Chapter Twenty Four
The demons’ nest had been destroyed but Ashley and Thaler still had a long way to go or, to be more precise, to run. The hospital where Irwin was stranded in a no man’s land between life and death stood ten miles away from their current location. Somehow, they had to make their way there. Communications were dead and electric transport had been halted, so the only means of conveyance they could rely on was their own feet. They started running along the street but were soon slowed down and had to claw their way through a crowd.
‘We won’t get too far ploughing through the streets,’ said Thaler. ‘We have to get on a motorway.’ After a while, they managed to climb up onto an elevated road that ran over the city. After a couple of miles of steady running, they hitched a ride in a patrol car that was heading to the hospital area. It was an old-fashioned vehicle that ran on petrol and boasted a screechy radio that, for such an antique device, worked surprisingly well. Thaler showed his detective card to the policeman.
The officer who drove the car was optimistic.
‘The situation’s getting better now,’ he said. ‘The guys from the Standard Electric Company are working really hard. I hope they’ll be finished by dawn. I’m an old copper but I’ve never seen such chaos before. Luckily, they didn’t send all our old cars to the scrapyard. Some of them were mothballed in a distant corner. All we had to do was to pull them out of storage, fill the tank and here we are — I feel young again,’ he laughed with nostalgic fervour. ‘This car runs on one hundred percent ethanol, by the way,’ he added. ‘I am going to the hospital to put some more fuel in. It makes me thirsty, to be honest,’ he tittered. ‘You can’t find any good old petrol these days.’
‘What happened?’ Thaler asked.
‘We started getting reports about six p.m.’ said the policeman. ‘At first, it looked like a practical joke or a breakdown in the alarm system. It began with multiple car accidents and, soon, the whole road system was paralysed. Then, we got fires and explosions in the industrial area. After that, they had to halt all air traffic because of numerous collisions over the city. The government called the OSIRIS crisis committee and, surprisingly, it worked really well. We thought we were under attack by an army of insurgents, but the cause of all the chaos turned out to be quite different — rats. They’d got everywhere, even on planes. Most of them died on the spot, electrocuted, causing widespread failures in the wiring — we found their burnt carcasses almost everywhere. I just wonder who the pied piper was,’ the officer said thoughtfully. The radio started to buzz.
‘Poor rats. Probably, they listened to the wrong channel,’ Thaler noted. The car drove through the hospital gates.
In the darkness that reigned over the city, the hospital campus was like a beacon of light. Ambulances, in quick succession, were rushing through the gates straight to the crammed emergency room.
‘It seems, the hospitals in this city have better power backup as well as anti-rat defences,’ the policeman laughed as they reached the entrance.
Thaler, followed by Ashley, skipped the lines at the entrance and ran through the checkpoint. An officer who stood behind a temporary armoured shield recognised him, waved with his hand and made a sign to his heavily-armed juniors to let them in. Thaler waved his thanks back to the officer and continued on his way down the overcrowded corridors.
In the ward, Thaler and Ashley found her mother listening to a doctor and a couple of busy nurses. Their faces didn’t shine with optimism. Irwin was lying motionlessly on a hospital bed, his haggard pasty face covered with an oxygen mask. Ashley rushed close to her father and stared at him anxiously. Then, she looked at Thaler. His cold gaze was saying just one thing — action. Ashley walked directly to her mom, and Thaler took a position behind the doctor.
Ashley’s mother was a woman in her forties, from whom Ashley had inherited her beauty, good-looking and fit. She had a pleasant face, clever eyes and the same mane of hair as her daughter, but a bit darker.
‘His vital functions are perfect,’ the doctor explained. ‘It looks as if he is just having a nap, but at the same time he doesn’t react to any external stimuli. So far, we’ve tried a few things to pull him out of this condition without any result.’ He frowned and stared at Irvin’s mask-like face. ‘His brain doesn’t show any signs of coma, lethargy or distress but, saying that, there is no sign of communication with the outside world either. His respiratory function is generally okay but a bit unstable, so we’re giving him some oxygen. Tomorrow, we’ll run another series of tests. I hope it’ll help us understand his condition better.’
