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I’ll be seeing you…






Funny what the darkness does to someone. Really it’s as simple as a light once on, now off. Nothing more complicated than that, but still, it just did something to people. Maybe in the dark it was easier to feel your own insecurities, hear your own inner voice talking to you, saying things that are easily drowned out by light.



I was never one to be afraid of the dark. Gremlins? Yes but the dark? No. I found comfort in darkness. I always did, which made my parents grateful. Harold was terrified of the dark when he was small, in fact it would take two nightlights, the curtains pulled all the way open and the bathroom light to get him to finally fall asleep. I used to hate sharing a room with him. Luckily that didn’t last for too long.



I’m not sure why I was never frightened of the dark, I mean when I was a kid and it was thundering outside, I felt comforted by it. I enjoyed the nights that the lights went out when we would be forced to eat by candle light just like those kids on Little House on the Prairie.



Even Leighanne didn’t enjoy a totally dark room, so I would have to leave the bathroom door a crack opened so she could see her path without breaking her neck. I knew that was just an excuse and believe me, I kidded her about it every chance I got.



Of course than there was Nick. I never wanted to room with him when he was a teeny kid. He drove me crazy. He wasn’t a nightlight person though, he was a ‘Hey Rok let’s keep the TV on all night’ person, probably the slyest way to be afraid of the dark.



All the other guys, even though they’d surely never admit it, hated the dark as much as Nick did. I have caught AJ turning on a night light when he thought no one was looking and Howie as well. I think the only one that didn’t care one way or the other was Kevin. It must run in our family.



When the lights went out in the hospital, it didn’t scare me. I was a calm, rational person and I knew within minutes the backup generator would come on. No big deal, there was a nasty, violent storm outside which probably had something to do with the outage. No big deal. Like I said, that didn’t scare me. What scared me was the slow steady creak of the door as it opened immediately after the lights went out.



That scared the holy crap out of me.



It scared whoever it was clinging onto my arm as well, I could tell by the grip it was AJ. “What the hell happened?” He asked in a panic stricken voice.



“The power went out.” Howie was quick to answer; his voice was a bit shaky as well. He walked towards us as the door opened.



My thoughts went to that man, the one who was staring at me from behind the glass of the door. Was it possible that it was the same man who had been staring at me as the car drove away at the airport? Was it possible for him to get here, bypassing all the traffic and our accident and make it just in time to cause a black out?



All we heard was breathing, slow and steady. I could tell by the sound, it was a man. He didn’t say a word, not one.



“Who’s there?” Howie bravely asked, “Are the lights out in the entire hospital?”



Once again the man didn’t answer. He was still breathing loudly, almost sounding out of breath as he made his way closer to the center of the room, closer to me.



“Who the hell is in here?” AJ asked, his voice escalated beyond calm.



He was standing right in front of me now, as my eyes adjusted to the dark; I was able to make out his figure. A tall man, around Kevin’s height but much much larger. Instinctually I wanted to strike out at him, knock him over and run. I didn’t have to worry about that though because the lights began to flicker as the backup generators kicked in, illuminating the room.



The man standing in front of us was huge and all in white. He looked like he hadn’t bathed in years and smelled a bit like that too. Nothing too dank but he just wasn’t very well kempt.



I came up to a little over his chest, “Have you seen my mom?” He asked in a babyish voice.



I took a few steps back and he countered by following me. “Who the hell is he?” Gary asked as he entered the room, I have never been so happy to see that man ever. “I think he’s a patient.”



“Well you need to leave, this is a private room!” He said walking over to the guy and grabbing his arm gently.



“I need my mom.” He said as he followed Gary to the door, he never took his eyes off of me. Did I see a smirk behind those eyes?



“Must have been some crazy guy who got scared of the dark.” Howie said walking over to check me out. Howie made subtlety an art form. Once he figured out I was all right he looked at AJ who still looked scared out of his mind.



“Dude, I hope Nick and Kevin are almost done, I want to get out of here. This place gives me the creeps.”



“I hope Nick didn’t freak out about losing power and I hope that Kevin was with him.”



“Jeez, you think they’d keep better tabs on their whacko patients…” Gary said disrupting our conversation, “Where are Kevin and Nick?” He asked noticing that both men were absent.



“They are having X rays.”



“Oh…okay, and how are you?”



“I’m okay just a few stitches, nothing major.”



He nodded as he once again put the phone to his ear. “I’ll be back; a car will come by shortly to take you boys to the hotel.”



“Aren’t we going to wait for Nick and Kevin?”



“No, they can come in a later one. It’s probably better to not leave at the same time anyway. It’ll draw too much attention…although the publicity wouldn’t hurt you that bad. You guys you have to get out there more. You’re all much too dull.”



If only he knew.



“I think we should really wait for Nick and Kevin, I know I’d feel better if…”



“Good Lord Brian, they only went to get x rays, it’s not like they are dying or anything. No, it’s better this way.”



“I’d feel better if someone from security would stay and wait for them.”



I nodded at Howie who glanced over at me in a reassuring way. I realized at that point that we weren’t going to leave unless we were sure Kevin and Nick were safe.



