Chapter 13
Candace tossed and turned in her sleep. She dreamed that Constable Bren Williams was beside her on a gallows, which had eleven other prisoners about to be hanged at the same time at Old Bailey prison.
"You may confess your crimes and sins now," the executioner instructed the condemned.
"I have nothing to confess; I am innocent," Candace and Bren said at the same time while the others made their confessions and pleas to the jeering crowd.
"Very well. May God have mercy on your souls," the executioner said as he pushed Candace and Bren from the stool.
Candace woke up in a sweat. Large lumps about the size of an egg protruded from each side of her neck, and she had trouble breathing. She urgently needed to go to the bathroom, but her arm was handcuffed to the bed. Candace pressed a button to summon help.
A tall thin nurse with black hair arrived.
"Where is your guard?" The nurse asked.
"I didn't know I had one. I just woke up, and I need to pee," Candace wheezed as she rubbed her neck and was sweating profusely.
"I will see if I can find the guard," The nurse quickly exited and returned a few minutes later with the guard.
"I am sorry, Ms. Wardale, but I had to leave for a moment," the guard explained as she removed the handcuff.
Candace started to cough as she moved from the bed to the bathroom and nearly passed out trying to catch her breath.
"Have you been exposed to COVID recently?" The nurse inquired.
"No, not that I know of," Candace shook her head.
The nurse left and returned wearing a mask and offered one to the guard.
Candace washed her hands and face. She looked in the mirror and jumped back, wobbled, and nearly fell over. The face in the mirror was Caritas Featherstone. Candace touched her face to be sure. She looked at the egg-sized lumps below her ears on each side of her neck. A swollen red spot on her ankle was itching now too.
With a COVID testing kit in her hand, the nurse returned with a doctor just as Candace exited the bathroom.
"Do we have the results from the blood tests that were ordered when she was first brought in?" the doctor requested."
"Yes," the nurse handed the blood test results to the doctor.
"I don't see anything unusual," here the doctor noted.
"I noticed a swollen red area on her ankle," the nurse pointed out.
"It looks like an insect bite. Do you know how you got this?" the doctor asked Candace.
"Maybe from the prison, the one from the portal. It is a long story," Candace offered.
The doctor, nurse, and guard looked bewildered.
"I can assure you there were no bugs at the jail," the guard affirmed.
"Maybe she is hallucinating from fever. It is 104," the nurse pronounced as she measured Candace's temperature.
"Have you been traveling anywhere recently?" the doctor queried.
"Merry old London England circa the 16th century, there were rats as big as cats and straw on the floor. A wonderful place. Not at all like the movies." Candace was giddy and animated now.
"I need another blood sample for testing. In the meantime, administer two tablets of ibuprofen and an antibiotic. Also, lock down this ward and quarantine anyone who has come in contact with Ms. Wardale," the doctor ordered.
Candace vomited blood on the floor and passed out. The doctor checked Candace for a head injury and checked her pulse.
"We have a code blue. Get a crash cart in here, stat," the doctor started to administer CPR.
YOU ARE READING
The Curious Incidents at Grand Show Place Cinema
ParanormalA Brother and Sister take over a small town movie theatre that is inundated with a series of incidents that threaten to destroy their family legacy. They must find a mysterious woman and convince her to remove a curse before it is too late.
