Chapter 12: Relapse

“I don’t understand,” said Azrael, “You should have disappeared with Bill.  It won’t let me send you off the Island either.”

The demon got up and begin pacing back and forth.

“What did you do with Bill?”

The demon kept pacing.

Valerie stood up, grabbed a rock, and threw it at the demon.  It stopped mid-air and landed on the ground. The demon snapped out of it and realized Valerie was still there.

“What did you say?”

“I said, what did you do with Bill?”

“It’s simple, I sent him off The Island and to his death in his own world.”

“His own world…you mean this isn’t real??”

“Didn’t Bill explain this to you?”

She shook her head.

The demon continued, “Bill created this Island;  it is not part of your world. The only way he could get off of this island was to either kill himself or create the perfect relationship on the island.”

“So that’s why I’m here?  To create the perfect relationship with Bill?”

Azreal nodded.

“So all of this isn’t real? Bill was only acting differently so he could get off the Island?”

Azrael nodded again.

She sighed.  “Well that explains a lot…How did he get off of the Island then, did he create the perfect relationship?”

“That’s what I don’t understand.  Normally people kill themselves long before they even get close.  But after watching you two for only a couple of days, you were getting close so I had to take matters into my own hands.”

He laughed to himself.

“You son of a bitch, what did you do to Bill?”

“You’re going to think this is brilliant.  Knowing the only way for him to leave the island was for him to either kill himself or create the perfect relationship, and seeing that he wasn’t going to kill himself and was getting close to making your relationship perfect, I had to dig deep for a solution.”

“It occurred to me that this place only exists in Bills mind, he is linked to it, as long as the storage capacity and belief is there to create and hold such a place, this place will always exist.  I control this place because Bill believes that I control this place, however, this place is merely a creation of his own imagination.”

Valerie began to see where he was going with this.

“So you…you went to the only place where you could destroy the Island.”

Then it hit her.

“You went to Bill’s world to kill him!”

She picked up another rock, knowing that it would do nothing.

“If anything has happened to him I will find a way to destroy you!”

Azrael was not concerned.

“If my plan had succeeded the island would no longer exist, you would no longer be here, and I would be off playing in somebody else’s mind — but the island does exist and we are both still here…which can mean only one thing…”

“Bill’s still alive!” she exclaimed before Azrael could finish talking.

“Aren’t you a smart one?  Yes he’s still alive, somehow my flawless plan back fired, however, that doesn’t explain everything.”

“In order for the Island to exist in the first place, Bill would have to be in a dream like state to hold the image of the island in his mind.  The fact that you are still here can only mean one thing.”

Valerie waited for Azrael to finish.

“It means that he doesn’t realize the Island was just a figment of his imagination.  To him, The Island is very real and you are very real on the Island. He is holding on to that image in his mind, probably thinking he’s going to find a way to get back here and rescue you.”

He laughed, but deep inside Azrael was worried.  

It’s never happened before but after everything I’ve seen happen, I can’t rule it out; time for Plan C.  

The demon disappeared, leaving Valerie alone on the Island.

“HEY…where are you going, you can’t just leave me here alone!”

Dammit!  How come I’m the only one that seems to be stuck here.

She sat down next to a tree, not knowing what else to do.

———

“I’m so glad this is finally over.”

Fred looked over at Tiffany to see if she had heard him.  She was staring out the window in a trance, obviously in some sort of deep thought.

Fred reached over and touched her arm.

She jumped.

“Sorry to startle you.  Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be alright, I’m still trying to sort all of this out in my mind.  None of it seems to make any sense no matter how I look at it.”

“Don’t let it bother you.  We’re going to go home, relax, and get back to family life.  You, me, and our kids; back to how things used to be and put all of this behind us.”

“You’re right.  I shouldn’t let it bother me so much.  When Bill wakes up…”

“Tiffany, you promised.  Leave Bill alone, besides, he’s going to wake up and learn that his mother died.  You need to give him his space, don’t be bothering him the minute he wakes up talking about this nonsense.”

