Craig Hawkins sat alone in his cell awaiting the inevitable. This 'inevitable' if it were to happen to anyone else would more than likely be anticipated with dread and quite possibly a whole load of fear in the lead up to the arrival of such a particular moment, but for Craig it would be a moment to look forward to, for as far as he was concerned, this moment would be a moment which would set him free.
So much more than that, this upcoming moment would do a hell of a lot more than just set him free, for it also would allow for hell itself to be released. That moment he was waiting for would also empower him, free him from his physical imprisonment and give him the freedom to cause and create as much chaos as possible, freedom to add to his existing large tally, a tally of bloodied victims. So patiently, he would await his moment.
It is even quite possible that Craig Hawkins had allowed himself to be caught and imprisoned for the many murderous crimes he committed just so he could have this moment. Even to allow such a thing a man must have some sort of faith and belief that there is a beyond to which he will go to, a beyond with which he will have total control of. And perhaps too, he may believe that certain conditions might need to be met.
Five days after being shot during a melee in a store within the town he spent his early childhood in, Colin lay in the bed where he had spent all those five days of recovery. In many ways, he looked forward to such a time it can be deemed that he could go home and in other ways he wanted to continue to enjoy being looked after while getting some much-needed rest. Despite the pain from his wound and the almost constant other worldly pleas coming his way, Colin was indeed managing to get that rest he so badly needed. Ignoring those who came was never an easy thing though Colin most definitely had ignoring down to an art form.
The bad points of his current predicament were of course the pain he felt along with being bound to his bed as well as having to deal with the sheer number of souls attached to the hospital. Those constant requests for help, the lack of understanding that Colin can do very little with due to his current situation and the sheer horror of being hit by the realization of how some of these souls had met their demise, all would make even the toughest of people feel a lot more than just a little uneasy. Still, he managed to relax to a point.
Yeah, along with the bad, this period of time also came with its good points. As well as that rest he was managing to get, Colin was also getting to enjoy the company of Natalia. At first, she had felt an odd compulsion to visit Colin, but after her first visit she had asked if Colin would mind if she were to return, Colin didn't mind in the slightest, in fact it would be something to look forward to. If Cecilia had been the one that got away, then perhaps Natalia might be the next best thing. They are sisters and allowing himself to think such a thing brought him some dismay, still, Natalia is a special lady.
Special or not, Natalia's visit on the fifth day was to be interrupted by another visit. No, not by members of the dearly departed, but by those of a kind Colin would not expect. Two tall men in prison guard uniform accompanied by another man just as tall as the other two and dressed in a dark suit and slim, dark tie with a white shirt, arrived at Colin's hospital room. Almost feeling intimidated by this arrival, Natalia excused herself from Colin's bedside. She moved to the other side of the room behind the three men who had just arrived.
'Sorry to interrupt,' spoke the man in the suit, 'my name is Aidan Phelps, and I am the warden over at the county prison.'
Natalia had watched the man speak and from his words she thought it best if she were to excuse herself momentarily and completely from the room.
'I'll just go grab myself a coffee, be back to you later on.'
'Sure' responded Colin looking at Natalia and trying to smile.
