Delayed Diagnosis {Book 1 of the Rex Obasi Trilogy}

Chapter 43

I barged into the door with force and I saw nurse Ify, she stood over Andy and yes she did hold a syringe and I knew it was a potent one. Same one the shadow had operated with.

She looked at us and proceeded to plunge the needle into Andy's neck.

"Wait-wait!wait!!" I shouted with my hands up.

My dad also made some kind of flinching noise.

She stopped at the last minute and looked up. Her eyes looked wild.

"Why do you you want to end his life? Why? What harm did he ever do to you...look at him the shadow put him in that state..this innocent man...why do you want to kill him why?" If I say my voice sounded normal I'd be lying, my voice dripped every raw kind of emotion..anger, fear, frustration..(And dare I say it was a bit high pitched and unmasculine) knowing that needle could go in any moment and I couldn't stop it.

"He's dead..he's dead..."she cried out.

For a second I thought she was referring to Andy and every thing blanked. But then she burst into tears and a part of my brain recognised the beeping sounds from the monitor. Andy was still breathing.

I knew who she was talking about. "You need to take it easy...the shadow is dead but he chose that path by killing people. You don't have to do the same."

"I love him..and I just saw his dead body now in the morgue. She looked down at Andy, "he's responsible for it"

"Actually I killed him...I killed the shadow. If there's anybody you should want to kill it should be me"

She looked at me and the eyes she had been controlling blazed over. "You...and I treated you...you...you-" she didn't get to finish what she had been stammering because 'Ally no joy' twisted her hands suddenly making her shout in pain. He retrieved the needle and somehow pinned both hands behind her back with one hand while he held the needle with the other.

He moved like a ghost. I didn't even see him move!

He looked at me, "My God...are you acting a soap opera? You can see someone holding something like this standing over Andy and you're trying to reason with them?"

Nurse Ify lifted both legs and swung backwards kicking my dad in the shins, but he just did something to her hands that made her shout and immediately go still.

"All this noise and not even one person to come and find out?" He complained.

We looked towards the door as if expecting someone to barge in but nothing.

He pushed/dragged the nurse towards the door. Nurse Ify was looking at me and she was bawling again.
"You...you killed him..you killed him..!" she screamed and the tears streamed down her cheeks

"What was his real name?" I asked her but she refused to answer, crying and shouting, "you killed him you killed him"

I grabbed her chin firmly."you're the one that switched off the light for him aren't you...both times?"

She didn't reply, just continued trembling but her eyes showed my suspicions had been correct.

I looked to my dad. "What do we do with her?"

He raised the sodium pentothal filled syringe (and for a second I feared the worst) but he said, "well we have our evidence...let's go turn her in!"

I nodded, "Ally no joy…that was really-" but he was already shaking his head. "No, there is no Ally no joy anymore...'no joy' would have melted her bones against the wall the moment he got to her. I guess my family really changed me. I'm just Ally now..." I didn't know if he sounded sad or relieved.