Paranormal Anthology With a TWIST (30 page)

“It’s time to leave now, Matthew,” said Dr. Collins as he heard
the orderlies moving the gurney just outside the room.

Two massive guards appeared at the bedside and transferred Matthew
to the gurney. Transferring him to the more portable gurney was always done
inside the examination room in case Matthew tried to escape. Once he’d been
secured, they started to wheel Matthew from the room. Receiving last minute
instructions from Dr. Collins, they paused only long enough to acknowledge that
they understood, and then disappeared silently through the door.

From the hall, the nurse and doctor could hear Matthew pleading
with them to take him anywhere but his cell. Ignoring his pleas, they began to
wheel him towards the cellblock as soon as they cleared the doorway.

“Please...” Matthew cried. “I’m not ready. There’s much more work
to be done. There are so many useless, unwanted, unloved people out there. They
must be eliminated. I must remove the burden they cause on society. I must
continue my work.” The words faded down the hall as he was rolled back to his
cell.

Knowing his cries for mercy fell on deaf ears, Matthew eventually
ceased his efforts.

Two additional orderlies of similar build and disposition met the
three of them in front of Matthew’s cell. They were quiet and efficient. There
was no margin for error when dealing with a patient of Matthew’s background. He
was returned to his cell without incident.

 
“Matthew? Are you
awake? It’s no use pretending, I can wait forever… but you can’t.” The maniacal
laugh that followed tormented Matthew even more.

“What do you want with me? Why don’t you leave me alone?” Matthew
screamed.

“You know what I want Matthew… I want your soul.”

Again the insane laughter pushed Matthew to react, “I’m not
disposed to give it up just yet. Leave me alone.” He was openly belligerent.

“Matthew, Matthew, Matthew...is that any way to treat me?” scolded
the disembodied voice. The calm tone was ominous.

“I don’t even know who you are…
what
you are.” Matthew began to sweat and curled into a fetal
position in the corner of his cell. He continued to press himself roughly into
the crevice in an attempt to distance himself from the door and what lay
beyond. His shoulder scraped and bruised against the concrete wall, but Matthew
ignored the pain and pressed himself even tighter into the spot he deemed the
safest.

“You know who I am. I’m always on the wall just outside of your
cell. I never leave. I never sleep. Matthew, you see me all the time. Time… now
that’s funny. It is funny, isn’t it, Matthew?” ITs question was menacing and
carried a lethal warning.

 
“Matthew? Can you
hear me?”

“I can hear you. You’re constant, unwavering, and unrelenting.
Your ceaseless ticking is like the cadence of a metronome. You count out the
seconds of my life—a malevolent timekeeper. That’s what you do, isn’t it?
You measure the moments lost and subtract them from the good works I’ve already
done. When I’ve lost more than I’ve gained, you will take my soul and I will
never be able to continue my work.”

“We’ve been over this before, Matthew. When I stop ticking, your
time will be used up. You won’t be able to continue because you’ll be dead.”

“Nooooo!” wailed Matthew. “I must continue.” Weeping and speaking
incoherently, Matthew continued to repeat his plea... “I must continue.”

“Then I too must continue, Matthew. If you persist in ignoring me,
fighting me—then you leave me no other recourse.”

“What’s that?” sobbed Matthew.

“I must stop ticking.”

“Please...no.”

“You’ve made too much noise, Matthew. They’re coming and they look
very angry.”

Panicked, Matthew stared at his cell door, paralyzed with fear and
the knowledge of what they would do to him when they arrived.

“You better return to your bed before they arrive. You know what
they’ll do if they find you on the floor, buried in the corner. Hurry, Matthew.
They’re almost at the door.”

The two guards arrived at Matthew’s cell only moments later. The
head guard turned to check the clock on the wall and slurred, “It’s only ten
and he’s raving like a maniac. I hate this son-of-a-bitch. After the trial,
they should have taken him straight from the courtroom and gassed him.”

The second guard only nodded in silent concurrence.

Turning back to the door, he slid open the metal plate covering
the viewing window. He slammed the intercom button and hissed, “What the hell
are you doing in there?”

The speaker next to the window crackled and sputtered, but Matthew
understood every word by the tone in his voice. “I’m fine. Leave me alone.”

“What?” screamed the guard, “Leave you alone?”

“I’m sorry… really… I’m all right.” Matthew’s tone was
conciliatory. “I won’t need your help.”

“You won’t need my help? I should come in there and kick the
living shit out of you, you fucking perverted little toad. Shut up and don’t
disturb me or any of the other guests or you’ll find yourself bound and
gagged,” raged the guard. “You know what drugs they’ll give you, don’t you? You
don’t like the drugs, do you, shit head?”