“Security? Here at the hospital? No one even knows you’re here.”



“Yet…” AJ cut in.



Gary rolled his eyes at us; I’m not sure why he agreed to be our manager because he clearly hated us all. He used to do the bigger hard rock acts like Korn. Maybe they fired him. If they did they’d go up one more notch in my book.



“Okay fine, I’ll make sure we have someone waiting for the guys….feel better now?”



“Yes, thanks Gary.” Howie said placing his hand on the man’s shoulder and smiling. He looked over at us and got ready to walk out the door, “I’ll let you know when the car arrives.” And with that being said he left.



“He hates us.” Being together for as long as we were, it was sometimes scary how well we knew each other. I mean wasn’t I just thinking that a minute ago?



“Yeah, well the feeling’s mutual.” D answered AJ and then went over to the door to check if there was a lock.



My mind went back to the creepy guy. I felt bad for being so suspicious of him but at the same time, I’m not sure I believed his whole ‘I’m just a crazy guy looking for my mommy’ routine. It was his eyes, and that smell. Didn’t my attacker smell that way?



“You okay Brian?”



I shook off that thought and smiled at Howie, “Yeah…just having a bad day I guess.”



Howie bit at his bottom lip and nodded, “Hey D? You think there was anything up with the guy who came in here?”



“The one looking for his mom?” I nodded.



“No, I just think the dark scared him and he ended up coming in here.”



“But how come he didn’t say anything…I mean nothing at all until the lights went on?”



“Not sure…maybe he was too scared.”



I decided to drop it, I know I was being paranoid, no sense in making them as paranoid as me.



“I’d feel a whole lot better if we knew that Nick and Kev were okay.” We both looked over at AJ; he still looked kind of shaken. “I’m sure they’re fine J.”



“And I do think that crazy guy was creepy, I just want to get out of here.”



I had to laugh at him; he would be like this even if we hadn’t gone through the trauma of five years ago. AJ hated hospitals and was the absolute biggest chicken I knew.



“Maybe we should get you your shots while we’re here.” I said deciding to lighten the mood a bit.



“Hell no!”



“How is it a man can get stuck with a gazillion needles to get a tattoo but when it comes to a small prick of an arm for medical purposes, he freaks out?”



“I have no idea Howie; it’s one of life’s mysteries.”



“Okay fine, laugh it up you two and speak for yourself about the small prick thing Howie.”



“Okay I saw that coming from a mile away…” We all laughed, just what the doctor ordered. We needed a good laugh.



Gary stuck his head into the room, “Van’s here.” Was all he said before shutting it again.



As we walked out into the hustle and bustle of the emergency room, I saw him again. He was sitting on a set of chairs all by himself, staring at me. “Is there a body guard here for Kevin and Nick?” I heard Howie ask. I couldn’t take my eyes away from the man who had entered our room earlier though; he was just sitting there on a chair that was much too small for him; rocking and people watching.



“Yes he’s going down to meet them now.”



“Have you seen them?”



“No AJ, I haven’t. God you guys are possibly the most paranoid people I have ever met.”



Just as Gary said that, the chubby man looked my way and smiled at me. It wasn’t a nice smile either, it was a devilish one. The way his eyes scrunched up as he did it, I felt chills run down my spine. That wasn’t even the worst part. He put up his hand and waved at me and then he blew me a kiss. What he mouthed is what scared me the most. I could swear he said, “I’ll be seeing you soon…”



“Okay men, let’s get going.”



“Hello? Earth to Brian?” I looked over at Gary, “Did he ever find his mother?”



“What on earth are you talking about?”



“He’s still sitting all alone, did he find his mom?” Howie looked over at the chairs the place I was pointing towards, “Probably because he’s gone. Where do you see him sitting all alone?”



I looked back at the chairs and just like Howie said, the man was gone. “He was just there…He waved at me.” I decided to leave the other details out for now.



AJ and Howie exchanged nervous glances, the same ones I used to receive on a daily basis when I was convinced that one Derek Jones was going to kill me. I didn’t miss those looks.



“Come on Bri…maybe they are taking care of him now.” Howie said patting my back and leading me to the exit doors.



“Is there a body guard with Nick?”



“Yes, don’t you listen?” Gary said putting his cell phone up to his ear once again and walking us to the door of the black car that was waiting for us.



Once inside Howie pat my back gently, “It’s okay Brian…you’ve had a long and kind of traumatic day. We’ll go back to the hotel and get some sleep.”



I nodded at Howie but I couldn’t say what I was feeling. I didn’t want to be called crazy again, I didn’t want to experience those feelings that everyone thought I was nuts. I knew I wasn’t seeing things. I knew that guy was watching me and I knew that he left before I had the chance to tell anyone.



I closed my eyes not wanting to think of the rest, shaking my head trying hard not to think that he had left right before us so this way he could be at the hotel…waiting.


YAY I made it on time lol. I'll try to be back next Wednesday with another chapter. I say try, this way if I am late I won't feel so guilty. Thanks for reading and sticking with this story.