Thaler coughed. The doctor turned to him wearily. His eyes were red and puffy and the front of his white coat was stained with streaks of coffee.
‘Doctor Malcolm,’ he introduced himself curtly. ‘What can I do for you?’
‘My name is Thaler, Vincent Thaler. I’m Gregory’s friend,’ he said. ‘Can I ask you to do us a favour?’
‘What exactly?’ Doctor Malcolm glanced suspiciously at Ashley, who was whispering energetically into her mom’s ear.
‘I believe I have something that can awaken him,’ said Thaler. The doctor winced skeptically and folded his arms. ’Please, don’t judge us harshly,’ Thaler presented the wooden chest. ‘We’re just desperate people who are clutching at straws.’
The doctor cleared his throat. ’What is it?’
‘It’s a little shrine that contains Himalayan air blessed by local priests. We believe it can help him.’
The doctor looked at Thaler with overt annoyance.
‘What are you gonna do with it?’
‘I want him to breathe it in,’ said Thaler. ‘Could you remove the mask for a minute?’
‘I can’t approve that, I’m afraid,’ the doctor shook his head. ‘We still don’t know why he lapsed into this condition. Besides, I have no idea what this “air” is and how it could influence the patient.’
‘Excuse me, doctor,’ Ashley’s mother spoke up. ‘I really appreciate your care and caution, but I think we can give it a try. I’m Gregory’s wife and acting as his legal guardian. I think, neither you, nor your patient is exposed to any risk.’
The doctor rubbed his chin and glanced at his watch.
‘Okay,’ he said tiredly. ‘But if something goes wrong, you stop immediately.’
‘Certainly,’ confirmed Thaler.
The doctor looked through the monitors and made a sign to the nurse. She switched off the oxygen flow and removed the mask from Irwin’s face.
Thaler unlocked the chest and opened it in front of the inspector’s face. A trickle of bluish fog ran over the edge of the chest and, like a small snake, dived into his nostrils.
A violent spasm gripped Irvin’s body. He gasped greedily for air as if he had been holding his breath for an eternity and his eyes popped open.
‘Damn,’ Irvin wheezed. His mouth was striving for air and his chest was heaving spasmodically but his arms and legs remained motionless. Everybody in the room grew excited. Ashley grasped her dad’s hand and dropped to her knees beside the bed.
‘Dad! Dad!’ She shouted almost crying.
‘He hasn’t changed,’ Thaler said calmly. ‘It’s a good sign.’
‘Thaler,’ Irvin called him in a feeble voice. ‘Are you here?’
‘Yes, Greg. We’re here,’ Thaler responded.
‘Ashley?’ Whispered Irvin.
‘Yes, dad,’ Ashley fought back her tears.
‘Well,’ Irvin mumbled and a barely visible grimace, that was intended to be a smile, crossed his face. ‘I don’t need more company.’
‘What about me, dear?’ Ashley’s mom murmured. ‘I’ve been at your side since you got here.’
Irvin didn’t answer. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, his face turned pale and his whole body started to tremble. The monitors responded with a panicked buzz and the numbers on the displays started to jump frantically.
‘Dad, dad! Do you hear me?’ Ashley clutched Irvin’s hand desperately.
‘Excuse me, miss,’ the nurse put her hand on Ashley’s shoulder. ‘You have to leave now. Your father needs our immediate attention.’
‘Himalayan air, goddam it,’ the doctor glanced at Thaler fiercely. Then, he turned away and started to give quick orders to the nurses who leapt into action immediately. Thaler slipped silently to the exit. Ashley’s mom followed him. Reluctantly, Ashley stood up and, looking back anxiously over her shoulder, left the room too.
Ashley and her mom, along with other visitors, settled on a bench in the corridor in front of the intensive care ward while Thaler went to find something to eat. He brought back a cardboard tray with three portions of dried emergency rations and canned water. Ashley, uneasy and drained, was sitting motionlessly, deep in her thoughts. Her mom gave Thaler a reserved smile.
