The next time Martin regained consciousness, he was bathed in a warm pool of golden light. He was wrapped in something warm and dry. For a few moments he just lay, trying to make sense of the memories in his head. The bad weather and driving through it he could remember clearly, but after that he could only remember bits. And those bits didn’t make sense.
He turned over and his eyes focused on a ceiling.
“Ah back with us again”. A voice came from his left side. He turned around to see a tall, thin man dressed in a white coat.
A doctor. Other memories surfaced.
The cold water, the mist, the shapes.
“How are you feeling now?” The Doctor asked.
Martin eased him self up, he felt a little dizzy and his chest was very sore. “Not so good”.
“Well that’s an improvement over yesterday, anyway”.
Martin looked at him, not understanding. “Why what happened yesterday?”
“You can’t remember. Hmm. That’s not totally unexpected. What is the last thing that you do remember?”
“A car crash”. The Doctor nodded. “A bad one?”
“Well let’s just say we where more than a bit worried for you”.
“Oh”. Martin looked around him. He was in hospital, than much was clear. “How badly hurt was I?”
“Not too badly really. Minor concussion. We’re really just keeping you in for observation for a day or two. You see you went through quite a lot yesterday”.
“Oh”. Martin said prompting. Some thing in the doctor’s voice worried him. What had happened?
“Well…” The doctor paused again. “Well what!”
Martin said running out of patience with his evasiveness. “Well you were clinically dead for a short while”.
“Dead!” Martin said still reeling in shock. “Yes. When the paramedics arrived on the scene they declared you dead, but as they where filling out the paper work, you just started breathing again”.
Martin lay back. Dead. He ran through what he could remember of yesterday, which was not much, but it could explain some of the weirder things that he could remember.
“…If that’s okay”. Martin realised the doctor had been talking to him. “Yes that’s fine”. He said distractedly.
“Are you feeling Okay?” He asked.
“As well as can be expected considering you’ve just told me I died yesterday”.
“Humm…I’m sorry I’d told you that way but you did ask”. Martin nodded, his mind still reeling from the shock. “Well if you’re feeling up to it you’ve got a visitor”.
Images flashed up from the depths of martin’s mind. The awful laughter, the strange shapes, the images reflected in their crystal facets. Martin slumped back in the bed, his eyes glazed and skin pale.
“Are you sure you’re up to having visitors?” The doctor said with concern. “Oh yes. I’ll be fine”. Martin said sitting back up. “Just felt a little dizzy there”.
“Okay if you’re sure”. Martin nodded. “I’ll show her in”.
Martin shook his head. What happened to me yesterday? He asked him self. Dead, no they must have been wrong, people don’t just die and come back to life, do they? Yes they do, a distant part of his mind told him.
“Martin Mansfield, you stupid, reckless sod”. Debbie’s normally gentle Scottish brogue was transformed to strained and angry sounding voice.
She hugged him. “You and your bloody fast cars. I nearly lost you”.
“Okay, okay”. Martin kissed her gently on the head. “But you got me back”. He said with a grin.
Debbie’s face was red and tear stained. “I’m sorry, but I was in a hurry to get back to see you, my love”.
Debbie smiled a little. “Just promise me you’ll get an ordinary car to replace that…that speed machine of yours”.
“You want me to drive around in a Skoada!”
“If that’s what it takes”. She said her grin breaking in to a full smile. Martin couldn’t help but smile too. He was alive and Debbie was with him. What else did he need?
They just sat there for a few moments in silence hugging each other.
“Oh by the way what happened to the car?” He asked with a grin. “Total write off. And good riddance to it”.
Martins smile faded. He remembered how he’d felt when he’d picked up that car. He remembered the thrill of the power of it. Power that he controlled.
Martins battered car lay a in ditch somewhere, blood pouring from it’s broken bodywork. Thick, inky black tentacles oozed from the ground and pulled the dying car apart. It screamed in agony.
Martin’s hands fell away from Debbie’s waist.
Martin lay back in his bed, he was restless and couldn’t get comfortable. He also desperately wanted to get out of hospital and home to Debbie. ‘Just overnight for observation’ the Doctor had told him. That had only been a few hours back but it seemed a long time ago. It was going to be a long night.
Back from the dead. Martin still couldn’t believe it, but that was what the Doctor had said.
He tried to remember what had happened the day before. Bits of it where coming back to him, but most of it was a blur. He could remember talking to Debbie on the phone, but then…nothing. Well nothing that made any sense, mist, a bright, burning sphere. No it was useless, Martin decided. Being dead does not do anything for your memory.
He closed his eyes.
But then opened them almost immediately. He sat upright in bed. Something had just changed. He didn’t feel comfortable. Martin felt like…
He didn’t know what he felt like but he knew he didn’t like the feeling. There was something not quite right here.
For a few moments he sat in bed just looking around the room, trying to spot what it was that had happened, what had changed.
Nothing had changed physically, but there was something different. A shiver went down his spine. This is silly, he told him self, there’s nothing wrong here apart from a grown man sitting in bed when he should be sleeping. But Martin still felt odd.
He lay back down in bed. But the feeling still nagged at him.
He turned over to look at the clock. For a brief second, Martin was sure it showed 0:04. He blinked in shock, the red digits now showed 11:23.
The unease he’d felt before now formed in to a cold, hard panic that he felt in the pit of his stomach.
He’d seen this happening before, it happened just before every thing went black. A jumble of strange and frightening memories filed Martins mind. The golden glow, the vortex, the dancing crystal shapes. But over all of this was the awful ticking, every, deep resonant tick, shaking Martin to his very soul.