Nausea swept over him, but he remained calm. “No… please. I’m all
right.” He did his best to sit up straight and smile, even though his insides
were twisting and his brain burned with a fire fueled by his panic. Still, he
managed to look directly at the observation window.

The silence that followed suspended time for an eternity. Finally
the metal plate slammed with an audible crack. The hiss and crackle of the
speaker discontinued.

“They’re leaving, Matthew. You did a fine acting job. There won’t
be any drugs tonight. You’ll be able to talk with me all night long. Won’t that
be fun?”

Matthew wrapped his pillow around his head and cried into it to
muffle the sound. But nothing could stop IT. He drew his legs up into a fetal
position again and listened. Tick… tick… tick. It relentlessly echoed ever
louder in his fevered mind.

 
“Nurse, there was an
episode with Matthew last night at ten. Did you get any additional details?”

“You have everything there, Dr. Collins. The guard was off duty at
seven this morning. He left the report in the slot. There was no need for
medication and Matthew remained quiet for the rest of the night. After
questioning the supervisor, there was no new information to be added to the
report.”

“Thank you.” Still distracted by the report, he asked, “Erin, how
long have we worked together?”

“I don’t know. Maybe three years...could be four. Why?”

“Matthew really disturbs me. We’ve never encountered a case like
this before. Other than his delusions about that blasted wall clock, he seems
quite rational and somewhat normal. Now he insists that when the clock stops
ticking, his life will be over. I need to understand him and why this new
element to his delusion has surfaced. I just can’t find a way into his head.”

“He resists all attempts to cooperate with you,” she answered. “He
could be using the clock as a way of avoiding the reality of what he’s done. He
is, after all, a premeditated mass murderer. Perhaps we should remove the
clock. If he can’t converse with it, he can’t use it to evade your therapy.”

“That’s very insightful, Erin. You should have continued your
education. You’d make a damn fine doctor.”

Blushing, Erin replied, “Thank you, Doctor. That’s the nicest
thing anyone has ever said about my work. While we’re on the subject, may I say
something about Matthew?”

“Go ahead.”

“Matthew frightens me. He’s restrained when we see him, but he
makes my skin crawl. You saw the dampness on his trousers yesterday.”

“Yes, it was unsettling.”

“Doctor,” she continued. “I didn’t buy that story about him having
his hands around your neck. It doesn’t fit his killing profile. You’ve seen
that God-awful weapon that he made. He paralyzed people and then, while they
were still alive, he wrapped them in silk cloth and stored them in garages or
basements. He placed them in any out-of-the-way place he could find where they
eventually died. He even sliced off their ears to eat them.” She began to shake
uncontrollably. “He’s a monster.”

Putting an arm around her shoulder, he guided her to a chair where
he helped her to sit. “Don’t dwell on the details, Erin,” he comforted. “We
have him in our total control. Just relax.”

“I think he was imagining that he was killing me when he got his
erection and ejaculated.” Pausing to regain her composure, she continued, “Did
you see that wicked smile on his face when I dropped my tray?”

“No I didn’t. I had my back to you when I heard the crash. When I
turned around, you were bending to pick up your tray. That movement grabbed my
attention. I only noticed Matthew slightly. When I saw that he was securely
bound, I returned my attention to you. I wanted to be sure that you were all
right.”

“I’m sorry, Doctor. I just can’t keep myself together when I’m near
that man. If you wish to replace me, I’ll understand. I’d almost welcome it.”

“Enough of that talk. You’re a professional. You need to detach
yourself from what he’s done. You can’t dwell on it or it will drive you crazy.
Let’s try a new tactic. We’ll install observation cameras in his cell and
monitor him for a while. His resistance might diminish if we leave him alone
for a while.”

“Do you think the warden will go along with it?”

“I’ve already obtained approval. I spoke with him last week, but
was unsure when or if I should try to install the cameras. My plan will be to
observe only and then we can analyze any behavioral patterns that we can
utilize to ultimately develop a new therapy protocol.”

 
“Matthew? Can you
hear me?” the voice of Dr. Collins snapped and crackled from the intercom. “I
know you’re awake.”

Remaining perfectly still, Matthew ignored the voice. It had been
a month since they came for him. He was enjoying his drug-free life. Keeping
his breathing slow, he feigned sleep.

“Matthew. It’s Dr. Collins. I’ve come to talk with you.” Even
through the distortion of the cheap speaker, he’d heard every word and had
reacted. Dr. Collins saw Matthew’s body tense and become rigid under the
sheets. “I know you can hear me, Matthew. I only wish to speak with you. There
won’t be any drugs.”