‘I’m Vincent,’ Thaler handed Ashley’s mom a can of water.
‘Thank you. I’m Silvia. Nice to meet you, Vincent,’ she said. ‘Do you think he’ll be okay?’
‘Absolutely,’ Thaler said with confidence.
‘I do hope so,’ Silvia sighed. ‘I did exactly what you said. It looked a bit strange to be honest. I hope those relics haven’t harmed him.’
‘Don’t worry, Silvia,’ said Thaler. ‘You’ll see him soon safe and sound.’
‘I really hope so,’ she murmured.
‘Here you are,’ Thaler opened another can and gave it to Ashley. ‘Here, some crackers and fruit bars, take them.’
‘Thank you,’ she muttered, disinterestedly.
‘Do you know how it happened?’ Thaler asked Silvia.
‘I was at home when his colleagues called me,’ she said. ‘I left everything and rushed to the hospital. Thank goodness I managed to get here before all this chaos broke out.’
She took a sip.
‘We divorced almost ten years ago and, since then, we have barely seen each other. He started a new family and, as far as I know, divorced again. Anyway, the police called me. There was no time to go into too much detail.’
Silvia stared at the closed doors of the intensive care unit.
‘I knew it would happen. He never limited himself,’ Silvia sighed. ‘He would spend all his time at work. He was a loving husband and father. But, I would’ve been glad if he had spent more time at home with his family. Over time, you know, things piled up. I can’t even remember how it started. We were sitting at the table one night and arguing about some trivial things — what is healthy or unhealthy, stuff like that, you know. Something had gone wrong at work. He was knackered. He snapped. I snapped. Then, he stood up and left.’
‘Mom,’ Ashley uttered reproachfully.
‘It’s alright, dear,’ Silvia said quietly. ‘I don’t think I’m giving away any major secrets to his old friend. Time’s dragging on so slowly here, and I can’t think about anything else other than the years Greg and I spent together.’
Silvia sighed and glanced at Thaler. He sat staring vacantly at the door of the intensive care unit. Suddenly, he stood up and a happy unprovoked smile broke across his face. Silvia shared a worried look with her daughter who stared at Thaler too. He didn’t care. His eyes were riveted on the door.
The clattering sound of a scuffle and falling furniture rang out from behind the door which then swung violently open. Irvin, wearing nothing but a loincloth made from hospital sheets and with wires and tubes still attached to and dragging behind him, appeared in the doorway with panicking staff sprawling in the background.
Everybody in the overcrowded corridor jumped to their feet dumbfounded.
Irvin took a few hasty uneven steps, then stopped in the middle of the corridor trying to regain control of his blurred vision.
Thaler cautiously approached him. ‘Welcome back, my friend,’ he said and spread his arms invitingly.
But Irwin didn’t care for a hug from Thaler. His bleary eyes wandered around the hall and focused on one person.
‘Silvie, I was terribly wrong about that damned yogurt,’ Irvin shouted, ‘Can we forget it and start over?’
Chapter Twenty Five
‘The whole scheme was devised and managed by Redding.’ With some effort Thaler turned the steering wheel and their antique gasoline car moved off the highway onto a dusty country road. ‘The idea to finish the demons in a single shot, once and for all, was in the air quite for a long time. But, nobody dared to make a decision, particularly our most recent chiefs. But, Redding, he was very serious about that.’
Ashley was sitting next to him and stared at the roadside scenery. The rickety car and bumpy road made her queasy. The car was wending its way across a sweeping plain covered with small woods and rolling green hills.
‘Of course, it was a pretty risky venture,’ Thaler continued. ‘Redding was crippled badly after his encounter with Lord Wittslock and, indeed, for some time he was out of the game. Aside from him, very few people would’ve dared to go for it. The Order was suffering heavy losses. Our meetings turned into useless costume shows. There were rumours about treason in the upper levels of our camp. And, I have to say, they weren’t totally baseless.’ Coughing and spluttering, the car climbed up a low hill. ‘Curiously, my failure made those plans real.
They crossed a small bridge set over a stream.