“Bill!…”

“Tiffany, enough about Bill…”

“No look, it’s Bill!”

She pointed out her window into an open field.  Sure enough there was a man in a hospital gown running full speed across.  He kept stumbling but he kept on without any intention of stopping.”

Fred couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Are you sure that’s Bill?”

“I’m positive.  I wonder where he’s going.”

“I don’t know but he’s in a hurry to get there, that’s for sure.”

“We should go help him Fred.”

“Tiffany, I don’t know where Bill’s going or why he’s out of the hospital but he doesn’t look like he needs our help.  I don’t want to get tangled up in this again. For all we know he’s an escapee and you’ll get arrested for aiding his escape.”

“But what if he’s in trouble and needs our help?”

“Tell you what, I’ll call 9-1-1 and report what we saw, but beyond that I don’t think we should get involved.  Deal?”

Tiffany didn’t say anything.

“Tiffany…look at me.”

She hesitated but eventually looked over at Fred.

“I mean it Tiffany, promise me that’s as far as we’re going to get involved in it.”

“Fine, I promise.  Hurry up and call he might be in serious trouble.”

Fred picked up his phone and dialed 9-1-1.

“9-1-1 what’s your emergency?”

“Hi, there’s uh…there’s a man in a hospital gown running across the field…uh… he seems to be heading in the direction of Farmer Vincent’s property.”

“Hold on a minute please.”

He waited for the operator to come back on the line.

“Okay sir, we’ve dispatched a car to that location.  Apparently a Mr Bill Sanderson escaped from the hospital not more than 30 minutes ago.  It’s probably him.”

Fred began to feel funny.

“Sir, are you still on the line?”

Tiffany noticed Fred wasn’t looking so hot.

“Fred are you okay?”

“Hello sir are you still on the line?”

Fred’s eyes rolled back into his head and he began convulsing violently.  Tiffany had never seen anything like it before in her life. She quickly grabbed the wheel and was able to stop the car before it collided with a sign.

She grabbed Fred and began shaking him. “FRED….FRED…Fred are you okay?  Say something?”

She grabbed the phone.

“I need an ambulance there’s something wrong with my husband.  He was having convulsions and now he’s not responsive.”

“Okay ma’am, hang in there, we’ll send an ambulance right away.”

She hung up the phone and grabbed Fred again.  As she touched him Fred’s eyes opened wide and he turned his head to look directly at her in an awkward, almost robotic motion.

“Mwhahahaahahahaha….” was all he said with a mischievous smirk on his face.

“Fred…that’s not funny.  You jerk! I thought something was actually wrong with you.”

Fred’s head cocked back to the forward position.  He shifted their SUV into drive and slammed on the gas.  The vehicle launched forward pressing everyone to their seat back.

“Fred!  What are you doing, stop this vehicle right now!”

The children in the back were screaming for dear life.

Fred veered the vehicle off the road and into the field where Bill had been running.

Tiffany hit her head off the dashboard and was knocked out immediately.  The kids in the back were still screaming as the vehicle began violently bouncing through the field running over everything in its path.

———

Almost there.

Bill heard a branch snap off in the distance and then slowly the sound of a vehicle approaching.

Odd.  It must be some type of four wheeler or something, what else could be driving out this way?

The sound of the vehicle grew louder.

It might be the police!  I had better hurry up.

He could see Jefferson pond off in the distance, not that it was hard for this time of year.  The ground was covered in a white snow and all of the leaves had fallen from the trees long ago.  He was shivering but he did not care, he had only one thing on his mind. He had to get to that pond.

The sound of the vehicle was awfully close now.  He turned to face the direction the sound was coming from and there cresting a hill a few hundred yards away was a black SUV of some type.

What in the world is someone doing driving out here.

The vehicle stopped on top of the hill and began revving it’s engine.

