I got to the hospital before Lana and found Wayne in his third floor room.  The nursing staff was ready to wring his neck because he wouldn’t stop using his call button.  Wayne didn’t want to be left alone and was very happy to see me.

Wayne was able to tell me that he had started seeing John Bowers last night.  First in the hospital hallways and then standing over the bed whenever Wayne happened to wake up from a nap.  Wayne’s feeling was that John was looking for vulnerability, an opportunity to hurt him.  Since then Wayne had been sleeping less and calling for the nurse every time he was left alone. 

“I told them that John was a ghost and that he wanted to hurt me. Their first reaction was to put me in the de-tox or psych ward, so I cut that talk out.  Now, I just tell the nurses that I’m uncomfortable or to check my bandages.  I’m afraid they’re gonna knock me out with medication soon.” Wayne said through his injured mouth. I was getting better at understanding him.

I offered to stay at his bedside while he took a nap and I pulled up a chair. Lana arrived a few minutes later and we stepped out into the hall.

“Carl, I think I’ve found something that will help us.  Did you notice how much John seemed to be enjoying himself when he was battling the police the other night?” She asked.

“Yeah, he seemed like a kid trying out a new toy. He was enjoying himself more with each new trick he learned.” I said.

“When I first made contact with John and tried to coax him into talking to me, he hesitated and then became combative. But now that he is a part of our world, he seems more at ease.”

“Yeah Lana, but he’s at ease trying to kill people.” I suggested.

“I think that is because he is still recovering from the events that killed him.  When he returned to our world, those feelings were the most recent earthbound experiences he had. If I’m right he should stop lashing out against us soon.” Lana told me.

We both turned to look up the corridor at the sound of running feet.  Two nurses and an orderly were pushing a crash-cart towards us. “Out of the way!” They shouted.

We moved aside and they banged into Wayne’s room.  Lana and I followed.

Wayne had slid down to the foot of his bed, and was hanging part way onto the floor. He had pulled free of his monitoring cables and I.V. Tube.  He was reaching to the door and us. Standing on the other side of the bed was John Bowers. He was watching all of us pile into the room.

“Sir, can you step back from the bed? We need to help Mr. Mueller.” The nurse asked John.

He glared at her and smiled.

“Sir, you are going to need to step aside.” She demanded.

John stepped around the bed and grabbed hold of the nurse with both hands.  She gave out a little gasp and was tossed backwards into the crash cart, upsetting it.  The orderly moved forward to grapple with John and was tossed over the other bed in the room, which was unoccupied.

Lana moved past me, pulled something out of her handbag and held it out to John.

“Do you know what this is, John? Do you want to go back there? I can send you. I brought you here and I can send you back. Leave this place. Leave in peace. Leave now.” Lana calmly commanded.

John’s fierce attitude faded quickly when he saw what Lana held. He showed momentary fear and then streaked past us. He brushed by without touching any of us, even though we were crowded in the narrow aisle.

Lana and I stepped in to help the injured nurse and orderly, the other nurse checked on Wayne’s condition.  He was fine, he had scrambled as best he could, casts and slings and all, and was none the worse for it.  Wayne’s pulling free of the monitors is what brought the staff to the room in such a hurry. The nurse told me it would take some time to get Wayne back into bed and the other injured persons taken care of, so Lana and I decided to leave and look for John Bowers.  The police had also been called and we didn’t want to get tied up in their investigation.

“What do you have that made John so afraid?  It really seemed to stop him in has tracks.” I asked as we walked down the hallway.

Lana held out a small plastic bag full of dirt. “Just a reminder to him of where he so recently was interred.  This is soil from his grave.” She smiled.

Lana and I walked along the hallways of the third floor keeping alert for any sign of John Bowers.  We passed each hospital room and the nurse’s station, all quiet except for the beeps and whirrings of a variety of medical equipment.  We felt that John had probably left this floor and we decided to split up to look for him elsewhere in the hospital. 

Lana took the elevator down, while I started up the stairs to the fourth floor. John Bowers had been watching our progress from behind a supply room door. When he saw Lana enter the elevator, he flew to the stairwell and sped down to the basement. I was already pulling open the fourth floor door when I heard the stairway door slam open one floor below. I stopped and started back down to investigate when I heard an alarm bell start ringing. Exiting the stairwell on the third floor, I saw the staff and a security guard rushing to the elevator door.