‘The most difficult part of it was to evade Lord Wittslock’s vigilance,’ Thaler said. ‘You couldn’t fool that old experienced beast easily. Some of our officers paid with their lives for such an attempt. That’s why I had to keep you half-informed up until now. Even the smallest suspicion would’ve destroyed our plan.’
‘That’s okay. I got it from the beginning,’ Ashley said. The road was snaking deeper into the countryside. ‘You are right. My father was involved. At times, I might’ve been a bit emotional.’
‘As soon as I’d learnt, through my stolen mogloc,’ Thaler continued, ‘that the demons were going to take the black box apart and create a giant portal to transport their boss into this world, I realised our great chance had come. That gateway could also be used as a giant trapping pit for them. I was able to send them all back to Hell in one cattle truck. All I had to do was to break the magic circle at the moment that their boss passed through it. For that purpose, the splinter that happened to fall into my hands was a very useful instrument. The demons wanted it desperately because, being incomplete, the black box’s boards wouldn’t have done any job. The splinter was in my hands and I had time to turn it into a Trojan horse in the demons’ stables. Again, it was the trickiest part of the plan — Lord Wittslock would’ve been very suspicious, so I had to find a way to outwit the old beast. For that purpose, I took Redding’s empty mogloc to put the old demon off the scent. The chain blinded his keen sense of smell and that prevented him detecting Redding’s blood on the splinter.’
‘Why did you need Redding’s blood on it?’ Ashley asked.
‘It turned the splinter into a deadly weapon against the demons,’ Thaler answered. ‘A few years ago Redding set a trap for Lord Wittslock and some other bastards of that ilk. He needed to succeed in order to become the Supreme Master of the Order. Instead, he got dragged into the trap himself. Was it treachery or a struggle for power in our camp — we still have to figure that out. Lord Wittslock wasn’t taken by surprise.’
‘He summoned his boss who smashed Redding in a very bad way. Our great Master was burnt alive and looked certain to perish. But, thankfully, he survived and his blood became a deadly venom for any infernal creature. To put it in medical terms, it was as if he had survived a deadly infectious disease and developed very powerful antibodies against demons. Any contact with it would send the devilry back to Hell.’
‘But Wittslock did touch the splinter and wasn’t hurt,’ said Ashley. ‘How is that?’
‘When it was dry, it wasn’t active,’ Thaler explained. ‘But when it came into contact with the flames, they sparked its power — it cracked the magic circle and destroyed it. It turned the cricle into a giant suction pump that blew the demons and their boss back to Hell. If something had gone wrong, though, you, me and old Greg would’ve died. On the other hand, if we hadn’t done it, we would’ve died later anyway, along with the rest of the human race.’
‘To start things on the right path, I and Redding played a little farce pretending that we bumped heads at our meeting. This false recollection was meant to be incorporated in my memory as well as the memory of the splinter — remember I told you that objects have their own memory? Of course, Lord Wittslock would scan those and get an explanation of why I came to him defenceless.’
‘I still wonder what kind of spells they used to turn such a number of rats into hitmen,’ Ashley said.
‘Oh, those are very old ones,’ said Thaler. ‘I’m sure, Lord Wittslock peeped into some antique books before calling his boss.’
The road ran through a vast pasture area where, in the middle of the fields, giant wind power plants lazily span their blades.
‘These sticks look ugly here,’ Ashley said.
‘Right,’ Thaler agreed. ‘The local landowners, including my grandads on my mom’s side, are involved in a long-lasting legal case with the company that run these wind-choppers. It has been dragging on for years, but now, with a new law in place, it seems that it will be coming to an end. All wind-choppers in this country are to be moved to the sea, out of sight, beyond the horizon.’
‘I wonder who’s gonna fund it,’ said Ashley.
‘Us, of course,’ Thaler laughed, ‘the taxpayers.’
‘Taking into account how quickly the sea seizes the land, I think they shouldn’t move them too far from the shore,’ she said.
‘Yeah, you’re right,’ Thaler agreed. ‘Today, the whole world has turned into a giant version of Holland, but one that doesn’t know how to deal with drugs and whoredom.’
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