Martin curled up in to the fetal position and clamped his eyes shut.
His heart now pounding he looked back at the clock. It read 11:24. The ticking faded away. Slowly Martin uncurled him self.
See everything is normal, he told him self.
He turned on to his back and looked at the ceiling, watching the lights from the traffic outside shine on the plaster. The distant rumble was soothing and reassuringly normal. Martin’s panic faded quickly and he felt a quiet peacefulness slowly cover him like a warm blanket.
Slowly his eyelids grew heavy and he slipped in to deep sleep.
Martin woke up the next morning, not feeling any better for the nights sleep he’d just had. But, today is the day you get to go home and see Debbie again he told him self.
He looked out of the window, the golden yellow sun rose over the waking city. And he was going to see Debbie again for the first time in three weeks. It promised to be a great day.
For all Martins new-found optimism, the events of last night still bothered him. He was sure the clock had shown 0:04 and he was almost certain he’d heard that ticking again.
Martin tried not to worry about it. He just sat back and waited.
But time seemed to drag so much for martin. Breakfast wasn’t till eight and then it would at least an hour until the doctors did their rounds. Ten o’clock seemed so far away.
But it did eventually arrive.
Martin had phoned Debbie and she was able to make it to the hospital to pick him up. The day was beginning to look just great.
Like a child on Christmas morning, Martin couldn’t wait. He hadn’t been feeling exactly one hundred percent yesterday when Debbie had visited, but he was now. But the formalities seemed to take forever. Eventually he was signed out and ready to go.
Martin rushed down to the reception to meet Debbie.
But she wasn’t there. A quick look around confirmed it, she wasn’t there yet. The clock on the wall showed 10:48. Probably caught in the traffic. Martin thought as he settled down to wait.
Martin suddenly felt very uneasy for some reason. Then suddenly Martin had an unpleasant thought. No she can’t of had an accident. He comforted himself. She’s a careful driver, unlike me. He added silently.
All the same he still felt uncomfortable.
So he got up, looking at the clock. 00:04 it read. Martin blinked in surprise. And just for a second he thought he heard that ticking sound again.
He froze. The sound chilled him to the bone.
The sound faded. The clock showed 10:52.
Martin blinked again.
He looked around. Still no sign of Debbie.
Then just as he was sitting down again he caught sight of someone outside, looking…no staring at him from across the hospital forecourt. He beckoned to Martin. Martin felt he should know him, yet he didn’t recognise him at all.
Martin got up. The man started to walk towards the glass doors. The doors slid open automatically as Martin approached. A van passed in front of the man, it was only there for a second or two, but by the time it had passed the man was gone.
Martin stopped, standing in the doorway. He couldn’t have walked that fast, Martin thought as he looked around for the figure. But now he wasn’t even sure what he looked like. Maybe he got in to the van. Who was he? What did he want with me? Martin’s head filled with questions.
“Ah there you are”. Debbie said from right beside him. “Going somewhere?” She asked. Martin was still slightly thrown by the figure’s disappearance.
“What’s the matter. Not pleased to see me”. Martin shook his head “Yes er…sorry no. I was miles away”. Martin smiled. “I’m always glad to see you”.
“Good. Lets go then”.
“I couldn’t get the day off, so I’ll just drop you at my place”. Debbie said as they got in to her car.
“What would it take for you to get the day off?” Martin said with a grin. “Oh the end of the world at least”.
Debbie’s little red car pulled out in to the busy traffic. “Still at least this way I can get you to do the cooking tonight”.
“Dam. No way out of that is there?” Debbie shook her head. “I can cheat death but I can’t escape doing the cooking, oh well, can’t have every thing I suppose”.
They drove on in silence for a while. “So what’s it like then? Being dead that is”.
“I wish I knew, I can’t remember much about it at all. Just calling you, crashing the car and then bits of stuff which don’t make any sense at all”.
“Did your life flash before your eyes, any corridors of light or gardens of heavenly peace?”.
“No nothing li…”.
Debbie glanced over to Martin. He looked distant and pale. “What is it? You are okay talking about this are you?”
“Yes there was some thing like that…” The mists, the golden glow. Suddenly the memories where clear and vivid. Incredibly clear and vivid. The memories filled Martin’s awareness. There was something behind the glow, some thing beyond it. Something wonderful. It filled him with a deep calm and sense of peace. He’d almost got there.
“Something like what?”
Martin shook his head. “Sorry, what was that you said?”
“You said something like that, something like what?”
“The corridor of light, it was some thing like that. A golden glow, I was heading toward it through some kind of warm mist”. The memories that had been so clear a few seconds ago where already fading. “I almost got there”.
“But you didn’t”.
“No”. Martin shook his head. “Something happened”. The calm Martin had felt, quickly evaporated, to be replaced by a feeling of dread. “Yes you came back”. Debbie said with a smile.
Martin looked over to her. Her long, thick dark hair fell over her pale skin. Her deep brown eyes sparkled with life. God, she is beautiful, Martin thought.
Martin smiled back. “Yes I came back for you”.
“Or maybe you weren’t supposed to be going there. Maybe you where heading for some where else”. Debbie said with a grin. Martin was distracted for a moment.
“Humm”. Over the sound of the engine he was sure he could hear something. He wasn’t sure what, but he had a sick feeling deep in his stomach that he could guess what it was.
“Perhaps you were headed for the other place”.
This time Martin smiled. “Oh yes I’m sure I’ll go there. But when I’m ready”.
Don’t listen for it. Martin told himself. It’ll go away, it’s not there, it’s not real.