Oh no! Whoever they are they must intend on stopping me.

He glanced toward Jefferson pond and back at the vehicle, he was about halfway between them both.

The vehicle revved its engine again, taunting Bill to make a move toward the pond. The sound of a helicopter and police sirens could be heard in the distance.

Well it’s now or never.

Bill took off in a dead sprint toward the pond and the vehicle on top of the hill let loose, whipping an amazing display of dirt and rocks out from behind it as the driver floored the vehicle.

200 yards.  I can do it, just like old high school track and field.

Bill looked over his shoulder, the vehicle was closing the gap on him faster than he was closing the gap toward Jefferson Pond.

He increased his effort, the adrenaline running through his system, his mind set on only one thing — seeing Valerie again.

100 yards.

His body began to ache and his lungs were on fire from breathing in the cold air.  He glanced back over his shoulder.

I’m not going to make it.

The vehicle was now within 50 yards of Bill bouncing along at a good pace.

…I’m not going to make it.

Bill jumped out of the way behind a tree just as the vehicle was about to collide with him.  The driver tried to swerve to follow Bills motion but wasn’t quick enough.

***CRASH***

The vehicle collided with a big oak tree and rolled over several times before finally resting upside down on the roof.

Bill watched the car intently, the sound of the sirens were getting closer and the helicopter was now circling over head.

A door opened with a loud creak, the sound of broken metal bending against its will.  A man emerged from the wreck. He stood up and looked in Bill’s direction and then he advanced at a walk toward Bill.

Shit, he knows I’m here.  Who the hell is this guy and what does he want.

The man stopped about 10 feet away from Bill whom was still lying behind a tree in the snow.  Bill, peaking out from behind his hiding spot, recognized this man. It was Tiffany’s husband Fred that he had glimpsed inside of a jail cell not long ago.

“You can come out of there Bill.”

Bill stood up and came out from behind the tree.

“How do you know my name?”

“I know a lot about you Bill.  You must think you’re so smart…”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.  Why did you try to kill me…what do you want?”

“You know what I want Bill.  Nobody beats me at my own game, I’m afraid you must die.”

“What….Azrael….how….how is this possible?”

“THIS IS THE POLICE, PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD, AND LAY FACE DOWN ON THE GROUND” came the warning from the megaphone in the helicopter above them.

“I told you Bill, you can’t beat me, no human ever will.”

“PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!” shouted a police officer with his gun drawn.

Bill looked around, there must have been at least a dozen police officers surrounding them.

Shit, I don’t think I have a choice.  I need a distraction to make a run for it.

“THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING, PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR.”

Bill noticed that Fred…Azrael was not complying with police orders.  Instead the demon turned around to face the police officers. He made a gesture with his hands and several of the police officers went  sailing through the air, one collided with a tree, the others hit the ground.

The police opened fire on Fred.  It sounded like a war zone.

Nows my chance.

Seizing the opportunity the chaos presented, Bill took off in a sprint toward the pond, no one seem to notice as bullets went flying passed him, one of them grazed his shoulder and drew blood instantly, but it didn’t matter, Bill kept on.

The battle between the police officers and the demon persisted for only a few more brief minutes.  Several more officers were flung and lay crippled on the ground, unmoving.

Bullet after bullet collided into Fred’s body.  His clothes were bloodstained, there were too many holes to count, blood was just pouring out of him at this point.

Tiffany regained consciousness and crawled out from the wreckage of the car to witness the last seconds of this epic battle between human and demon.  She saw Fred.

Fred fell to his knees, holding his abdomen.  A look of shock and horror on his face. He saw Tiffany emerge from the wreckage.

“Tiffany….”

He reached out his hand toward her.

I love you.

His final thought faded as he took his last breath and fell forward into the ground, dead.

“FRED! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Tiffany ran to Fred as fast as she could and held him in her arms one last time.