“What’s happening?” I asked the duty nurse who was pressing the elevator call button.

“The elevator alarm went off, we don’t know if anyone is trapped inside!” She answered.

The security guard went to the nurse’s station and called for maintenance to check the basement control panel.

The alarm was disabled and we heard Lana’s voice faintly calling, “Carl…Carl?” 

Her voice was coming up the shaft from below us and I called, in response, “Hold on!” Then, I rushed back to the stairway and started down to the second floor.  I called back to Lana from the second floor elevator doors, and her voice sounded much closer.

“What happened, Lana?” I asked.

“I don’t know Carl, the elevator just stopped.” She answered. “Do you think it might have something to do with John?”

“If it does, maybe John is trying to keep you out of his way for a while.” I wondered.

Lana completed my thought,”Then Wayne is in danger again!”

“Hold on, Lana. Maintenance is working on getting you out. I’m going back up to Wayne’s room!” I shouted as I headed back to the stairway.

I entered the stairwell and encountered two uniformed police officers on the flight ahead of me.  I tried to excuse myself and get by and they stopped me.

“What’s your hurry, buddy?” One of them asked me.

“I need to check on a friend on the third floor.  Are you here responding to the assault that was made on the hospital staff?” I asked them, out of breath, still trying to squeeze past.

“What’s your name, pal? And what do you know about the assault?” The other asked me.

“I’m Carl Kolchak.” I gasped, “I’m a reporter for the Independent News Service. I was in the room when it happened. The guy that caused the problem before may still be in the hospital, he may be back in that room!”

“Kolchak? Hey Greg, isn’t this the guy we were told about in roll call? Buddy, you caused all kinds of problems in Justice.” The second officer asked me.

These were Lagrange police officers.

“I can explain everything later, if you’d like. But please, let’s get up to the third floor!” I shouted.

“Alright, lead the way,” They said.

Myself along with Lagrange Officers Dunston and Brown came out into the third floor hallway. Staff and security were still crowded around the elevator doors. We made our way past them and entered Wayne Mueller’s room.  The lights were out and Dunston turned them back on.

Wayne’s bed was empty!

We rushed back out and asked the nurse where Wayne was.

“Oh, Mr. Mueller was moved to 314. The equipment in his room had been damaged.” She replied. 

We rushed down to that room and arrived just as Wayne started calling out. His voice was weak and distorted from his injuries, but we could hear the terror in it.  John Bowers was approaching Wayne just ahead of us.

“Hold it buddy!” Officer Dunston demanded.

John turned toward us with fury. He saw me behind the cops and came at all of us. This time John bowled us over and we tumbled out into the hall. The last we saw of him was as he went through the stairway door at the end of the hall.

The Lagrange officers used their radios to call for backup and set up a perimeter outside the hospital. Then they took off after John.  I rushed over to the security guard who was also talking on his radio.

“The patient in there needs 24 hour guarding.” I told him. “He can’t be left alone.  The guy who just ran out, John Bowers, will be back. He will try again to kill Wayne Mueller.”

“Yeah, who is that guy, what’s his deal?” The guard asked me.

“I’ll try to explain it later. Can you guarantee that Wayne won’t be left alone?”

“Yeah, sure. No problem. I’m sure either the police or hospital security will keep watch on him.” He answered.

“What’s the status on the elevator, when will my friend be getting out of there?”

“Not for a while. The fire department is bringing up equipment to get your friend out through the elevator’s roof hatch. I checked with maintenance and they told me the control equipment in the basement is smashed beyond repair.” He said.

“Okay, thanks for your help.” I waved and headed back down to the second floor.

“Lana? How are you?” I called once I got to the elevator doors one floor down.

“I’m okay, Carl. What happened?” She asked. She sounded frustrated and a little frightened.

I told her about our second run-in with John Bowers and about the fire department’s efforts to rescue her.

“Thank you Carl. I wish I could get out of here. I should be trying to help you find John.” She said.

“I don’t think finding him will help. He either fights or runs every time we encounter him.” I pointed out.

“Yes, we need a way to control him long enough to talk him out of this violence.” Lana said.

“I think I know someone who will help us get close to John. If only she will let me get close to her…without killing me first.” I said.

“Carl, don’t do it! Don’t bring Resurrection Mary here! It’s too dangerous, Carl…Carl!” She yelled, but I was already heading for my car.