, Andrei, stood at the foot of the shrink's bed, wearing what had been a khaki button-up shirt, watching and waiting for the man to awaken. The psychiatrist had been spending a lot of time asleep as of late since he switched to an analgesic that made him drowsy. His doctor kept insisting rest was required for healing, and though he complied, St. Cross didn't voice his doubts that he would recover any faster than he already was.

Blue velvet curtains were drawn over the blinds in the bedroom windows, creating an illusion of night that made Andrei all the clearer in its pale, hazy form. The temperature in the room began to fall and St. Cross shivered in his sleep, slowly coming around when he felt the bed shutter. Andrei was gripping one of the corner knobs on the footboard.

"Wake up, I have something important to tell you," it said.

St. Cross propped his head up on his elbow, blinking repeatedly to clear away the sleep. There was an uneasy truce between the psychiatrist and his Passer after the accident, and though it had been discussed more than once, Andrei could shed little light on what had happened.

"I saw what I would do," it'd explained vaguely, "and I did it."

Even St. Cross's psychiatric mind could not solve the puzzle of Andrei's future sight.

"I have learned," said Andrei now, "that your patient is being taken to the dead zone in Wellsburg, Iowa."

St. Cross looked lost and continued to blink.

"With this knowledge among my kind," continued Andrei, "there will be a much more concerted effort to prevent him from arriving at any safety. If you want to find him alive, you should go immediately to where he is in Ohio."

St. Cross shook his head to become more awake and said, "Go get Todd to help me."

Williams had his staff load plastic tubs of clothing and supplies into the trunks of the rental car and his own vehicle. He, deTarlo, Dreamer and Aidriel sat lined up on the stone wall bordering the raised flower bed behind the hotel, watching. The patient and phleb were both hanging their heads sleepily, their eyes struggling to stay open against a stupor thanks to their pills.

"You need to wake up," deTarlo said to Dreamer. "You're an accident waiting to happen."

Dreamer appeared offended and blinked rapidly, picked up her cardboard coffee cup and took a drink. The caffeine had not seemed to kick in yet.

The trunks being slammed startled Aidriel and he rubbed his right eye with the heel of his hand. He got to his feet to stretch and the others followed suit. Chester's assistant finished programming the GPS device in the dashboard of the rental and slid out of the driver's seat, leaving the keys in the ignition for Dreamer.

"You're all set," he told her, shuffling through some papers and handing her the ones regarding the rental, along with printed directions and a credit card.

"We're only about an hour and a half from the airport," deTarlo told the phlebotomist. "You can sleep on the plane. You need to stay very alert."

Dreamer pursed her lips and swallowed, nodding. She was becoming more alert as the gravity of the situation sank in.

Aidriel blearily fumbled with the handle on the side of the car, slid into the passenger seat and strapped in. Dreamer walked over to the still-open driver's door, but stopped when deTarlo gripped her sleeve at the elbow.