Bill reached the edge of the pond.  He had watched the entire scene unfold.  If this had happened any other time, he would have been horrified, but today he was numb, and he was on a mission.   He began slowly walking out to where the ice had frozen over where he fell through less than a week ago.

I’m coming Valerie.

———

“BILL,  GET OFF OF THE ICE!” shouted Sheriff Ryan, who was one of the few survivors of the battle.  “Don’t do this again, it’s not worth it.”

Bill was oblivious to his surroundings, he was now standing just outside of the old wound in the ice where he had fallen through and put himself in a coma once before.

If I did it before, I can do it again.

“Bill…”

Now that’s a voice I haven’t heard in quite some time.

He turned to face Tiffany.

“Bill…what are you doing out here?  Come off the ice, let’s talk this out instead.”

“I can’t do that Tiffany.”

“Bill, it doesn’t have to end like this.  I promise we’ll get you whatever help you need, just take a few steps back and come over to me.”

After all these years she was still so beautiful.  But she had tried to kill him on the Island. I know how she really feels about me.

“It finally makes sense to me now.”

“What are you talking about Bill.”

“Tiffany, I am sorry that I couldn’t love you the way you deserved to be loved.”

“Bill that was a long time ago…”

“Tiffany, stop.  Let me say what I have to.” he interrupted.

When he was sure that she understood, he continued.

“I am sorry that I couldn’t love you the way you deserved to be loved.  For the longest time I held onto the image of us as it was when we were in love.  As the years went by, we focused on our careers and our friends, but never each other.  We were building into everything but our relationship. After all of those years of ignoring each other I still held onto that image and convinced myself that we were still in love, and that some day we would return to the image I held in my mind.  But we grew apart and we refused to let go of each other because we were selfish and afraid.”

“Bill…that was so long ago…”

“Yes, in measurements of time it happened long ago, but time does not heal the heart or mind.  To the heart and mind, this could have all happened yesterday, but I want you to know that I forgive you.  Not because you deserve to be forgiven but because I need to forgive you to release all of the anger, regret, and resentment I still hold onto when I think of us and our time together.”

What a relief, I feel so much lighter already.

“Thank you Bill, sometimes I would replay some of our arguments in my mind and think of all the hurtful things I shouldn’t have said, it really means a lot to me.  Why don’t you come with me off the ice and we’ll go talk about it?”

“I’m sorry Tiffany, like I told you before, I can’t do that.”

“Bill you don’t have to do this.”

Yes I do, she wouldn’t want it any other way and I couldn’t live with myself without knowing that I at least tried.

“I don’t expect you to understand Tiffany, but this is something I have to do.”

“Bill…please…no”

She began sobbing, tears were rolling down her face.

“Promise me one thing Tiffany?”

“…anything”

“Forgive me.”

“…ok Bill…I forgive you…”

“See? Don’t you feel a lot better now?

He took a step forward onto the recently healed ice and it broke immediately.  

“BILL NOOOO!!”

He slipped through the crack and the familiar cold water rushed over his body numbing everything it touched. The shock of the cold water forced all of the air out of his lungs.  He drifted further away from the surface of the water, slowly sinking, unable to move.

He looked up at the hole he fell through one last time.

I’m coming Valerie.

———

Farmer Vincent watched the fireman wrap Tiffany in a warm blanket and pull her back from the ice against her will.  He had witnessed the entire scenario from the safety of his cottage.

I’m getting too old for this shit.

He picked up the phone book, found the number he was looking for, and dialed it in.

“Good afternoon, Rigley Real Estate, this is Mandy, how may I help you?”

“Hi, I’m looking to sell my property.”

“I can help you with that.  What type of time frame are we looking at?”

He looked out the window at the emergency crews cleaning up the area.  The fire department was putting out a fire that started from the wreckage while the police were running yellow tape from tree to tree as a man was pulled from the icy waters and quickly loaded into an ambulance.

“You know…the sooner the better.”