A heavenly being for all believers? How was that possible? Then she remembered a verse saying God would command His angels concerning us to guard us in all our ways. God’s peace came upon her, and she said a silent thank you.
“Yes, we are many.” He moved over to the window and waved Erica over. “See, people are starting to act out their evil desires.”
Erica looked. There were people out in the street, neighbours she didn’t know except for a wave or a nod. One was pointing to her house but was moved on by the group. They reminded her of scenes from the Walking Dead she’d caught glimpses of in the past. Their flesh controlling their bodies. She would be glad to rid herself of the hold the flesh and blood had on her.
“They are dispersing now. The danger has passed. Be on guard, but also know you’re protected.” He placed his hand on her shoulder. “You and your family will be fine.”
She felt the energy.
“What about Jack?”
“We do not know all things.” With that, he was gone.
* * *
The hospital was busy, and understandably. In twenty years of policing, Jack had never seen anything like the mayhem taking place outside. Even on the drive to the hospital he’d seen signs of increased hostility. At one point, he had to pull over and show his badge to two motorists who disagreed on what indicators should be used for. Such pettiness. He’d passed a number of police vehicles stopped to address similar altercations. The world had gone mad.
He circled the hospital car park several times before he found a vacant space and parked his car. He got out of the car and headed towards the hospital entrance. People were coming and going—some healthy, some not, some bandaged, some not. He passed the smoking area, as always, saddened to see people hooked up to IVs or in wheelchairs, puffing and vapouring away, hospital gowns askew and some revealing too much. But his views on smoking didn’t matter to these people, as smoking was one of life’s last pleasures. He understood. Kind of.
Jack found his way to Cath’s floor and paused at the nurses’ station to get directions. A nurse with short blonde hair and crucifix earrings told Jack that Catherine was resting and recovering well.
“You’re welcome to drop in on her, but let her rest if she’s asleep.”
“I will. Thank you.”
He found the room, walls painted white, with odd posters here and there. There were four beds, one surrounded by a curtain. Soft beeps came from machines surrounding the beds. He gave each patient a gentle smile. Some had flowers and cards displayed on their bedside tables. Some had books and chocolates. They all returned his greeting with a similar smile. One person held up a chocolate box to Jack. He raised his hand and gave a soft shake of the head. The room had a peaceful feel about it, as though he’d entered another world.
The curtain was pulled back, revealing Cath in the fourth bed. A man—Jack assumed to be the doctor—walked past. She saw Jack. He gave her an “I’ll be back with you in a sec” wave and headed out after the doctor. In the passageway, he looked in both directions. No doctor. It was as if he’d vanished.
Jack returned to Cath, who gave him a lovely smile. She looked good. A lot better than he expected. In fact, way better than he expected.
“Hello, partner.”
“Hello, Jack.”
“I was going to use my detective card and get a report from the doctor. I assumed that was the doctor who just left.”
She smiled a strange smile, a sad smile.
“He wasn’t the doctor. Just a special friend.”
‘You’ve been keeping secrets?”
“Nope. I just met the man. I suppose you could say it was a special visit from a special person—you could almost say an angel.”
She did get a knock on the head.
“He invited me to a feast. A wedding feast. He has me a bit confused, though. I’m not sure how I’m going to get there. It’s in Jerusalem. He said I didn’t need a ticket. He would come and get me at the appropriate time. But for now, he just wanted to check on my health.”
Yes. She did get a bump on the head.
Jack left soon after.
* * *
Erica passed the patient lounge room, where a number of people gathered around a TV. Cath’s room should be nearby. Yes—room seven. Cath was asleep, so Erica sat on a chair next to the bed. She’d wait a few minutes and come back again later if Cath didn’t wake up. The other beds in the ward were empty.
Cath’s phone vibrated on her bed, waking her. She looked at Erica, gave a soft smile, and showed her the phone. It was a video call from Cath’s dad.
“Hi, Dad. Look who’s visiting.”
Frank leaned forward. “Oh, hi, Erica. You looking after my girl?”
“She’s doing fine. Doesn’t need looking after.”
“That’s good news.”
Erica brought up her phone. “I’ll let you chat. I need to go check my messages. Nice to see you, Frank.”
“And you also, Erica.”
Erica went to stand but Cath motioned for her to stay.
“I just wanted to let you know we’re looking at flights to come visit you.”
“No need, Dad. I’ll be out of here soon and I’m healing well. In fact, the speed of the healing is surprising the staff here. They think there may be something going on. You know, something supernatural”.
A slight chuckle. “Good to hear. But we’ll still look into it and check with you before we book.”
